Thankfully, by the barest margin, my brain was still in charge.
The legs of the chair in front of me screeched across the hardwoods as someone slid into it. The scent of hot, greasy French fries hit my nose, and I peered over the edge of my menu, alarmed my brain had turned traitor too and was sending out brainwave signals alerting Leo to my location.
But it wasn’t Leo. It was his best friend from high school, Aaron Jacobs. The man who’d witnessed my humiliation the night Leo never showed for our date. He stuffed a French fry in his mouth as two more chairs slid back and Blair and Gretchen, the most popular girls from school, joined my table.
They were the trio of my nightmares, transformed into full-blown adults. I didn’t know if I was supposed to vault out of my chair before they hit me with a cutting remark, or greet them on common ground like we were old classmates who’d left the cliques of high school behind.
Unfortunately, because of my strategically placed spot at the table, the decision was made for me because I was literally stuck between a Christmas tree and a hard place.
“Sage Bennett, we thought that was you.” Blair leaned in her chair, pulling me into one of those stiff hugs where we barelytouched. She smelled like vanilla shampoo and wore a sleek ski jacket and a pair of form-fitting soft-shell ski pants.
“Hi,” I said, frozen like a chipmunk in headlights.
Aaron grinned and ran a hand over his buzz-cut, then leaned back in the chair. “We wanted to come over because it’s been a long time since we last saw you. You're the talk of the town.”
“Yeah,” Gretchen cut in. “It’s good to see you, and we're glad you’re here.” She twisted a long brown lock of hair around her finger, flashing an expensive-looking gold bracelet studded with gemstones on her wrist. “We can’t believe how we acted in high school. So petty, right? We’re so embarrassed.”
Was this a trap? It felt like a trap. Still, these were Leo’s friends, and he’d come home looking for a clean slate. It was possible they felt remorse. The benefit of the doubt wouldn’t kill me, and if this went south, it was another reason proving I should leave town. Frankly, my brain needed all the evidence it could get.
“You’re right. That was a long time ago.” I closed the menu and looked out the window. The snow was still light. We were good.
Blair touched my arm, and I tried not to flinch. Old habits die hard.
“Have some fries. It’s a cheat day for me, otherwise, you’d never catch me eating fried food.” Blair reached for a fry and nudged the basket closer. “Consider it a peace offering with a side of ketchup.”
I chose a fry, reluctant to let my guard down, but it was fine. They didn’t spill ketchup on my clothes or laugh and tell methey’d spoiled the food. We finished the basket while Aaron joked about the time he’d tried to impress a girl while skiing, only to find out she was an Olympic medalist.
Gretchen tossed her hair back and threw her napkin into the empty fry basket. “We should get going before the line at the lift gets too long. You know, Sage, the three of us have this tradition where we go to the top of the mountain and take a photo. You should join us. It’s almost our five-year class reunion. Think about our photo on the big screen. Everyone will love it. We can catch up on the lift and ski down. It’ll be fun.”
I stuffed my hands in my coat pockets and shook my head, torn between apprehension and that feeling of being included by the cool crowd. I was surprised I’d recognized it. It had never happened before.Must be a universal emotion.
“I don’t have the right clothes and I haven’t skied in years. Maybe next time.”
“Nonsense,” Blair said. “It’s like riding a bike, and I have an extra pair of ski pants. We’re practically the same size.” She eyed me with suspicion. “Are you doing Keto, too? Because you look incredible.”
“No, I—”
“Then you have to tell us your secret.” Blair wrapped her fingers around my wrist and pulled me up. The girls whisked me back to their guest room, and the next thing I knew, I was wearing ski pants and a pair of designer sunglasses that Blair decided fit the shape of my face.
Blair and Gretchen talked nonstop around me, and I realized I’d stepped through the looking glass into a bizarre version of my life where I was just one of the girls. Maybe it was wrong, but it felt good.
Aaron waited for us outside. He took a pair of rented skis off the rack and steadied me while I snapped into the bindings, then he slung a muscular arm over my shoulder.
“Ready, Sage? You’re with me.”
I tried to wriggle from under his arm, but the movement made me almost fall over my skis. He tightened his grip and teased me over losing my balance. The falling snow stuck to my face, and I blinked against the onslaught. I needed to relax and try to enjoy this moment. Not ruin it by letting old fears get in the way.
“Hey, Aaron!” I heard Leo’s voice before I saw him.
I looked over my shoulder as Leo jogged toward us, his boots kicking up a layer of snow. His expression was dark, and he wasn’t wearing a jacket as if he’d left the warmth of the lodge in a hurry.
“What’s going on?” Leo’s gaze dropped to my skis and his jaw tightened.
“We’re taking Sage for a ski run. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for her lift ticket,” Aaron said. He still had his arm around me.
Leo angled his head to the side and towed me out from under Aaron's grip. We stopped a few feet away, and I leaned against my ski poles as an icy wind sailed past.
“This isn’t a good idea. I don’t think you should go,” he said.
