Your Exception

by Starr, Bria

  Angel: I’ll believe that when I see it.

  I love that she’s always so willing to go out and do something. I go out to the garage and get down the box with all my snowboarding gear. I dig through it, looking for the smallest stuff I own, stuff from when I was younger that might just fit her. I go through all my Oakley goggles and find the smallest ones, setting them aside. I look through my boards and find the shortest one. I tighten the bindings and take my time waxing it so that it will glide easily for her. We’ll have to rent her some boots because she won’t be able to fit into anything I have. I gather up all the stuff she will need and bring it into the house, setting it on my floor, then I go back out and get my stuff, setting it beside her pile.

  This is going to be fun.

  *****

  I hear her car pull in, and I race to open the front door as she’s running up with a bag stuffed full of her snow gear. The snow is really coming down now—perfect for what I have planned. She has a huge smile lighting her face with excitement, and I grab her, pulling her towards me and taking in the scent of her hair. It smells like fruity flowers. I love how tiny she is compared to me, and how easy it is to pick her up and push her against the wall as I kiss her soft lips. I love her curly brown hair that always seems to be a mess, getting in the way of those big, beautiful brown eyes of hers. I’ve always had a thing for short brunette girls, and her spunky personality is more than I could ever ask for. She can take shit and dish it out just as easily.

  She’s my perfect girl. Everything about her.

  How could I have been so stupid?

  I lead her up to my room, and she slowly looks around. It takes her a second before her eyes light up and she looks to me.

  “We’re going snowboarding?”

  “We are. There’s your pile. Get dressed so we can see what will work for you.”

  She starts digging through everything, and pulls my pants on over her long-johns before throwing her jacket over her sweatshirt. I try so hard not to laugh at her as she tries to put her thick socks on, tucking in the extra long pants as she does. She puts on her hat and gloves before holding out the goggles to me, asking for help. I put them on her, tightening them, and take a step back. I chuckle. She looks goofy, awkward, and absolutely adorable. She stands there, awaiting inspection. I take out my phone and snap a picture, saving it as my screen saver so I can see her in this moment every time I open my phone. She looks cute as shit wearing my clothes. I’d like to start taking them off of her, but I refrain myself.

  “What?” she asks, innocently.

  “Nothing. Nothing at all,” I say, shaking my head. “How does this all feel? Do you think you’ll be fine? And warm enough?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “All right, strip down and let’s get going.”

  She hastily complies. I throw all the stuff in the back of my truck and open up her door for her. She looks surprised, but grabs the handle and hops inside. I shut the door, then run around the front and slide in next to her. I can’t get over how good it feels, having her sitting in my truck with me.

  I start it, and we’re off. We make the drive down to Afton Alps, and I run around to open her door for her. Not expecting that, she opens her own door and jumps down before I get there. “You don’t need to open my door for me, Logan.”

  “Yes, I know that, but I’d like to,” I say, reaching in the back and grabbing our bags. We dress in the parking lot, grab our boards, and head in to the chalet. I pay for both of our passes for the day as well as boots for her. She insists on paying for herself, but it’s a date, and I owe her. She deserves to be taken out and paid for. She always insists on paying for half of everything so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the first time someone paid for her, or the first time someone drove her. She always seems to be the one driving everyone around and offering to give people who have been drinking too much a ride home. She’s always taking care of everyone else, and it’s time that I start taking care of her whether she likes it or not.

  We walk outside to where the instructor is giving information. I explained everything to her on the way down in detail, but a visual might be more what she needs. She listens intently on everything he says. When that mundane lesson is over, I bring her over to the rope that brings us up to the bunny hill for a practice run. She’s not afraid to try something new, that’s for sure.

  “Hold on tight and don’t let go of this rope until you’re all the way up, okay?”

  “Okay, but it’s the bunny hill. It’s not as if it’ll take very long to get up there.”

  “Just don’t let go.”

