Free Snowed In by Rachel Hawthorne

I’d call the hottest guy on the island. But of course, Nathalie would think that about her boyfriend.
    It suddenly occurred to me that she always referred to him as “my boyfriend.” Like he was a thing, a status symbol. Maybe he was in this small community, where there weren’t many guys to choose from.
    “Game point!” Chase yelled.
    He served the ball. The wind off the cold lake caught it and sent it out of bounds.
    All the guys groaned. The one who looked like he was about twelve ran over, grabbed the ball, and threw it to Chase. He adjusted where he stood, tried again, and got it inbounds. After a couple of 92
    volleys, it went to Josh. He spiked it.
    No one was able to move fast enough to return it. I was surprised they could move at all.
    “Game!” Chase yelled.
    “My boyfriend needs warming,” Nathalie cried, and she ran toward the players, unzipping her jacket.
    Josh turned. He saw me. He grinned. I grinned back, raised my hand—
    Nathalie leaped at him, her coat opened wide.
    Slipping his arms around her, beneath the coat, he lifted her up and kissed her.
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    Okaayyy . . . I had not expected that.
    I tried not to look surprised, shocked, stunned.
    But the truth was, I was all three. And maybe even a little hurt.
    I remembered Nathalie saying that her boyfriend could paint my room. Oh, yeah. He could do a lot of things. He was a handyman.
    “I could use some warming,” a deep voice said.
    I tore my gaze from the couple playing tonsil hockey. Chase was grinning at me like a fool.
    “That’s what coats are for,” Corey said, shoving the heavy coat she’d been holding into his arms.
    “That’s not as much fun,” he said, but he put the coat on anyway.
    “Come on, everyone, let’s go!” Nathalie shouted.
    She was walking toward us awkwardly, since Josh’s arm was around her, keeping her anchored to his side. He’d thrown on a bulky sweater and a 94
    jacket that he hadn’t bothered to zip.
    “Where are we going?” I asked.
    “To my house, to get some hot apple cider and warm up these guys,” Nathalie said.
    Josh gave me an odd look as he walked by with Nathalie. The old furrowed brow, like he was trying to figure me out. What was to figure out?
    Other than why he hadn’t told me he had a girlfriend.
    “You’re coming, right?” Chase asked.
    “Oh, sure.”
    He walked beside me as we trudged toward Nathalie’s house.
    “I hear you’ve been hanging out with my sister,” he said.
    “Not really hanging out. We went to the mall together.”
    “Like I said, hanging out. Don’t take anything she might say about me seriously, though, okay?”
    “You mean I shouldn’t take it seriously when she said you’re the best brother in the whole world?”
    “If she said that, then we’ve both dropped into an alternate universe. She’s more likely to tell you to steer clear of me. We have this whole sibling rivalry thing.”
    “But she was holding your coat.”
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    “Yeah, but I paid her to do it. So you have any sisters or brothers?”
    “Nope.”
    “Yeah, neither does Nathalie,” he said. “I think she gets lonely. I think it’s one of the reasons she hooked up with a boyfriend so fast, before anyone else had a chance to audition for the role.” It seemed an odd thing to say, until I realized that he was watching her back, more than he was watching anything else. I briefly wondered if his asking me out was to make her jealous.
    Up ahead, Nathalie laughed. Josh looked down at her and gave her a quick kiss.
    I was beginning to wish I’d stayed at home making finger sandwiches.
    Nathalie’s house was warm and cozy, but still I kept my cap and coat on. I didn’t plan to stay long. I did finally remove my gloves, but only because I wanted to wrap my bare hands around a warm mug of apple cider. I’d never had apple cider that tasted like maple syrup. Nathalie had dropped a blob of spiced butter into it. Standing at the edge of the kitchen, with my hip pressed to the counter, I