“C’mon,” he said as he pulled me out of the truck. “It’ll be fun, I swear.”

We walked around to the back porch, and I noticed the sleds piled in the corner. I glanced down at my outfit and looked at Jackson like he was crazy.

“Hell no! I’d freeze my ass off if I went sledding with you dressed like this.”

“I already thought of that.” He gestured to the sliding glass door. “This is my parents’ cabin. Some of Aubrey’s winter stuff is inside. I pulled it out of the closet for you earlier today. Grab some snow pants, gloves, and a hat.”

“But Jackson,” I complained.

“Just once, Kaylie. Please,” he asked.

“Fine! One time down and that’s it. I don’t really like being cold.”

“If you’re not having fun, then we’ll stop. I’m not going to make you do something you hate, Kaylie.” He gave me puppy-dog eyes. “I just thought you might like this. That’s all. Give it a chance. You liked the flowers, sake, and dinner. Right?”

“Right,” I huffed before stomping inside.

This was not how I’d pictured the end of our date. I never imagined that the infamous campus playboy would want to take me sledding.

I grabbed a pair of snow pants and slid them on, my skirt bunching up inside. I wasn’t changing my boots even if they weren’t designed for playing in the snow. I picked out a set of gloves with a matching hat and headed back outside. Jackson had already put on a pair of snow pants and pulled out a small toboggan.

“Ready?” he grinned up at me from the back of the sled.

I climbed in front of him and he pushed off before wrapping his arms around me. We went whooshing down the hill onto the lake and finally skidded to a halt. Jackson leaned back and tugged me with him.

“Look up,” he whispered.

The stars were clear in the sky, twinkling brightly. Everything was so still and quiet in contrast to the heart-pumping feeling of barreling down the hill.

“Wow,” I whispered back. “It’s so beautiful, Jackson.”

“That’s why I wanted to share it with you. I thought you’d like it,” he said as he tightened his arms around me. “Plus it means I have an excuse to get you in my arms since we’re warmer cuddled up like this.”

“So you even got Mother Nature to help you out with our date?”

“Hey, I’ll take all the help I can get with you,” he replied.

“I’m not sure you need any help at all, Jackson. Tonight was amazing. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for agreeing to come out with me, even if I kind of had to trick you into the date.”

We lay there enjoying the moment for a while until I shivered a little, the cold getting to me.

Jackson let me go, giving me a little push to my feet. “It’s colder than I thought it would be. We better get you back inside so you can warm up.”

We held hands as we trudged back up the hill to the cabin, Jackson pulling the sled behind him. The way up was certainly harder than down, and my boots didn’t make it any easier for me. Jackson had to steady me several times, catching me before I fell each time. When we made it back to the porch, Jackson came inside with me unlike earlier. We both stripped out of our snow stuff, and Jackson hung everything up in the bathroom to dry. There was an awkward silence as I realized the date was drawing to a close, we were completely alone in his parents’ cabin, and he hadn’t kissed me yet tonight.

“So…I guess we should head back. I have a morning class tomorrow,” I said awkwardly.

“Me, too,” he replied as he strode towards me with a determined look on his face. “But I need to do this now. I don’t want to wait until I’m dropping you off in front of other people.”

I took a step back, and Jackson kept walking my way. My back bumped against the wall, and he rested his hands on either side of me, caging me in. I knew what he’d meant, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Do what?”

He responded by kissing me. The kiss started off slow at first, his lips caressing mine before he murmured, “Open.”

My lips parted at his commanding tone and his tongue darted inside and entangled with mine. His hands moved to hold my head in place as he ravaged my mouth with his. I glided my fingertips along his back, enjoying the play of his muscles as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss even more. I wanted to get closer and clenched my hands to draw his body into mine. His hips rocked into me, and when I felt his hard cock rub against my stomach, I gasped. Jackson pulled away to make sure I was okay, but I couldn’t speak so I just nodded my head and stepped into him so he would know that I wanted him to kiss me again.