Tim hesitated for a moment before picking up a handful of snow and shaping it into a perfect snowball.
Tasha watched as if in slow motion, “Wha…wha...what do you plan on doing with that?” She started backing up from him.
“You think you are so smart.” His movements were slow and deliberate. The next thing Tasha knew she’d been hit on the shoulder with a snowball. Some of the remnants of the snow splattered up into her face. She blinked a few times.
A slow smile spread across her face, “Oh…it’s on now!”
They spent the next ten minutes having a good old fashioned snow ball fight. Tim couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun. Everything stilled after Tasha landed one on the side of his head.
After a moment she wondered what he was going to do.
Tim dropped the snow he held in his hands and started to chase her. She was a pretty good runner just not in snow. Just as Tasha turned to run away he tackled her to the ground. It was a soft landing because of all the snow.
They were laughing hysterically as he sat on top of her and pinned her hands above her head.
She could barely speak, “Tim, get off of me. I can’t breathe.”
He was laughing so hard that he could barely get his words out too, “That’s what you get for throwing that snowball at me!”
“I’ve got to pee! You’re going to make me pee in my pants.”
As he hovered above her, the laughter and light from her eyes caught him off guard. He couldn’t seem to turn away. Even after blinking a few times to gain control, it was as if some force was still holding him captive.
In just an instant, the energy between them shifted. Something was happening.
The sounds of easy laughter that they’d shared only moments before had disappeared. It had been replaced with the quiet of the night and the sounds of their heavy breathing.
Her body started to tingle and her breath came in short choppy bursts. Was this a reaction to him? Were those butterflies in her stomach? The tightening of her nipples could be explained away because of the cold weather. Only…she wasn’t cold. Not only was Tasha not cold she was starting to feel warm all over.
There was something that flashed in Tim’s eyes that almost looked like attraction. Was he feeling this too?
Somewhere in the background Tasha heard a dog barking. The sound was enough to shake her back to her senses. Oh no. This was bad. This was really really bad.
She laughed awkwardly, “Tim, my ass is freezing.”
Once he heard her voice, it was as if he realized they’d shared something forbidden. He managed to smile as he rolled off of her onto his back. Neither of them spoke. They just looked up into the darkness as the snow fell softly over them.
Searching for the easiness that they’d experienced just moments ago, Tim cleared his throat, “Let me show you the house.”
Tasha was afraid to look at him. Not because of what she might see but because of what he might see in her eyes. She had no idea what was in them. However, after taking a deep breath she looked anyway. She saw a combination of disappointment mixed with something else as he gazed up at the sky.
She blew out a breath, “No. I’ll wait. I want you and Sabrina to have this moment. You wanted this for her and it would feel wrong to intrude on that.”
Reality was back, “Funny, I think you might want her to have this moment more than she does.”
Chapter 10
It was only five thirty in the evening but looked much later since it was so dark outside.
Tasha hated driving in the snow especially when it was dark. It was coming down pretty heavy too. She tried to leave work early before the storm started but one of the partners asked her for a report at the last minute. That kept her busy for an extra hour and a half.
Not only was traffic a nightmare on her side of the lane it was bumper to bumper…just barely moving. This was one of those moments where she wished she was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She’d do anything to be able to click her heels three times to be home.
It had been such a long and draining day and she just wanted some peace and quiet. She didn’t even have on the radio. The only sound in the car was the sound of the windshield wiper blades swishing from side to side doing their best to clear the snow.
Tasha spoke to herself, “Damn, another light. I’m never going to make it home at this rate.” After getting caught at a four way stop light, she was now sitting at a complete standstill. She kept both hands on the steering wheel because there was always some fool driving crazy in this weather.
Tasha looked at her gas gauge on her dashboard. She mumbled, “Thank god I filled up my gas tank yesterday. Who knows how long it’s going to take me to get home.”
She tried calling Eric before leaving from work but was sent directly to his voice-mail. She hoped he made it home safely.”
The stoplight changed to green. She was doing about five miles an hour as she inched into the intersection. Tasha saw a flash of bright lights in her peripheral. The light seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. Just as she turned her head to look…she screamed.
She didn’t have any time to react. An SUV must have been driving too fast. Whoever
