The Hazards of Mistletoe (Hazards #4)(8)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“Where’d you hear that name?” Winston may have been growing on me, but I didn’t want him anywhere near her. I didn’t want anyone near her.

“I’ve heard it from you. You talk in your sleep.”

“No really. Where did you hear it?”

He leaned back against the counter. “Really. She’s the same girl in that picture on your phone. She has to be.”

“What the hell? Are you stalking me or something?”

“No. You just leave your phone out all the time. You’re obsessed. How often do you jack off to that picture? Four times a week?”

More like every night. “Never. She’s just an old friend. Drop it.”

“What I’m trying to figure out is why you’re obsessing even more right now? It’s got to mean she’s here.”

I ignored him. Maybe he’d go away.

“Yes, I’m right. I bet she’s staying over where your parents are at Lionshead.”

“I told you to drop it.”

“She’s hot.”

“Shut up.”

“No really. I’ve seen the picture. I get it.”

I spun around. “Don’t even talk about her.”

“I get it.”

“What do you get?” I snapped. Winston was seriously getting on my nerves. He had no idea what he was talking about and needed to stay out of it.

“She’s underage. That’s the problem.”

“She’s not underage.”

“She looks pretty young.”

“She’s nineteen now.” Nineteen and three months and six days. Not that I was obsessed enough to know those details.

“How old was she in the picture?”

“Eighteen. Okay. She’s not a kid.” Not by age. She was only a year younger than me, but sometimes she seemed so much younger. She was so trusting of the wrong people.

“And have you done her?”

“This conversation is over. I’m going out for a run.”

“It’s dark.”

“Like that matters.” I put on my shoes and zipped up my jacket before heading out into the cold night.

I’d almost had her. I’d almost experienced what I’d craved for years. The small taste I’d had still drove me crazy a year later. I could picture every inch of that amazing body of hers, and when I let myself, I could imagine another outcome. An outcome where I’d taken what she’d offered. But I hadn’t. I’d left her better off. She’d blocked me from every social media platform imaginable so I had no idea how she’d been. I hoped she’d found someone better. Someone who deserved her.

I’d started to call her a few times, but I’d always stopped. What could I possible say? I’d destroyed our friendship that night, and a phone call wasn’t going to change that. Nothing could change it.

I pushed myself as hard as I could during my run. I needed to burn off the stress so I could face whatever this week held.

Chapter Four

Savannah

“When did you get so skinny?” Dad pulled me into a hug as soon as I entered baggage claim.

“Gee, great to see you too.” I self-consciously wrapped my Delta Mu sweatshirt tighter around me.

“I am paying for a full meal plan for you, aren’t I?” Dad was hard to read. Sometimes it was tough to tell if he was joking or not.

“I eat, Dad. I’m not too skinny, this sweatshirt is just oversized.”

“You’re skin and bones.”

I wasn’t. I wasn’t overweight, but I wasn’t under. I was in the best shape I’d been in my whole life thanks to living near the campus fitness center. “And you look fantastic. Let’s move on.”

“Hi, George. It’s great to see you.” Dalton held out his hand to Dad. He winked at me. Maybe he understood how frustrating parents could be.

“Hey, Dalton. It’s great to see you again.” Dad did that whole guy half hug thing.

Dalton stepped back after the hug. “How’s it going? I’m guessing my mom’s back at the place?”

“Yeah, we knew it would be tight to pile everyone in.”

“And you drew the short straw.”

Dad laughed. “No, I couldn’t wait to see you guys. I haven’t seen Savy in months it feels like.”

“It’s been four months. Not too bad for us.”

Dad patted my back. “Glad you’re still full of all that sunshine and rainbows.”

“That’s our plane.” I walked over to the baggage carousel that displayed our flight number. Dad had embarrassed me with the weight comment. Did he have to say it in front of Dalton?

The carousel started up, and I watched for my bag. I usually avoided checking bags when I could, but it’s hard in the winter when everything you need to wear is big and bulky. At least I hadn’t had to worry about bringing my snowboard or anything. My dad always took care of that for me.

Dalton reached around me to grab his bag. The crowd started to thin out.

“Looks like your bag didn’t make it, hun,” Dad said calmly from behind me.

“It’s here. It has to be here.” There was no way I was spending the week with only the one extra set of clothes I’d packed in my carry on.

After watching the same two bags circle around another few times I was ready to face the truth. I groaned. “I’ll go fill out the lost luggage form.”

Dad put a hand on my shoulder. “They’ll find it and bring it over. Until then I’m sure you can borrow some clothes from Laney. You’re nearly the same size.”

“I’ll wear my own.” Borrowing clothes from his girlfriend’s daughter? Not exactly ideal.

Twenty minutes later we were finally getting into Dad’s rental car.

I gladly took the passenger seat. Sometimes it was perfectly fine to play the girl card.

“Cheer up, you’ll get your stuff.”

“I’m fine. Really.” I certainly wasn’t going to tell him what really had me in a bad mood. There was a strong likelihood that I was going to be facing Glen in just a few hours. Hopefully I could avoid seeing him alone at all.

“How were your flights?” Dad asked casually. “In the end it worked out that you both got in at the same time.”

“They went fine. It was nice getting to meet Savannah early too.” Dalton hadn’t struck me as a kiss up. Maybe he was telling the truth.

“That is nice. I think you guys are really going to have fun this week. We have some great activities planned.”