Page 16 of Frost
“Never?” My forehead scrunches. “Out of all the years you’ve been alive, you’veneverfallen in love?”
“I’ve had lovers,” he answers. “And I suppose I’ve been fond of a few mortals over the centuries. Yet, love is an emotion I’ve only ever felt when flying through the night sky, the wind in my hair and frost on my fingertips.”
I can’t help but wonder if his heart is encased in the same ice he paints the world with. Am I just a passing fancy for him? Someone to enjoy for a while before he moves on to better things?
“Can I ask you something?”
Jack wipes at his mouth and nods.
“Where do you go in the spring? Summer?”
“It’s always winter somewhere,” he responds. “I go where the season takes me.”
For some reason, his words hit me hard in the chest. If he goes where the season takes him, that means hewillleave. I can’t keep him. Not that I ever truly thought that I could.
It’s like trying to grab the wind from the air and hold it close. It’s bound to slip right through your fingers.
“Oh.” I take a drink of my water, trying not to let my disappointment show.
“That upsets you.”
“No. Why would it upset me?”
“You tell me.” Jack’s eyes are pinned to me, his expression serious.
I drop my gaze to my bowl and move the contents around with a spoon. Here I am feeling myself fall pretty hard for him, and he acts so unmoved in return.
“I may leave throughout the year,” he says, sitting up in his chair and taking his legs off the table. “But as I told you earlier, I always return to these woods.”
“Doesn’t it get lonely? Being by yourself all the time?”
Jack shrugs. “I don’t mind being alone. If I do get lonely, I have Págos to talk to.”
“Um. Who?”
“Finish eating, and then I’ll let you meet him.” A wicked smile crosses his face. “And let’s hope he doesn’t kill you.”
***
“The sky’s so clear,” I say, staring up at the glimmering stars and full moon. My breath fans out in front of me, and cold pierces my lungs. But I love it. Jack made sure I was bundled up from head to toe before we left the house. He made me wear a beanie and a thick wool scarf as well as warm, padded gloves. “I thought another storm was supposed to come through tonight.”
“It will snow when I will it to,” Jack says, walking at my side. “And not a moment before.”
“I still don’t see how you’re not freezing.” I glance at his bare feet sinking into the snow.
“I don’t feel the cold.” He glances over at me, flashing a toothy smile. The moonlight shines on his silver hair, emphasizing the frosted ends. “The heat, however, Idofeel.”
“Are you like Frosty the Snowman? Will you melt into a puddle in the sun?”
Scoffing, Jack shoulder bumps me and keeps walking. We’re in the woods now, and the trees block some of the moonlight. The cold darkness doesn’t scare me, though. Not with him by my side.
“I like the sun, but warmer climates make me sick, so I can only be there in moderation.”
“Really?”
He nods. “I’m meant to be in a place like this, surrounded by snow and ice. It’s in my blood.”
“Can you have the occasional day at the beach?” I ask, trying to picture Jack with his frosted hair, pale skin, and snow-dusted clothes sitting in the warm sand as the tide rolls in.
