#MNGirl (Midwest Boys Series Book 1)

by A. M. Brooks

  Winter: Ugh! I can’t believe we have to go to school today. It snowed almost a foot overnight.

  Ariel: Great. Just what we need. More snow. ☹

  Winter: My car is almost buried. My dad is bringing me in before work. Can you get a ride?

  Ariel: Yeah, I’ll figure something out.

  “Ugh!” I fall back on my bed. That sticky ball of dread rolls back around in my stomach because I have to ask Ciaran for a ride. Since that first day, I have not ridden with him again. I usually get a ride with Winter. Matt has given me access to his vehicle, but I usually decline when going to school. Would it be easier? Yes. Do I want people to recognize Matt’s vehicles and wonder why I’m driving it? No. Thankfully, Winter has told me numerous times I’m on her way in, and she doesn’t mind giving me a ride.

  After giving myself some breathing time, I push myself out of bed. I scramble into my favorite pair of black jeans and a chunky rose gold sweater, before throwing my hair back in a high ponytail. I grab my backpack off the desk and saunter into the hallway. When my stocking feet hit the stairs, I realize the house is quieter than usual. The coffee machine is not running either, which almost heightens a state of panic in my chest.

  “Matt’s out of town.” Ciaran’s voice jumps at me from the shadows, and my heart rate increases.

  “You scared me,” I mumble, placing my hand over my heart. My brain grapples with my mind’s fight or flight instincts. “What are you doing here?” He usually is up and out of the house before I get up; yet, somehow, he barely makes it to school before the bell.

  He shrugs. “It snowed a lot. We have to take the sleds in.”

  I blink. “Say what?”

  Ciaran rolls his eyes. Rolls. His. Eyes. “Come on, Princess, your chariot awaits,” he lays the sarcasm on thick while handing me an extra-large pair of black snow pants and the snow jacket Winter had told me I needed to get before the snow fell.

  I take the items from his hands, and he takes my backpack while I put them on. As expected, the snow pants swallow me whole. Ciaran laughs. “Shit. I thought for sure those would fit.”

  “You’re like a foot taller than me,” I explain, my hand swinging wildly between us.

  “They’re mine from the seventh grade.” He laughs again.

  With my cheeks flaming, I push my arms into my coat and quickly zip it up to my chin. I feel like a bulky, uncoordinated disaster. Ciaran is trying to hide a grin. I raise my eyebrow at him, not above delivering a swift punch to his abdomen right now. Not that it would matter much. I’ve learned from a lot of heavy touching that Ciaran’s whole torso is solid muscle. I pull my lip between my teeth, wishing we didn’t have to go to school at all and could start over in my bedroom. Last night was cut way too short by my stupid mouth.

  “Let’s go.” Ciaran cuts into my daydream by handing me an all-black helmet. Sighing, I follow him out the door. Sitting on top of the snow in the driveway is a white and black snowmobile with the engine running.

  “Is this even legal? Taking a sled to school?” I ask, raising my voice that is now muffled by the helmet.

  His eyes slice to mine sharply like he thinks I’m joking. The smirk on his face confirms it probably isn’t, but we’re doing it anyway. I narrow my eyes, even though he can’t see, and follow him to my new waiting ride. He hops on first and scoots forward. Hesitantly, my hands touch his shoulders to boost myself on.

  “Hang on,” he hollers back at me. That’s all the warning I get before we lurch forward. My arms jump out and hold tightly to his middle while we glide across the snowy road, before dipping into a ditch. My stomach drops like I’m on a rollercoaster. I want to laugh and scream at the same time. Snow flies past us, and soon, we’re tailed by two other sleds. I don’t have to guess who they are. The way they’re driving, jumping over drifts, whipping their back ends, it gives them away.

  My heart drops when we get about half a block away, and Ciaran lets our sled slow down. I slam my eyes closed in denial. There is so much snow; he wouldn’t really make me get off and walk, right? He lets Silas and Kai pull past us, before turning into the parking lot. I have to take a couple of deep breaths to keep calm. My emotions jump all over the place. Instinctively, my arms clutch around Ciaran tighter, as if he could shield me from all the looks we’re about to get.

