A Date for Christmas

by Erika Phillips

  Brad ordered Carl another drink and two hours later, Brad had learned everything from Maggie’s favorite foods, from pancakes to artichokes; to how she broke her first bone in grade school falling out of a tree after Janet dared her to climb it. When they left the bar together, Brad and Carl acted like the closest of friends and walked right into Maggie.

  ********

  When Maggie left her room, she had on a pair of fleece-lined leggings, a thick cable knit sweater, and her hair and makeup were perfectly done. Pierre had talked her ear off the whole time. He mentioned that there was supposed to be a big storm rolling in after midnight, so they should be fine on the ski lift and back in time before it passed through. His big concern was getting out of the airport tomorrow as he was flying out to Paris.

  Maggie half-listened to his nonstop rambling, but her thoughts were on the date and seeing Brad. Every time she thought of him, she would smile to herself. She was lost in her own world when she ran into her father and Brad; both looked to be a little tipsy. “Dad!” Maggie chastised. “What are you doing?” Carl could tell by the expression on her face she was not thrilled to see the two of them together.

  “I’m just chatting with my new friend, Brad,” Carl answered defensively.

  “New friend,” Maggie repeated, her gaze turning to Brad with a look that could kill.

  “Hey...Carl and I had a great time together. You never told me your dad was so funny,” Brad interjected.

  “Sorry, I didn’t realize the two of you had so much in common,” Maggie mocked dryly. “I’d have let him go on the dates with you instead.” Maggie placed her hands on her hips, not happy with either of them in the moment and also curious to know what her father talked to Brad about.

  Carl chuckled, “Lighten up, honey. I promise I didn’t tell him anything too embarrassing.”

  Maggie could feel the heat rise in her cheeks. Seeing the state her father was currently in, she wasn’t so sure he would even remember if he had. “Thanks, Dad,” she chided sarcastically, “Now, let me walk you back to your room--”

  “No... no. I’ve got a date,” Carl started.

  Maggie raised her eyebrows. She had speculated that something was going on with Evelyn and now her suspicions were confirmed. “I’m not sure you’re in any state to go on a date--”

  Brad decided to come to Carl’s rescue. “I’m sure Carl will be just fine. No need to worry about him tonight. Plus, we’ve got our own date to get to soon. The sun is setting, and we have a romantic ride on the chairlift to the top of the mountain,” Brad reminded her. Taking her by the arm, he started to lead her in the direction of the ski hill.

  Maggie attempted to protest, but just then she saw Evelyn come around the corner. Maggie didn’t want to make a scene, so she allowed Brad to lead her out. Turning her attention back to Brad she asked, “Don't you need to get cleaned up?”

  “Nah, I’m good. They can touch me up when I get there. We don’t want to be late--plus there’s a big storm coming, and the crew will want to get things wrapped up.” Brad informed her.

  Maggie knew he was right. Tonight was supposed to be their last night together and she knew the producers would be working overtime to get the scenes cut to air tomorrow evening. As they walked outside, the wind whipped at their faces. The weather had already begun to turn, and it would be a very chilly night. Maggie huddled up closer to Brad trying to warm herself as they walked to the chairlift. Brad wrapped his arm around her in an attempt to protect her from the cold.

  The plan was to have their last romantic date on the top of the mountain. They had planned a date by firelight. When it was finally time to begin, Brad and Maggie got onto the chairlift and took the long ride up. Maggie clung tightly to Brad. To the viewer it may have looked like they were falling for each other, but Maggie was honestly just trying to stay warm. Brad placed a kiss on top of her head as she nestled into his side.

  When they arrived at the top of the mountain, the wind had picked up and the snow whipped and whirled around them. Maggie saw that a large fire pit had been brought up and there was a expansive bench with blankets in a basket next to it. Also, there was a bottle of champagne for them to share and some chocolate-covered strawberries.

