The phone rang. The quiet buzzing roused Tala from her sleep; the sun pouring through the window kept her awake. She blearily peered out of the gap in the curtains, blinded by the powerful white of the pale sun bouncing off the snow that had piled up overnight. Too much snow. Squinting, she hauled herself out of bed when her phone continued to buzz and her body was hit by a cool draft.

She was naked. Completely naked. Almost completely naked. She was still wearing one sock. The one that hadn't got wet. Curling her hand around her phone as it vibrated against her palm, she cast a glance over her shoulder to see Raphael soundly sleeping across most of the bed. He had spread out as though he owned the place, though the duvet only covered his thighs.

In place of the regret she had expected to feel, there was something she wasn't used to. Certainly not a feeling she had expected after a one-night stand. Almost peaceful. There was a kind of serenity in her brain, the lingering warmth of a good night. It had been a great night, every second of her memory tingling with electric life. There was no urge to kick him out of her bed.

But she did need to kick herself out of the room. Her phone wouldn't ring for much longer. It was only Maddie on the other end of the line, no doubt pestering her for information about her night at the bar, but she didn't want to let the call ring out. Grabbing a towel, she tied it around her chest and slipped into the bathroom.

"Hi," she whispered, quietly pushing the door shut. She perched on the edge of the bath and peeled off the solitary sock with her big toe.

"Do I need to ask?" Maddie's voice was bright and eager, and it was only then that Tala took the phone away from her ear to check the time. It was already ten. She never normally slept in that late, even when she had nothing to do.

"Ask what?"

Maddie harrumphed. "Come on, Tala. You went to the bar last night and you usually get up at eight but I messaged you three hours ago and you never replied. I was beginning to worry that you'd been murdered or something. I even looked up the local news for where you are."

Tala chuckled. Maddie was intense, but never in a suffocating way. She just cared. She was a very caring person, her heart swelling to accommodate everyone in her life without question.

"Tala ... crap, I don't know your middle name. Tala Flores! Tell me what happened!" she demanded.

"It's Mahalia," Tala said, avoiding the question for now. She looked in the direction of the bedroom, though two closed doors separated her from Raphael. "My middle name."

"Tala Mahalia? Oh my God, that's so cute. But seriously, Tala, what happened? Are you ok? Did you get a drink?"

"Yeah, I had a couple of beers," she said.

"And?"

"Kind of met a guy," she said. "Or met him again, I suppose."

Maddie fell quiet, opening up a space for Tala to fill with words.

"He took the last bottle of milk the other day," she said. She still felt tired, her body laden with the best kind of ache, and she couldn't be bothered to regale the full story. "Apparently we met on Halloween. And he has family in Farnleigh."

"Oh my God! Who?"

Screwing up her face, Tala tried to remember what he had said. "KitKat," she blurted out when the word came to her. She remembered him laughing. "His cousins are called Kit and Kat. The Finneys!" she then added with triump. "Kit and Kat Finney. Know them?"

"I don't think so," Maddie said, "but I hardly know everyone in town. So what happened? Is he nice?"

Tala pulled her heels up onto the lid of the toilet, one arm around her legs. "He's next door," she said. "Still asleep."

The shriek on the other end of the line nearly deafened her, a sudden and unexpected noise followed by a disgruntled groan from Maddie's boyfriend.

"I think half of Scotland just heard you," Tala muttered, "and all of Farnleigh."

"Sorry! Oh my God, you slept with him?"

"Yes," she said. There was no skirting around the truth, and there was nothing to hide. She wasn't ashamed of last night: it would be hard to feel ashamed of a night that had made her sing with her body wrapped around Raphael's. If there was anything to be ashamed of, it was how long it had been since she had last felt like that.

He had listened when she had breathily told him what she liked. He had followed through, as though he had studied and perfected a guide to her body. He had done in one night what Aditya had failed to do in two years. He had made her toes curl; he had made her body shake; he had made her cry out her pleasure.

"Am I going to get more details? How was he? What's his name? What does he look like?"

"Very attractive. Half-Italian," Tala said. "Very cute. Kind of like a puppy."

"Young?"

