Sno Ho (7 page)

Wade came running back around the front of the car carrying two paper bags. The cool air blew back into the SUV

as he climbed in, reaching back behind me and setting the brown bags onto the back seat. I could smell the food and knew it was our dinner. I felt instantly foolish, remembering the way I'd run out of the restaurant.

"Thank you." Wade let out a sigh as he put the car in drive and pulled out onto the street.

"For what?" I asked, confused and feeling bizarrely angsty at the thought of going back to the lodge alone.

"For not driving off without me."

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Sn Ho

by Ethan Day

I laughed a little, part nerves, part amusement. "This is so stupid, I'm sorry I behaved so...jeez, one would think I've never been deceived by a man before."

"Maybe you like me more than you did those other rotten, evil bastards who totally ruined your life."

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Don't try to be cute at a time like this. I behaved like some overly melodramatic teen from an eighties sitcom..."

Wade started singing the theme song for
The Facts of Life
,

"You take the good, you take the bad..."

"Oh sure...please continue to mock me. By morning, the entire town will know what a freak I am. I'll be known as that asshole from Albuquerque who called the beloved son of Summit City a hooker." I placed my forehead into my hand.

"You're from Albuquerque?"

"I didn't tell you that?"

"No," Wade said, with a half smile.

"This is what happens when you screw first and ask questions later. You wake up one day to discover that fifty years have gone by as you sit alongside the deathbed of your lover, realizing you know nothing about the son of a bitch."

"Our first date and you're already imagining me dead?"

Wade teased.

"I may actually be forced to leave town immediately." I looked out the windshield as Wade's truck climbed the slow, incline of the road that led back up to the lodge. "It may already be too late...they're probably forming into a frothing mob in the town square as we speak...torches and pitchforks 58

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in hand, the tension slowly building until one lone asshole in the crowd screams out, 'Get him!!!' thus whipping everyone into a frenzied mob with nothing but murder and mayhem on..."

"Do you always go on like this?"

I turned around to look out the rear window of the SUV. "I swear I can already see the glow from their torches behind us." I turned and smiled at Wade as the truck came to a stop in front of the lodge and I shrugged. "I'm never dull."

"I'm sorry—had someone accused you as being such?"

Wade put the car in park and turned to face me. "Can I come in with you?"

"I don't..."

"We could still have dinner." Wade nodded toward the backseat where the wonderful smell of steak and mushrooms was wafting from.

I opened my mouth to speak and Wade cut me off. "It's not like you found out I was a serial killer."

I didn't want to go back to my little cabin alone, and at the same time, despite realizing it may very well be hazardous to my heart, I admitted to myself that I also didn't want to go back without Wade. I leaned over, struck by a sudden desire to kiss him. As his mouth opened for mine, I felt it again.

That awful, horrible pressure—the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, along with the hard on that was now beginning to grow in my pants. Our tongues slowly met and caressed one another. I savored the taste of Wade's mouth as my head continued to wage a war with my body.

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I pulled away slowly, our eyes met and I could see from the expression on his face that he knew it was a lost cause.

Round one of this battle had gone to my head.

Wade looked my face over, seeming genuinely confused after that kiss. "I feel like I may never fully understand the way your brain works."

I smiled and wondered if that was something that was truly important to him. I knew one thing for certain, I liked him a little too much for my own comfort levels, and I had no clue as to whether or not he was feeling the same. I turned away from him and opened the door. As I started to get out, I felt his hand grab my arm to stop me. I turned and Wade let go of me, reaching behind my seat and grabbing a bag.

Wade held the bag out for me. "I don't want you to go hungry."

I took the bag and let out a sigh before climbing out of the SUV. I started to shut the door and Wade asked, "Are you still coming for your lesson tomorrow?"

I smiled at the obvious eagerness behind the way he asked the question, and gave him a wink as I nodded. He opened his mouth to speak and I slammed the door to his car shut stifling any chance either of us might say something stupid and ruin it. I slowly spun around and began the long walk to my cabin, letting the bag of food swing back in forth as it dangled from my hand. As I listened to his SUV pull away I said in a sing-song tone, "I think he likes me."

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60

Sn Ho

by Ethan Day

I was standing there in my skis as Wade tried to demonstrate different techniques for turning. He'd already spent a good twenty minutes on stopping, growing frustrated as I continued to interrupt him with personal questions. I assumed he thought learning how to turn might interest me more which was why he changed topics. I hadn't learned a damn thing about skiing because all I could think about was Wade—big, strong, naked Wade. Which was why I kept trying to occupy my mind by asking him personal questions—since the skiing lesson wasn't keeping my mind away from all the slutty things I was desperate to do to him.

I turned to the class who had started their lessons yesterday around the same time I showed up for my first lesson, which hadn't gone anywhere. I was a little envious, since they were already doing stuff, like actual skiing. I tried convincing myself that they were probably advanced students, but wasn't able to quite make the appropriate leap of faith needed to fully commit to the lie.

The snow had finally stopped earlier that morning, and the sun had peeked out a bit, straining to get through the clouds.

That was the moment I felt my heart actually stop as this ray of sunlight broke through and landed onto Wade, making it seem as though he was glowing. He was so awesome he actually got his very own spotlight from the heavens above. I turned my head again, seeing the real skiers riding up in the fun-looking bucket seats of the ski lift, and chastised myself 61

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for never taking the time to ride the Sandia Peak Tramway back home.

"Will you at least pretend to pay attention?" Wade growled at me.

He was so sexy when he was angry with me. "Be honest, you've
seriously
never been in love before?"

"I take back every nice thing I've ever said about you."

Wade took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before plastering on a fake and very unconvincing, patient smile.