  Brad led Maggie over to the bench and they sat down together piling the blankets around themselves to help fend off the cold. Brad grabbed the champagne and filled a glass for each of them. For the next hour, they were filmed as they talked, laughed, and snuggled close. Maggie almost forgot others were there, filming it all. She was so lost in the moment, enjoying their conversation, everyone else just drifted away. Brad took his cue and leaned in to kiss her again.

  Maggie’s heart stopped, and the butterflies returned as Brad’s lips pressed against hers. She let herself go and enjoyed the feel of his mouth on hers, teasing and tasting. When he pulled back, she wasn’t ready for it to stop. She could see from the look in Brad’s eyes that he wanted more as well. Then the producer yelled “cut” and it was all over. Their last date had come to an end and the next day they would both be going home and back to their separate lives.

  Chapter 10

  The crew packed up, but Brad and Maggie still didn’t move from their spots. The wind had started to pick up and the snow had begun to fall steadily. The crew was working quickly to get everything put together before the big storm hit. But Brad didn’t seem in a hurry to leave just yet. He wanted some more time with Maggie and didn’t want the night to end. Todd walked over to them to get them moving.

  “You two ready?” he asked, breaking the spell between Maggie and Brad.

  “Sure,” Brad replied, but he had another plan in mind. “I was thinking we could ski down.” Brad looked at Maggie to see if she was game.

  “But we didn’t bring any ski equipment,” Maggie reminded him.

  “I had that arranged already just in case,” Brad smiled, showing her the skis already laid out in the distance.

  Maggie wasn't quite sure this was a good idea, her not being very experienced at the sport and the mountain being larger than any she’d been on all day. Brad could see her hesitation and interjected. “There’s a beginner trail that goes down the mountainside. I promise it’ll be an easy trail for you to ski,” he smiled hoping she would say yes.

  Maggie didn’t want her time with Brad to end just yet. Even though she was concerned about the approaching storm and her lack of skiing skills, she decided to not overthink it and to trust Brad.

  “Okay,” she replied brightly, a large smile forming on her face.

  Brad was elated. “Okay, well let me help you get your ski boots on then.”

  Todd, on the other hand, wasn’t positive this was such a great plan. “I’m not sure this is the best idea with the current weather situation,” he tried to remind them.

  “It’ll be fine, worry wart,” Brad laughed. “We’ll be down in the hill in twenty minutes. I don’t think the weather will get that bad that quickly.”

  “Ok,” Todd said, resigned. “Just be careful. You need to be back to work on Monday for the new movie promo and I don’t need you showing up with a cast on your leg.”

  Brad placed a hand on Todd’s shoulder. “Got it, Dad,” he mocked.

  Todd shrugged his hand off as he walked away from the two of them.

  Brad smiled at Maggie and gave her a wink. “Ready?”

  They walked over to the ski equipment and began to get their boots and skis on. The snow started to come down faster and the flakes were thicker than before. A large gust of wind whipped through Maggie’s hair sending a chill down her spine. “Are you sure we’ll be okay?” Maggie asked, again questioning if this was the best idea.

  “It’ll be all good,” Brad reiterated. “It’ll take us twenty minutes, tops.”

  “You do remember I can hardly ski, right?” she reminded him.

  Brad laughed, “You’ll do great. I’ll be with you the whole time.”

  They shuffled their way over to the beginning of the trail and Maggie cou
ld see that it was a gentle slope. With a few more small shuffles, gravity took over and they were slowly headed downwards. The night was beautiful. Large flakes fell around them as they skied. The incline was gradual, so it allowed Brad to grab onto Maggie’s hand to help her stay steady on her skis. Her skis were in a “pizza” shape the whole way to help slow her down even more.

  “I had a great time this weekend,” Brad started, the first one to break the silence between them. “I wanted to thank you for agreeing to the date, even though I know you only came because of an agreement.”

  Maggie gulped. Who told him? Then she remembered her dad’s inebriated state as they had walked out of the bar together. She wondered what else they talked about. Maggie blushed, “I’m--”

  “No need to apologize. I get it. I’m not your type and I’m not really seen as ‘boyfriend’ material. I’m not anyone’s pick for a committed relationship,” Brad acknowledged.