She pursed her lips. She wasn't sure. She had never thought to ask how old he was, but he had a young face and inquisitive eyes. Something told her he was younger than her. There was no way he had hit thirty yet. With a sudden drop of dread, she hoped he had hit twenty. "I think so," she said at last. "He's funny. A bit off the wall. You'd like him."

There was a sound inside the cabin. He was awake. Tala stood. She replaced the towel with a dressing gown from the hook on the back of the door and she slipped out of the bathroom to perch on a stool in the kitchen.

"I need to go, Maddie," she said, her eyes on the bedroom door.

"No! You can't go now! Oh my God, Tala, you've just set me up and now you're going to disappear? I need more details."

"I'll be home next week. I'll talk to you then," she said, as Raphael came out of the bedroom in his boxers. His hair was as dishevelled as his sleepy smile. Tala's stomach flipped. She smiled back. "Morning."

"Hey," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Any chance you have a charger? A micro-USB?"

She winced and shook her head. "Sorry." She showed him her phone, still connected to Maddie's call. She could hear Maddie wittering away.

"No worries," he said, but his smile fell when he looked out of the window and saw the snow that had fallen. It was deep. At least a foot. Maybe even more in the depths of the woods. "Shit."

"What?" Her thumb hovered over the red button to end the call but she didn't press it yet. "You ok?"

"Have you seen the snow?" He pulled the curtain back wider to show the knee-deep snow that crawled up the trees. The forest floor was covered in a thick, fresh canvas. A grimace took over his face, his dead phone clutched in his hand. Tala followed his stare. She didn't know what to say.

"It must've snowed all night," she murmured. The flakes were still falling. Then it clicked. "Oh. I think we might be stuck here for a while."

She had left her car in town. They had got a taxi back last night. There was no way any driver would make that journey again, not in that kind of weather. He had been reluctant enough when she had given him the address for the forested cabin – now the roads were impassable.

"Shit," Raphael muttered again. "Sorry. Can I borrow your phone?"

She nodded. "I've got to go, Maddie," she said, just in time to hear Maddie's screech about Raphael's delectable accent, and she ended the call and handed the phone to him. "Everything ok?"

He pulled a face. "I really need to call my mum," he said, still staring at the snow. Tala felt the slightest unease fill her. Maybe he was too young. Maybe he still lived with his mother.

"Please don't tell me you're a teenager," she said with a wince. He took the phone and gave her an odd frown.

"What? Oh, no." He laughed as he dialled. "I don't live at home, but Mum's babysitting my son and I'm supposed to pick him up at lunchtime but there's no way I'll be able to get back today, I don't think."

The sudden information hit Tala with such force that it rendered her speechless for long enough for Raphael's mother to pick up, and he excused himself with an apologetic smile as he talked to her. Tala sat stock-still on the stool, her mouth agape, and she tried to erase the confused frown from her forehead.

He had a son. He was a father. She had never got that impression, but they hadn't spent much time talking about family. When he had tried, she had cut him down. Maybe he would have told her last night if she had given him a chance: maybe it was his night off parenting. A million thoughts buzzed through her mind at a million miles a minute until her eyes were spinning and before she could knock herself out with the rate her brain was whirring, he came back from the bedroom.

"Sorry about that," he said, passing her phone back to her.

"You have a son?"

He smiled. "Yeah ... you already knew that."

"I did?"

"Halloween," he said. "I was trick-or-treating with March. Remember? I was wearing the ninja turtle mask?" He laughed. "We talked about this last night. I like to think I'm not weird enough to go trick-or-treating alone."

Only then did the memory click into place. She hadn't recalled their first meeting until now, her mind rushing back to Halloween and the man Lily had run into, and the little boy who had traded his Maltesers for her Dairy Milk.

"Oh my God," she muttered. "I didn't make the link. You have a son."

"I do." He sat down on the stool next to her. "Sorry. I should have reminded you."

"No." She shook her head. "It's not like that would have changed anything – I just forgot. Sorry. It's been a weird few weeks. God, I'm so sorry you're stuck here. You should be with him."

"It's fine." He waved his hand. "March and my mum get on pretty well. She likes to spoil him and he likes to be spoiled." He shrugged. "It's ok. As long as I can get out by tomorrow, it's all fine."

