Reckless Secrets by Gina Robinson Page A

time down, I tumbled off my tray and rolled flat onto my back at the bottom of the hill, looking up into the falling snow as it caught in my eyelashes. Laughing, I opened my mouth to catch snowflakes and waved my arms in the snow, making a snow angel.
    Logan rolled on top of me, poised above me, braced on his hands in the snow, studying me. "You're so beautiful, El. So beautiful." He kissed the tip of my icy nose.
    I laughed, feeling a joy too deep to adequately describe. It was like music. He kissed my neck, burrowing beneath my scarf to bare skin. I sighed as he took me in his arms and really kissed me.
    In Logan's arms, the world around me melted away. His mouth on mine was warm and wonderful in the cold, cold world. I wrapped my legs around his waist and kissed him back, oblivious to the snow falling on us and the snow angel beneath my back. Wanting him. Aching for him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and arched my hips up to meet his.
    "I love you, El," he whispered in my ear.
    This was the way life should be—full of love and laughter. As I opened my mouth to him and he kissed me again, I became dimly aware of shouting in the distance. Of a pause in the squeals and screams of delight of the tray-ers around us.
    Suddenly there was a shout like a battle cry. And a series of screams. A snowball pounded Logan in the back, a direct hit. He started and pulled out of our kiss, breaking the spell.
    "Hey!" He cursed beneath his breath as he rolled off me onto his stomach and looked uphill.  
    A crowd, like a battalion of soldiers armed with snowballs, lobbing them at an unseen opposing force, and as many tray-ers as they could, appeared over the crest of the hill between the interior design labs. All around us, tray-ers were arming themselves.
    Logan took one look at the approaching horde and swore again, but this time he was smiling. "All-campus snowball fight. Shit." He grabbed a handful of snow and packed it into a ball.
    I sat up. "All-campus snowball fight?"
    He turned to look at me. "How good are you with a snowball?"
    "I'm from Seattle. It hardly ever snows there. How good do you think I am?"
    "Shit," he said again, but excitement shone in his eyes. "This could get ugly. And fun." He grinned. "We're going to have to make a run for it, El. I'll protect you with my life." He laughed like he was excited. "Grab your tray. I'll take you back to the dorm. We're going to have to run like hell to make it back. Are you game?"
    "Do I have a choice?"
    He grinned again. "Come on." He pulled me to my feet.  
    We were immediately bombarded with a round of snowballs.  
    "Early scout," Logan said, scanning the hill that was lit with streetlights, looking for the culprit. "We're going to have to shoot for a hole in their lines." Then he grinned as he spotted something.
    I followed his line of sight. A guy leaned out from behind a tree lining the nearby sidewalk and wound up to throw. Logan fired his snowball and hit the guy in the shoulder. The thrower flinched as he was hit, dropped his snowball, and rubbed his shoulder as he ducked out of sight. Logan's prowess as a baseball player was evident.
    "Impressive," I said. "You really got him."
    "Yeah." He laughed as he leaned down and grabbed another handful of snow.  
    I followed his lead and made a snowball, too.  
    Then Logan grabbed my hand. "Run, El! And cover your head."  
    As we took off, snowballs rained down around us. The marauding mob got closer every minute and was between us and my dorm.
    A snowball hit me in the thigh. "Ouch! That stung."
    Logan didn't stop to let me brush it off. He fired back in the direction of the shot and hit another guy in the chest.  
    "You're accurate," I said, looking back. My breath came in clouds beneath the streetlight.
    "Don't look back, El. And cover your head."
    A snowball buzzed past my ear. I covered my head with my tray with one hand as Logan pulled me along with the other. He was fast, much faster than I was. I had a hard time