Serena scampered up the snowy hill, pulling a handmade toboggan behind her. “Natie, let’s race!” she called, her breath coming out in small white puffs. The floodlights outside the house were on, casting the property in an eerie glow.
“Okay.” Nate ran after Serena. It struck him that they were twenty—actual adults—and yet all they wanted to do was act like little kids. It was like that dumb cliché: The more you change, the more you stay the same. Maybe growing up was just about becoming closer to the person you always were.
“Hey!” Nate easily caught up with Serena, wrapping his arms around her willowy, athletic frame.
Serena whirled around to face him, her blond hair whipping his face. She playfully pushed Nate so he took a lurching step backward into a snowbank.
“No mercy!” Nate yelled, pulling her down with him and wrestling her into the snow.
Serena squealed in protest as she wriggled free, making an impromptu snow angel. Clumps of snow clung to her long eyelashes.
For a second, Nate was transported back to their sophomore year, to an afternoon when they’d been goofing off in the piles of snow in his courtyard. It was the first time he’d seen Serena not as plain old Serena, his best friend since kindergarten, but as a beautiful girl. A girl he loved.
He hastily stood up, brushing the wet snow off the back of his khakis.
“Here,” he offered, holding his hand out to help Serena up.
“Thanks.” Serena got to her feet, still holding Nate’s hand. She held his gaze. The air felt thick and the world around them seemed muted.
“Nate, can you help me?” Jenny called from the bottom of the hill. They both looked up to where she was sitting on top of a toboggan, her cheeks rosy from the cold.
“Sure,” Nate said, reluctantly turning away from Serena.
“Watch out, he’s brutal!” Serena called after them, trying not to feel disappointed. When Dan had refused to come sledding, it was almost a relief. Playing in the snow had always been something she and Nate shared.
Nate grabbed the sled and tossed it halfway up the hill. He caught it and ran the last of the way, Jenny laughing and trudging behind. They both climbed on and he wrapped his arms around her small frame. “Let’s go!” he cried, pushing them toward the edge of the slope.
As they hurtled down the hill across the crisp fresh snow, Jenny felt the sting of the wind against her face. This was nothing like traying at Waverly, where everyone used the dining hall trays to slide down the teeny-tiny hill behind Dumbarton, one of the girls’ dorms. Toboggans were so much more authentic and quaint. She felt like one of the sisters in Little Women. They were always going sledding with their neighbor Laurie, who was too cute for his own good.
Sort of like a certain green-eyed Adonis we all know and love?
The sled coasted to a stop at the foot of the hill. Jenny breathed out in wonderment. Fat snowflakes circled furiously around them, and the majestic pine trees were coated in white. She felt like she was trapped in a snow globe.
“Okay.” Nate ran after Serena. It struck him that they were twenty—actual adults—and yet all they wanted to do was act like little kids. It was like that dumb cliché: The more you change, the more you stay the same. Maybe growing up was just about becoming closer to the person you always were.
“Hey!” Nate easily caught up with Serena, wrapping his arms around her willowy, athletic frame.
Serena whirled around to face him, her blond hair whipping his face. She playfully pushed Nate so he took a lurching step backward into a snowbank.
“No mercy!” Nate yelled, pulling her down with him and wrestling her into the snow.
Serena squealed in protest as she wriggled free, making an impromptu snow angel. Clumps of snow clung to her long eyelashes.
For a second, Nate was transported back to their sophomore year, to an afternoon when they’d been goofing off in the piles of snow in his courtyard. It was the first time he’d seen Serena not as plain old Serena, his best friend since kindergarten, but as a beautiful girl. A girl he loved.
He hastily stood up, brushing the wet snow off the back of his khakis.
“Here,” he offered, holding his hand out to help Serena up.
“Thanks.” Serena got to her feet, still holding Nate’s hand. She held his gaze. The air felt thick and the world around them seemed muted.
“Nate, can you help me?” Jenny called from the bottom of the hill. They both looked up to where she was sitting on top of a toboggan, her cheeks rosy from the cold.
“Sure,” Nate said, reluctantly turning away from Serena.
“Watch out, he’s brutal!” Serena called after them, trying not to feel disappointed. When Dan had refused to come sledding, it was almost a relief. Playing in the snow had always been something she and Nate shared.
Nate grabbed the sled and tossed it halfway up the hill. He caught it and ran the last of the way, Jenny laughing and trudging behind. They both climbed on and he wrapped his arms around her small frame. “Let’s go!” he cried, pushing them toward the edge of the slope.
As they hurtled down the hill across the crisp fresh snow, Jenny felt the sting of the wind against her face. This was nothing like traying at Waverly, where everyone used the dining hall trays to slide down the teeny-tiny hill behind Dumbarton, one of the girls’ dorms. Toboggans were so much more authentic and quaint. She felt like one of the sisters in Little Women. They were always going sledding with their neighbor Laurie, who was too cute for his own good.
Sort of like a certain green-eyed Adonis we all know and love?
The sled coasted to a stop at the foot of the hill. Jenny breathed out in wonderment. Fat snowflakes circled furiously around them, and the majestic pine trees were coated in white. She felt like she was trapped in a snow globe.
