Dust of Snow (21 page)

“The kitchen might be a safe place,” I
groaned eventually, ungluing myself. “But comfortable it’s
not.”

“Ow,” Ashley agreed.

I stretched my bruised knees as we climbed
off the table. “I’m getting too old for this.”

Ashley straightened, naked and glorious, and
lifted my chin for a kiss. “No you’re really, really not,” he
murmured against my mouth. “Come on. Let’s go clean up.” Before I
could step away from him, he pulled me back and kissed me, cupping
my jaw with one hand. “It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” I blinked up at him,
fairly certain I looked like a love-struck fool, but I didn’t
care.

Ashley laughed. “You fucked my brains out,
Mr. Peck. I never would’ve guessed.”

“No?”

“Well, maybe a little. I did have this other
fantasy…”

“Do tell,” I said when he didn’t go on.

He dimpled his cheeks at me. “Later.” He led
the way to the shower, and I happily followed his naked behind.

THIRTEEN

I ENDED UP staying the entire day at Ashley’s place,
until well past midnight I realized I needed to be home to let Bill
in the next day. I also felt bad about leaving Curly alone for
another night. It wouldn’t do Ash and me any harm to be apart for a
while either. This entire thing between us was gaining momentum
like an avalanche. Not that I minded, but I didn’t want to become
too much of a good thing.

I hadn’t had much sleep over the past few
days and the sound of the doorbell far too early the next morning
was like an icepick driving through my left eye. I pried open the
right one, moaned pathetically, and when that didn’t help, I
dragged myself out of bed and into a bathrobe.

Bill cheerfully hullo’ed me, stepping inside
surrounded by a cloud of freezing air. I quickly closed the door as
he sized me up.

“Late night?”

At last my left eye unglued. “Something like
that,” I croaked.

“Let me guess, you’re never drinking
again?”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

Bill laughed. “Well, I have all the parts
except for one which is delayed, but I can get everything to work
without it for now.”

“Great. Do you, uh, need me for
anything?”

His kind eyes twinkled at me. “I’d love a cup
of coffee.”

I suppressed a groan. “I’ll bring one down,
but it might take a while. You take sugar?”

“Two please.” Bill grinned as if he knew I
wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and die a little.
He disappeared into the basement, and I went to shower and get
dressed.

Perched on the edge of the bed, I attempted
to tame the butterflies in my belly and called Ashley.

“Hey.” He sounded sleep-hoarse and I felt
jealous. “I didn’t think you’d be up this early.”

“You and me both,” I groused. “Sorry I woke
you.”

“That’s okay.” Ashley sucked in breath like
he was yawning, and I heard a strange scritching noise. “Everything
all right?”

“Yeah. I’ve got an electrician in my basement
demanding coffee.”

Ashley laughed and I grinned in response. The
sound was a real headache reliever. “Want me to go on a coffee run
for you?”

“You’re literally the best, but I can do it
myself. I just wanted to call and say hi.”

“Hi,” Ash murmured. I could hear the smile
through the phone. “What are you up to this afternoon?”

“Not much. How about you?”

“I’m seeing my parents this morning, but
after that I’ll be free.”

I grinned. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Will I see you later?”

“Can’t wait,” I said, my toes curling in the
carpet. “Bye, Ash.”

“Bye, Greg.”

My heart was still beating in overdrive when
Mother called.

“Hello, darling.”

“Mother, how are you doing? Did you get back
all right?”

I thought I sounded perfectly fine, but
apparently not. “Just now, yes. Are you coming down with a cold,
Gregory? You sound a little congested.”

Aw man. I suppressed a groan, then let it out
anyway. “I hung out with a friend last night. It got really
late.”

“Oh darling, I’m so pleased,” Mother said
with heartfelt warmth, and wasn’t that embarrassing. My own mother
proud of me for staying out late. God. “You used to go out with
friends all the time, before David. I always wondered if that
stopped because of David. Anyone special you went out with?”

“No. Yes. Maybe.” I winced.

“Well,” Mother briskly said, “I’m calling
because Valerie and I are going ice skating at the pond this
afternoon, and we’re going for hot chocolate after. It would mean a
lot to me if you could be there. Bring your friend.”

Say no
, my tired brain demanded
.
Say no!
“I’ll be there,” I promised. “But probably alone. And
after I take a nap.”

The sad sigh she gave me was more than I
could stand, so I said my good-byes and hung up.

A nap did sound about right after I’d
delivered Bill his coffee. I dragged myself up to bed, and Curly
along with me. It would end up with him in the middle of the bed
and me clinging to the edges, but such was life with a feline.

My phone chimed an hour later, and I was
still staring at Mother’s text message reminding me to be at the
pond at two, when it began to ring.

Ashley’s name lit up three times before I
answered.

“Hey,” he replied to my sleepy hello. “Did I
wake you?”

“No, my mother beat you to it. What’s
up?”

“You know how I said I had nothing going on?
I actually meant rescue me from my family, please dear God, I am
going crazy.”

I fell back into my pillow and snorted. “You
need rescuing?”

“I do. Got anything in mind?”

“Well, see, the thing is…” I told him
everything about Mother, not leaving a single revelation out, and
by the time I was done he was laughing.

