5
The walk to the coffeehouse with Ethan was surprisingly nice. She was skeptical at first, having had the embarrassment of him overhearing her conversation in the bar that first night, and him catching her staring at him. But they had a nice time at the shop.
They parted ways at the resort so he could grab gear for the hike. She went back to her room and changed into tennis shoes. She grabbed a water bottle out of the mini fridge and then pulled a baseball cap over her hair before she left with her ponytail hanging out the back.
Her leggings had a side pocket for her phone and she wore a thin white tank top that showed off her bright pink sports bra beneath it.
This hike was intermediate compared to the one she had done the day before. They would take the gondolas to the top of the mountain and then hike down.
Lily made it back to the lobby near the back doors where they had met up for the previous hike. Ethan was already standing there with a clipboard in hand, speaking to a woman decked out in hiking gear… stylish hiking gear. She wore expensive leggingsthat hugged her toned body, a fitted T-shirt, and hiking boots. Her backpack looked brand new and expensive, and she carried trekking poles. She looked to be in her mid-twenties and laughed at whatever Ethan had said while lightly slapping his arm.
Ethan smiled back at her, and irritation spiked through Lily. Her mood instantly soured. She almost turned around to head back to her room, but Ethan spotted her and waved.
You can do this.
She walked over to him and tried to smile at the other woman, but knew it fell flat. It was hard to pretend she was excited to meet someone when she really wasn’t. The girl held her hand out.
“Hi! I’m Eve.”
Lily shook her hand briefly. “Lily.”
“Aren’t you just so excited for this hike? We have the best adventure guide in the area.” Eve placed her hand on Ethan’s chest, getting close, and giggled.
Lily pressed her lips together. “Yep. Should be fun.”
Ethan took a step back and out of Eve’s grasp. “I just need to get everyone checked in, so if you ladies would excuse me.”
After he walked away, Eve picked up her phone and took a few selfies with Ethan in the background. When she caught Lily watching her, she smiled brightly. “I’m an influencer. I need to show off the hot adventure guide. Am I right?”
But Eve didn’t wait for a response before walking away, heading straight for Ethan. Lily watched her retreat with an eyebrow raised. This would be interesting.
When all the hikers were accounted for, Ethan led them to the gondolas. Six people could comfortably sit in each, so they split between three gondolas, putting five in each to accommodate their group of fifteen. Lily was grouped in the last gondola with a married couple, an older man, and Eve. Ethan was leading the group, so was boarding the first one with fourother people. But just before the first gondola’s doors could close, Eve hopped into it.
They could hear her giggle and say, “Oh, I thought I was supposed to get on this one. My mistake.” Then the gondola took off.
Lily raised an eyebrow and looked around at the rest of the hikers, who all had similar expressions on their faces.
“I have a feeling she’s going to be annoying,” a woman off to the side muttered.
“Wanna bet that she’ll feign an injury so the guide has to take care of her?” the man asked.
“I’m not taking that bet. We all know it’ll happen.”
Lily smirked. At least she wasn’t the only one who thought Eve was being ridiculous. She only wondered what Ethan thought.
The twenty-minute ride up the mountain was torture. Lily craned her neck to see if she could see inside Ethan’s gondola, but it was futile. There was one between them, and they weren’t close enough to see much. She forced herself to relax the best should could and looked out over the scenery. The town faded from view the further they went, and it was nothing but trees from there. The green treetops, blue sky, and smattering of white clouds were picturesque. She pulled out her phone and snapped a photo to send to Stacy later.
By the time the gondola reached the top, Lily was a ball of nervous energy. Ethan couldn’t possibly like how Eve was falling all over him, could he? And Lily couldn’t possibly be jealous, right?
Stacy’s words came back to her… she just needed a good dicking.
She snorted, earning the looks of the other people who shared a gondola with her. She fidgeted with her ponytail andpretended nothing had happened. The gondola doors opened, and they made their way off and onto the landing.
Ethan stood, addressing the group with Eve by his side, filming everything.
“Welcome to Wintervale’s biggest attraction, the recreation area. Has anyone been up here before?”
A few people raised their hands.