  Maggie wasn’t sure how to respond. Everything he said was true and she couldn’t deny it, but after spending these last few days together, she saw something more in him. Like her, he had wounds from the past that held him back from wanting to try to love again. He was damaged also and maybe that was why she felt connected to him. Maggie wished she could tell him everything but the fear of being hurt again held her back.

  “You know, I think we’re more alike than you know,” Maggie stated.

  Brad made no comment, his mind flashing back to images of Christy and how she had hurt him. He wondered if Maggie knew the truth about his past and would understand why he couldn’t commit to one woman. Or could she be the one he changed his ways for? All he knew was he felt something for her that he hadn’t felt in a long time and it frightened him more than anything.

  “I think you may be right,” Brad replied. He slowed them down to a stop and turned to face her, he leaned in and placed a feather light kiss on her lips. Maggie closed her eyes and savored the feeling of his soft lips touching hers. This was only the fourth time he had kissed her, and she never wanted it to stop. She wanted this kiss to go on forever.

  Maggie kissed him back and this time she took charge. She pressed her lips more firmly to his, biting on his lower lip as the kiss intensified. Brad wove a hand into the back of her hair and let Maggie lead. Maggie traced her tongue around the edge of his lips, begging them to part to let her in. Brad obliged and their tongues met as they danced in and out of each other's mouths.

  The strong winds picked up around them, but neither paid any attention, so lost in their kiss. A large crack boomed and ground underneath them shook, they both pulled apart not sure what had happened. The sound shook them both. “I think we better get going,” Brad stated with more concern.

  The weather had started to turn, and they still had a few more miles of hill to navigate. They started to move again and a few minutes later found the reason for the loud noise. A large tree had snapped in half from the weight of the heavy snow, blocking their path. Brad looked around, not sure how to proceed. He reached into his pocket to pull out his cell phone and saw it was dead. Then he saw another trail that led off from the one they were on. He knew this one would not be easy with the double diamond sign indicating the difficulty level.

  Maggie felt a sense of panic as she had no idea how they would get off of this mountain now. She saw the marker for the trail and her stomach sank. There was no way she was going down that way. It was filled with large, rounded, mounds of snow and they had no idea where it led. For all they knew it could lead away from the resort to another hard trail. They had no map with them and now they were skiing blindly in the dark. Maggie knew they had no other choice. She was cold and now only wanted to be in her room sitting by the warm fire.

  Brad looked at Maggie, “You’ve got this, we’ve no other choice,” he told her. “Take off your skis and we’ll walk down, okay. It’ll be easier that way.”

  Maggie unlatched her skis from her boots and left them on the ground. Brad did the same and they left their skis on the trail not wanting to carry them. Maggie took one step and knew this was not going to be an easy walk. The boots were stiff, and her ankles would not bend in them. She kicked out her foot and dug her heel into the snow and the other foot followed suit. If she had not been so worried about not falling face first down the hill, she may have laughed at how she looked trying to walk.

  After a few steps, she gave up and decided the best course of action was to sit on her butt and slide down the hill as best as she could. Brad, on the other hand, was more comfortable and seemed to be doing much better navigating the terrain. Even though he could’ve been down the hill in half the time it took Maggie, he never left her side. He patiently waited for her to tackle one snow mound after another. It took them nearly twenty minutes to get down the one small hill, and by the time they made it to the bottom, Maggie’s butt was wet and cold from sliding on the snow.

  Brad looked around and saw that the trail only led to another set of trails. He looked at Maggie. “Do you have your phone?”

  “No,” she replied. “I left it back in my room.”

  He knew he needed to get them off the mountain as fast as he could or find them some sort of shelter until the storm passed. “Stay here,” he told her. “I’m going to check out these few hills to see which one we should take.”

  Maggie was not sure she wanted to stay out in the middle of the woods alone, but she also knew Brad could get them off the mountain faster if he didn’t have to wait for her. “Okay,” she reluctantly agreed.