  I show her how to scoot across with one foot on the board and one foot pushing off of the snow.

  “Ready?”

  “I’m ready.”

  I grab the rope, letting it tow me up as I turn to make sure she’s on. She holds onto it as it starts to bring her up behind me, and I can see her gripping it, but her body starts to pull away. I watch her body turn as she holds on for dear life while she twists and falls on her back, still grasping onto the rope, and still being dragged up the hill. I break out in laughter. That is the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

  “Why are you laughing at me?”

  “Let go, Wren. You’re at the top. Let go,” I call to her. She instantly releases it and lies on her back. I watch her try to get up before going over and helping her.

  “Stop laughing,” she hisses.

  “I can’t help it.”

  We go down the bunny hill and back up the tow rope until she gets used to it. We try a slightly bigger hill, and when she does well on that one, after only a few spills, I take her to the chair lift. I go over how we’re going to get on and off the chair lift, and we watch several groups do it before she feels ready to give it a try. She misses the cue, and I have to practically lift her up and set her on the chair, all while making sure my ass is firmly planted. Feet dangling, I look over at her to see what she’s thinking. It’s hard to tell when those goggles are covering half of her beautiful face. The snow is falling lightly, and her hair is covered in the fresh flakes.

  She’s breathtaking.

  She must sense I’m looking at her because she turns around as best as she can and shouts, “This is fun! But I’m so nervous to get off of this. I don’t want to fall off, or miss my exit and have to go for another round.”

  “I’ll make sure you get off just fine. I promise.” She nods her head and looks up to the top of the hill. I grab her arm and ready my feet to slide off. She watches me and does the same. I start to jump off, taking her with me, and she slides right by me. She keeps going, and I realize she can’t stop. She falls back on her ass. Hard. I slide over to her.

  “Good job. If you can’t stop, you fall back on your ass. You did perfect.” I help her up. “Are you ready to go down the big one?”

  “I think so.”

  We ease our way to the edge, and I hold onto her hand as we start to descend. We start off slow, and then start to pick up speed. I let go of her gloved hand as she holds them out and bends her knees. That’s my girl.

  We’re smooth sailing until a kid cuts in front of her, throwing her off. The front of her board hits the snow and she is thrown forward, tumbling down and rolling off to the side. She’s still rolling down the hill when her body spins and she starts going head first down the hill. After making sure she is okay, I can’t help but laugh. Her arms and legs are spread eagle as she continues sliding down the hill. It’s hysterical.

  I am truly in love with this woman.

  I love her. I love everything about her. I always have, and I didn’t realize it until this very moment. I am in love, for the first time in my life. A real love. There was always something there, I could feel it, but I never knew what it was. I just wanted to have fun and live life, but I could have been doing all those things…with her. Just because I’m in love or in a committed relationship doesn’t mean the fun ends. It means I get to share it with that someone.


  Wren.

  I’m in love with Wren.

  When we eventually get to the bottom of the hill, after she had fallen five more times, I ask her if she’s hungry.

  “Yes, I’m starving.”

  After lining up our boards, we go into the cafeteria and order pizza, XXXrench fries, water, and hot chocolate. She tries to sneak ahead and pay, but I won’t let her. She can grumble about it all she wants. I bring our tray over to the table, and we sit down.

  “My legs are killing me,” she says.

  “Just wait until tomorrow. Your whole body is going to ache. You’re using muscles you’re not used to using.”

  “Thanks for the heads up. I have much to look forward to,” she says sarcastically.

  We devour our food and Wren sips longingly on her cocoa, letting it warm her cold fingers. I wonder if she knows I’m in love with her? And does she love me in return?

  “Wanna head back out?”

  “Yup,” she says, standing up. Wincing, she groans. “Oh, my legs. I sat too long.”

  “Let’s go down a couple more and then we’ll go.” She nods and we head back up.

