6
When the hike ended, Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. The entire way down the mountain, he only wanted to speak to Lily, but she had kept her distance. He figured once Eve had been removed, Lily would have attempted to be closer to him. Ethan couldn’t move to the back of the group where she hung out since he was leading them, so his only time to speak to her was during their breaks.
The hike took several hours and with the delay Eve had created; they got back much later than he had planned. Lily scurried off to her room as soon as it ended without so much as a backwards glance.
Ethan stepped into the office and ditched his gear. It was late afternoon, and he was thankful no more events were planned that day that he would need to be involved in. Just as he was about to leave, Noah stepped into the office.
“Hey, man. How did the rest of the hike go?” Noah asked.
“It was good. No more incidents. How did things go with Eve?”
Noah rolled his eyes. “That woman was trying to hook up with every man she came across.”
Ethan chuckled. “Yeah, I noticed she seemed to be on the hunt.”
“She tried to convince Sarah to send a man down the gondola with her, citing her injury as being a reason she might need a man to help carry her.”
“I suspected it was all a show. Her fall was as fake as they come.”
“Bingo,” Noah said. “Sarah said when she got to the bottom, Eve refused the ambulance and then got up and walked away.”
Ethan shook his head. “What a waste of resources.”
“Completely insane.”
“All right. I’m going to head out and get a shower. Have a good one, man.”
“You too,” Noah said.
Ethan left the resort and got into his truck. He got back to his place and took a long, hot shower to wash the day off. Normally, he enjoyed the longer hikes, and aside from Eve, the group was great. But his mind had been on Lily the entire time, and not being able to talk to her for more than a few minutes at a time had him on edge.
The desire to talk to her was strong. Heneededit.
When he got out of the shower, he had a text waiting from his best friend, Jimmy.
Jimmy: Bar? Dixie is working.
Ethan: I’m in.
Ethan pulled up to the resort, keeping his eyes peeled for Lily as he made his way through the lobby, but she was nowhere to be found. He walked into the bar and spotted Jimmy sitting at the counter. Dixie, the bartender, stood in front of him with a smile plastered across her face.
Ethan slid onto a stool beside Jimmy and smiled.
“Hey, Ethan. Beer?” Dixie asked.
He nodded. “Please.”
She filled a glass from the tap and slid it across the bar to him. “I heard you had an interesting day.”
“It’s gotten around town already, huh?”
“Of course,” Jimmy said. “Was she cute?”
Ethan shrugged.Not as cute as Lily.
“She wasn’t my type.”
He didn’t miss the look Jimmy and Dixie gave each other.