  Brad quickly disappeared to go figure out which way they should go. He was not gone long. When he came back, he had a smile on his face. He had found a path that led to a small cabin. Maggie followed Brad as he retraced his steps back to the cabin. Just over the horizon, Maggie saw a cozy cabin on the side of the mountain. The exterior lights were on, but it looked like no one was there, as the cabin was dark inside.

  When they arrived on the doorstep, Maggie could barely feel her fingers or toes. She flexed and released them trying to get some circulation back. Brad tried the door, but it was locked. He looked around to see if there was a key hiding somewhere to open the door. Not seeing anything, he looked at Maggie’s hair, “Do you have any pins or anything sharp on you?”

  It took Maggie a minute to figure out what he meant, when it dawned on her that he was referring to her hair. Pierre had placed a few bobby pins in to hold some of her hair in place. She pulled two of the pins out and handed them to Brad. She watched in disbelief as Brad jimmied the lock.

  “How did--” she started to ask.

  “Let’s just say, I made some pretty poor choices in my youth,” he informed her.

  “Well, let me say, sometimes poor choices can come in handy,” Maggie joked.

  Brad made a few small twists and turns, and the lock popped. He turned the knob and they walked in. The cabin was warm and cozy. They looked around not sure if someone was there or would be coming back. But they figured either way, if someone showed up, they could explain their situation and let them know they would leave in the morning.

  Maggie walked around the cabin and saw that the place had been decorated for the holidays. She wondered if the resort had been preparing the place for someone to arrive. When she glanced over and saw a card on the table. Curious, Maggie picked up the note and read it out loud:

  Dear Miller family. We hope you enjoy your stay. We have stocked the fridge for your week, should you need anything else please don’t hesitate to call. Happy Holidays. Evelyn Florence and Pine Creek Ski Resort.

  Maggie looked over at Brad, “I wonder if they haven’t arrived yet, due to the storm?” she asked.

  Brad looked around. “They said don’t hesitate to call, so there should be a phone.” Brad locked eyes on the phone hanging on the wall. He went over and picked up the receiver and heard nothing. He glanced back to Maggie, “It’s dead. I wonder if the storm knocked out a line somewhere.”

  “Well, at least we have a warm, dry place for
the night. In the morning we can figure out how to get back to the main lodge,” she stated, trying to make the best out of the situation.

  Brad knew she was right. He walked over to the fridge and saw they had filled it with many of the essentials and that they wouldn’t starve. Also, on the kitchen table was a large bottle of red wine, which they both eyed eagerly. Maggie wandered to the bedroom area to see what the sleeping situation looked like and noticed it only had one large king-sized bed. There was a reading chair next to it and a cozy fireplace to warm the space.

  The main part of the cabin had a nicely-sized kitchen and table and there was a small living space off to the side with a couch and T.V. Lastly, they noted that in the corner of the room was a Christmas tree decorated for the season. All Maggie wanted to do was get out of her wet clothes into something warm and wipe all the makeup off her face.

  She hoped there may be something in the closet she could put on. “I’m just going to use the bathroom,” Maggie informed Brad.

  “Sounds good. I’ll get a fire going. Are you hungry?” he asked.

  “Starving,” Maggie replied.

  “Looks like there’s a frozen pizza in the freezer. How does pizza and wine sound?” he shrugged, holding up the bottle of wine.

  “Delicious!” Maggie exclaimed.

  Maggie walked into the bedroom and found a plush robe hanging in the closet. Seeing nothing else, she figured it would be better than putting her wet clothes back on. Maggie walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She was chilled to the bone and hoped the warm water would thaw her out. Once it was hot, she stepped in and let the heat from the water wash over her. Maggie took her time, enjoying the feel of the water, and feeling anxious that she might be sleeping with Brad tonight. Instead of being nervous, she was excited for the first time in a long time.

  Maggie had no idea where things would go tonight, but for once she was not going to overthink it. She was going to let her heart lead and not her head. She only feared that Brad would not feel the same.