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“Yeah,” I said, taking a deep breath. “She just caught me off guard. That’s all.”
“So, did you hear me about the classes?”
“Yeah, no classes today,” I said, bringing my attention back. “That’s too bad, really. At the same time, man, I was dragging myself through the day today. I don’t know what it was. I just couldn’t pick myself up.”
“Until you saw the green-eyed cat lady.” Glen laughed. “Maybe I should find her and pay her to light a fire under your ass every time I need you to be somewhere.”
“Ha-Ha,” I replied.
“You want to grab a drink?”
“No, I kind of blew off the girl that’s sitting in there at the bar to chase down the mystery girl,” I said, making a whoops face. “I should probably stay away from her for now. She was pretty put off when I just stood up and walked away.”
“Gee, I wonder why,” Glen said, laughing. “All right, well, I’ll catch up with you later tonight, okay? Maybe you can get some skiing in later. I know you wanted to do that.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I said, staring out the front doors. “If you need me, I’ll be up in my room.”
“All right, man,” Glen said, turning and walking away.
I sighed and looked around, deciding that a drink in my room and maybe some Thursday afternoon television might be what I was looking for. I took the elevator upstairs, the smell of strawberry and lavender body spray wafting into my nose. I wondered if it belonged to the mystery girl, and if when you got close to her, her skin smelled sweet and comforting like that. I reached my floor and stepped out, walking down the hallway to my suite. Once inside, I took off my shoes and snow layers and put on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved Henley that I pushed the sleeves up on. I walked over and plopped down in the chair that faced the fireplace and the television.
At first, I just sat there, not wanting to crowd my mind with images from the television. Instead, I let the vision of the girl run over and over again in my mind, wondering what I would say if I actually caught her. She looked different than any girl I had ever hit on before. There was an air of confidence to her, like she wasn’t afraid to be who she was, like she wasn’t the girl to fall for silly tricks like the ones I usually played. What if that were the case? What if I were to make a complete fool of myself in front of her? I sighed and turned on the television, sinking down in the chair and surfing through the channels. Maybe Glen was right. Maybe I should watch the drifts and go out skiing. It would clear my mind. Obviously, I was letting this girl get to me, and it was very much unlike me.
I sighed and switched off the television, not seeing anything worth capturing my attention. I looked at the weather report on my phone, and it said that the winds should be tapering down soon. I walked over and looked out the window at the mountain just outside. I could see almost all the way to the top, so I assumed that they would open back up the slopes soon. That was good because they already canceled the classes, which would give me the entire afternoon off. It had been a long time since I was able to actually enjoy skiing. I smiled a bit and shook my head, glancing down in the courtyard before turning to walk away. I stopped, staring down at two girls standing there talking, one of them being my beautiful redhead. I watched her for a moment, telling myself to move, to run down there. I had to talk to her. I knew I wouldn’t let it go until I actually did.
I turned and jogged across the suite, slipping my shoes on and grabbing my ski jacket, stuffing my keys into my pockets. I left the room and jogged down to the elevator. I pressed the button, but the elevator was moving super slow, and my impatience got the best of me. I pushed through the stairwell doors and raced down the stairs as fast as I could. I was only five floors up, so it shouldn’t take too long to get to the bottom. When I came out of the lobby doors, I stopped and put my hands on my knees, panting wildly. I laughed at myself for being such a fool and then shook it off, pushing through the crowds and out the front doors. I looked up at the resort, trying to find my room, and took off down the path around the side to the courtyard.
When I got there, though, no one was there, and all that remained of my mystery girl were tracks left in the snow. I looked all around to make sure she wasn’t playing somewhere in the snow, and then dropped my hands to my sides, realizing I had forgotten my hat. I pulled up my hood and shivered, shaking my head and heading back inside. I knocked the snow off my now-wet tennis shoes and stood there staring out at the mountain. I had to find this girl. It was no longer an option.
Chapter 8
Bea
“So, we should figure out what we want to do,” I said, in awe from the luxury of this place.
I looked around the courtyard and smiled, the snow laying in puffs of white all around us. The trees twinkled in the sunlight, and I could see the fog at the top of the mountain beginning to clear. It was absolutely stunning in every way; even more impressive than any picture I had ever seen of Aspen. Now, I was starting to understand why everyone flocked here. It was a little, winter wonderland paradise. I couldn’t even start to imagine how much the place we were staying in cost, especially since everyone I saw was decked out in designer clothes and wearing jewelry I had only seen on television. Hailey didn’t mind spending that kind of money, though. Not only did she have a very lucrative career in investments, but she was the child of a billionaire, and her trust fund made it so no one in her immediate bloodline would ever worry for anything. Couple that with the fact that she was the investment queen, and I was pretty sure this was being paid for by the interest she made off of just a couple of her recent investments.
“Well, I think today that we should go into town and check out the shopping,” she said. “I hear that the shopping in Aspen is amazing. Then tomorrow, I definitely think that we should go skiing. We really can’t come to Aspen a
nd not go skiing at least once. I mean, I’m sure plenty of people do, but that would be silly. Besides, I think the wind on your face and the rush of gliding down the mountain would be good for you.”
“You do realize that I’ve never been skiing before, right?”
“Meh, that’s just the details,” she said, shaking her hand.
“Okay, but we’re going to need some instruction before we go gliding down the face of a mountain,” I said, laughing. “I’d like to try to stay on my feet and not break my neck on this vacation.”
“Well, we came to the right place, then, because I’ve heard they have some of the world’s best instructors,” she said, smiling. “We will be snow bunnies before we know it. We can buy some snow gear to stay warm while we’re out in town today. Besides, I don’t like renting gear. It’s like renting shoes at the bowling alley. It freaks me out. We live in a ski town, too, so if we love it, we can use our gear at home. If we hate it, we can just stick it away for our next Aspen vacation.”
“I’m pretty sure I will never be rich enough to afford to come here again.” I laughed. “But thank you for this. It’s really beautiful here, and I am already starting to feel lighter in the chest.”
“Good, that is the whole point of this entire thing, to help you clear your mind and see that Grant was probably the worst choice for you to make,” she said, smiling. “But come on. Let’s go inside, pick up some information for the instructors, have a drink, and then we can head out to the town and do some shopping.”
“Sounds perfect,” I said.
We slowly made our way back to the front of the hotel, and I couldn’t help but notice how just being around the corner of the building, surrounded by nothing but white, made me feel a million miles away from all of my problems. I knew people didn’t really come to Aspen for the quiet, but I was definitely finding the places where I could find solace if I needed it.
The entrance to the resort was gorgeous, with high ceilings and marble floors. The décor was modern, but warm, and I gawked at the elegance of the place. The rooms weren’t really that different, either. The beds were large and soft, with the best quality sheets and linens. Our room was a suite with two bedrooms and a common area. Both bedrooms had their own fireplaces, and the common room had one as well. Luckily for me, they were gas fireplaces because I had never been very good at starting a fire. The people walking around us were all decked out in the most fashionable snow gear, and the women wore full-on makeup to go ski. I didn’t see the purpose in that, especially since if I were to attempt it, by the end, I would look like a raccoon.
