Dashing Through the Snow (8 page)

“Forget it, Lily,” she murmured before
blowing into her cup and taking another sip of her cocoa. “Plenty
enough time to think about him later.”

Once upon a time, the town fathers had had
the brilliant idea to turn the Square into an ice skating rink in
winters, but the people had balked, preferring that things remain
as they were. They were particularly upset about the cart operators
losing their spots in the square. The rink had lasted half of that
winter season.

“I thought it was a good idea myself,” Lily
mumbled now as she continued to drink her hot chocolate. She’d felt
that the carts could have just moved closer to the outer edges, but
for some reason, that option wasn’t given much of a chance. “That’s
the only problem with this town. Too often it’s all or nothing.”
Her stomach embraced the chocolate gratefully, but Lily knew it
wouldn’t be enough. She needed to get things moving so she could
get some actual food. She looked over at the well again. Her gaze
found Sue.

“All right, Sue,” she called. “The
funicular’s calling your name.”

Chapter Seven

“We’d better hurry,” Lily said, “The next
trip down leaves in a few minutes.” They were making their way on
the other side of the Square to the funicular, Flight of the
Fancies, Sheffield-Chatham’s biggest tourist attraction.

“I’ll say it again: I just love this town!”
Sue said with pleasure as they turned the corner to an amazing
sight of what looked like a subway car of powder blue connected to
a pulley and sitting on train tracks that stretched downward about
fifteen hundred feet. There was a matching car at the bottom of the
incline, which would begin moving up as their car moved down.

“Yeah, I love this funicular thing, too,”
Lily admitted as they queued up for tickets. “It’s only about a
fifteen minute ride to Cannon Street at the bottom, but boy what a
great ride.”

“You ever been on any other funicular?”

“Umm,” Lily acknowledged as she gave the
woman behind the ticket window two dollars in exchange for their
tickets. “Angel’s Flight in Los Angeles. The family was there in
‘95 for Christmas. I was just turning fourteen and more interested
in looking for movie stars than I was in the ride. As I recall, I
was pouting during the entire ride because my parents didn’t want
to go on a tour of movie stars’ homes at just that moment.”

“My plan was to try to get to one of the
dozens they have in Italy, but I never got the chance.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Lily said. “I’m sure
they must have some great ones over there.”

They climbed aboard and sat next to one
another on the bench-style seating. They were quiet at first as
each enjoyed the novelty of the ride. “So, tell me what’s been
going on since we last talked,” Sue said.

“Where to begin?”

“Okay, wait,” Sue said urgently and grabbed
one of Lily’s hands. “Don’t start yet. First, before I forget, will
you come to Chicago for some after Christmas shopping?”

Lily chuckled in relief. “Oh! Is that all?
The way you were acting, I thought you were in trouble or
something.”

“Oh, sorry. No, it’s just that I miss my best
friend and we haven’t gone shopping together in such a long time. I
thought maybe you could come down for a week or so, and we could do
it up big. The Art Institute and -- oh! I nearly forgot! The Field
is doing a whole new…wait for it…
gem
exhibit.”

Lily froze. “Seriously?”

Sue’s chuckle managed to convey both a smirk
and satisfaction. “Uh-huh. Knew that would get ya. You should see
yourself! Your eyes are
actually
sparkling, your cheeks are
flushed and you’re almost panting in excitement! If I didn’t know
any better, I’d swear you’d just had a tryst with a lover or
something.”

Thinking about her time in the bath that
morning, Lily flushed and hoped Sue wouldn’t interpret it
correctly. “Or that I just came into warmth from freezing cold, and
besides you know how I feel about gems, Sue. I can’t help it; I
just have a sick obsession with them. Now don’t torture me any
longer and tell me about this new exhibit. Did they acquire some
brand new ones?”

“Not that I’m aware of, no. This exhibit will
focus on stones they’ve kept in their vaults for one reason or
another. I read that some of them are considered bad luck and
haven’t seen the light of day in more than fifty years.”

“Ooh, this is too exciting!”

“I thought you’d feel that way. The only
thing is that the exhibit will only be open for a little more than
a month. It’s just a tease.”

