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They stood in the Minneapolis Saint Paul airport, and Athena watched the movement of travelers across the space, although it wasn’t terribly busy. Having just claimed their luggage, Bobby turned his attention to Athena. Disbelief bled into his expression as he muttered something under his breath that she couldn’t quite make out, but he held out his handt to take her luggage just the same.
“Let me get that for you.”
“I am perfectly capable of carrying my own luggage,” Athena pointed out as he took it from her, though she didn’t argue the point further.
“And your coat?” Bobby said slowly, as he glanced at her attire. She adjusted the collar at the mention, narrowing her eyes at him.
“I’m wearing it.”
“You’re wearing a jacket.” The correction caused her to scowl. “How exactly did you picture the weather in Minnesota during February?”
“I don’t know, Bobby,” Athena huffed out. “Chilly.”
“Chilly.” Bobby repeated softly, at war with his barely restrained laughter, and the annoying smile that he tried to fight off made his lips twitch. He placed a hand on her shoulder, guiding her to face the window where snow was falling steadily outside and Athena had to admit, at least to herself, that it looked downright blustery. “I’d say tipping more towards the frigid end of the scale.”
Athena felt his hand slip away from her shoulder, and tried to ignore the way the loss of his warmth sent a chill throughout her. They walked towards the exit with their luggage in tow.
“Hang on,” he said, stopping her just short of leaving the building. He took his coat off, slipping it over her shoulders unceremoniously. She swam in the coat, the length of it nearly reaching her ankles and she cast her sharp gaze over to him.
“I’m going to look ridiculous, Bobby.” Athena’s argument was weak, at best. Over the past few months her friendship with Bobby had grown by leaps and bounds, and he’d somehow found a way to navigate around all of her barriers, even the ones she’d believed were cemented into place.
“Ridiculously warm.” His smile turned to a full-on grin at the poor excuse of a joke, and she rolled her eyes where she stood, still being swallowed whole by his coat.
“C’mon, let’s get out of here,” he said, and Athena didn’t argue as she followed him past the glass doors, out into the biting cold of the Minnesota night.
Athena shivered in the passenger seat of the rental car, despite the coat that surrounded her. In the few minutes that they’d been out in the cold, somehow it had seeped into all of the worst of places—her toes, fingers, and nose. She leaned forward in the seat and placed her fingers in front of the vent, trying to suck up as much heat as she could.
Despite the fact that Athena felt like a damn popsicle, Bobby had walked around outside in nothing more than a fleece and he acted like that was normal.
If she didn’t know any better she’d say that he was watching her out of the corner of his eye, but surely he was completely focused on the snowy roads and she had imagined it.
“So who the hell actually wants to get married in Minnesota in—” Athena waved her arm around in an all-encompassing way, “—this.”
Bobby laughed as he stopped at a light, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. “Well, Jay was born and raised in Saint Paul so this,” he mimicked for dramatic effect, his lips tugging up into that same teasing smile as before, “is normal for him.”
“And his fiancee?”
“Is from Minneapolis.” Bobby paused for a minute before he added with an air of nostalgia to his voice. “I love my life in LA, but I do kind of miss the winters here.”
“You miss winters here?” Athena repeated, because there was no way that could be the case.
“Especially around Christmas. A green Christmas doesn’t quite ring the same for me. There should be snow outside on Christmas morning.” Athena watched the way his eyes crinkled, probably recalling some memory from Christmas past, but then his features tightened, turning more serious. That simple tic reminded Athena of the real reason that she was here with Bobby.
Although he hadn’t wanted to admit it at first, he was worried about coming back to Saint Paul and all that it could mean for his sobriety. Between that and the pitying thoughts and sad glances he’d receive, asking him how he was doing without Marcy and the kids, he honestly didn’t think he’d go through with it. He’d struggled with saying no until Athena told him he didn’t have to, that he wouldn’t have to do it alone. That she would go with him, be there for him.
“I’ll be your plus one,” she’d said, “your way out of all of those conversations.”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” he’d said.
He hadn’t, and she knew that he never would put her in that position, especially if he thought it might have made her uncomfortable.
Hanging on Bobby’s arm for a night, playing the part of his doting girlfriend—that was a sacrifice that Athena was willing to make.
Athena was drawn out of her thoughts when the car pulled to a stop.
“You alright over there?”
