Second Snowfall (Elton Hall Chronicles Book 2) Read online

“It doesn’t matter. He decides when to wear it. It’s not my fault if he is wearing it while kissing Janice. Maybe Jason wants to wear it because he likes it.”

  “Maybe he wants to wear it because he wants you to smell it when you’re kissing him?” Violet suggested while nudging me a little.

  “Since he is with Janice, I don’t think we need to worry about that,” I told her, walking across the cafeteria and setting the tray down next to Jason.

  “We don’t need to worry about what?” Jason asked, and then wiped some pizza sauce off his face. He missed some of it and I rolled my eyes. Why was he always such a mess?

  “Finding good stir fry. Annabelle was just telling me how much she missed it while on break.” Violet didn’t even pause to think of the lie.

  I took a deep breath and lightly tapped her leg under the table with my foot in gratitude. She was always quick with a response, no matter the situation. Sometimes they were dirty comments, but that made her fun. I never knew what she was going to say.

  We were talking about classes when Jason’s phone went off. It was a text from Janice. The smile faded from his face almost instantly.

  “I was hoping to hang out with Janice tonight, but she said she is driving back first thing in the morning. Her mom wants to do a family night before she comes back to school.” He fired back a response and then looked at us with a big grin. “On the bright side, she isn’t gonna sneak up on me, so I’m getting a burger.” He winked at me and then got up from the table.

  Violet and I waited until he was out of earshot to groan. “I don’t know why he stays with her. All she does is bail on him,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Comfort. They’ve been together for so long, he is probably afraid to be without her.” Violet’s voice was quiet and filled with despair. She really loved Jason as a friend, and I knew it killed her to watch Janice mistreat him. I was surprised she’d stayed silent this long. It wasn’t like her to keep her opinions to herself.

  “What should we do about it?” I asked her, watching Jason talk to a couple of guys by the grill station.

  Violet slapped at my arm to get my attention and locked eyes with me. “We do nothing! Until you’re ready to be with him for real, then you do nothing.”

  “It’s not that simple.” I didn’t know how to explain it to her. For months, Violet had been insisting there was something more between us. She claimed he stared at me with a longing he never showed Janice, but I just didn’t see it. Probably because we never really saw the way he looked at Janice since she was never around. But at the same time, I didn’t think he looked at me any differently than he looked at Violet, and I knew he wasn’t in love with her.

  What if he wasn’t actually interested in me? What if he was just being nice? He treated Violet and me the same way. He hugged her and hung out with her too. Maybe we were all just friends. He actually found Violet’s journal and chipped in, but didn’t get me anything. He paid for one of my dinners, which was nice, but it wasn’t anywhere near the thought he had for her present.

  “I know. But you can’t be responsible for breaking them up if you aren’t one hundred percent positive you want him.” Violet’s eyes were stern and all her usual jokes were long gone.

  “I want to be with him, but I’m not ready for that. What if he isn’t interested and I screw everything up?” I asked, more afraid than positive. No, I wasn’t ready for this. Jason needed to give me a sign that he was interested in me as more than a friend. I couldn’t ruin the friendship. That, and I’d never been in a relationship before. I didn’t know how to be with someone in that way and I wouldn’t want to start my first relationship as a homewrecker. What if I was a bad girlfriend and he left me to go back to Janice?

  Violet snapped her fingers in my face and then looked at me as if she was reading my soul. “But he does…”

  “No, you think he does. Has he ever said it to you? Has he come out and said, ‘Vi, I’ve got feelings for Annabelle’?”

  “No, but—”

  “Exactly. You two are my best friends, and I’m not screwing that up on ifs. What if he doesn’t like me and things get awkward? Then you’ll be in the middle and I’ll lose my best friend and you will probably lose a best friend and then we all can’t hang out. I don’t want to screw up what we have. Besides, I’m no homewrecker. If he liked me enough, he’d leave her. I think that’s the biggest clue here. He’s still with her.”

  She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something further, but then went back to her pasta. I was glad she didn’t press me or insist on talking about it more. She was crazy persuasive and it would only be a matter of time before she talked me into doing something.