For the briefest moment, Tala was the slightest bit offended until she realised the date. Today was the twenty-third. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve. Guilt weighed down her shoulders. She had dragged him all the way out to her cabin and now they were stuck there. It was one thing to ruin her own Christmas. She didn't want to ruin Raphael's too, and his son's.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, Tala, really. As long as you don't mind me hanging around."

She rested her elbows on the counter. "I don't mind," she said. She wanted to know more about his son. She wanted to know more about him.

"Can I be cheesy?"

"Mmhmm."

"I'd love a bit of brie right now," he said, and he pulled a face at his own joke. "Ok, that was crap but honestly, I do need to be a bit cheesy because I had a great time last night. I totally understand if this is just a ... I don't know, a thing and you'll be home next week but..." He trailed off. Tala urged him to finish his sentence.

"I had a great time too," she said. "I thought I'd feel kinda crappy this morning, but I don't. I'm glad you were in the bar."

Her hand was showing; her cards were laid out on the table for him to see. There was no bluffing. She had enjoyed last night more than she had ever thought she would and as she looked at him now, he only seemed more attractive than before.

He was a father. She liked that. It did something to her insides. She had always had a soft spot for a single dad. Her eyes widened a fraction and she asked, "You're not married, are you?"

"Not at all," he said. "Well, just no would be the answer. I'm single."

"And you're a dad," she said, murmuring it to herself, but the words didn't escape him and that wonky smile returned.

"Yeah. I'm a dad. Hold on a sec." He slipped off the stool, disappearing into the bedroom. Tala ignored the buzzing of her phone as Maddie filled her inbox with texts demanding answers, and she didn't have to wait long before Raphael returned with his wallet. He took a photo out of the pocket, a creased picture of his little boy on his shoulders.

"This is March?"

"Mmhmm," he said with a proud smile, watching Tala as she stared at the photo. "It's a bit old – this was from my twenty-first, last year."

She looked up at him. "You're twenty-two?"

"Guilty as charged."

Tala ignored the faint lurch in her stomach. Twenty-two was fine; he was an adult. But she felt old all of a sudden, wishing her thirtieth was more than two years away. She tapped the picture. "And March is ... what, he must be four?"

"He's five now," Raphael said. He glanced at her. "I know what you're thinking."

She met his gaze. "You do?"

He nodded.

"Well, I was thinking that your son is as adorable as you," she said, "and he's lucky to have a fun dad. And I was kind of thinking that it makes sense how you seem in touch with your inner child."

Raphael's face broke into a grin and he chuckled. "Ok. I retract my statement. I had no idea what you were thinking." He took the photo back, tucking his son into his wallet. "I'm used to the judgment. The whole teen parent thing. Not to mention being a single parent at twenty-two."

"That must be hard," she murmured. The longer she looked at him and the more they spoke, the more that flutter in her stomach grew. A single dad with a sweet son; a man who really cared. That was her type. She swallowed hard.

"It is." He smiled. "My mum's great though. She's done a lot for us, and my sister."

"What about March's mum?"

She didn't miss the slightest flicker in his eyes. A dismissive glimmer of anger, perhaps, or irritation.

"She's not around," he said. "Well, she is around – she lives a few miles away – but she's not interested. Leela and I were together in sixth form but she broke up with me after March was born and she went off to uni, and I stayed here with him."

"Wow. No offense but she sounds like kind of a bitch."

By the look in his eyes, he agreed, but he was reluctant to nod along with such a harsh statement.

"We have our differences," he said. "She pops up again every now and then but to be honest, it's just confusing for March. I have full custody – Leela didn't even fight. But March still has her surname. Sometimes I think she did that to spite me."

Tala felt her heart break. It was only a fraction of all the heartbreak she had been dealt recently, but it sliced open a raw wound as though she was prodding a cut to provoke more pain. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. Lily filled her mind. She couldn't imagine how a parent could turn their back on their child. "That's really awful."

"Yeah," Raphael said with a sigh. "So I guess that's the downlow on me. I think we've kind of done things in the wrong order."

"Just a bit." She stood, adjusting her dressing gown when it threatened to fall open. "D'you want a coffee?" Opening the bread bin, she took out four slices without question. No doubt he would want toast.