“I’m fine,” Athena said, shrugging her shoulders. “Just ready to get settled.” She looked around and her forehead creased when she realized that they hadn’t pulled up in front of the hotel as she assumed they had. They were parked in front of a department store.
“Bobby, what are we doing here?”
“If you’re going to survive three days in Minnesota, we need to get you a coat. And clothes.”
“I packed clothes.” She forced herself not to roll her eyes again at how ridiculous he was acting about her bringing a jacket, and not a coat.
“Have some heavy sweaters in there, do you?” Athena opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but Bobby plowed ahead, not allowing her to further argue. She wasn’t sure what she’d argue anyway, since she knew that in this particular case he was right.
“Besides, what kind of fake boyfriend would I be if I didn’t buy you at least some new clothes on our trip?”
After he loaded the final bags of their shopping trip into the backseat of the rental, Bobby rounded the car, stopping short when he saw Athena standing outside of the car. She shivered as she slipped off his coat and held it out to him. “Here.”
“Athena,” Bobby said with a shake of his head.
“Put it on, or I’m going to stand out here with no coat on until you do.” Athena gave him that matter-of-fact look that spoke volumes; more than what she was actually saying. Bobby knew that she was stubborn enough to do it, even if the Floridian blood that pumped through her veins was no match for a Minnesota winter.
Bobby took the coat before he slipped it back on, watching as Athena took her new coat out of the bag and put it on, zippering it with a noticeable shiver.
“This could’ve waited until we got back to the hotel.” Athena shrugged off his words, sliding into the passenger seat and pulling the gloves on over her hands.
“I think you overbought for a few day long trip. Do I really need all of this?” Athena moved around the contents of the bag.
“Better to be prepared,” Bobby said, “plus, you’ll be all set for your next trip to Minnesota.”
Athena laughed, shaking her head at him. “My next trip? I think you’re out of your damn mind.”
Bobby closed the car door to the sound of her laughter, then took his time to brush the snow off the car while it warmed up. He joined her inside the warm cab of the car a few minutes later, buckling his seat belt as he turned to her.
“You can’t possibly have such an opinion about Minnesota when you’ve only been in the state for a couple of hours,” he said.
“I think it is very possible,” Athena argues, rubbing her gloved hands together, as if she weren’t covered in layers to warm her up. The [ensemble] really suited her, though Bobby had to admit that he missed the way that she looked wrapped up in his coat. Even though he was the one wearing the coat now, Bobby felt like some of the warmth that surrounded his heart only a few minutes before had seeped out.
And he found himself shaking away the image of Athena walking around in his clothing.
“Well, I guess I have a few days to change your mind so our shopping trip doesn’t go to waste.”
Athena reached over for the radio dial, finding something for them to listen to for the short drive to the hotel. Bobby still couldn’t get over the fact that he was lucky enough to have a friend like her who would put her own life on hold just to make sure he was okay. She knew that this wasn’t going to be an easy trip for him, and she’d decided to make it easier—though maybe she hadn’t really thought about the logistics of what that meant.
Still. There isn’t any one else in his life that would’ve just offered to be his plus one for the entirety of the weekend. He did feel bad telling Jay that he was dating Athena, but the lie only needed to last a few days. Plus, his childhood best friend would be way too busy to spend time with them to realize that it was all an act. They were just friends playing a part.
Bobby drove through the snowy streets, shifting his gaze over to Athena a few times, where she tapped at the screen of her phone. “Everything okay back home?”
“Yeah.” Athena smiled, tapping a few more times before putting her phone away. “Just letting Michael know that the plane landed and we’re on the way to the hotel. He wants me to call once we get settled.”
“I’m sure you’ll want to talk to the kids, anyway,” Bobby said, noticing the way that a smile pulled at the corner of her mouth as he turned down the road that the hotel was located on. Bobby continued into the parking lot, seeing her smile turn into a frown.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Bobby asked, knowing that a [semi truck] could’ve fallen from the sky while he looked at Athena and he wouldn’t notice.
“The radio.” Athena reached for the knob and turned up the volume, the voice that was broadcasting over the air getting louder. Bobby focused on the voice on the radio more, as they went on to explain that there was a blizzard warning in effect for Saint Paul and the surrounding counties for the next 24 hours.
“A blizzard?” Athena said, the tone of her voice definitely pitching in a way that made it sound like the [announcer] had just advised that the world was ending in the next 24 hours.