  Jason came back a few minutes later with a new guy and my mouth went dry. He was gorgeous. His eyes were hazel and they were framed by dark, long lashes. It should be illegal for a man to have such beautiful lashes. I forced myself to look at the rest of him. His straight brown hair was cropped short and his creamy skin held a natural tan. But it was his fierce cheek and jaw bones that grabbed my attention. They were prominent and utterly manly.

  He slid his jacket off before sitting down and I almost choked on my soda. His arm muscles were bulging and I knew I was gaping. Normally, lean muscle was my favorite, but his thick, defined form was so overwhelming and hot that I decided I could make an exception for him. In fact, I wanted to make a whole lot of exceptions for him.

  “This is Kingsley,” Jason introduced us.

  “Kingsley? That’s an interesting name. Where did your parents come up with it?” Violet asked him as she gave him a little wave.

  “My name is Thomas Kingsley III. I played sports forever and they always call you by your last name. Eventually, I just decided to start using it since my mom was tired of yelling for Tom and having two people answer. If my grandpa is there, it’s even worse.” He smiled, revealing a set of perfectly straight and white teeth. They glistened like a toothpaste commercial.

  “Kingsley moved in across the hall after he had some problems with his roommate last semester,” Jason told us.

  “Yeah, he was just super jealous of me and things got hostile. But I didn’t want to force him to move, so I was the bigger person and just changed rooms,” Kingsley explained, and then took a bite of his burger. “Shit, they made it wrong again. I only like it medium well and there is way too much pink in this burger. I’ll be back.” Kingsley grabbed his tray and walked back to the grill station.

  “Well, he’s a little prissy.” Violet snorted.

  “Kind of. I heard he hooked up with his roommate’s girlfriend and that’s why he moved out,” Jason informed us.

  “Maybe he didn’t know,” I said, remembering Kenny. I was the other woman with him and had no idea. It still upset me that I had been used like that. Maybe he was in the same position. I just met the guy, so it seemed wrong to just assume the worst.

  “I feel like he probably knew,” Jason stated.

  “But you don’t know that, right?” I asked him.

  “No, I don’t know that. It’s just a rumor,” he confirmed.

  “Well, people were saying crappy things about me after the Kenny thing blew up and that was a nasty rumor too. I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt.” I glanced at Kingsley, smiling. I kind of admired how he went back to talk to the cooks. I never had the courage to do it, which meant sometimes I didn’t enjoy my meal.

  Jason turned his head and followed my glance. “Don’t tell me, you think he’s hot.”

  “I sure as hell do,” Violet responded, letting out a low whistle.

  I laughed with her and Jason rolled his eyes.

  “Well, obviously, he’s buff,” I added, still looking at him. Kingsley took that moment to turn around and made eye contact with me. I quickly looked down, but not before I noticed the giant grin that spread out on his face. He’d caught me but it looked like he didn’t mind. Feeling brave for whatever reason, I risked a look at him again and he was still smiling in my direct
ion as he placed his new burger on his tray.

  “Looks aren’t everything,” Jason tried to remind me.

  “No, but they don’t hurt,” I stated, excited he was walking back toward us. I gave him a little wave, like Violet had done, and he gave me a nod, sending shivers of excitement through me. Kingsley sat down next to me and handed me a chocolate chip cookie.

  “I grabbed myself one and they were having a deal. Do you want the other one?”

  “Thanks, I love sweets. They’re kind of my weakness.”

  “Mine too,” he said, but his smile was gone. Instead, he gave me a very different look. I didn’t know how to label it, hell, I wasn’t even sure if another guy had ever looked at me that way. All I knew was that I hoped he wouldn’t look away.

  Chapter 2

  We were just leaving the cafeteria when Kingsley stopped us.

  “Hey, so what are you guys doing tonight? I heard there is an awesome mini golf place not far from here. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m pretty amazing at it.” He reached out and put his arm around my shoulders. “We could double date.”