"That'd be great," he said. He watched as she dropped the bread into the toaster and filled the kettle, his eyes lingering on the way her fingers twisted the tap and how her hair fell forward when she took out a couple of mugs from the bottom cupboard.

Tala could feel his eyes on her. Her heart swelled with that familiar feeling, the blossoming of the kind of crush that really would crush her. But this was something more: they had already slept together, and the feeling showed no sign of fleeing her body anytime soon. He was funny and complicated, his life as confusing as her own, and she found comfort in that.

If he had been a carefree twenty-eight-year-old, that might have irritated her. Not much, but on some level she would have been jealous that he had it easy. But he hadn't. He'd had it harder than her, and he had still come out smiling.

She passed him a coffee and a plate with two pieces of buttered toast and with the same for herself, she sat down next to him again.

"What was last night?" she asked. Part of her felt like it wasn't her place to ask – after all, she had been the one to invite him over – but a bigger part was burning to hear his take on the evening.

"It was ... new," Raphael said. "I don't want you to think I do that all the time – honest to God, I haven't been with anyone since Leela."

"No girlfriend? Not even a fling?"

He shook his head. "Between work and March, I've had my hands full. There aren't many chances to meet people around here. Everyone knows each other."

"That sucks," she said, but he just shrugged.

"It's fine. I don't really think about it," he said. "But Tala, I ... I'm about to put my foot in my mouth but worst-case scenario, you kick me out when the snow melts and we never see each other again, so I'm going to take my chances."

"Ok," she said, her hand resting atop her coffee. The rising steam burnt her palm but she couldn't bring herself to move until he spoke.

"Feel free to shoot me down. Obviously – it's your choice. But I'd like to see you again sometime. Like, for a date. A proper, scheduled date. But if this is all too much and way too fast and out of the blue and you're not at all interested in a toast fan who prioritises his son above everything else, then just say so." He took a bite of his toast to punctuate his sentence, and he sipped his coffee.

"It's not too much," she said. "It's not too fast." It was very fast, she thought, but that didn't seem to matter. It was a date, not a proposal. "I'd like to see you again too."

Raphael's beam widened. He had the most contagious grin. She wanted to kiss him again in the light of day, to cup his cheeks and hold his lips to hers and pull him close. Instead, she put her hand over his. His eyes fell to their fingers as they laced together.

"It's a date," he said.

Tala couldn't resist any longer. She didn't care that they both had coffee breath or that her dressing gown was slipping or that he had crumbs in his stubble. Shifting closer, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. When she leant into his lips, she slipped off her stool and crashed against him, but he held her tightly.

It didn't matter that she had only really known him for a handful of hours. It didn't matter that she still knew so little about him. It didn't matter that he was six years younger than her, that he had a five-year-old. None of it mattered when he had made her feel like she mattered. He had treated her body like a work of art last night. He had put her first at every step, breathily asking permission before everything he did. Even with several drinks in his system and a willing woman in his arms, he had been a gentleman at every juncture.

"So," she said when she let go and pulled her stool over, "when're you thinking we'll have this date?"

Raphael checked his watch. "How about ... half an hour?"

Her eyebrows jumped up. "Today? Now?"

He smiled. He had a snaggletooth and his incisors were slightly pointed. Cute fangs, Tala thought. The imperfection of his teeth only made his smile more endearing.

"Why not?" he asked. "It's going to be a while before we can leave. Might as well make the most of our time. And we kind of already started on the third date. But, hey, we don't have to. Whatever you want." He spread his arms out. "This is your place, after all. I'm completely at your behest. If you don't want to have a date now, we can do it some other time. Any other time. It's up to you."

She stood. She shook his hand. She smiled. "Let's do it." 

+ - + - +

happy new year! here's to 2018 being an incredible one! my resolution is to read more, and i'll be chronicling everything i read on my instagram (hennwick). 2017 has been an incredible year for me on wattpad and i can't wait for everything to come!

i am also excited to announce that i'll be taking part in the upcoming block party, in february! what do you guys want to see? i haven't decided what i'll be doing for my post but i have 2 weeks to submit it, so let me know what you want to see!