“It’s just some snow and wind,” Bobby told her calmly, “we’ll be fine, I promise. Let’s get inside before the winds pick up too much.”
With that, Bobby flashed her a quick smile before he climbed out of the car, grabbing their luggage from the back. They made their way inside and a breeze began to pick up once they got closer to the hotel’s entrance. Athena stepped inside first and he followed just behind her.
“A blizzard, Bobby?”
“Saint Paul just wanted to give you the complete winter package.” Athena sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as they waited for the couple in front of them to get checked in at the front desk.
When it was their turn, Bobby flashed a smile at the woman who appeared to be in her early-twenties. “Reservation for Nash.” Bobby pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, then slid his driver’s license and credit card to her
“Let’s see here,” Mary, the concierge’s name according to her nametag, said. “Our [standard] room with one queen bed, right?”
“Uh, a queen bed, and a rollaway,” Bobby corrected.
“Let me check and see if we have any left.” She tapped away at her keyboard and Bobby waited patiently, glancing at Athena who stood beside him, glancing around the lobby.
Mary made a sound from the other side of the desk, then gave him an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry, Mr. Nash, but it looks like our last rollaway went with a room just a little bit ago.”
“I called ahead,” Bobby explained, sure to keep his voice even. He’d talked to someone just the day before who confirmed they did, in fact, have rollaways. “We need one because we weren’t able to get the room with two queens. I was told that you had rollaways.”
“We do have them,” she said, “we just don’t have any available right now. You can double check with us after checkout tomorrow morning, one might become available. I’m sorry for any inconvenience.” She slid the key to their room across the counter. “But I do hope you enjoy your stay.”
“But—” Bobby opened his mouth to argue, not even sure what he was going to say to her or how it would change anything. Athena set a hand gently on his arm and shook her head.
“It’ll be fine,” Athena assured him.
Bobby pressed his lips together, taking the key and thanking Mary for her help. It was going to be bad enough sleeping in the same room with Athena, but having to share the bed with her for the night? He might actually combust.
Bobby seemed to be lost in thought the entire ride up in the elevator, and Athena hadn’t said anything to break the silence between them. When the door closed behind them, he turned to look at the bed, staring at it in silence.
Athena turned to him curiously. “Bobby?”
His name being spoken was enough to pull him out of his thoughts and he turned his attention to Athena.
“You take the bed,” he said.
“And where are you going to sleep?” Athena cocked her head to the side as she studied Bobby, who was glancing around the small space.
“I’ll sleep on the chair.”
“The chair that looks like it’s about as comfortable as a folding chair? You’re going to sleep on an upholstered folding chair instead of the bed?”
“I appreciate that you’ve flown all the way out here with me, gone way above and beyond the call of friendship. I cannot ask you to share a bed with me.”
“Friends help each other out,” Athena promised. “And I’d wager that you’d do the same thing if the roles were reversed.”
Athena wanted to share a bed with Bobby though preferably under different circumstances, in a situation where they weren’t just pretending for the benefit of other people to be together. Still, she couldn’t bear the thought of him unable to sleep and waking up with a kink in his neck because he was trying to be chivalrous.
“Truly, the chair looks—” Bobby’s voice cut off for a second as he glanced at the offending object, “—comfortable.” He crossed the room and set his luggage beside it.
“That’s a lie.”
“I’m gonna go out and grab your bags from the car,” Bobby said, purposely evading the subject. He left Athena alone in the room a minute later, and she zipped open her suitcase. Then she pulled out her pajamas and the glass jars so she could do her skin care regimen before they went to bed. Or, in Bobby’s case, before chair.
She took out her phone, dialing the number that she knew by heart.
“Athena,” she heard Michael’s voice in her ear on the second ring, “how was the flight?”
“It was fine.” Athena grabbed the jars of cleanser and cream from where she’d set them on the bed, walking into the bathroom with the phone cradled against her cheek. “But it’s snowing now.”
Michael’s laugh rumbled in her ear. “You do realize you’re in Minnesota?”
“Of course I realize where I am.”
“In February?” Athena rolled her eyes before she walked back to the room, getting her clothes for the night before she slipped back into the bathroom.
“How’s Bobby?”
“He’s fine.”
Silence fell between them for a few minutes as she began to get ready for bed, that way she wouldn’t be in Bobby’s way when he returned.
