We marched on but the mountain didn’t seem to be getting any closer. We started to talk and, just like at the garage, she was easy to talk to. It wasn’t like when I was flirting, where each line was like a move in an elaborate dance. It felt natural. Real.

We talked about cars and the garage and engineering. I told her how I’d always wanted to drive a Nissan GTR and she told me about always wanting to fix up an old pinball table. We talked about life in Mount Mercy and somehow, we got onto Krüger’s Tavern and what I did there in the evenings. “Is it always just one night with them?” she asked. Her cheeks colored in a way that was utterly adorable and the words rushed out. “Just…roll around in bed for a few hours and go?”

She held my gaze for a split second and then quickly looked away.

I stumbled a little and tried to pretend I’d slipped in the snow. Oh God. I’d gone rock hard in my pants. Her shyness was the sweetest thing in the world but then there’d been that little look, that reminder that under all the awkwardness, she had needs of her own. She just needed someone to coax her out of her shell and set her free. My mind started to fill with thoughts of how that tight, heart-shaped ass would feel as I squeezed it, of the noises she’d make as I took one of those pert little breasts in my mouth and tongued the hell out of it.

I realized I hadn’t answered her question, yet. I nodded and focused on the mountain ahead, not trusting myself to look at her.

“Why?” she asked, her voice tender.

I thought about it. The answer was simple: I couldn’t have anything longer than a quick fling because I wasn’t capable of it. That part of me was broken. I couldn’t make those deep connections.

Except…I glanced across at her and there it was, surging up inside me.

I turned away. “Just wired that way, I s’pose. What about you?” I tensed, wincing. The last three words had just slipped out. I’d been trying to turn the spotlight off me but I suddenly realized I didn’t want to know about all her past boyfriends. The thought of her with someone else made me crazy. You idiot, she’s not yours! I braced myself…

But it was so much worse than I expected.

“Me?” She gave a little laugh and it was the single most painful sound I’d ever heard: cold and jagged, like it was made from frozen tears.

I spun to face her, shocked.