Another Excerpt from Project Snowflake by Heidi Champa

Project Snowflake is loosely based on an experience a friend of mine had working at a radio station one winter. She and her co-workers got trapped several times by blizzards, leading to all kinds of interesting stories. That inspiration led me to do the same thing to Brenton and Spencer, to find out what would happen if the two of them were trapped at the television station because of a snowstorm. The following excerpt is a little bit of that interaction. Hope you enjoy it!

*_*_*

My restless mind was making it impossible to sleep. I rolled over and stared at the ceiling when I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket. When I looked at the screen, I saw Spencer’s name. The text wanted to know if I was awake. I thought of ignoring it, but instead I responded. It only took a few seconds for him to reply and ask me to come to his office.

I started to get up, but stopped myself. I thought of his words that afternoon and how much it hurt. Going to his office would only make that worse. There was nothing left to say. Then I thought about the kiss in the break room. As confusing as it all was, it’d felt so good. My mind warred with itself for a long time, but in the end, I knew which side would win out. Practicality and reason would have to take a back seat to lust on this one. There was nothing wrong with break-up sex, after all.

I tiptoed out of the room and headed for Spencer’s office. Blue light shone from the crack under the door. I stopped and closed my eyes, the voice in my head telling me to go back to the conference room. Instead, I knocked lightly, then pushed the door open. Spencer lay on his couch, headphones attached to his laptop. He sat up quickly when he saw me, shock all over his face.

“Brenton, hey. I didn’t think you’d show up. Not that I’d have blamed you for ignoring my invitation.”

I stayed close to the door, still unsure whether I should stay.

“I wasn’t sure I should come. I mean, I almost didn’t.”

“I’m glad you did,” he whispered, as he got up. I pressed my back against the door. He set his laptop aside and ran a hand through his hair.

“I couldn’t sleep. I was trying to watch a movie, but it’s not helping. You don’t mind that I texted, do you?”

I slipped my hands in my pockets and rocked onto balls of my feet, a nervous habit I hated.

“I don’t mind. I couldn’t sleep either,” I said in a whisper. I noticed the station’s promotional blanket on the floor and chuckled. “I see you found your blanket, Spencer.”

He picked it up and tossed it onto the couch before responding.

“Yeah, it was in my closet.”

We stood looking everywhere but at each other for a moment, before I decided to take a chance and ask what I wanted to know. It was late and I was still high on sugar from all the candy. Plus I had nothing to lose. He’d already dumped me, after all.

“Why did you kiss me earlier?”

His eyes dropped to the floor, and I waited for his answer.

“Well…because I really wanted to.”

I moved away from the door, expecting him to retreat, but he didn’t. I smiled, my heart racing.

“Oh. I thought after our talk earlier, we wouldn’t be doing that anymore.”

“Yeah, I mean, we shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have…”

We stopped for a moment, our eyes locked.

“But we did. And now I’m confused,” I said, as I took another step.

Spencer gave a weak laugh and moved forward.

“Yeah, I’m confused, too.”

“Maybe we should talk about it. You know, try and clear things up.”

He nodded, and we got closer still, our faces inches apart.

“That sounds smart, Brent,” he whispered, before pulling me into his arms.

“I totally agree.”

The last word was barely out of my mouth before his lips touched mine.

*_*_*

Project Snowflake by Heidi Champa is now available at Amber Allure.

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