“You just traveled 2000 miles with this friend for a ‘fake’ date,” Michael finally said, breaking the silence between them, and it sounded as though he’d been trying all along not to speak the words.
“Yes,” Athena drew the word out slowly, not even wanting to dissect what his tone meant.
“Does Bobby know this?”
“Michael,” Athena said impatiently, almost regretting that she’d told him the truth behind why she was traveling to Minnesota in the first place. “Of course he knows.”
“Better yet, do you know that or think you’d be there if any of it was fake?”
Athena looked at her reflection in the mirror, Michael’s words settling heavily in her chest. If she was being honest with anyone about how she really felt, she knew what the answer to that question was. As it was, Bobby hadn’t been in a relationship since he’d lost his wife, and while he had mentioned maybe putting himself back out there and making a dating profile, he hadn’t yet. Which told Athena that he wasn’t ready yet.
She wasn’t about to chase after a man who didn’t want to be chased. Besides, Athena Grant wasn’t the type of woman to do the chasing to begin with. Sure, she knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to seek it out, but she was also the kind of woman who deserved to be pursued just as much.
She sure as hell wasn’t about to tell her ex-husband all of that, regardless of how close they were.
“Are the kids around?” she asked instead.
Michael laughed on the other end of the line again. “Harry’s been waiting to talk to you. Let me get him.”
His laughter continued to ring out in her ears and she couldn’t stop the way that her mind continued to wrap around his words, playing them over in her mind. They were there as friends. She was there to help him through the weekend and that was it.
Regardless of her feelings.
Bobby barely slept. He had told Athena the chair looked comfortable the night before, which they’d both known wasn’t true. It was probably the most uncomfortable thing that he’d rested on in his entire adult life. He guessed that twenty years ago he wouldn’t have woken up feeling quite like he was 87 after trying to sleep that way, but sadly that wasn’t the case this morning.
Bobby hissed at the pain that echoed through his lower back, pushing himself up out of the chair. He had waited as long as he could, and hoped he was quiet enough not to wake Athena.
“Maybe if you hadn’t refused to sleep in the bed you wouldn’t be hobbling around like a fool.”
Well, there went that idea.
“Morning, Athena,” Bobby said, crossing the room to switch on the Keurig since she was awake as well.
“Morning, Bobby.”
Bobby waited for the coffee maker to warm up before brewing a couple cups of coffee for the two of them. Though it was a small space, it at least came with a coffee maker and when Bobby went away he was always prepared with coffee and creamer. He walked Athena’s coffee over to her as she sat up in bed and cradled the cup, a sleepy look on her face. He swallowed, trying not to focus on how badly he wouldn’t mind waking up to this sight regularly. The cup in his hands nearly slipped at the thought, so instead he brought it to his lips, deciding it was probably best to put some space between the two of them.
He walked over to the window, gently tugging the curtains open. It was impossible to see more than a few feet, the snow coming down steadily and the wind whipping outside. “Doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere this morning.”
Athena sipped at her coffee, then slid out from beneath the covers, joining Bobby in front of the window. She looked outside, wide-eyed.
“I’ve never seen snow like this,” Athena said.
“Consider it the VIP treatment.” Bobby looked down at her and smiled. He knew that she was probably hating this weather, especially since she was born and raised somewhere warm.
“Mmmh,” Athena hummed beside him. “Not sure this is exactly what I think of when I hear ‘VIP treatment’.”
“Fair enough.” Bobby chuckled, took a few more sips of his coffee, and then crossed the room to set his mug on the nightstand. “So since we can’t drive anywhere, what if we get showered and ready for the day and see if we can get in at the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast? It’s nothing fancy… but we’re going to need to eat.”
Athena agreed and a short while later they were showered and dressed, heading downstairs to the restaurant. It looked like they weren’t the only ones with that idea either, the dining room was already full and it wasn’t even 9.
“So I guess we’re going to be waiting,” Bobby concluded as he scanned over the restaurant, sending an apologetic smile in her direction.
“It’s fine, it’s not like there’s anywhere we could go even if we wanted to.” Athena sighed softly as they checked in to wait for a table.
“Bobby?” His attention shifted at the sound of his name.
“Joe?” Bobby was back in Minnesota, so it wasn’t exactly surprising that he would run into people that he knew—especially old friends and acquaintances that were also there to attend the wedding. Still, it felt a bit upending as they were waiting to be seated for breakfast.
