“You’re welcome. Glad you like them.”
“Here you go, Ryder,” Andrew’s mother said as she handed him a small box.
He took it, confusion sweeping across his face. “What’s this?”
“Open it and find out.”
Ryder glanced over at Andrew who shrugged, fighting back a grin. “Mr. and Mrs. Morris, you didn’t have to get me anything.”
“We wanted to. Just open it.”
He did as they asked and grinned at the gift card inside the box. It was for the local sports store that carried riding tack. “Hey, thanks! This is great.”
“We saw that they carried horse supplies, but we weren’t sure what you needed.”
“This is fantastic. Cobalt needs a new halter. Thank you!”
They continued opening gifts. During the small lulls where they were admiring what had been given to them, Andrew’s grandparents talked to Ryder about his horse. He told them about how he had brought Cobalt up from Texas and how long the trip had been.
“The ham should be ready, so let’s eat now,” said Andrew’s mother as she stood up. “We’ll open the stockings after.”
Everyone filed into the dining room and took their seats. Andrew motioned for Ryder to sit next to him before excusing himself. He headed upstairs with the pretense of using the bathroom, but stopped quickly into his room first and retrieved Ryder’s gift. After sneaking downstairs he hid the gift in the branches of the Christmas tree and then rejoined his family at the table.
Everyone took their time eating the delicious food, but it wasn’t long after that they moved on to the living room and conversation from dinner carried over.
“Have you kids decided where you’re going for college?” Andrew’s grandmother asked, sipping a cup of tea. “You should have sent your applications in by now, right?”
“We’ve decided,” Andrea said proudly, and Andrew glanced at her in alarm.
“You did?” his father and mother asked simultaneously.
“Yes,” Andrea replied, not looking at Andrew. “We’re both accepting the scholarships to UConn.”
“Congrat—” his grandfather started, but Andrew cut him off.
“Wait a second! I didn’t say that. I said I wanted to go to Utica College. I already filled out the paperwork. I just haven’t gotten the official acceptance letter yet.”
“What made you decide on Utica?” his grandfather asked.
“I didn’t want soccer to be my main focus.”
“UConn is a better school!” Andrea shouted, standing up. “I already sent out our applications!”
“You what?” Andrew demanded, standing as well. “You actually filled it out for me? That’s forgery, Andrea! You could get in trouble for that!”
“Well, you certainly weren’t filling it out. What was I supposed to do?”
“I told you, I don’t want—”
“That’s enough,” their father commanded, and they both froze at the tone in his voice. “It’s Christmas. We’re not getting into this today. We’ll discuss it later.”
Nervously, their grandmother shifted her attention to Ryder. “What are you going to do about college, Ryder?”
Ryder looked up from his hands, briefly glancing at Andrew before answering. “I…don’t know yet. I haven’t really thought about it. I might take a year off. Maybe go visit my parents in Germany.”
“What about going to school over there?”
“I don’t speak German.”
“Well, there are American colleges over there, too.”
“Maybe…” Ryder said and looked at Andrew again.
Andrew focused intently on the floor, pretending to listen to the conversation, though his mind raced between thoughts of his sister’s subterfuge and possibilities with Ryder. Unfortunately, not many of his thoughts ended the way he wanted—with Ryder attending college in Utica with him.
“But I still have time to decide. I don’t even know what I’d want to major in yet.”
*
While the family moved on to opening the stockings that hung over the fireplace, Andrew found himself stuck on thoughts of Andrea and college. His father might have wanted to discuss it later, but that didn’t put it out of his mind. What was Andrea’s deal? Sure she’d always been a little bossy, but to actually fill out his application and send it in? This went far beyond anything she had ever done before.
“Andrew, are you all right?” his mother asked as he held the tube of hot chocolate–flavored Chapstick in his hand absently.
“Yes, sorry,” Andrew replied, embarrassed by having been caught. He opened the tube and rolled it onto his lips, forcing a grin. “Mmm, tastes just like I had a cup,” he said and everyone laughed.