  She gets better every time we go down, and it’s now dark out but she wants to keep going. At closing time, we go in and return her boots. As she’s taking them off, I run over and grab two more hot chocolates.

  “Oh, you’re a lifesaver,” she says, taking one of them from my hands. Beat up and most likely bruised, she trudges through the snow next to me all the way back to the truck. I help her in, and she gladly accepts my help this time. Stubborn woman. She almost immediately falls asleep and sleeps the entire way home. She still doesn’t stir as I pull into my driveway and put it in park, so I go around to her side and carefully lift her out and hold her in my arms. She wakes up when I open the front door and gently set her down.

  “My legs...”

  I smile and pick her back up, bringing her inside to my room and laying her on the bed. “Want me to run you a bath? It’ll probably help loosen up your joints.”

  “I don’t want to move.”

  “Well, you can’t sleep in that. I’ll be right back.”

  I run the water making sure it wasn’t too hot, add some Epsom salt, and go back into the room. I take her winter boots off, and then her snow-pants that she hadn’t yet removed. She sits up, and I pull her sweatshirt over her head and then remove her long-johns. She allows me to undress her until she’s in her bra and panties. Even though I’ve seen her naked before, I’m slightly uncomfortable undressing her right now, and I’m even more surprised she’s letting me. Maybe she hit her head harder than I thought. I pick her up and carry her to the bath.

  “I’m so exhausted, I can barely move.”

  “You got pretty beat up today. You took some nasty falls.”

  “I’m so embarrassed. You’re undressing me because I can’t even take my own socks off.”

  Play it off. “Wren, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen you naked, and I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last.”

  She opens her mouth in a feeble attempt to look shocked and disgusted, but her smile overtakes it. I unhook her bra, letting it fall to the ground, then remove her panties. I help her into the tub, and grab a washcloth to start washing her back. I grab my shampoo bottle and lightly lather her scalp.

  “That feels sooo good,” she moans. I rinse her hair and hold out a towel for her to climb into. “Want me to brush your hair?”

  “If you want to. I’m sure it’s a snarled mess.”

  “I don’t mind.” She sits on the tile at the end of the tub in the oversized towel, and I brush her hair. I start at the top and work my way gently to the bottom.

  “Have you ever done this before? Brushed a girl’s hair?”

  “No, I can’t say that I have. Not even my sisters’.

  “Well, thank you. For doing all this for me.”

  “You’re welcome. I don’t mind a bit.

  After her hair is neatly brushed out, I bring her into my room and help put one of my t-shirts over her head. I lead her over to my bed and she crawls inside, closing her eyes. Leaning down, I kiss her forehead; my favorite spot.

  “Thank you for today, Wren. You are so amazing.” She doesn’t answer, so I assume she’s fast asleep.

  I grab her clothes, throwing them in the washer before hopping into the shower myself. I make sure they’re out of the dryer and laid out for her before I call it a night.

  I look down at Wren asleep in my t-shirt in my bed. Yeah, I could do this for a long time. I crawl into bed and cuddle up behind her, holding on for dear life, not knowing what turn of events will happen in the morning.

  Chapter 20

  I wake up with Logan’s arm and leg both over my body.

  I’m scared to move my aching body, so I turn slightly, moving my legs a little before shooting pains go straight down to my toes. Just as I thought; they’re as bad as they were last night if not worse. I’m completely stiff.

  My mind is a mess now. Not that there’s been a time recently where it wasn’t. I don’t know what Logan wants with me. I don’t know why he asked me out on a date, and honestly, I don’t know why I accepted. I think a lot had to do with the fact that he almost died from alcohol poisoning. I was bitched out by both Cassidy and Jen for agreeing to go, and my mom certainly wasn’t happy about it either.

  Yesterday was the first actual date I’ve ever been on. Alec and I never went anywhere, and he never paid for a thing. Logan and I never went anywhere either. Don’t people go out on dates anymore?

  I feel him stir behind me and then I hear his gruff morning voice. “Morning.”

