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"Sounds like youat"Woodfalls is my hohtailed it out of there alraduated and never looked back," he added, sounding aggravated, although I couldn’t ier than before, as if he was trying to outdistance his sudden annoyance withafter hione for a while? It’s not like ere friends or anything before I left My own aggravation et to watch my step on the uneven snow-covered path I was practically running to keep up with hiht foot stepped into a hole that was covered in snow My ankle buckled and the forward round with a cry of pain The throbbing in hed the fact that I had fallen in front of Grant again I chanted a feords that would have made a sailor blush as I extracted my foot from the booby trap it had stepped in

Without hesitation, Grant dropped the bag he was carrying so he could kneel in front of me "Are you okay?" he asked me for the third time in two days as he wiped away a tear that rolled downankle I made a move to take it off, but Grant stoppedyouworried

"Howin the snow that was fallinga hand out to help htly, he helpedit bucked and I bit back another cry of pain

"Mother sucking of all bad luck," I grunted, hobbling on ood foot

Grant looked back the e had just coure Only I would hurt oing It’s okay I’ me up into his arms

"Wait, you can’t carry me," I squirmed

"Well, I don’t want to freezeyou liainst his chest His rock-hard chest II’ll have to get it later," he said, striding toward town

I cradledwith our stuff, but we had no choice Our phones andankle continued toto lie, his ar any conscious thought to it, I snuggled closer He responded by tightening his arer than I would care to admit since I had been held intimately like this My last relationship was a disaster to say the least We fizzled out quickly when I realized the guy I had been dating basically lied tofrom his job, where he went to school, where he lived Turns out he had dropped out of college and was still living at home while he worked odd jobs I’iven me his real nah his load of crap I’d like to sayworld had been more successful, but between Dan the Forever Crotch Grabber and Steve the Perpetual Xbox Ga-terrasp I felt like Taylor Swift Minus all theAmanda?" I asked impulsively The moment the words left my mouth I wished I could have retracted them Did I really want to know about Amanda at this ht after you left"

My pulse felt like it galloped at his words

"She uys were serious," I said, trying not to sound as excited as I felt His words gavethe way it felt to be held in his arne swirled around h senior year, this had been his scent choice Thanks to Ms Garrison’s statistics class and her insistence that we sit in alphabetical order, I had to sit behind Grant the entire year sht the te before he answered "She wanted things I couldn’t give her," he answered

Great, he had a commitment phobia "I’m sure she would have waited until you were ready"

"I was never going to be ready," he answered

Gah, cos froo deflated like a balloon I wasn’t looking for a guy who strings a girl along for four years and then drops her like a hot potato when she wants soive a person so For the first tied the bullet since Grant was never interested in ot it You’re a perpetual playboy," I finally analyzed, looking at the falling snow in front of us

"Playboy? You grew up in Woodfalls, right? I’h women there to be considered a playboy," he chuckled "Besides, Fran would have my head," he added

"How is Fran?" I asked, momentarily distracted I had fond memories of the woman ned the small store back home Where ers hung out, we had Fran’s She had alelcomed us in no matter how loud ere She made sure to have our favorite snacks on hand and allowed us to clai as we didn’t disrupt the custo about Fran was that she was never too busy to listen to any of us I lovedup, but once I hit high school, the two-year gap between our ages made it hard for me to talk to her at times Fran was the only one in Woodfalls who knew aboutout tissues and advice at the sa of Grant and told her about ht Fran was never crazy about the idea and uy in Woodfalls For months after, I would arrive at her store to find a different guy from school who Fran had somehow convinced to help her with some project she had fabricated Her plan never worked, but she deserved an A for the effort

"She’s the sae and sohts on Tressa’s friend’s dad"

"What? Brittni’s dad came back?" I asked, completely floored

"No, not Brittni Her friend Ashton"

"Ashton? Why don’t I remember her in school?"

"You wouldn’t Tressa o She caet uess I’vemy face back around to look at hi down at me intently "What?" I asked self-consciously

"You have so my face away from his I ran my hand over my nose, completely e

"Creep," Ito Woodfalls anytime soon? I," Imy face averted from his

He started to answer until we both heard a vehicle approaching in the distance Grant gently stood et the driver’s attention