Erica set down her empty bottle and reached for Mac’s, taking another drink. What is wrong with you girl? She detested beer yet was unable to stop herself from drinking more of it, her entire body vibrating as she searched for a comfortable position to sit. Was she getting sick? I feel sick. It wasn’t exactly normal for her to be freezing cold and somehow burning up and sweating at the same time like the worst premenstrual hot flash she’d ever experienced. Body odor to go along with a final goodbye, because that’s how I want to be remembered.
Each passing second felt tortuous. Everyone around her seemed so unbothered carrying on with their conversations or gaping down at their phones or doing both at the same time. What is taking him so long?
He wasn’t the type to deliberate. One of the reasons she liked him was that he didn’t overthink. He just did shit. There appeared to be no cerebral tennis match going on inside his brain. Desire, impulse, action, and he moved through them effortlessly akin to a damn golden retriever whereas she seemed unable to rush into any decision, stewing for weeks sometimes. Even this, tonight, she’d agonized over it, questioning her own assumptions and beliefs before finally bringing herself to action.
This reaction though? Never would she have guessed he was going to act like this, so out of character. Maybe she should have told him the other news first, that she was leaving, possibly that would have cleared the way for an easier separation. Not like it should matter though, the end result is the same.
Her phone’s screen lit up on the table, a message from Cheeks. She frowned, making a mental note to change his contact name, not wanting to be reminded of the first time they’d met, his rosy cheeks practically glowing from wind burn and sun exposure, neither of which had seemed to lessen his enthusiasm as he confidently wangled her number out of her. I’ll miss what a charmer you are, that’s for sure.
Behind you.
There was nothing behind her but an empty ski resort, quiet and dark.
Where?
Start walking.
No.
It’s cold, it’s late…
She stopped typing, curiously wondering where he was. She also didn’t hate the idea of talking to him without the alarums and excursions of the patio. She deleted the message and tried again.
To where exactly?
Freezing my tits off.
Hurry up.
She tilted his beer back and finished it before stashing her bag with Kai and setting off into the night, her walk quickly replaced by a trot.
It didn’t take long, forty meters or so and she slowed, seeing the figure standing there all alone. “What’s this about, Mac?” Aside from the obvious that you’ve lost your damn mind.
He held out a blanket which she eagerly accepted, wrapping it over her head and shoulders.
“One last ride?” he asked, staring down at her with that ridiculously adorable look of expectation.*
So unreasonable. “I’m not sleeping with you again, I told you this was it.” He’s entirely lost it.
“Gross and no. Is that all you ever think about? I was talking about that,” he said, pointing over her shoulder.
The lower boarding terminal of the Cherry Bomb Gondola Express sat dormant for the night, the bright red cable pods appearing to float out into space, disappearing somewhere high on the mountain.
Clever for someone not trying to sleep with me. “Clearly closed for the night though, yeah?”
“I might know some people.” He led her to the waiting pod and climbed in after her.
It went unsaid that they’d always talked about doing this one day, riding it at night, getting as close to the stars as possible before looking down on everything – if it wasn’t heaven they’d decided it would be close enough.
Tonight though, she feared it would be much the opposite – an awkward ascension to hell.
A light jolt and they were off, side by side as her mind warped into overdrive of thoughts, questions and objections. At least it’s warm in here.
“I want to give it a try,” he finally said.
She didn’t respond right away. How could she. There was no sense in bailing water from a sinking ship, unless for the agony. “Give what a try?” She held her breath, terrified of hearing his response out loud, this time actually hoping it would be about something sexual.
“You and me. Us. I’ve thought about it, and there seems to be only one logical next step. I want to take you out on a date…like a real one. How the adults do.”
She cringed, as if her entire body was resting on a bed of eggshells and no matter what her next move was, damage would be guaranteed. No turning back the clock now, you’ve made a decision. “I don’t date losers, Mac.” It felt cruel leaving her mouth, though somehow it was as close to the truth as she could venture.
“That’s weird,” he said, starting to laugh. “I totally knew you were going to say that. Erica, look at me.” He took her by the shoulders, so she had no choice but to face him. “I get it. You deserve better.”
“No, I never said that. No one deserves anything, we both know life doesn’t work that way.”
“Just let me finish,” he said, lowering his voice. “You deserve a guy who at the very least, isn’t coming apart at the seams. Someone who’s willing to treat you like the priority and not an afterthought.”
Yet here you are describing the opposite of yourself, brilliant. “My point exactly. You’re aimless. I can’t do aimless Mac. It’s doing my head in.”
“Again, the me talking thing.”
As if I have any other options at the moment. “Fine, go on.”
“I can figure a lot of stuff out, believe me, but I can’t deal with the thought of us having never tried to make this work. Like honestly make it work. And I guess what I’m really trying to say and doing a shit job of, is that I’m willing to change. For you.”
She looked at him suspiciously. Had he hit his head? Usually his lies were about weed or how many beers he’d drank the night before, never about things that pertained to life impacting decisions. “What has gotten into you, why now?”
He shrugged. “I like you.”
I like chocolate cake and a glass of wine, so what? “So…how exactly do you plan on proving you aren’t such a loser?” She was stuck with him for easily another twenty minutes, she might as well entertain the idea, foolish as it was.
He sat up a bit straighter, fixing his shirt like it had a collar. “You’re looking at the next ski school captain, show a little respect.”
She laughed, and then she laughed harder, unable to reel in in. You have no chance. The only way Captain Craig was ever going to take him seriously was if he took himself seriously. And one thing about Cheeks was, he never took himself that seriously. However comical that it was, she did adore the idea of him taking her out on a proper date. That will be it then, how I will remember you. As a man who tried. And after, no matter how painful it would be, she would tell him of her plans of leaving. “So in one fell swoop you’re going to get the girl and grow up into something that resembles an adult? You know I can’t resist a man with purpose.”
“Pretty sure it’s foul swoop, but okay.”
She pursed her lips. As if now’s the best time to be cocky? “Would you like to argue how little you know of Shakespeare or kiss me?”
He leaned in, lips close enough she could feel the currents traveling between their bodies. Good boy.
He quickly pulled back. “Don’t you want to know why I took you up here first?”
She rolled her eyes. Seriously, don’t be a dickhead. “I suggest getting on with it before I change my mind.”
He motioned to the window.
They were suspended above a frozen mountain, the Milky Way and gazillion stars stretching on for eternity, with the lights of Vail Village dwarfed at their feet.
Wow. It’s actually…perfect.
“Also, if you said no I was going to push you out.”
And there it is. She socked him in the chest then playfully dove on top of him, taking the back of his head in her hand. “You get one date. Friday night.” She kissed him, letting her body take control as her mind took the back seat in a way that only seemed possible when they were together. “And Mac?” She asked between breaths.
“Yes?” he obliged.
“Just so you know…when you become my boss, I won’t be able to sleep with you. Favoritism and all.”
“Shit.” He recoiled, trying to sit up. “Better get it all out of our systems now then.”
The words melted her insides. The idea of having total access to him, and the cruel intention of knowing she would inevitably be leaving. One week.
“Last thing,” he said, his face drawing a serious note. “Earlier you said you’d come up with two conclusions…what was the second one?”
Please don’t ask me that right now. If she was honest and told him she was planning to leave, she knew what would happen. His sudden motivation for finally trying, the date, whatever this was that was about to happen under the blanket, it would all grind to a very sudden and very awkward halt. Not yet at least.
She pressed a finger into his lips, leaning forward until his earlobe was in her mouth, then whispered, “Shut up or I’ll push you out myself.”