Wicked Winters: A Collection of Winter Tales

by Lucy Smoke

  Cody chuckled again before turning to face me. "It’s alright. She was a bitch anyway.” My lips twitched. What do you know, we did have something in common. I eyed him.

  "So, where are you really headed? You can't be going home this late at night,” he pressed.

  "Library," I said with a more genuine smile this time. "I still have an exam left on Monday. Last freaking day." I thumped my head against the wall of the elevator and groaned dramatically.

  It had the effect I wanted it too. He winced with sympathy and then returned my smile. "Damn," he replied. "That's tough luck."

  “Yeah, tell me about it.” I rolled my eyes, before leaning away from the wall and nudging him. “What about you?”

  The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. We exited and circled around the front desk of the dorm lobby where a tired co-ed, with his eyes glued to his computer screen, completely ignored us.

  "I'm actually heading over there too." Cody hefted the plastic bag that I hadn’t noticed before, filled with snacks, up for me to see. "My friend, Dex, is there studying. He texted me, begging and pleading for food. So, here I go, out into the wilderness of the unknown. I'm such a brave friend."

  I laughed as he pressed his free hand to his chest and pretended to stare off into the distance with a serious expression. How had I never realized how funny he could be? I blamed Victoria. Seriously, Cody had always seemed nice enough but I’d always assumed that if he was dating someone like her then it was all just a front. Maybe not…

  Cody reached above my head and pushed open the front door. Two steps into the snow and I was already shivering. My teeth clacked together, and several globs of snow lodged into the tops of my boots.

  "Jeez!" Cody reached up to zip his jacket all the way up to his throat. "I am not walking in this." He jammed a hand in his pocket, and a second later a car at the end of the front row of the parking lot flashed its lights. He turned to me. "Do you want a ride?"

  I nodded my head so fast, I nearly gave myself whiplash. He grinned, hefting his bag up, and turned a challenging smirk my way. "Race you?"

  I took off before he even finished the word ‘you.’

  “Hey!” he called after me. “Cheater!”

  I laughed as I sprinted for his car—one of the only ones still left in the lot. My laughter hiccupped though as Cody bypassed me, his athletic legs eating up the distance in record time. Panting, I slammed into the passenger side of the car, fingers scrambling for the door handle just as he slid into the driver’s sat. I shook my head and laughed even louder before snapping the door open and flinging myself into his passenger seat to escape the ongoing snow. The door slammed closed behind me, leaving me in the chilled—but at least marginally warmer interior of Cody’s car.

  Cody’s bright honeyed eyes were filled with mirth and amusement as the two of us just sat there in his car and laughed. And as our laughter died down, a shiver stole over me. “You gonna turn it on?” I asked as I began to rub my gloveless hands together.

  He jerked as if he’d been shocked, eyes going wide. “Shit, yeah, sorry.” Cody leaned forward and shove the key into the ignition, cranking it on and then reaching for the heat dial. “Just hold on a sec,” he said, patting the dash. “It takes at least thirty seconds for the hot air to kick on—oh there it is.”

  I sighed in relief as the warm air blew out over my hands and face. “Thanks,” I said.

  He nodded and then his hand came down on the back of my seat and he turned back to watch behind him as he reversed out of the parking spot. My stomach tightened and I took a moment to really observe him. Cody had this dusting of freckles across the bridge of his aristocratic nose and a loose red curl that fell over his forehead. I hadn’t known him for long—and honestly, most of what I did know about him was from his relationship with Victoria. I grimaced at the thought, but even as I did, my eyes trailed downward.

  Cody shifted as he finished backing out and then put both hands on the wheel as he headed for the exit to the parking lot. Victoria had liked him for one reason and one reason only—his body. Even beneath the layers that protected him from the cold outside, I knew he had a good one. He was a football player afterall. When I’d been with the sorority, a lot of the girls had gone to the football field to do homework together. At least, that’d been the story we told everyone. In reality, we’d all gone to gawk at how fucking hot the players were—Cody included.