  Even with the side of my head pressed to his back, I can still make out the lines and rows of other sleds in the lot. Red ones, black ones, green ones and even a loud bright orange one. A few trucks and SUVs are there as well. Ciaran swings us around, before backing into a spot next to Kai who already has his helmet off and is shaking snow from his hair.

  “Decided to give the evil spawn a ride in today?” The darkly sarcastic comment comes from Silas. My cheeks instantly heat. Part of me wants to lash out, while another just wants to beg for forgiveness for whatever business or money his family probably lost because of my dad.

  Ciaran lifts his eyebrow but doesn’t comment. My chest automatically deflates. Guess we’re going back to being enemies today. Kai ignores everything going on, only eyeing the few stragglers still heading into the building. He’s arranged his longer hair into small top-knot. Normally, that look wouldn’t do much for me, but on Kai, it looks sinful. My thoughts automatically flash to Oaklynn. She would practically be panting if she saw him.

  “Get inside,” Ciaran’s voice interrupts my thoughts. He lifts his chin to the building, waiting for me to start walking. They’re all watching me, varying looks on their face: rage, indifference, and wait, hunger? My stomach lurches, and that’s all it takes to get my feet moving as fast as I can through the inches of snow. The farther away I walk, the louder their voices begin to get until there is only silence. A quick glance over my shoulder lets me know they’re following; they’re just keeping their distance. This should make me happy; yet, a tiny fraction of my heart cracks. I frown at the emotion and walk faster, until I’m practically running to get into the building. This gets me even more curious looks.

  We only made it three hours in before the principal calls it an early release day. The snow has continued to fall outside, and suddenly, everyone is worried about how buses and students will get home. I stand from my desk, a frown creasing my forehead, while I slip down the hall to my locker.

  “Who shit in your Fruit Loops?” Winter asks, suddenly appearing next to me.

  “I don’t think that’s something people actually say,” I reply, even though my brain isn’t really comprehending how things are working right now. How am I going to get home? Do I assume Ciaran will take me?

  “It should be,” she answers, while shrugging her shoulder.

  “Hey,” I glance at her. “How are you getting home?”

  “We’re not going home, silly.” She chuckles at my confusion. “It’s a snow day,” she says, like it’s something new I should know about.

  “Exactly, we were excused to go home,” I remind her.

  “I forget you’re so city sometimes.” She smirks. “Snow days here basically just set us up for a day of fun. A bunch of people are taking sleds up to the Ridge.”

  “What’s the Ridge?” I ask, trying to keep up with her lingo. I’m positive she’s never mentioned it before.

  “A small resort on a lake about an hour and a half from here. A couple kids’ parents have property up there,” she answers and starts handing me the snow pants and jacket from my locker. “I’m going to go get mine. Wait for me, yeah?” I nod, but she’s already taking off down the hallway.

  I quickly shove my materials in my locker and pull the snow pants and jacket on. Since we had no homework assigned today and I’m current on my project in history, I decide to leave my backpack here. I pocket my cell phone and iPod, though. The minute I shut my door, I collide against two stone hard chests covered in thick winter jackets. My head snaps up in surprise, while my eyes collide first with pale blue eyes then dart to Kai’s brown ones.

  “What are you doing?” I murmur, my head whipping around to see if
anyone is paying attention to us.

  He smirks. “We’re heading to the Ridge.”

  “I know. Winter told me about it,” I let him know, still confused by his presence here in the first place.

  Kai laughs, and Ciaran’s eyes narrow. “No, you’re leaving with us to the Ridge.”

  “Your escort is here to pick you up, Gossip Girl.” Kai leans in to tell me, before being shoved back by Ciaran, which only earns another round of laughter from Kai.

  “I promised I’d go with Winter,” I tell him, worrying my lip with my teeth. His eyes dart to my mouth, before snapping up to mine.

  “It’s covered,” he answers, before reaching out to take my arm.