“It’s good to see you, man. You’re looking good.” They shook hands and Joe clapped Bobby on the arm. “And who is this?”
Joe’s gaze shifted over to Athena and Bobby blamed the fact that he was still trying to stabilize himself that he’d forgotten to introduce her. Bobby opened his mouth to speak, but found that he didn’t need to.
“I’m Athena,” she said, sliding her hands casually around Bobby’s arm as she moved further into his space. “Bobby’s girlfriend.”
“O-oh—” Joe stammered for a moment. “I hadn’t realized…”
Bobby swallowed, feeling anxiety swirl in his stomach, trying to let the way Athena gently squeezed his bicep calm him. “Hadn’t realized what?” she pressed.
Joe’s mouth snapped shut, glancing between the two of them before offering an awkward smile. “I just hadn’t realized he was bringing a plus one.”
Athena made a sound of disbelief beside him.
“Joe, party of four,” the hostess called.
“It’s been really nice seeing you, Bobby,” Joe said after a minute, then turned his attention to Athena. “And meeting you, Athena. Hopefully we get the chance to catch up at the wedding if all of this clears up enough.” He motioned towards the window, where the snow continued to fall.
Once Joe had left, Bobby turned to Athena and looked down at where she still grasped his arm. “You didn’t have to do that,” Bobby said quietly.
Athena’s gaze turned away from Bobby momentarily, glancing over to Joe’s table, and her hands dropped from around Bobby’s arm, taking his hand and threading her fingers through his.
“I told you before, I’ve got your back for this trip. I meant it,” she said.
When their eyes met again, Athena was frowning and Bobby shook his head, realizing how that must have come across.
“I didn’t mean it like I didn’t believe you. I know you meant it. I guess I really expected it to be a wedding-only kind of a deal.”
“Well it’s not.” The silence that fell over them cued the end of the conversation, just as they were called to be seated.
Bobby sighed, Athena’s hand still in his despite her annoyance, hoping that he’d somehow be able to make it through breakfast without sounding like more of an ass.
With how things had gone so far this morning, Bobby knew that was pretty unlikely.
There wasn’t much that they could do after breakfast, so they headed back up to their hotel room. Bobby’s eyes had been burning, since he was so exhausted from his lack of sleep the night before. He sat down in the chair, tiredly scrubbing his hands down over his face.
He’d considered a nap, but that still felt like he was invading Athena’s space on the bed and the probability of him falling asleep in the same uncomfortable chair was unlikely.
He smelled the coffee Athena was brewing from his seat and he sat back, dropping his hands away from his face.
“You know,” Athena said as she crossed the room, stopping in front of him with a cup of coffee in her hands. “You wouldn’t be so tired if you’d have slept in the bed.”
Bobby didn’t say anything, just looked up at her with an expression that told her he wasn’t impressed with the topic.
“Here.” Athena held out the cup of coffee to him. “Figured you’d need a cup too.”
Bobby took the offered cup from here, trying not to get caught up in the way that their fingers brushed, and how it made his heart race. He felt heat creeping up the back of his neck. Athena stepped away, walking back to the coffee maker to get her own cup.
Bobby pulled himself out of the chair, walking over to the window where the wind continued to whip, which made it hard to really tell how quickly the snowfall was actually coming down. Athena stood beside him, looking at the storm outside.
“So you missed this?”
“Not blizzards exactly.” Bobby brought the cup to his lips, taking a few small sips before turning his attention to her. “But winter in general? It’s nice to have more definite seasons.”
“What is the draw of being cold all the damn time?”
“It’s not all the time and it’s hard to explain,” Bobby paused. “I feel like it’s one of those things that you have to experience to truly understand.”
“Aren’t we experiencing it now?” Athena asked, exasperation clear in her voice.
“Holed up in a hotel room?” Bobby laughed and shook his head a little, met with a disapproving look from Athena. “We’re not experiencing anything but a view from up here.”
“You want to go out? In a blizzard?”
“I don’t think…” Bobby’s voice trailed off as the lights around them, along with the television running in the background, cut off, filling the room with a weighted silence.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
The next few hours leading up to bedtime were quiet, aside from a complaint here or there. It hadn’t taken long for the chill in the room to become obvious, with the subzero temperatures outside only lending to the danger caused by the storm.
