“Do you think the neighbors have a generator, or are we just doomed to freeze in the dark?”
Liam asked this while leaning over the coffee table, his silhouette barely visible against the dim glow of the dying embers in the fireplace. He had a way of taking up space that always made the room feel smaller than it actually was. I watched him move, noting the way his shoulder brushed against the doorframe. He was too tall for this cabin, and definitely too tall for the small couch we were currently sharing.
The power had flickered and died about twenty minutes ago. Outside, the snow was falling in thick, heavy sheets that blurred the line between the pine trees and the gray sky. We were stuck. My best friend, Sarah, had managed to get her car out of the driveway just before the road became impassable, leaving me behind with her older brother. It was an arrangement that felt dangerous in a way I couldn’t quite name.
“I’m sure the neighbors are fine,” I said, pulling my oversized cardigan tighter around my chest. “But we aren’t. We have no lights and the temperature is dropping.”
Liam chuckled, a low sound that seemed to vibrate in the small gap between us. He reached for the bottle of red wine sitting on the table. “Well, in that case, we should probably finish this bottle before we turn into ice sculptures.”
He poured the wine into two mismatched glasses. The sound of the liquid hitting the glass was the only thing filling the silence. He didn’t hand the glass to me. Instead, he held it out, waiting for me to reach for it. As I took the glass, my fingers brushed against his. It was a brief contact, but it felt like a static shock that traveled straight up my arm.
“You’re shivering,” he said.
He didn’t move away. He stayed close enough that I could smell the faint scent of cedar and something warm, like vanilla. He looked at me with an expression that was hard to read in the dim light. There was a heaviness to the air, a tension that had been building since Sarah left the cabin.
“I’m fine,” I lied. “Just the draft.”
Liam shifted his weight, leaning closer. He reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear. His fingertips lingered on my skin for a second too long. It wasn’t a casual gesture. It was deliberate. The air between us felt thick, as if we were submerged in warm water.