  “I’ll go handle, Snow,” Kai thumps him on the back, before heading in the direction of Winter’s locker. I frown.

  Ciaran leads me out of the building to where we parked earlier today. For the first time, I notice Silas is not sulking in the background. “Where’s your other half?”

  “He had some stuff to take care of,” Ciaran states, while handing me the same helmet I wore this morning. He doesn’t offer anything else, and I don’t pry further. It’s easier to breathe around Ciaran when Silas isn’t there. I know they’re best friends, and I would never come between them. It’s not a secret, though, that Silas hates me and my family.

  By the time I’m situated on the back of the seat, Kai and Winter are finally making it over to us. Kai’s face looks tense while Winter talks animatedly beside him. I chuckle to myself. Ciaran waits for Kai to be ready before we leave. Once he gets a thumbs up, we’re fly out of the parking lot. I almost lose my balance, falling backward, before slamming forward into Ciaran’s back. My arms instantly wrap all the way around his waist this time, gripping for dear life. Our sled sways side to side while it gains the momentum needed to keep us soaring over the snow. Instead of heading in the direction of the house, Ciaran coasts through town to the main highway. Once there, he jumps into a ditch, heading north.

  Almost two hours later, my legs are shaking from being locked to the sled. The muscles in my arms burn from their frigid hold around Ciaran. I’m seriously surprised he can even breathe still, and all I want to do is lay down and sleep. When we bank through a clearing of trees, it suddenly becomes apparent why everyone decides to make this trek on days like this.

  A massive wooden cabin, surrounded by pine trees, comes into view. Behind the house is an opening that leads down to a huge lake. A few snowmobiles are racing across it, while a few people are out playing boot hockey. With the snow continuing to fall in giant fluffy flakes, the scene looks like it belongs in a snow globe or on a calendar. I’m in awe as Ciaran lifts the helmet from my head and shoves a black stocking cap on me instead.

  “Thanks.” I touch the edge of the material. I’m assuming it’s one of his since I didn’t have my own. He shrugs, before tugging on the sleeve of my jacket to follow him.

  To my surprise, Kai and Winter arrived before us. She comes bouncing through the snow to get to me. “Finally!”

  “How long have you been here?” I ask, not even remembering when they could have passed us.

  “We took the back roads.” She laughs. “Probably about fifteen minutes ago.” Her nose scrunches up.

  “The heck. Why didn’t we take the back roads?” I turn to Ciaran accusingly.

  His eyes turn to the sky before looking back at me. “Like I could drive the back roads when you’re stiffer than a corpse on the back of my sled.”

  “I’ve never ridden on one before!” I exclaim, defending myself. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

  “Not make it so the guy can’t drive in any direction but straight,” Kai chimes in. I whip around to face him. His usual playful smirk tugs at his lips.

  “You could have said something.” I look back at Ciaran whose eyes are looking off in the distance.

  “It’s over now.” He shrugs.

  We make our way, mostly in silence, down to the edge of the lake.

  “Is it thick enough?” Ciaran turns to Kai.

  “It’s damn near perfect. Get the ice castle out here in a week, and we’ll be golden,” Kai answers, while rubbing his gloved hands together.

  “Ice fishing,” Winter leans down to answer my unspoken question.

  I smile. “You’re scary when you do that.”

  “You ever been, Gossip Girl?” Kai asks me. I shake my head no. The most winter leisure my family did was booking a vacation to somewhere tropical.

  “You’ll have to go with us then,” Kai answers, at the same time Ciaran shoots him a look. It isn’t hard to miss the message passing between them. I most likely am not invited because Silas will have a problem with it. Instead of answering or even giving my opinion, I walk over to where Winter has walked off to chat with Jamie and Ella.

  I have a lot of fun over the next few hours we spend out here. We take breaks inside the cabin, every now and then, to stay warm. I learn that the cabin belongs to Aiden, the senior, whose house we also partied at the other weekend, while he was gone. According to Winter, his family is super rich, and they also have a home in Florida. They do not work for Matt’s company, though, so he is oblivious to the hidden families and children around him.