Bobby adjusted the blanket in his lap, sitting in the chair, the coolness from the floor creeping through his socks, making him feel chilled. Athena had just finished calling her family on the phone, and she turned her attention to him.
“Do not tell me that you plan to sleep—or not sleep—there again tonight,” she said dryly.
Bobby hesitated for a second, looking at Athena across the dimly lit room. “I’m not. I’m gonna try the floor.”
Athena took a breath, and it sounded a lot like she was saying a prayer. “Can you come over here so I can actually see you while we talk?” Bobby hesitated before slipping the blanket off his lap, crossing the room and sitting on the edge of the bed.
“There isn’t really much to talk about.”
“Stop being ridiculous. We’re adults. We can sleep in the same bed and the world isn’t going to end.” Athena said it like it was obvious and the only truth, but there was that little voice that rang out in the back of Bobby’s mind telling him that the world just might end if they shared the bed tonight.
Bobby didn’t say anything right away, not sure how the hell he could explain it to Athena without fully spelling out the problem to her. Sitting on her bed just as she was attempting to unwind and go to sleep didn’t seem like the right time or place to have that kind of conversation.
“Are you going to tell me what the problem is?” Athena’s voice cut through his thoughts. Bobby sighed heavily, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.
“I don’t want to… cross any lines,” Bobby explained. It was already too much that Athena had volunteered to travel clear across the country with him, then attend a wedding under the guise of his girlfriend, all in the name of being a good friend.
“If you don’t get under these covers to start getting warm in the next ten seconds I’m going to cross a line to smack you upside the head. For being impossible.”
Bobby snapped his mouth shut at her tone, deciding it was best not to argue with her about it anymore. It was clear that she’d already made up her mind and he knew that convincing Athena to do something other than what she’d already chosen to do was an impossibility.
He got up from the bed, blowing out the couple of candles that they’d been able to scrounge up. Silently, he walked back to the bed, pulling back the comforter and sheet before climbing in.
“Finally,” Athena said as she scooted down further beneath the covers, shifting onto her side. “Now we can both get some sleep.”
Bobby was definitely more comfortable than the night before, surrounded by the blanket and the comfortable mattress below, but the only thing that he could focus on was the warmth of Athena’s body next to his.
Bobby doubted that he’d get any more sleep than he did the previous night, thinking about how Athena was just a short reach away.
“Night, Bobby,” she whispered into the dark.
Bobby’s eyes fluttered closed, swallowing against the sudden thickness in his throat. “Goodnight, Athena.”
Once he was able to stop his mind from racing, Bobby was finally able to get some sleep. However, waking up to Athena sleeping in the bed beside him was more than he was prepared for. His heart thudded inside his chest and he tried not to dwell on the times that he’d pictured what these quiet, soft moments with Athena would be like.
Bobby breathed out quietly, almost afraid to do so too loudly and wake her. He lay there for a few more moments before he turned his attention away from her, feeling like he was intruding in her personal space. Even after he’d turned away from her he couldn’t ease the aching that filled his chest.
Bobby had turned off his phone early the day before, shortly after they’d lost power, in an effort to conserve his battery. He turned his phone on and once everything had loaded, he wasn’t entirely surprised to see a text from Jay, letting him know they unfortunately had to postpone the wedding. The bride’s parents, along with her maid of honor, were all stranded elsewhere, unable to make it due to the weather they were experiencing.
Sitting up in bed quietly, Bobby swung his legs over the side, staying in that position for a minute.
“Morning.” Bobby heard Athena’s voice behind him. He shifted and turned to face her, seeing that she was not sitting up beside him.
“Good Morning,” Bobby said softly, stifling a yawn behind his hand. “So, I have some news. Jay had to reschedule the wedding because of the weather—the bride’s parents and maid of honor are stranded a thousand miles away.”
“Oh.” Athena nodded her head a little. “Well, it’s better that they’re safe, and who knows when power will even be restored.”
Bobby climbed out of the bed, pulling back the curtains so they could see outside. The weather was still, the wind no longer whipping as it had been for the last day. “Well, there is a lot of snow, but it should start settling down now that they’re actually able to clear things.”
The bed creaked behind Bobby as Athena climbed off of it, crossing the room to join him. There was a certain domesticity to being here with Athena and he yearned to have her slide her arms around him, pulling him close in the quiet of the morning. Bobby tried to mentally shake the thought from his mind.