“Hmm, that is disappointing,” Lily said,
thinking about her schedule and all the things she had to do to get
her business up and running. “When does it open?”

“That’s why I wanted you to come down after
Christmas. I don’t know the exact day, but the exhibit opens right
after.”

Lily bit her lip as she thought about it. “I
think I can make it, but I wonder why it’s having such a short run.
Are they sending it on tour after?”

Sue shrugged. “All I know is that there’s a
new head curator and he thought it would be a fabulous idea -- he’s
from London and he said it just like that on the morning news --
fabulous idea
,
darling
,” she said in an upper crust
British accent.

Lily smiled at the convincing accent and then
sighed. “I’m sure I’ll love it. Funny my grandmother or Aunt Amelia
never mentioned it, though. I guess maybe they forgot about it in
all the excitement of getting ready for their trip to Australia. I
told you they’re spending the whole month of December there, didn’t
I?”

Sue nodded. “Yes, you did, but maybe they
didn’t mention it because it was just announced last week. How
could they have talked about it if they didn’t know?”

“True,” Lily agreed. “Of course you know I’ll
be there, right? Wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

“Great,” Sue said. “Let’s plan on it then.”
She bumped Lily with her shoulder. “Now tell me what’s been going
on with you. What’s new and exciting? Last week you said that Smith
had moved back to town.”

Sue was still laughing when they arrived at
the bottom of the hill. “I know it isn’t supposed to be funny but
the idea of you chasing down Santa like he’s a criminal…”

“He
is
a criminal. After all, whoever
this guy is broke my windshield on purpose and then stayed around
not only to admit it, but to brag -- ow! Hey!” The sudden impact of
something hitting her hard in the small of her back had Lily
simultaneously grabbing at the spot where she’d been hit and
whipping around to see where the threat had come from. At first all
she saw were people going about their business, moving about
normally. No one seemed to be paying attention to her.

Red flashed in her peripheral vision and she
turned to her right. And there she saw it. A red velvet suit with
white trim covering a wide fat ass as it rounded a corner. Even as
she began the chase, Lily was calculating her chances of catching
him and concluded that she wouldn’t, but she couldn’t stop herself
from trying.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Sue yelled.

Lily spared her a brief glance over her
shoulder, but kept going. She got to the corner and looked down the
street. Santa was a mere red speck in the distance. “Fuck,” she
muttered. She was panting in anger and yelled, “Yeah, that’s right!
Run, Santa, run! ‘Cause when I catch you, it is soooo
on
!”

She hoped she was imagining the maniacal
laughter that seemed to float back to her in answer, but knew she
wasn’t imagining the odd looks people were throwing her way as they
gave her a wide berth.

“Here’s the cause of your pain.”

Lily turned to Sue and saw that she was
holding something in her outstretched hand. It was a melting snow
ball. She’d suspected as much, but what she hadn’t expected,
however, was to see shards of ice mixed in with the snow. She
scowled and turned back towards where she’d last seen her
nemesis.

“You psychotic, chubby bastard!”

***

Several blocks away, Smith clutched his
pillow tighter against his body as he rolled over to the other side
of his sheet-and-blanket-strewn bed. Caught deep in REM sleep, he
was vulnerable to memories from four years before as they assailed
his mind and in a voice deepened with desire, he mumbled, “Jesus,
Lily.”

This was said in response to her first biting
and then whispering in his ear. She was lying naked in his arms and
had tightened her arms around his waist as leverage as she raised
her body to reach his ear. In a husky, lust-ridden voice, she’d
said, “This time I want you to go deeper, much deeper.”

Now she squirmed against him as she pressed
lingering kisses to his neck and chest. Smith smoothed his hand
over her hair and massaged the skin of her back in a bid to calm
her. He could feel her breathing against his neck and the longer
they lay there skin on skin, the faster those soft, hot breaths
came. He chuckled, but hoarsely because she was radiating so much
heat that he felt like it was seeping into his bones. “We only just
finished about twenty minutes ago.”

But Lily only snuggled closer in his arms and
languidly kissed the underside of his jaw, wrapping her slender
arms around his neck as she did so. “Kiss me again, cowboy,” she
whispered and pressed her nipples into his chest as she began to
repeatedly slide her thigh between the two of his. Her slit was
wet, slippery and rubbing against his hip; the action, he could
tell, getting her more and more excited.

