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We walked up to the concierge desk and were greeted by an older gentleman with a nice smile. He tipped his head at us as we were walking forward and typed just a couple more things before stopping. Hailey took the lead and smiled back.
“Hi,” she said happily. “We were wondering if we could get a list of your ski instructors, so we could pick one and schedule a class?”
“Absolutely.” He smiled, pulling out a sheet of paper and setting it on the desk. “Just so you know, these two at the top, Glen and Cameron, are our specialty teachers. They offer the best classes and the most one-on-one attention. They were booked through Christmas, but it looks like there were two cancellations for tomorrow’s class. Would you like me to schedule you in?”
“That would be fantastic,” Hailey said. “Could you charge it to the room?”
“Of course,” he said. “So, you will meet here at the specified time on this card, and the concierge service will take you to the lifts and get you up to the building at the top of the bunny slope.”
“That is perfect,” she said, taking the card.
“And please, do take care to use our services when you are finished skiing.” He smiled. “We will meet you at the bottom of the hill and take your equipment back, polish it up, and have it sent to your room.”
“That’s awesome,” she replied. “I heard that you guys did something like that. Thank you for your help.”
“And you have a lovely day,” he said, nodding at me.
We turned and made our way to the lounge, which wasn’t very busy at all. The music playing was soft and instrumental, and the lounge itself was covered in dark mahogany and glistening marble. I almost felt nervous that I was going to hurt something, so I walked carefully up to the bar and sat down next to Hailey. We ordered two glasses of house red wine and sat back, relaxing our shoulders.
“So, how are you feeling so far?”
“Well, I’m no longer worried about being alone for Christmas,” I said. “That alone makes me feel so much better. As far as Grant is concerned, it’s a little confusing, I guess. I can see now what kind of damage he was doing to me, the abuses he was putting me through. I’m relieved that I’m now out of that situation and that I didn’t end up making a lifelong choice with him. At the same time, I feel like I’m a little lost. I don’t really remember who I am. I have been Grant’s slave for three years now, and then, poof, I have to remember what it’s like to be me again. It’s a bit overwhelming.”
“I think that is natural,” Hailey said. “I mean, even in the best relationships, when they are over, you are left with a bit of an identity crisis, and with this one, he sucked the life right out of you.”
“Yep,” I replied, sipping my wine. “But all in all, I am fine. I definitely will use some of this time for some soul searching, but I am much better than I ever thought I would be if Grant and I broke up.”
“Good,” Hailey said, drinking her drink. “Now, all we have to do is get some warm clothes for skiing and get out on the slopes in the morning.”
“I’m not sure if I am too excited about this,” I said, laughing. “But it’s vacation, so I am open to trying just about anything.”
“And don’t forget your promise to find yourself a hunky skier and shack up in the light of the fireplace.” She laughed.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’ll get there.”
We finished up our wine, talking about the people in the hotel, what we were planning to do while we were here, and the guys she planned on searching out as well. I almost forgot that Hailey was single, too, which made this a single girls’ weekend. I was hoping she would find herself a guy and forget all about my promise to hook up with someone. It just felt like the complete opposite of where I had been, but maybe that was point. Maybe that was what it would take to do a complete reset on my life. I sighed, thinking about it, never having been the girl that just randomly hooked up with men. Hailey had a great personality, but I was the brooding author, too shy to really talk to anyone, and from what I’ve found out, society only finds brooding authors to be sexy if they are men.
I took the last gulp of wine and set down my glass, looking at Hailey. She was already dressed to go, but I wanted to freshen up just a bit after the drive to Aspen. I looked down at my watch and then back at her.
“I’m going to run upstairs and freshen up before we go,” I said. “Give me like ten minutes, and I will come back down, and we can jet out of here.”
“Sounds good,” she said, ordering another glass of wine. “I’ll be right here.”
“Cool,” I replied, getting up and grabbing my coat from the back of the chair.
I walked out of the lounge and across the marble floors to the elevators. I pressed the button and waited, smiling at the other guests as they exited the adjacent elevators. The door opened, and I climbed inside, turning around and looking up as the doors began to close. A man walked in front of the elevators and stopped, looking around like he’d lost someone. I thought about opening the doors so he could get inside, but I was frozen in place. This guy was probably the most attractive man I had ever seen in person. He had a definite ski boy look to him, but at the same time, was incredibly masculine. His hair was black and shaggy, and his eyes were a sparkling light brown. The contrast was almost breathtaking, just like people told me about my eyes. He had a strong, muscular physique that filled out his Henley. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, and I could see tattoos covering his arms.
I had always thought a muscular man with tattoos was extremely sexy, but on him, it was like ten-fold. The doors squeezed shut, and my body relaxed. My shoulders pushed back against the mirrored walls. I hadn’t been taken aback by a man like that ever in my life. Sure, when I met Grant, I thought he was extremely handsome, but nothing that stopped me dead in my tracks. I almost had to assume that someone that good looking had some sort of major character flaw. They never were handsome and amazing at the same time. However, with the feeling bubbling up in my chest and the heat between my legs, I was starting to think that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to hook up with someone on this trip after all. Maybe I could even catch Mr. Tattoo’s attention.
Chapter 9
Cameron
It was Friday and the start of another very busy weekend. My first class was one of the more extensive ones. It was a beginners’ class, but we took more time with them, really getting them acquainted with the equipment, how to wear it, and what to do while on the slopes. Most of the class was actually held outside, since they would be putting on and taking off their skis the whole time. It was a cold class, but nothing I wasn’t used to since at most of the resorts, we did the entire thing outside. The class had filled up after two people canceled the day before, so I didn’t have to make any adjustments, which was a good thing since I was a bit sore from heading out to the slopes the whole day Thursday. It had been a while since I had been o
ut like that, and my body definitely let me know how it felt about it. I had come back and taken a hot bath, but I still woke up with sore muscles.
“So,” Glen said, pulling the box of equipment across the snow. “Did you find that mystery girl from yesterday?”
