“To finally, really kiss you,” I say confidently, which surprises me. “No more of this teasing me with little pecks here and there. It’s starting to feel more like I’m your sister or something rather than your girlfriend.” Did I seriously just say that? What has gotten into me? I’m not Ran’s girlfriend. We’d never defined anything. Why on earth does it feel like suddenly I’ve smashed my censor button to smithereens?
“I definitely don’t view you as a sister.” Ran fits his beanie back onto his head. “Let’s see about finding that hot tub so we can make that wish of yours come true,” he smirks, pointing the toe side of his board toward the fall line and slipping out of sight into the white depth of the snow-drenched mountainside, leaving me to chase after him this time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Mikey: In the hospital for more tests. Had a killer headache for the past two days.
Me: That sucks, Mikey.
Mikey: Yeah. How’s Mom? Giving you a headache yet?
Me: Not so bad. Haven’t seen her much.
Mikey: She passed out drunk like always?
Me: Probably.
Mikey: You coming home tmrw?
Me: Yeah. Afternoon.
Mikey: Stop by and see me. I’ll want company.
Me: K. Love u.
Mikey: You too, Sis.
“Knock-knock,” Ran says through the door without actually knocking at all. I power off my phone because there’s just a sliver of battery left, and I think we should have a working cell phone on hand for the trip down the hill tomorrow. The conditions have gotten worse—almost whiteout—and Dad’s always getting on me about having a fully-charged phone while driving. Unfortunately, the cord that would charge the stupid thing is still plugged into my bedroom wall at home, doing me absolutely no good here.
“Yeah?” I answer Ran’s knock.
“Can I come in?” He opens the door and doesn’t wait for the response. I don’t bother getting up from my perch on the bed, because even though I hate to admit it, this is the most comfortable bed I’ve ever been in. I’d honestly be content to never leave it for the rest of the weekend.
“I found something.” The way Ran’s eyes light up makes him look about ten years younger, like he’s full of youth-like anticipation. The grin that spreads across his face just adds to his playful aura.
“Let me guess.” I roll my eyes and almost think I hear my bikini tapping on the inside of the dresser drawer.
“Tub time, Maggie!” Ran bounces on his feet. “Go get your suit on…or not.”
I groan. “You seriously found one? I was hoping the closest one would be 50 miles.”
“Nope.” He smiles a toothy grin. “More like 50 feet. It’s outside, built into their downstairs deck. This place has everything.”
“Yeah,” I grumble, rolling off the bed. “Sure does.”
“Meet me in five, okay?”
I nod and Ran all but races out of the room. I can hear him on the other side of the wall opening and slamming drawers in an excited flurry. He’s built this whole thing up so much he’s going to be severely disappointed. I haven’t even tried on the swimsuit, but I’m not nearly as blessed as Cora in the curves department, and I highly doubt the triangle top is going to do anything but accentuate the fact that I don’t have enough to fill it out. This is mortifying.
I drag myself to the dresser—literally drag—because every muscle in my body cries out for me to collapse back onto the bed. I wish Ran had mentioned just how sore I would be from snowboarding. At the time it didn’t feel like I was overexerting myself, but muscles I didn’t even know I had are now telling me a much different story.
Hesitantly, I slide open the top drawer and dig for the bikini, which takes quite a while to find since I’ve buried it so far under the other folds of clothing. I hook a finger around the top and lift it out and it stares back at me, taunting me with its hot pink strips of fabric. There is no way this thing is going to even remotely flatter me. What am I doing?
I slip out of my clothes and try to adjust the suit into place so it covers everything—and I honestly don’t have much to cover—but it’s so tiny that what I do have is still just barely under wraps. My ridiculous reflection in the full-length mirror nailed to the back of the door induces a groan that Ran probably hears through