Page 56 of Double Exposure

I walk around to the side of the cabin and run water in two buckets. By the time I’ve returned, she’s made a small stack of perfectly round snowballs. And I mean perfect. It's like she took a metal compass and just cut the air into circles.

I’m impressed. “How did you do that?”

“I have my talents,” she says arching an eyebrow. “This’ll be more fun. She picks up a snowball and tosses it into the fire. Nothing much happens. With a glance to me, she tosses in three more. The flames sputter and come right back.

“May I?” I point to my bucket.

She nods and gestures toward the flames.

I pour out the first pail of water. About half the fire goes out.

“Oh fine,” she says and then comes the snowball, launched at me like out of a corny movie. Snow trickles down my chest.

“Oh, that was unfair,” I say, dumping the second pail over what’s left of the fire. We are plunged into darkness, with hissing steam and the sound of hot embers sizzling.

“But inevitable, wasn't it?” She says and then starts to laugh. It's the first time I've heard her laugh, the very first time, and my heart lifts. Her laugh is silvery and light—pure—not positioning for anything. The plume of steam clears and we are left standing under a pristine night sky.

“I have this,” I say, and flip the hood to her parka on her head. Snow flies everywhere.

She reaches down with one hand and snatches up another snowball, holding it above my head. Well, she tries to hold it above my head. It's more like eye level.

“Ineffective,” I say. Then she stands on top of the stump I’ve been sitting on all evening. I slip an arm around her so she doesn’t fall. Her mittened hand, the one with the snowball, is comically oversized.

“That won’t work,” I say and try to grab it from her.

She lets loose with the snowball. It slides down my back like cold little fingers. But I don't care. The moonlight casts her face in a silver bath that makes my heart widen. Even shadows love her. How could I choose not to love her?

She's eye level with me. My heart begins to thud hard and the beat echoes in the back of my throat. I still have my arm around her.

Then she kisses me. She just leans in and takes my breath away. Our lips tremble, pressed to each other’s. I feel her energy, her passion, and I widen my mouth, needing to take her all in. Then the tremors disappear and she's just hungry. She holds the back of my head with both hands.

I pull down the hood to her parka and black hair fans my face, with small particles of snow lit like pearls. Her tongue is fervent, probing, and I am in the moment, for once, and hold her so tightly I’m afraid I’ll crush her.

She lays a hand against my throat so she's around me and she's breathing with me. In me. We exhale together. She comes up for breath and does another deep dive. The erection in my pants grows and I press myself against her. I slip both hands around her ass and press her into me and I can feel the upper part of her thighs begin to shake. She pulls away, laying both hands on my shoulders.

Her eyelids are heavy and so is her voice.

“I want you to fuck me right now,” she whispers. And then repeats, “Right now.”

Closing my eyes, I moan into her hair.

“Take me,” she whispers. “I’m begging you.”