Page 16 of The Snowflake Effect

“I have. I don’t sleep around, Shay. I don’t have unprotected sex.” He zips up his jeans, grabs a towel off the wall, dampens it, then hands it to me. “Have you been tested?”

“Clean bill of health, and I’m on the pill.” But he answered me very quickly. Frazzled and still overemotional, I use the cloth, then I crack open the door. “Guys!”

“What the fuck?” Kolton leans over me to shut the door, but I shake him off.

A few whats float from the living room, and I lean my head out. “If I sleep with your boy Kolton, do I have to worry about where his junk has been?”

“Jesus, subtle much?” Kolton says from behind me.

One of the guys, Sawyer, I think, says, “Kolton?” like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard. When his laughter subsides, he continues, “Well, I don’t know. Can you get an STD from excessive masturbation?”

“Bastard.” Kolton’s hot breath hits my ear. “Happy?”

As I close the door, the same voice calls, “Just go easy on him, Shay. It’s probably pretty sore and chafed.”

Hooting and hollering persist as I face Kolton. “Nice.”

He shakes his head, attention fixed on the ground, then he peeks up. “It’s been a while, okay? But when I’ve been with women, I’ve always used condoms, like I already said.”

He invades my space, his firm chest too firm, his perfect hair too perfect. With my height and boots, we’re almost eye level.

“What about you?” he says, his mouth inches from mine. “Should I be grilling your friends to find out if you lied about your sexual history?”

I force a swallow, too many emotions flying around tonight. “I’m just out of a long-term relationship. You’re the first man I’ve been with since, which is why I got emotional afterward. So, no, you don’t have to worry. And I’m sorry again for the tears.”

His brow furrows. “Was that because you miss your ex?”

“God, no.” I shudder at the thought. “This”—I gesture between us—“was a reminder I stayed with him way too long. Because the sex with you was…”

I trail off, unsure how to describe sex that shattered me into a thousand pieces. A delicious ache still throbs between my thighs, my scalp tingles from where he tugged my curls, and I want to feel him again. And see him: the thickness of his shoulders, his backside that flexed under my grip.

Watching me intently, he rakes his hand through his hair—the strands that were tangled in my fingers not long ago. “Sex with you was unreal,” he says, finishing my sentence. “That was spontaneous and fun. I hope you don’t regret it, because I certainly don’t. Even though I’m still not sure if you can take a joke.” The Asshole smirks.

“And I’m still not sure you know how to ski,” I retort, enjoying our verbal jousting more now.

He rolls his eyes good-naturedly, and we share a smile.

Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Maybe, if we manage to keep our bickering light, we can even do this again while on this trip. “You know what? You clearly suck at admitting when things are your fault, but this was fun. And I think we should⁠—”

“Shhhh.” He swats the air by my face and cocks his head. “Is that a phone?”

I strain my ears and hear what could be ringing. “Maybe?”

He checks his watch, one of those manly jobs with a thick leather band, then he jerks his head up. “Shit.” He shoulders me out of the way, knocking me into the wall, then lunges for the door and disappears.

Um… What the heck just happened?

That level of panic implies someone important is calling him. He wasn’t wearing a ring and there was no telltale tan line, but he could still have a girlfriend back home, a relationship like Lily’s that’s all history and no heat. His buddies could be covering for him, pushing him to get some action. Whatever his story, insecurity and hurt blooms in my chest.

There’s no denying our bathroom-counter sex was hot. Give-up-chocolate hot. The way my body’s still buzzing, there’s no denying that.

Still, I feel like a marionette, my emotions being pushed and pulled by a man again. And I am so done. As far as I’m concerned, Kolton can go back to jerking off. For the rest of this trip, it’s just me and the girls.

I adjust my top again, smooth my skirt, and inhale through my nose, releasing my breath to the count of ten. I square my shoulders and leave the scene of the crime.

Kolton’s quiet voice drifts through a closed door, but I keep walking. I stop at the kitchen counter and wait for someone to notice me. I might as well be invisible. Lily and Sawyer are head-to-head, deep in conversation, both of them gesturing with their hands. At the other end of the couch, Nico whispers in Raven’s ear as she inches her hand up his thigh.

I clear my throat…and nada.