  I bit my lip to try to keep it together. He’d said date.

  Violet’s hand flew up in the air and she shook her head. “Hold up there, buddy. Jason and I aren’t together. But mini golf sounds fun. Maybe we could just make it a group thing.”

  “Sounds good. What do you think, babe?” Kingsley looked down at me and raised his eyebrows expectantly. He already knew my answer.

  “I’d love to,” I replied, and looked down. He called me babe. No one had ever really given me a nickname before and I kind of liked it.

  “How about you?” he asked Jason, but kept his gaze on me.

  “As long as Annabelle isn’t on my team,” Jason said, putting extra emphasis on my name.

  “Hey, I’m actually really good at mini golf!” I was. We played a lot when I was younger. My family had a beach house and we would spend weeks there. There was this mini golf place within walking distance. Sometimes my brother and I would sneak there just to get away from our overprotective mother. Of course, she always knew where to find us, so our reprieve wasn’t long.

  “Whatever you say. You can just crush Vi and me.”

  Jason offered to drive, and at first I thought Kingsley was going to sit in the front, but he opened the back door for me and slid in next to me. I tried my hardest not to giggle in excitement as his knee brushed mine.

  Luckily, he didn’t notice me spaz because his phone rang and he turned to the window to answer it.

  “Hey, man, what’s up?” Kingsley said. “Yeah, I can switch shifts with you. I have class, but I’m sure they’ll let me out. What are they gonna say, ‘No, we don’t want you to fight fires’?” He laughed a bit and then hung up the phone. “Sorry about that.”

  “You’re a firefighter?” Violet asked from the front seat.

  “Yeah, I volunteer right now while I’m in school. My parents insisted I go to school, but when I graduate, I’m gonna do it full time.”

  I started picturing him in a firefighting uniform and definitely liked what I saw. “Wow, do you actually go into the fire?”

  “All the time. It’s pretty dangerous, but I have to look out for people. Mom would rather I go into business or law, but protecting people is my passion.” He smiled and nodded his head at me. Then Kingsley shifted and flexed his arm muscles.

  “That’s really impressive,” I said, referring more to his muscles than to his job.

  “I’m glad you think so. How about you, Violet, are you a fan of firefighters?” He leaned forward and looked at her.

  “Who isn’t? But I prefer them in my porn.”

  Jason and I laughed hysterically while Kingsley looked at us, confused. He leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, “Is she kidding?”

  I pulled it together long enough to shake my head at him. “To be honest, I’m not sure sometimes,” I said, suppressing a giggle. “She likes the shock value that comes with half the things she says but it wouldn’t surprise me if she had a crazy porn collection.”

  “I like my girls a little more subdued.”

  “Good to know.” I was definitely more subdued than Violet, though that was not hard.

  We pulled into the mini golf parking lot and climbed out of the car. As we entered the bright red brick building, Kingsley stopped me while Violet and Jason went to the register to pay.

  “So, this is really embarrassing, but I forgot my wallet. Do you mind paying for me? I’ll get you next time.” Kingsley placed his hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. “I really want to do this with you and I’d hate to have to wait behind. You want to hang out with me, right?”

  I panicked for a second. I did want to spend the day with him. “Yeah, no problem. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Great, you’re the best, babe!” Kingsley draped his arm on my shoulder like Jason had earlier. It felt different. I still had butterflies, but they were different. With Jason, I pretty much knew I had no chance. With Kingsley, it could actually be something. I took a deep breath and tried to push the fear away. I wanted to have fun tonight so I wrapped my arm around his waist and we headed to the register.

  Once we paid, we grabbed our colored golf balls and joined Violet and Jason at the first hole.

  “Move over, ladies, let me show you how it’s done.” Kingsley stretched his arms and walked up to the tee, nearly pushing Violet out of the way. It was cute how excited he was but he probably needed to calm it down. Violet may actually beat him with her club if he tried that again.

  “Dude, ladies first. Come on, man,” Jason scoffed, and looked at Violet. They seemed to share a moment, but I didn’t understand what the big deal was. Who cared if he went first? It was just a game. It was probably just their competitive sides coming through. We had tried to go bowling as a group and the two of them were ridiculous.