“It is pretty,” Athena said. “From in here, anyway.”
“It’s even prettier out there,” Bobby commented, feeling as though there wasn’t much out there that could compete with [the simple beauty of the snow]. Even so, Bobby knew that he couldn’t suggest it at this point, not with the frigid temperatures inside their hotel room.
There was a knock on the door and Bobby looked at Athena before he shrugged his shoulders. It was someone from the hotel, letting them know that the power should be back within the hour, and dropping off what they referred to as ‘breakfast bags’. Bobby thanked the woman on the other side of the door, then rejoined Athena.
They consumed the contents of the bags and when the power finally turned back on, they took turns in the shower before getting geared up. “I don’t know how I let you talk me into this.”
“Because there’s nowhere to go until they clear the roads. May as well take advantage of all of the snow.”
“I’m sweating,” Athena complained, which was an unfamiliar tone for her as she pulled at the collar of her coat, along with the scarf that Bobby had convinced her to wear.
“You’re from Florida, I’m sure you’re used to that.” Bobby smirked as he pulled open the front door of the lobby, letting Athena step outside first, the coldness swirling into the lobby.
Athena was quiet once they stepped outside, and surprisingly she didn’t start on her string of complaints about the terrible weather in Minnesota, though he was sure that could be coming before too long. It was obvious that she was less than excited about the chilly temperatures, but hopefully all of the snow gear that he’d purchased for her when they first arrived would help her feel comfortable.
“Okay, so I’ve seen the snow up close.” Athena turned to him, and Bobby couldn’t help but grin at the sight of her, her small frame being practically swallowed by all of the gear. “Can we go back inside now?”
Bobby shook his head. “No.”
“Then what are we supposed to do out here?”
“There’s a lot to do,” Bobby said, thinking about all of his favorite snow activities. He’d love to take her ice skating, but that wasn’t something that they could do here. “A snowball fight, building a snowman or a fort, snow angels. We could just go through the list, which means starting with the snowball fight.”
“Do you actually think I’m going to let you throw a snowball at my head?”
“At your head?” Bobby asked with a startled laugh. “Do you think I have a death wish?”
Athena stopped, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at Bobby. “Well you did insist on dragging me out here and into the snow. So you might have a death wish,” Athena reasoned.
“It would just be wrong to waste a perfectly good snow day.”
“A snow day?”
Bobby smiled as Athena seemed to weigh the words for a moment. “Yeah, a snow day. You’re stuck at home, can’t go to school… so you go out and play in the snow. Can’t really call this weekend complete until you’ve experienced your first snow day.”
“Fine,” Athena agreed hesitantly. “But if you throw anything at me you’re a dead man.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Bobby led Athena a little farther away so that they could still see the hotel clear enough, but so there was enough distance between them and the parking lot for when the plows did eventually make their way out.
“Lay down.” Athena cut her gaze up to his. Her reaction to literally everything since they’d come outside had been enough to force him into a fit of laughter. Athena stood there with an unamused expression still on her face and she remained still. Bobby shook his head then, realizing that if he was going to get her to go along with any of this he was going to have to go first.
“I know you haven’t had much sleep the last couple of days. But laying down to take a nap in the snow seems a little desperate, don’t you think?”
“Come on, Athena,” Bobby said, smiling up at her. “Lay down next to me.”
“Bobby.” He didn’t give her the chance to argue with him again, sitting up and grabbing hold of her hands, gently tugging her down into the snow with him. “Bobby!” she shrieked as fell forward, and he braced himself to catch her as she landed in the snow beside him.
Bobby shifted on his side, looking over at her beside him in the snow, noticing that she looked absolutely perfect with the brilliant white glistening around her. Athena’s beauty always took Bobby’s breath away, but it was different now with her guard down, and Bobby wished for the opportunity to see this side of her more.
“You fool!” She made a loose snowball before throwing it at him, pulling Bobby from his thoughts as he laughed.
“You were going to stand up there with your arms crossed all day if I didn’t do something.”
Athena huffed out a breath beside him before turning her attention to him. “So what was so important that I had to literally get pulled into the snow?”
“Snow angels.” Bobby didn’t explain any more, but began to make an angel beside Athena as he fanned out his arms and legs, watching Athena out of the corner of his eye as she stopped sulking beside him and began to mirror the motion.
