I complied, and he helped me to sit up enough to lean against the couch. When the blanket across my shoulders fell to my waist, I felt him fix the blanket once more. He held the cup against my mouth to help me drink before I took the cup from his hand. He acquiesced, but sat next to me on our pile of makeshift blankets strewn all over the floor.
I took a few sips before setting the cup down on the coffee table, my blanket falling down again while I did so. This time, I squeaked out a protest in shock as I took in, for the first time, how I was dressed. Okay, I had seen all those movies, even written a few short stories, and everybody knows that when you fall into a frozen lake and somebody has to rescue you, the clothes come off. But I’m here to tell you, nobody is prepared for the shock of waking up in only your bra and underwear, knowing full well that the hot guy was the one to take them off. I just thanked my lucky stars that I had brought a razor on this trip, and that the fact that having a surprise man in the house meant I had used it recently.
“Don’t worry, I was too worried about you dying from hypothermia to really appreciate what I was doing,” Chase said, wryly. He stood quickly and walked toward the hallway. “I’ll go grab you some clothes.”
He returned a moment later and tossed me a pair of his shorts and his long-sleeved t-shirt. Lying to the side of our makeshift bed, were our wet clothes we had been wearing when I fell in the lake. He gathered up the pile and headed toward the laundry room. He kicked the door closed, giving me just enough time to convince my stiff limbs to cooperate and dress myself. I knew it was silly to crave modesty when he was literally the one who tookoffmy clothes, but I hurried anyway.
A few moments later, he took a tentative step out into the hallway, the sound of the washer humming behind him. “You good?”
“Yeah.”
I shivered slightly as I pulled the blankets back up to my shoulders, watching as he entered the living room. “I like a man who knows his way around a washing machine.”
His soft eyes met mine as he approached me once again. “Good to know.”
He settled back down on the pillows beside me, maneuvering me in one swift, hot movement so I was laying across his chest. Instant warmth seeped back into my chest and body, and I found I had no strength to resist him, even as he sucked in a breath.
“Dang girl, you still feel like ice. What happened to the fishing pole idea? Why didn’t you hold on?”
“I’m going to be honest; I didn’t think about that stupid pole for one second after I dropped through the ice.”
He chuckled lightly as he ran his hands briskly across my back. “Fair enough.”
“Why the fire?”
“Power was out when I brought you in last night. It seems to be working now.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Yup.”
“I could really go for a hot bath right about now.”
“I’d love to help get you into one.”
I held back a smile as elation surged through my senses. “Just know, if I had the strength to lift my arm, I would smack you for that.”
I sensed his smile. “That comment was almost as good.”
“Chase?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“Anytime, Blister.” A slight pause and then he added, “Penny.”
His arms pulled me tighter against him. Was that a reflex? Or did he mean to do that? We laid in contemplative silence for a few minutes before Chase added, “Will this cancel out whatever made you hate me back in the day?”
“What?”
“What made you hate me when we were kids?”
“I never hated you.”
He shifted and lifted his head up, looming above me, a challenging glint in his eyes. “Come on, Penny. Let’s have it out. You couldn’t stand me. And it made no sense, because I’m a delight.”
I couldn’t tell him. I wouldn’t. How immature would it be to actually say the words? Those stupid, childish words that have haunted my existence since the day they were uttered, so much middle school bravado behind them. They shouldn’t have meant as much as they did, but here we were. And then, they came out.