  “I’ve never heard you laugh so hard,” he remarked, glancing my way.

  I snapped my head away and forced my eyes to the window as a blush rose to my cheeks. “I usually only laugh when something’s actually funny.”

  He tilted his head as he paused at a stop sign and switched on his blinker before making the turn. “Do you never find anything funny?” he asked, but before I had a chance to answer, he flashed me a look. “Actually, you know what? I never see you out anymore. Not since you, and Victoria, and that sorority you were hanging with a couple of months ago broke things off.”

  “You make it sound like we were in a bad relationship—which I guess we kind of were.” I grimaced and shook my head. “I’ve just been trying to stay on top of my studies since then. I think maybe the whole sorority thing wasn’t for me anyway. I gave it a go and well, you know it didn’t end well. I’m glad I found out this year instead of four years and several yearly payments of dues down the road.”

  “There are other sororities on campus, you know,” he said, flicking his blinker on. “You could have made other friends. Every time I see you, you’re always studying alone or just with classmates—and don’t think I don’t know the difference. The people you hang out with are just classmates, not friends. You’re only ever talking about school. You have to have fun every once in a while, too, you know. That’s what college is for.”

  “I’m not really here to make friends,” I replied quietly, sinking further into the seat. “I’m here to study and get my degree. That’s the most important part.” Every word out of my mouth was a line of bullshit. The fact was, I didn’t want anyone else to get the chance to fucking hurt me again. I’d come into Winthrope with this idea that a sorority would finally give me everything I wanted. Friends. A place to belong. Happiness. But that’s not what happened. Humiliation had happened. Bullying. Cliques. And I just wasn’t into dealing with backstabbing bitches anymore. If that meant I had to be alone for the next four years, then so be it.

  I forced a laugh even as my throat grew tight. It was time to shift the subject. “Which is why I’m going to the freaking library so late and why I’m still on this God forsaken campus,” I groaned. “But of course, a little snowstorm warning won’t make the campus close or anything. I wish I could have taken this exam last week and been home already.”

  After a beat, Cody seemed to let it go. I watched his fingers clench and release on the steering wheel before he spoke again. “What exam are you studying for?” he asked.

  “American Literature.” My gaze stayed glued to the frosted windshield of the car. I didn’t know how he could even see through the ice over the glass, but as he drove us through the campus streets, the ride was as smooth as ever. Seconds passed and silence descended. “What about you?” I asked. “Do you have any more exams?”

  He shook his head, that ginger curl flipping this way and then that, bringing a smile to my face. I didn’t think he even realized he was doing it. “Nope,” he said. “I finished my last one yesterday. But Dex has one tomorrow—I think he might be in your class. I’m staying another day to give him a ride home when he gets out tomorrow.”

  “Dexter Smythe? He’s your friend?” I tried not to act surprised and from the look of amusement on his face as he glanced my way once more before returning his attention to the road, it was clear that I’d failed.

  Dexter was the only one in my American Literature class that was practically guaranteed an A. My professor, Dr. Runez, was an absolute stickler and a hard grader. If I remembered correctly, Dexter wasn’t even an English major, h
e just enjoyed stuff like Hawthorne and—I resisted the urge to shudder—Faulkner. Honestly, if I never had to read another work by William Faulkner again after this course, it would be too soon. The Sound and the Fury was where happiness and brain cells went to die.

  Either way, Dexter was a genius and my luck was looking up if he was in the library studying for the same exam as me. Hell, I bet I’d get smarter if I just breathed the same air as him—that is, if I could keep my eyes glued to my textbooks. Dex was as smart as he was hot. Though I’d had my head buried in texts for the whole of this last semester, even I knew that he had no struggles in finding female company. I’d never even sat next to him in class. I wasn’t willing to lose a hand to the other girls just for thinking of it. But I’d talked to him a few times outside of class—in the hallways, at other study sessions—he was nice.