  The whole time we’re here, Ciaran doesn’t approach me or talk to me much. He stopped me one time on my way into the cabin to ask if I was warm enough. Once I reassured him I was, he left me alone again. When the sky is starting to turn darker, everyone starts to leave. Ciaran and Kai purposefully wait until most people leave, before they quickly usher Winter and myself to their sleds.

  “You braving it this time?” Kai jokes with Ciaran.

  “Just tell me what I’m supposed to do!” I pipe in, raising my voice.

  “Chill.” Ciaran chuckles with Kai. “You’re just too tense. You need to move with the sled. When I turn, you have to lean into it. We’re going to hit some banks but, again, just ride the movement.”

  “Yes, just ride it with your body.” Kai winks at me, grinning. I flip him off with my gloved finger.

  Ciaran and I get on, and he fires it up. Kai and Winter take off before he turns to face me. “As much as I like having your arms wrapped around me, you have to let me move. Just keep them at my side. I promise you won’t fall off.”

  His tone becomes softer and concerned, as if he can read my thoughts and fears. Unable to form words from the emotion lodged in my throat, I nod. Even though we haven’t talked much today, we also haven’t fought or exchanged hurtful words. I want to hope we’re turning a new leaf and our time together is beginning to mean something. That instead of nemeses, maybe we can turn into…frenemies. But every time I let my guard down around him, he ends up changing his mind about letting me in, leaving me with nothing except his cold shoulder.

  We make it back into town a lot faster by taking the back roads. I tried my best to follow the direction Ciaran had given me. I must have done better, since he didn’t stop us to find the main road. By the time he pulls into the garage, the sky is dark, and the snow has finally stopped. A thin blanket covers the driveway, and I wonder who was here to clear it. The house is dark, and Matt’s vehicle isn’t anywhere.

  “Matt’s not home,” I state.

  “He won’t be back until tomorrow night sometime,” Ciaran shares with me. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask where Matt is, until I realize I’ll be home alone in the house tonight with Ciaran.

  My cheeks heat, and even in the darkness, I have to turn my head away, so he can’t see. “I’m going to go inside,” I call back, before dashing up the front steps. I peel off my soaked winter gear and lay it out over the banister to dry. Taking the stairs two at a time, I duck into my room and change into sweats and a long sleeve t-shirt. My heart is racing, thinking about being alone with Ciaran. Even though he’s been in here, he leaves before Matt comes home. After that night in the bathroom, he’s been extra cautious of not being on top of me when our guardian gets here. I’m not sure how Matt would react if he
found out. The rules about dating are pretty strict. I don’t think Matt would make me leave after he promised to help my mom, but he also probably isn’t going to kick his nephew out.

  My breath blows out, while my hands tangle in my hair. Pacing, I strain to listen for Ciaran moving around the house.

  “What are you doing?” His voice startles me, practically sending me in the air.

  “Why do you have to sneak around like that?” I snap back. I didn’t hear him at all over the sound of my blood pumping in my ears.

  He shrugs. “I wasn’t sneaking.” He peels his shirt off over his head, and I’m, once again, met with his perfect torso. My eyes rake over him, heat building low in my stomach, as my core clenches in anticipation.

  “Like what you see?” His lips pull into that perfect side smile. I want to kiss that corner and drag my tongue across his bottom lip. Without shame, I nod. I do like what I see. The way his eyes blaze to life from my answer wipes away any doubts I had earlier.

  In two strides, he reaches for me, hoisting my body up against his half-naked one. With our height difference, I have to wrap my legs around his waist. Judging from the low growl in his throat, he likes my decision. He’s instantly hard, and I can feel him cradled against me.

  “Ci,” I gasp his name against his lips, right as they descend on mine. He drops me to the bed, his body following after mine. It’s on my tongue to ask him again about where we stand.

  “I don’t know,” he answers, finally addressing our conversation from last night, before pulling back, so our eyes lock. Heat, confusion, and want pass between us in the invisible current that pulls us together and pushes us apart. “I don’t know what we’re doing or what it means. I can’t give you that right now.”