“This seems so childish,” Athena muttered. She finally stopped the motion of creating the snow angel and lifted her head to look over at Bobby, holding her weight up on her elbows and squinting as the sun began to peek out, shimmering off of the seemingly endless snow.
He shrugged his shoulders, trying not to get too lost in observing Athena, the angel wings fading into the snow behind her only accentuating her natural beauty, and reminding him of the simplicity of the moment. The kind of moment that he’d probably never be able to have with her again.
Minnesota Athena let down those reinforced walls and Bobby didn’t have to try so hard to climb over or around them.
“That’s kind of the point,” Bobby said softly, watching as Athena’s breath puffed past her lips in the cold, but after a couple of seconds he still couldn’t tear his eyes away. Maybe it was the pretending to be a couple, sharing a room, sharing a bed; but he felt like the lines between what they were pretending to be and what they actually were became more blurred with each passing moment.
He glanced from Athena’s lips up to her eyes, and his gaze settled there for a long time, not willing to tear his eyes away and break whatever this feeling was that was building in the air between them. In that instant the realization hit that this thing that he had been feeling likely wasn’t one-sided, and continuing to ignore it affected her too.
“Bobby, what are—” Before Athena had the chance to finish her sentence, Bobby closed in the last bit of space between them, the snow crunching below as he shifted. His lips closed over hers without hesitation, with a confidence that didn’t let on how he’d been struggling with his feelings for Athena for a couple of months now.
Bobby cupped her cheek with a gloved hand, resting against the hat that Athena wore. Her lips were soft against his but just like everything else in her life, she demanded control, shifting so that Bobby was eased onto his back. Athena dropped her hand to rest against his chest, her mouth brushing against his delicately.
She pulled away a moment later, looking down into his eyes. “Is this part of the whole snow day experience?”
“Only if it’s with you,” Bobby said.
“Well,” she began, running a gloved thumb over Bobby’s cheek, “your nose is cold.”
“We can go in if you want,” Bobby told her, trying not to think about all of the things that he could do with Athena in the hotel room now that they’d somehow crossed this invisible line.
She stood up and held a hand out to him silently, helping him to get to his feet. Bobby led the way as they began the walk back towards the hotel, surprised by a sudden thwack against his back. He stilled, pivoting where he stood to see Athena packing another snow ball.
“Oh, this is war.” Bobby grinned as he bent down to grab some snow in his hands and he heard the sound of Athena’s laughter as she tried to run away, unable to remember a time when his heart had felt so full.
They only had one more night before they needed to head back to LA. Athena had showered after the rest of their snow day fun, and she couldn’t remember the last time that she’d felt so—carefree.
Athena grabbed the last of her things from the bathroom before she walked back out into the room that she shared with Bobby. She stopped abruptly halfway to the bed, eyes landing on the rollaway had appeared while she’d been showering.
“Bobby?” Athena separated out her dirty clothes and before she heard the sound of their hotel room door opening and closing.
“I was able to get one of the rollaways, since they cleared the roads and finally able to start checking people out,” Bobby explained.
“You were… able to get a rollaway,” Athena repeated.
“Yeah,” Bobby said. “It’s all made up.”
Athena sat down on the bed with a small laugh. “Can you explain to me what the rollaway is for?”
“To sleep.” Bobby said the words carefully. Athena pulled back the covers on his side of the bed and then turned her attention back to him more fully.
“You slept in the bed last night,” Athena reminded him. “Add to that the fact that you kissed me earlier today and I’m pretty sure you’ll come to the same conclusion as me.”
“Which is?”
“We’re not gonna need a rollaway, Bobby.”
Understanding dawned on Bobby and he nodded his head, stepping around the rollaway and instead climbing into the bed beside Athena. She smiled at him, soft and amused.
“This is gonna take some getting used,” Bobby chuckled.
“And we’re going to enjoy every second of that.” Athena murmured, pecking Bobby’s lips. She’d come here with Bobby as a friend, to help him out with something that he’d been struggling with. She’d never imagine that in a matter of a few days that things could change so drastically between them. It wasn’t something that she had been able to predict happening.
Athena sighed softly, resting her head against Bobby’s chest as his fingers danced soothingly over her back. She could get used to this casual intimacy that they were beginning to discover together. She wanted to spend the next sixteen hours that they had in this place together like this.