  “Yeah, we went to the same high school,” Cody said, pulling me out of my thoughts as he turned into the library parking lot and steered into a spot near the front. The lot was nearly empty, with only a few other sporadically parked cars.

  I glanced up and noticed that, despite the cars, there only seemed to be one light shining out from the upper floors. It wasn’t surprising—everyone else had beat feet the second they could. The only reason my roommate had stayed was because there was no dick back at her parents’ place. Maybe it was mean to think that and a part of me felt slightly guilty, but I’d fallen asleep to the sounds of her high pitched gasps and low moans as she fucked some rando in the bed next to mine far too often to really let those feelings linger for too long.

  When Cody turned off the car, I turned my head and offered my hand. “Do you want me to take it to him?” I asked. No doubt he probably wanted to get back to his dorm room and start packing. “I’m probably going to ask for his help anyway while I study. You don’t even have to get out.”

  “Nah.” Cody shook his head. “I want to go in and see him anyway. Ask him what time he wants to leave after his exam tomorrow.”

  “Oh.” I pulled my hand back. “Okay.” Cody got out of the car, and I scrambled to slip my messenger bag back over my head and unbuckle my seatbelt. A second later, the passenger door opened, and I squeaked as a rush of freezing air slapped my face. Cody stood on the other side, trying to block most of the wind with his body as he smiled down at me. I blinked, kind of stunned. “You didn’t need to open my door for me,” I said.

  He shrugged. “My grandmother would smack me upside the head for not being a gentleman,” he replied, holding his palm out. “Come on, let’s go.”

  I chuckled as I reached forward and took his hand, letting him help me out. Cody slung one arm over my shoulders and held me to his side to keep the worst of the snow and wind from hitting me and together we traversed the slippery sidewalk as we hurried up to the library doors. We reached the double glass paned doors and it took several tries for both of us to grip the frozen handle and tug it open. When it didn’t immediately open, I groaned. The snow had obviously gone to my head.

  “Shit,” I cursed, reaching my freezing fingers into my pocket. “These doors are automatic. I have to slide my student ID.” As soon as my ID was in my hand, I slipped it through the card reader on the side of the wall next to the doors. There was a beep and then the door began to slide open. Without hesitation, the two of us rushed headfirst into the empty—but very warm—lobby of the library.

  I breathed in the heated air and pressed my icicle-like fingers to my face.

  “Where is everyone?” Cody asked as the door closed behind us, cutting off the wave of icy air that drifted in at our backs.

  My eyes scanned the first floor—there were rows of desks with computer monitors, several long bookshelves, a couple of conference rooms with glass windows on the far side, but no people. I shivered and crossed my arms over my chest. I opened my mouth to answer him, but another beat me to it.

  “Probably at home, or in their dorms,” a deep masculine tone said, making me jump. “It’s been like this all night. Slow. Dull. Boring.”

  I turned just as Cody called out. “Dare!” Cody strode forward and reached over the desk, clasping hands with a dark haired guy. “Man, I didn’t know you were working here.”

  Though I’d never actually talked to the guy that Cody seemed to know quite well, I knew of him. Darren Maverick. Football player. Frat boy look alike. And apparently a library assistant, by the looks of it as he was positioned behind the circulation desk.

  I shuffled on my feet as Cody and Darren grinned at each other and started talking. I bit my lip, glancing around. He was right, the whole place was deserted. Had it not been for the lights and the comfortable familiarity of the library, it might have felt a bit creepy. The doors across from the desk rattled despite the automatic engaged locks as the cold winds swirling in a mass of snowflakes and sleet slammed up against it.

  “It’s damn dark out there,” Darren was saying.

  “Yeah, you should’ve seen how bad it was just to drive across campus,” Cody agreed. “The roads are practically covered in a layer of black ice. There’s no way anyone can safely walk in that.”