"Awww, you've said nice things about me?"

"I'm sure I must have." Wade shook his head. "Certainly that first night, when I picked your ass up from Staggs...I'm sure I was laying it on pretty thick."

"I don't know," I dropped one the poles in the snow and bent down slightly to try scratching my knee with my gloved hand. "I'm awfully slutty."

Wade looked up into the sky. "Thank you for that at least."

He smiled and shook his head for what had to be the hundredth time since I showed up for my lesson. "Now are you going to actually listen to me, thereby opening yourself up to actually learning something?"

"Opening myself up!" I looked at him wide eyed. "What kind of a boy do you take me for?"

Wade tossed his arms in the air, causing me to laugh at his obvious frustration. "You're hopeless!!" he yelled, loudly enough to echo around the mountains. He walked up to me and knelt down to help me out of my skis.

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I could hear some laughing and snickering coming from behind me where the other class was being taught. "I am?!?"

I asked, gushing excitedly as if I'd just been crowned Prom Queen.

"Oh lord, here we go," Wade grumbled as he helped me out of my second ski.

I turned to the other group of students behind me. "Oh my, thank you all, I've...well, I've just always dreamed of being hopeless! I simply don't know what to say..."

"We should be so lucky," Wade mumbled.

"I guess first and foremost I'd like to thank God," I continued on, without missing a beat.

Wade stood up and looked down at me like he was ready to shove me down the mountain side.

"Secondly my parents," I went on, "without their constant encouragement, telling me I could indeed be truly hopeless someday if I worked hard and wanted it badly enough."

"Is there anything I
can
say that you won't turn around and make into one of your little bits?"

I gasped and held up my hands as if he'd actually struck me. "You don't like my bits?"

Wade rolled his eyes and placed his hand on my shoulders.

"You're the most exhausting man I've ever met."

"Without my bits how will I ever get that little vein in your temple to start throbbing? It's like one of those pop-up timers on a turkey, letting me know when you're most susceptible."

"Susceptible to what?" Wade asked, letting his hands slide off my shoulders.

"My all knowing power of suggestiony mind-control...duh."

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Wade laughed and bent down to scoop up my skis and poles. "You're completely off your rocker."

As he stood back up I got up in his face, only inches away.

"Look into my eyes."

"Stop that!" Wade laughed and bobbed his head around trying to get away, taking a step back.

I pointed at his eyes with two crooked fingers. "You want to end our ski lesson early."

"You got that right."

"See! It works!" I looked at him intently again, pointing my two fingers back at him. "You also have a deep desire to massage my sore feet."

"Do I get to massage everything else?" Wade grinned.

"You cannot bargain with the power!" I looked into his eyes, thrusting my crooked fingers at him and throwing in my creepy Gollum voice. "You must do everything I say."

Wade took a few more steps back. "Cut that out, you look evil."

"You will be my willing servant."

"You're creeping me out," Wade said, turning to head toward the ski shack.

I crept toward him as he looked back at me with a concerned expression. I thrust my fingers at him again and Wade started to run away from me. "Come back!" I tried to yell in my Gollum voice, causing me to cough as I chased after him.

* * * *

Sn Ho

by Ethan Day

I was riding in the back of the cab down toward the town from the lodge. Wade once again offered to take me to dinner, and I agreed, as long as we didn't have to go back to his uncle's place. I wasn't quite ready to face that humiliation just yet. In the back of my mind I knew how silly this whole thing was. I didn't even live here, and I was behaving as if this was actually going to lead somewhere.
The dude is just a
glorified vacation trick, for the love of god.

"Wade's a really great guy," the cab driver, who'd never said more than two words to me before suddenly tossed back over the seat at me.

"Uh...I, um...sure." I had no response for this. Me and my big mouth were at a loss.

"Everyone just loves that boy." The cabby added.

"He's pretty darn great." I smiled back.

"I think we'd all like to see him settled down and happy."

What in the name of hell was this? Did this happen to all of Wade's 'guys'?

"I only mentioned it because we all think you're different."

"It's good to know I have...everyone's stamp of approval,"

I said, half joking.

"Well I wouldn't go that far," he warned as the cab pulled up to the curb. Wade was once again standing there looking like a big chunk of heaven. "But you certainly have people rooting for you."

I pulled out my wallet and took out a twenty.

"This one was on me." The man said.

"Consider it a tip, then?" I asked holding it over the seat for him.

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He took the money and smiled, putting up a finger to his lips as if to say—keep this little conversation on the DL.

Wade opened the door and I got out of the cab, feeling like I'd just stepped into Bizarro-World, an alternate universe where I was now fully aware that this sleepy little mountain town did indeed have all eyes on me. Every glance, warm smile, and hello now seemed to be tinged with a hidden agenda. Wasn't this the way horror movies usually started—

the village of the damned or some such?

"You look amazing," Wade said with a big smile.

"This ole thing?" I asked in my faux girlie voice as he led the way into the diner, whose tiny bell rung as the door swung open.

I immediately plastered on a smile as I could have sworn the room got a little quieter when we walked in. My gaze darted from table to table as I tried to remember who the diners had been at his uncle's place the night before since I now feared they would all be the same ones. The town's unofficial judging committee, on site to decide if I was up to snuff for the All-American hero, beloved by all.

"Booth okay?" Wade asked as he slipped off his coat and hung it on one of the many hooks by the front door.

"Perfect." I smiled at him removing my own coat and doing the same. I followed Wade to a booth and reminded myself that 'crazy' probably wouldn't be a quality they appreciated much in these parts and to please keep that in mind before allowing myself a repeat performance of the night before.

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I slid into the seat across from him and he placed a hand over mine on the table and squeezed, tossing me a wink.