: ̗̀➛ part three of the
one for the road series
SNOWFALL / CL16
in which two childhood friends reunite. a formula one driver wants to learn how to snowboard and it just so happens that the daughter of his mum's be...
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✧ ˚ · . CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE . · ˚✧ i blew things out of proportion, now you're blue
🎶 afterglow & the last time by taylor swift
val d'isere, winter 2023
A ray of bright light startled me awake. A warm body was pressed against me, a comfortable arm slung over my waist, and yet I felt like a deer caught in headlights.
What had I done?
How could I have let this happen?
My heart pounded in my chest, my first instinct being to run. And yet, I found myself relenting—giving in to the soft puffs of breath against my neck, sending shivers up my spine. I wanted this. For a brief moment, I was seventeen again, in Sicily, with an orange blossom tree outside the window and a chilly breeze brushing past my bare legs.
I was hit by reality when the slightest view of snow falling outside slipped through the cracks of the curtains. The light filtered beautifully into Charles' hotel room, caressing the soft features of his face beside me. As carefully as I could, I pulled myself out of his warm embrace and scrambled around to find last night's clothes, scattered carelessly across the floor.
My legs ached with the memory of yesterday, my head a pounding mess and I was certain that that same mess would be reflected in my appearance if I were to look into a mirror. I didn't have time to—I needed to get out of here as soon as possible, away from Charles and his unfairly handsome features, pulling me in like an irresistible magnet.
"Arden? Where are you going?"
I whisked around, half-naked with my bundled up sweater pressed against my chest, the fabric the only thing keeping my breasts from being on display. My gaze landed on Charles, sitting up straight in bed, staring at me with a sleepy and dazed gaze.
"I'm leaving," I choked out. "This was a mistake."
"What?" Charles breathed out, reaching for the blankets and throwing them off his body until he stood up, naked. He reached for his underwear, pulling them on in a swift set of movements. "Jolie, please, we can talk this through."
"Do not call me that," I snapped, my fist tightening around the satin material of my skirt where it was pulled haphazardly over my legs. It reminded me of the moment in the elevator, when his fingers had slipped below the hem and found their way between my... fuck. This wasn't how this was meant to go. I was meant to survive these three weeks and find my way back to Paris, forgetting about Charles' presence, like I had managed to do before this dreadful winter.