  “Morning, Logan.”

  He tightens his grip on me, and I moan.

  “I’m sorry. Does that hurt? I forgot you took some tumbles.”

  “Some? I don’t think I can move.”

  “Good. Then you can stay with me today.”

  I shake my head. “No, I can’t. I have to go home.”

  I still don’t know what this is. Even if he finally showed up for a date, and even though we had that intimate moment in the bath last night, I still don’t feel the same way about him that I used to. I’m okay with going home. I’m okay with this. The date didn’t help much for moving on, but it didn’t deter me much either. I’m finally okay.

  “Well, I’m not going to force you. Just know I want you to stay. You can lay on the couch or in bed all day, and I’ll cater to your needs.”

  “Oh really? And what’s in it for you?” I teasingly ask.

  “Just getting to spend some time with you.”

  “Logan, you’ve had ample time to spend with me whenever you wanted, and you never did.”

  He hesitates. I can feel his heart rate start to quicken a little. “I feel like it now, I guess.”

  “Well, that’s not really good enough.” I sit up slowly and slide my legs over the side of the bed. “I really had fun yesterday, and thank you for taking care of me last night. I think you went above and beyond for me, but I can’t stay here with you today. I’m sorry. I don’t want to start getting confused again. About anything.”

  “What’s there to be confused about? Why would you agree to go out on a date with me then?”

  “I guess I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I’m not expecting anything from you. I haven’t for a while now. I’m okay with that. And I’m just fine with being your friend. I promise.”

  I stand up in the cold room and walk away from his warm hold and bed, looking around for my clothes. I spot them set out on top of his dresser, and pull on my jeans as Logan gets out of bed. I watch him putting my snow stuff into my bag, but he doesn’t say anything; he looks discouraged.

  After my stuff is packed, I walk down to the front door. He takes me into his arms and holds me for a very long time before kissing me on the forehead softly and letting me go.

  I walk outside and climb through the snow to my car. On the careful drive home, I tell myself that I really need to stop
seeing him, even just as friends. I don’t want to go back to where I mentally was with him.

  I won’t let it happen.

  Cassidy is waiting for me when I get home.

  “So?”

  “Don’t worry. I didn’t sleep with him.” Well, technically I did. And he gave me a bath. That’s something I’m going to think about ten years from now and drop my head and shake it in embarrassment.

  “Did you have fun?”

  “It was fun, yes, but I crashed repeatedly and it hurts to walk. I’m as stiff as a board.”

  “Try taking a nice hot bath.” I think I’ll pass.

  “I’m just going to go hang out in my room and read.”

  “You’re okay?” she asks.

  “I’m okay.”

  “I’m glad. Jack’s having a party at his house tonight. Do you want to come with me?”

  “What time is it at?”

  “I think seven.”

  “Yeah I’ll come.” After I take a bottle of aspirin. Oofta.

  Logan will more than likely be there. Oh and Holly and Kate too, I’m sure. How fun.

  *****

  I’ve never been to Jack’s house before, and something tells me I’ll never be coming here again. We park on the curb along the street in front of Jack’s. It’s your typical cookie cutter house in a neighborhood in Westmont.

  I don’t see either Holly or Kate, but there are a couple of other groupies making their way from guy to guy until they find the one they want to hang on for the night. That’s when I spot Aaron in the kitchen with one of them glued to his side. We make eye contact, and I give a small smile and wave. We haven’t really talked much since the concert, it just kind of faded away when I realized he wasn’t the one, but he smiles and waves back.

  Cassidy grabs a drink and we go downstairs. Jack and Logan are down here shooting pool and throwing darts with a few other people. This is a bachelor pad if I’ve ever seen one. He even has an old school pinball machine.

  Logan sees me and approaches me instantly, asking if I want anything to drink. Cassidy rolls her eyes and wanders off towards Jack.

  “Sure,” I say.