Smith growled and caught her hair at her nape
in his fist and pulled it so that her head fell back. “Ah,
sweetness,” he murmured as he studied her flushed face and closed
eyes, “You do make a man wish for a shorter recovery time,” he told
her just before he pressed his open mouth to her suddenly smiling
lips.

Lily immediately and eagerly pulled his
tongue into her mouth, sucking on it hard while rubbing her
nakedness against him. She moaned when his cock began to harden
against her thigh. Pulling out of the kiss, she whispered almost in
desperation against his mouth, “Again, Smith. I want you inside me
again.”

Smith felt her hand grasp his penis, which
made it quickly stand at attention. “Ah, fuck, Lily,” he choked
out, his back arching as the organ went full out rigid on him at
the first touch of her smooth palm. She began to work him with her
fist, sliding it up and down the length of him and he let his eyes
fall shut as he dug his head into the pillow.

“We need another condom, Smith,” she said in
a distracted tone, her attention apparently focused on his rock
hard penis. Smith heard her, but for the life of him could do
nothing but groan as her grip on him tightened fractionally before
he felt the fingertips of her other hand dancing lightly along the
seams of his balls.

“Please, Smith, get another condom from the
nightstand,” Lily begged. She was climbing on top of him now and
only when she released him could he think straight. He tossed her
the condom and when she ripped it open with her teeth and slowly
began to roll it over him, he closed his eyes again in pain and in
an effort to find control, positive his orgasm was mere seconds
away.

He felt her lifting her body and put his
hands on her waist to guide her onto him. “That’s it, baby,” he
said between clenched teeth when she held his cock steady and began
to lower herself onto it. Slowly, she lowered her body, her tight
opening squeezing and pulsing around every centimeter of his dick
as it tunneled in.

Lily rocked against him, her hips oscillating
rhythmically as she leaned down to kiss him. “It feels so good,
Smith,” she gasped into his mouth before voraciously taking it with
uninhibited passion.

Smith rose into a sitting position, and
sliding his arms under hers, gripped her shoulders from behind to
push her body down as he frantically pushed his hips upward. She
wrapped her legs around him and he felt the heels of her feet
digging into his lower back as they moved in unison. Her head was
thrown back now and he could hear the little squeals of delight
he’d learned to expect from her when she was about to come.

Leaning in, he took the skin in the hollow of
her throat and sucked it hard between his lips; sure there would be
a bruise there when he was done. She screamed, and as her orgasm
took her, he allowed himself to come, yelling hoarsely as she took
everything he couldn’t help but offer her.

“Lily!” Smith sat up quickly, her name on his
lips as, ironically, the dream that held him in thrall, woke him
violently as well. “Shit,” he mumbled when he realized he’d been
dreaming. He sat on the edge of the bed and after rubbing his hand
across his face, rested his forehead in his palm. He’d dreamt about
his one night with Lily several times over the years, and it was
always that particular lovemaking session that he dreamed
about.

He figured he deserved the torture, first for
having slept with her and second for leaving the way he did. He
rose to walk naked into the connecting bathroom, noticing, of
course, that his penis was as hard as a rock. “I’ll take care of
you in a second,” he muttered and stepped into the hot spray of the
shower.

Chapter Eight

Lily’s parents’ house was located just a few
blocks from her grandmother’s, so she decided to walk there later
that day. Her thoughts were all about Smith as she trudged the five
blocks through the snow. She’d missed him over the past several
years. “It was as if he just disappeared,” she mused and stuck her
gloved hands in her pockets.

Smith had not only stopped going on the
Christmas vacations their families took together, but he’d also
stopped visiting Sheffield-Chatham altogether. It had hurt and
confused her at seventeen and if she were honest with herself, it
still caused a little ping in her heart whenever she thought about
it. After she’d gone off to college, she’d understood the desire to
go on vacations with friends; especially after she’d gotten invited
to a couple of really great places herself. However, it still
bothered her not to see him. Until their time together in Chicago
four years before, she hadn’t seen him since she’d turned
seventeen.