  “Yeah, of course. I just figured the girls might like an example of how to line up the putt and how hard they should hit it. I’m just looking out for them. I told you, I’m good at this. I just want it to be fair for everyone.” Kingsley didn’t move from the tee.

  It was almost a straight shot to the hole, which was situated between two rocks. I probably didn’t need him to show me how to get it in, but I could let him have his moment. Who did it hurt? It wasn’t like we were in a rush or anything.

  “No, Jason, let him. I’d like to see what he can do,” I said.

  Kingsley gave Jason an “I told you so” look with raised eyebrows, a slight smirk, and a tilted head. I thought it looked cute, but Violet snorted behind us, not even bothering to cover it up with a cough. I looked over at her and rolled my eyes. She was probably just eager to play.

  Kingsley knocked the ball and it went in, hole in one. He shot his arm in the air and cheered. “There you go! That’s how it’s done.” Kingsley nodded hard and winked at me. “Come on, babe, why don’t you come over here and I’ll help you out.” He beckoned for me to join him.

  I walked to him and he stood behind me. As he placed his hands on my putter, he slightly grazed my arms and I felt a shudder of excitement flow through me. Kingsley was so close that I could feel his heart beating against my back and mine quickly synced up with his pattern. I smiled big and looked at Violet.

  She had a big grin on her face as Kingsley was giving me putting instructions. Then she turned to look at Jason and I followed her gaze. He didn’t look impressed with Kingsley’s manners. In fact, he looked pretty pissed. Well, he needed to get over it. I vowed to ignore Jason’s sour face and enjoy being this close to Kingsley.

  “Think you got it, babe?”

  “Yeah, you’re a good teacher,” I told him, even though I really hadn’t heard anything he said. I was too distracted by his strong arms draped around me.

  “Great, I’ll be right here, watching you do your thing.” Kingsley backed up and stood next to Violet, far away from Jason.

  I was about to hit the ball when Jason reached out an
d grabbed my arm. It was a different feeling. Almost as if I was being electrocuted. I wouldn’t say that I liked it, but it was kind of thrilling and it really seemed to bring me to life. It was almost like splashing water on your face in the morning to help wake up. You felt a jolt and then it calmed as you began to feel more refreshed.

  “Kingsley, get your ball, bro. If she gets a hole in one, then it won’t go in because your ball will knock it out.”

  “I know, man, but I was just giving her some space. I’ll go get it.” Kingsley rushed down to the hole and pulled his ball out. “You’re good to go.”

  I took a deep breath and tried not to focus on the fact that Kingsley was watching me and just hit the ball. I tapped it with a bit of force and sure enough, it went in. Kingsley cheered and rushed over to me. He gave me a high-five and then looked at Jason.

  “I guess it’s a good thing I showed her what to do.” Then he turned to Violet and extended his hand to her. “What about you, want some help?”

  Violet’s eye grew wide and I couldn’t tell if she was going to laugh or shut him down with a nasty comment. She shook her head for a second and then smiled sweetly.

  “That’s okay. My boyfriend and I went a couple times over winter break, so I think I’m good.” Her pleasant expression was forced, but I was glad she was leaving the extra attention to me. After all, she really did have a boyfriend. Though I was a little surprised she mentioned him. Violet usually told people she was single and not interested in dating anyone.

  “Wait, I thought you said that you and Jason weren’t a thing. Did you guys just break up?”

  “Ah, no. Jason and I were never together. My boyfriend is studying abroad in England this semester.”

  “Aren’t you afraid, being that far away from each other? Seems like a great excuse for him to cheat on you. Guys usually follow the zip code rule.”

  “What the hell is the zip code rule?” Jason asked, looking at Kingsley as if he had three heads.

  “Oh, come on, man! Everyone knows the zip code rule. If the girl you mess with is outside the zip code your girlfriend lives in, then it isn’t cheating.” Kingsley explained this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.