  A low whistling slipped through the cracks of the door, making me shudder. I turned back to the circulation desk and debated on what to do as Cody and Darren continued to converse. I’d come to the library to study, but it would seem kind of rude to just disappear after Cody had given me a ride, wouldn’t it? I bit my lip, debating on if it would be better for me to just go now or wait to see if I could study with Dex. Then again, I did need to grab a few books before I headed to the study rooms. The library had some extra copies of the books I was supposed to be studying. I didn’t know what it was about physical copies that made things easier to learn, but I’d had to make do with electronic texts all semester; they were always cheaper.

  “Can’t believe you got stuck here so late,” Cody said. “Who’d you piss off this time?”

  Darren laughed, and the sound did something to me. Thanks to my time in the sorority with Victoria, I knew the names and faces of almost all of the football players, frat guys, and frat guy affiliates on campus. After things had gone south with the sorority and Victoria, I’d used that information to essentially avoid them all. Tonight, it seemed, all of that avoidance had come to an end. My eyes darted from Cody to him and then to the staircase that led up to the second floor.

  “I’m on work study, asshole,” Darren said in answer to Cody. “This is what happens when they like you—they trust you to run the place.”

  “I’d hate to see what they’d do if they didn’t like you,” Cody teased.

  “I was supposed to be home by now, but the actual librarian had a family emergency,” Darren confessed. “I’ve closed the library down before, so here I am—subbing in for her.”

  Cody’s head turned and he spotted me standing to the side. I gave him a small smile and his eyes widened. “Oh, shit, Jamie—sorry!” Cody turned back to Darren. “Hey, sorry ‘bout this, but I actually came to drop something off for Dex. He’s here, right? Do you know where?”

  Darren’s eyes moved from Cody to me and I stiffened as they slowly moved down my frame.

  “Yeah, he’s upstairs with Taylor,” Darren replied as he continued his perusal, placing his strong forearms on the desk and leaning forward.

  What was it about a guy’s forearms? I thought to myself. It turned women—myself included—into raving Victorian men who were turned on by the smallest of skin. Except instead of screaming “show us your ankle! show us your ankle!” we drooled at the sight of masculine forearms. My eyes trailed up his toned biceps to his broad chest, covered in a plain, black Henley under the long-sleeved, plaid shirt he wore. For some reason, most of the football players I’d seen on a regular basis in class were always dressed in workout gear—as if they lived in the gym when they weren’t on the field. Not Darren Maverick. Every time I’d seen him, he’d been dressed down like an average Joe. Jeans. Tshirts. Flannels. I’d love to see him chop wood shirtless just once.
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  Dark brows rose at me when my eyes finished their trip and landed on his face. He was no longer sizing me up, but instead he’d totally caught me doing the same to him. I jerked and hurried to look away, finding something—anything—else that I could blame my concentrated attention on. The desk? The back of his computer? The floor? The wall? Come on, come on, Jamie, think!

  “Thanks man,” Cody said, turning my way. “You coming, Jamie?”

  I grimaced. “Actually, I was kind of hoping I could um…” I glanced back at Darren and winced.

  He definitely caught me staring. Well … this was awkward, I thought with a grimace. Maybe I could find the books I wanted on my own.

  “I’m going to grab a few books and meet you up there.” I waved him away as I backed toward one of the catalogue computers.

  “Let Darren help you,” Cody said, looking at his friend. “He works here. He can probably find what you need faster, and you two can meet us upstairs.”

  Darren nodded and got up from his desk. “Of course.” He directed his piercing hazel eyes to me. “What are you looking for?”

  “Just a few books,” I said. “I can find them on my own, though. It’s no problem. I don’t want to bother you.” More like—I didn’t know how to react to being alone with a guy that was built like a real life motherfreaking adonis.

  “You’re not bothering me,” he said, rounding the desk. “It’s my job.”