“This I want to see,” he said. “So yeah, I’ll
come. I have to warn you though…”

“Yeah?” I smiled at the phone and wondered if
he could hear it.

“I can’t skate to save my life.”

I brightened even more. “That’s all right. I
can skate well enough for both of us.”

“That I
really
have to see,” Ashley
said. “Shall I pick you up?”

“If you don’t mind. See you at half past
one?”

“Perfect. Bye, Gregory.”

I grinned until my cheeks hurt. “Bye,
Ash.”

Deciding to show off a little, I dug through
all the stuff in the basement and found my hockey skates. They
dated from high school but still fit, so what the hell. Bill gave
me a quizzical look, and I was about to explain when something else
caught my eye.

All of David’s stuff was still there. I
considered the piles of boxes, then my watch. Almost noon. That
would give me two hours to load the car—if I flattened the seats I
could do it in one go—make a run to the thrift store, get ready,
pick up Ashley, and go meet Mother and the vamp who gave such
magnificent head. I laughed. No time like the present.

The urge to check what was in the boxes only
lasted very briefly. After all, I’d packed them up, so I knew it
was all his, and I really didn’t care to keep any mementos.

“I’m going out again,” I told Bill. “Just let
yourself out when you’re done.”

“Sure thing,” Bill said. “I should have the
final part in three days or so. I’ll give you call when I can come
back.”

“Thanks, Bill.”

Into the four by four the load of boxes went,
and an hour later I was back out on the road, trunk empty and heart
light. The exercise of loading and unloading the boxes had
dispersed the last of my tiredness. The whole trip felt like
freedom, like a new beginning, like something sweet lay in wait
just around the corner.

“You’re in a good mood,” Ash said when he
climbed into my truck at half past one.

“My mother’s a recently discovered lesbian,
she as good as told me about the amazing sex they’re having, and I
am going on a double date with her and her girlfriend. I’ve decided
life literally can’t get any weirder than this. So I may as well go
with it. Also, I just got rid of all David’s stuff.” I glanced at
Ashley as I pulled away from the curb. He faced the window. “What’s
wrong?”

“Can you pull over?”

“What?”

“Pull over, please.”

Irrationally, my palms began to sweat and the
back of my neck prickled. What had I done wrong? Had I said
something? Was he going to get out and leave? I pulled over and
left the engine idling, turning toward him in utter confusion. I
wasn’t expecting him to lay his mouth on mine, so it was a complete
surprise when he kissed me so sweetly my brain short-circuited as
completely as my fuse box had.

“Oh,” I said, when he pulled away, checked my
pupils by the looks of things—for brain damage maybe—and then
pressed his lips to mine again briefly. This time I noticed he
tasted like lip balm and peppermint, and I sat there staring at him
like a loon.

“We’ll be late,” he said, eyes twinkling.

“Late?” I leaned over and kissed him.
Something about doing this in broad daylight, outside in the car
where anyone could see us made my blood froth in my veins. “Late
for what?”

He laughed. “How badly do you want your
mother to like me?”

“Oh, right.” I sank in my seat and shoved the
gearstick in drive. “Onwards and upwards.”

We drove in silence for the rest of the way,
and I wondered if my heart was the only one doing an accelerated
gallop, or if his was racing merrily along.

The Rochester municipal park was a neat,
manmade, trimmed-to-death little thing. In summer it had a
designated duck-feeding area, two large playgrounds for kids, a
winding asphalt path hugging a shallow, slow-moving little river,
and a designated picnic area complete with barbecue grills and
bathrooms. Not a blade of grass would be out of place, no daisies
or dandelions would be tolerated. Now all of it had been covered
with a thick white coating of snow, the path neatly salted in
between. At the entrance of the park lay an almost perfectly round
pond, and if hard frost held on for a minimum of ten days, the
surface was evened out, little stalls were erected around the
edges, and the general public was allowed to strap on skates—their
own or slightly off-smelling rented ones—and let loose on the
ice.

Ash eyed my skates when I lifted them from
the trunk. “You weren’t kidding when you said you could skate.”

I shrugged. “I used to play hockey in high
school. It’s been a while, but it’ll be like riding a bike, you’ll
see.”

“Famous last words.”

Laughing, I bumped his shoulder, locked my
GMC, and set off toward the pond. “I won’t let you fall over.
Much.”

Ashley was wearing a dark-green snowboard
jacket over a pair of black, thick cargo pants. His hands were
stuffed in his pockets, and most of his face was covered by a black
scarf. He was taller than I was, the heavy winter clothes gave him
a more impressive breadth, and I felt a jolt of arousal zing down
my spine.

We rented a pair of skates for him, headed
over toward the benches, and began to strap ourselves in. Ashley
struggled a little with his laces, and I yanked the gloves I’d put
on off again with my teeth.

“Here, let me.” I knelt down and quickly tied
him in. “Rotate your ankle. How does that feel? Too tight? Or not
tight enough?”

I looked up. Ashley was staring at me. His
breath came in fast little puffs of cloud. “I have no idea,” he
admitted, and I laughed.

“We can redo them if they don’t feel right.”
I stood up while he dug around his pockets for a hat and I scanned
the ice. I thought I saw a flash of someone who could be Mother,
but I wasn’t sure.

“Shit.” Ashley stood.

“What is it?”

“I forgot my gloves.”