Every song ends

Chapter 4: Sleigh

I felt a warm glow on my cheeks. I was laying on the pull-out bed in my couch next to the flames of my wood burning stove. The flames licked up the wood faster than I thought it would. Many people thought it was weird that I had a wood burning stove. They thought it was old-fashioned but I liked it. It felt like camping every time I lit a match. I felt the weight shift on the bed. I looked over to see Luke, hot cocoa in hand, looking at me with big puppy dog eyes, pouting his lower lip. I smiled and excepted his drink.

"Ally. I apologize profoundly for making your hatred of the snow only deepen."

"I accept your apology. I think I deserve an ankle rub though, since your sled fiasco is the thing that messed it up in the first place." He grinned and held out his hands. I pulled my leg onto his lap. He began softly stroking my ankle where a big, grotesque-looking bruise had formed. He added a little more force and I winced as a sharp twinge of pain raced up my leg. He frowned. Then looked at me with sad eyes. He then bent down and kissed my ankle, softly, sweetly. My stomach fluttered and my lips ached to be pressed against his. He got up suddenly and walked towards my room. I heard noises coming from down the hall. "Luke, what are you doing?" I yelled. He walked back into the room holding a snow coat, a beanie, and some gloves.

"Put these on." He said as he threw them at my lap. I picked them up and gazed at him with a look of protest. "You can trust me." He said. Something in his voice made me believe his words and I slipped on the clothing items. I stood up and was immediately scooped into his arms. I giggled as he walked toward the front door. We walked outside and my heart stopped. There, in front of my apartment, was a horse-drawn sleigh. I gasped at looked at Luke's face. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning. He beamed and said "How about it, Miss Shepard?" I nodded. He walked over and set me down in the sleigh, then walked around to the other side and snuggled into me, pulling me up into the blankets. He wrapped his arm around me and sighed. "So what is there to see in the wondrous Salt Lake City?" He questioned.

"Well, there is a lovely little park just down the street that they deck out with Christmas lights every year."

"Well then, we must go there!" he cried. I looked up at him. We were snuggled so close together. He was looking off into the distance, a twinkle in his eye. His cheeks were rosy from the cold and his nose was slightly red as the wind nipped at it. He bit his lip and looked down at his feet. His hair was pushed back slightly, in a deliberately messy kind of way. He looked up at me and I looked away shyly.

"I love this time of year." I said. "Don't get me wrong, I still hate the snow with a fiery passion, but there is something about this time of year that fills me with so much hope and magic." I shivered and rubbed my hands together. Even through the gloves my hands felt the icy thick atmosphere. Luke saw my attempt to get warm and took my hands in his.

"Are you cold?" He asked. I nodded as he lifted my hands up to his mouth and blew hot air into them. His gaze never left my eyes for a second. I stared deep into those blue eyes, so deep I thought I'd fallen into them. He set my hands down and put one hand on my cheek. Despite the cold it burned hot against it. He cupped my face and drew me into him slowly. I closed my eyes and felt his lips press slightly against mine. The kiss packed heat. His lips gently opened up against mine. We moved in synchronized movements, getting closer and closer until it was just clothes between us. I pulled away and caught my breath.

"What's wrong?" He asked. There was a slight paing to his voice, like he was vaguely hurting that I pulled away.

"We can't do this Luke, I can't do this."

"I don't understand." He said. I looked up at him.

"Luke, your car will be fixed in a week and then you are going to leave, and I will be here and I don't know if I could handle that. No, I know I couldn't handle that." He stiffened up. You could cut the tension with a knife it was so prominent.

"I'm sorry Luke. You understand right?"

He looked at me with intense eyes.

"Ally. I like you. A lot. Your funny, and quirky, and sassy. You are so beautiful and you have such a kind heart. I know that I will be leaving here in a week, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the time we do have."

"And I get that Luke but, I'm not good at saying goodbye. I never have been. It would just be easier if we didn't." I looked away with tears welling in my eyes.

"Every song ends, but is that any reason to not enjoy the music."

I looked up at him. Oh man! Why did he have to be so freaking gorgeous! He was starring at me with the kind of look you think only exist in movies. Suddenly we were kissing again. Hard, slow kisses. The kind of kisses that made your every nerve tingle. Snow started to fall, but we just kept on kissing.

*************

Luke and I walked back into the apartment. I opened the door to find the 3 boys playing guitar hero. All 3 were in their boxers. I sighed. Luke put his arm around my waist and pulled me close. "Hello mates. I would like to introduce you all to my new girlfriend. I believe you know her."