Ryder grinned and Andrew could almost hear his thoughts echoing in his mind. He fought to control a blush and, for the moment, thoughts of college were put out of his mind. The twins each got an iTunes gift card, and when they both thanked their parents, they shot each other a glare and fell silent. Andrew’s mother handed Ryder a small envelope. He looked quizzically at it but opened it and thanked her; he had gotten one as well.
“Andrew said you did have an iPod.”
He nodded. “I do, thank you.”
When they were finished and everyone had started into their candy, Andrew wondered when he would get a chance to sneak away from the tense atmosphere surrounding Andrea and give Ryder his gift. He got his chance when his grandfather and mother got up to get dessert. Andrew announced that he’d be right back and tugged discreetly on Ryder’s sleeve as he passed behind him. Ryder followed Andrew into the family room where his things were stored in the corner.
After reaching into the branches of the tree and retrieving the gift, Andrew stood awkwardly in the middle of the room by the couch and shifted from foot to foot while Ryder rooted around in his bag. When he stood, Andrew held out the small box to him.
“Here…I…it’s not much. But I thought you might like it, and, well. Here,” he said, tripping over his words. Ryder grinned and took it, then handed the larger box to him.
“Same. I saw it and thought of you, so I hope you like it.”
Andrew’s face flushed and he nodded as he took the present. They both sat down on the couch, ripping into the wrapping.
Ryder pulled out a small box and took off the cover, then grinned. “It’s Cobalt. At least, it looks like him.”
“Do you like it?” asked Andrew, anxious.
“Yeah, I do. Thanks. And I needed a watch, too.” He pulled the watch out of the box and put it on. Painted inside the watch face, a ghostly image of a horse that looked like Cobalt stood proudly.
“It’s waterproof.”
“Great, now I can ride in all weather and not worry about it,” he said with amusement.
Missing the teasing tone, relief coursed through Andrew that the gift seemed to be appropriate, and he finally opened his box.
Inside rested a silver picture frame with his name engraved on it. The picture in the frame was one of him riding on Magpie, his face bright with laughter. He wasn’t looking at the camera for the shot because he hadn’t known it had been taken. He looked questioningly up at Ryder.
“My uncle took it. I asked him to.”
“It’s a great shot,” Andrew said, voice lowered in awe. He ran his hand over the picture and smiled. “I had no idea. Thanks, I love it. It’s great.” He did love it, but he wondered where he’d be able to put it. Andrea would know who it was from, and she would question it. When had he gotten it? When had it been taken? He leaned closer to the picture and examined it. Even he could see how happy he looked to be there. But it wasn’t just happiness from feeling free and racing around on the back of a horse.
“You really like it?” Ryder asked, pulling him from his thoughts.
Andrew nodded and looked up at him with a smile on his face. “Yeah, I do. I swear.” Ryder looked as relieved as Andrew had felt, and he set down the picture. He leaned over on the couch and Ryder leaned toward him. They met i
n a brief kiss before pulling away.
“I was worried. You looked lost for a moment there.”
“What?”
Ryder poked the side of his face gently. “You looked so serious. If you like the picture, then what is it?”
Andrew sighed. As if he could keep anything from Ryder. “I’m just worried what Andrea will think when she sees it. She’s so…off lately.”
“Who cares what she thinks. It’s not about her. Come on, let’s go back. I think someone mentioned dessert.”
Ryder stood and strolled into the other room where Andrew’s family was chatting happily. Andrew heard the clink of forks on plates and happy laughter. He set the picture down on the table—Ryder was right, who cared what she thought—but he still felt uneasy as he followed his boyfriend into the other room.
Chapter Nineteen
After dessert, everyone picked up the trash and stowed their gifts. The men got out their boots and other winter gear, pulled it on, and made a trek up to the barn in the back. On the way, Andrew glanced up at the tree house and frowned. The heavy snow had accumulated on it, and the roof hung even lower than it had just a week ago. If they got another big storm, it would be gone. But Andrew could not do anything about it now.
His father pulled back the barn doors and they followed him inside. Just to the right were a pile of sleds and the other winter weather toys. Two inflatable tubes lay jumbled inside a box, and he pulled them out, checking them over for any rips, holes, or tears. “Not sure if they are still good or not. I should have kept them in the attic. Oh well, let’s see if we can get these blown up.”
After they carried their finds back down, his father pulled out the portable compressor from his car and set it up. They got it working and inflated the two tubes. Much to his surprise, both tubes filled with air and held it in. Andrew’s mother and grandmother had stayed at the house to make a large batch of hot chocolate for later. In an hour or so they would drive down with the steaming cocoa to meet them at the hill; until then, everyone else would walk down with their own sleds.
Despite having complained about her stomach not ten minutes before when she’d decided to stay in the house, Andrea seemed well enough to join them. She didn’t talk directly to Andrew, though, as she walked with her grandfather. She kept the discussion firmly on UConn and the excellent scholarship opportunity.
“You see,” she said loudly enough for everyone in their party to hear, “it’s not just about sports, really. UConn is a top school academically. Anyone offered a scholarship with them should consider themselves lucky.”
Andrew sped up and tried to tune her out.
Holding the inflatable tubes as they walked, Ryder suddenly turned and started to smack Andrew with his. Stunned, Andrew stood there for a moment, taking a second blow before he reacted and lashed out at Ryder. They laughed and ran ahead of the group chasing after each other.
When a snowball hit Ryder in the middle of the back he dropped the tube and started to make his own, winding up to aim it straight for Andrea’s smirking face. She shrieked and ducked behind her father, but Ryder couldn’t stop himself in time.
It hit him dead center in the chest.
Laughing, they all dropped what they were holding and had an impromptu snowball fight in the middle of the road. The snow fell lightly, adding to the foot and a half already on the ground as they tossed the wet snow back and forth. Andrea grabbed her saucer and used it as a shield. Her grandfather and father ducked behind it as she held it up.
It felt good to fool around, Andrew decided, despite the earlier blowout he and Andrea had. Maybe later they would be able to sit down and talk about it rationally. He hoped.
“Hey! That’s cheating,” Ryder yelled, breaking into his reverie. He held an armload of snowballs and let a barrage of them go. The sound of wet snow hitting plastic echoed in the nearly silent air. Andrew laughed hard and struggled to catch his breath. He finally dropped down onto the snowbank at the side of the road, gasping for air.
Ryder flopped onto his back next to him for a moment, grinning. One last round of snowballs pelted him, and then they stopped as well.
“That’s the most fun I’ve had in ages! Too bad the girls missed that,” his grandfather said with a sparkle in his eyes, speaking about his daughter and wife.
Andrew’s father laughed and helped haul the boys to their feet. Andrew leaned against Ryder for a few moments, still breathless from laughing so hard. “You should have seen your face when they used the saucer as a shield,” he said, and broke into a fit of giggles. He coughed and finally caught his breath, wiping his streaming eyes.
“Glad I could be everyone’s entertainment. Thank you, I’ll be here all week,” he said with a low bow. They chuckled and started for the hill again.
The hill stood at the end of the road with cars parked off to one side on the nearly level ground. Kids screamed and shrieked with delight as they slid down the hill on new sleds and tried to avoid crashing into others, or stood at the bottom trying to dodge the kids that were coming down. At the steepest part of the hill a group of kids made a chain and pushed off down the hill. Halfway down it broke off into smaller sections when the force became too much for them to continue holding on. They all ended up heading toward the slushy marsh.
Ryder and Andrew watched with the adults as the lead kids in each chain forged a path through the reeds and bushes, unable to stop the momentum they carried. The rest of the chain followed them into the tunnels they made, and those up on the hill could see the carnage as the leaders slowed to a stop and the rest of the kids plowed into them.
A few of the parents stumbled down the hill to help them out, but most stood at the top, laughing. It took a few minutes, but eventually all of the kids were pulled out. When they started back up the hill, Ryder saw that some of them were covered in mud.
“What’s that? I thought it would be snowy.”
“Oh, they must have broken through the ice in the marsh. It’s like a bog in there. That’s why there are so many reeds and cattails,” Andrew explained. “Nasty stuff to get caught in. Come on, let’s go down.”
The two of them set up the tubes at a high spot on the hill. Andrea joined them, and her father stood behind her. When they pushed off, their father reached out and spun Andrea, laughing as she shrieked and tried to keep herself from spinning. Andrew ended up facing up the hill as he slid backward, despite trying to lean into a turn.
Once they reached the base of the hill, the three of them trudged back up to the top as the two adults in their group took their turns and flew past them down the hill. Andrew and Ryder turned to watch. Ryder turned back just in time to hear a kid scream “Look out!” and dove out of the way. He landed on his face in the snow and Andrea ran to help him.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, spitting out a mouthful of snow.
“Never turn your back on the top of the hill. Half the kids here don’t know how to steer, and even if they can, it’s still hard sometimes.” She laughed.
Ryder smiled. “Duly noted.”
While Andrea was preoccupied with Ryder, Andrew picked up a snowball and lobbed it at her. She screamed as it hit her and chased him back up the hill, both of them laughing the whole way up. They collapsed from the exertion after they reached their space and all Andrea could manage was a halfhearted attempt at a throw. It missed Andrew by a foot.
Half an hour later Andrew’s mother and grandmother arrived with a large thermos of hot chocolate. They poured small cups for everyone and chatted with neighbors as they leaned against the truck and drank the cocoa. His grandmother watched her husband go down the hill twice and shook her head in amusement.
“He thinks he’s still young,” she said fondly.
His mother smiled and shrugged. “Let Dad have his fun. It’s good for him.”
They stayed a little longer before heading back. The two women drove the truck with the men sitting in the back with the sleds and tubes.
The twins and Ryder elected to walk back.
Though it was still afternoon, dark clouds filled the sky and more snow floated through the air. They walked well away from the road this time, trudging through the thick snow that covered the ground.
“I’m so taking a shower when we get home,” declared Andrea as she tripped yet again. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. For the time being, her thoughts of college seemed to be suspended, which thrilled Andrew.
“I just want to get out of these wet clothes,” he said, squeezing his hands together. His gloves were warm from his body heat, but still wet from the melted snow. “I hope Dad got a good fire going in the family room.”
“I’ll have a nice warm place to sleep,” Ryder mused.
Just over a small rise the house came into view. From the chimney a thick plume of smoke billowed, and they hurried toward it. In the driveway the truck sat, still warm, as it settled with an assortment of clinks and clicks. When they pushed open the door they were greeted by a blast of warm air and the smell of fresh apple pie.
“Leave all your wet stuff by the door!” their mother called from the other room. They noticed the pile already there and quickly added to it. Andrea bolted for the stairs and the bathroom door slammed shut behind her.
“I’d say she is really looking forward to a hot shower, wouldn’t you?” Ryder drawled, amused. Andrew nodded and followed upstairs at a calmer pace. Once in his room he shut the door behind them and started digging through his dresser for dry clothes.
Ryder slipped up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. Andrew straightened and felt light kisses drop on the back of his neck. He shivered and turned in his arms to return the kiss. Ryder backed him up to the bed and they fell onto it, a tangle of arms and legs. After a moment, Andrew shoved him off, panting for breath.
“Ryder, we can’t. Not here,” he hissed. He sprang off his bed and occupied himself with a clothes search again.
“Andrea’s in the shower,” Ryder pointed out with a gesture toward the door.
“And my parents or grandparents could come upstairs at any second.”
Andy Squared Page 14
