Stranded

by Chance Carter

  Cool relief swept through me. Val wasn’t mad. If anything, she was concerned for me, and that made me feel all fuzzy inside.

  “It’s not going to happen again,” I said. “We agreed that it was just because we’re stuck and had some unresolved tension between us. It’s been resolved now.”

  “Yeah. Sounds like you resolved it all night long.”

  “Val!”

  She dropped her voice to a purring whisper. “Was it good?”

  Heat splashed my cheeks, and I considered pressing my face against the window to cool down a little. I looked around the café to make sure Levi hadn’t snuck up while I was on the phone and, satisfied he was nowhere within earshot, indulged in a little girlish giggle.

  “It was amazing,” I admitted. “That’s part of what’s making me so confused.”

  “A good dickin’ will do that to a girl.”

  I scrunched up my nose. “I had no idea you could be so vulgar.”

  “Now you see why I don’t get along with all those society bitches,” she said. “Too bad Levi was a star in the sack. At least if he’d been crap, you would have something over him.”

  “I know, right? He’s annoyingly good at everything.” I traced the vein of the wood tabletop with my fingernail and sighed. “The worst part is we had this, I don’t know, breakthrough yesterday. By the end of the night, we were having fun together.”

  “Yes, you said.”

  “No, I mean we were having fun before we had sex.”

  Val hummed in thought. “Are you saying you wanna have his babies now or something?”

  “God no!” I said, jerking back in my chair. “I’m just confused. Anyway, it’s a moot point because I’ll bet you that the next time I see him, he’ll be back to rude and crude. We got whatever it was out of our systems and from here on out it’s business as usual. But hopefully with a bit more civility.”

  “I can’t tell how this is going to affect my odds of winning the bet,” Val muttered.

  “I’m afraid it’s going to be a boring case of both of us arriving home in one piece.”

  She laughed. “Bummer.”

  I chatted with Val a little more about what I was missing at home. They got quite the dump of snow too, and she and Garrick had plans to build a snowman and watch Christmas movies later. Still no word on the road up the mountain opening anytime soon, though Val said the forecast looked optimistic. It called for heavy winds tonight but the worst of the storm had passed. I promised to let her know if anything else happened, and we ended the call.

  I stayed at the café for another half an hour and managed to hammer out a rough draft for a post on the challenges of winter weddings, including potential weather mishaps. When I finished, I chugged the rest of my coffee and went back to the room.

  I had no idea what to expect when I got there. Would Levi still be asleep? Would he be waiting for me, naked, in a pile of rose petals?

  What I found instead was an empty room. Or at least it appeared so upon first glance. Then I noticed the light coming from under the master ensuite door and got close enough to hear the sound of the shower.

  With nothing else to do, I grabbed a book and retreated to the window seat. I didn’t know whether when Levi came out we were supposed to talk about last night or not. I figured I would leave the ball in his court. If he came out of the shower and wanted to chat about our evening, he could, but if he didn’t mention it, that was also a-okay with me. I was impartial. It meant nothing to me. Oh, Levi and I had sex? I’d already forgotten.

  I was a few pages into my book, snuggled cozily under a blanket with my back resting on a throne of pillows, when Levi sauntered out into the living room.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey,” I replied coolly.

  His damp t-shirt clung to the lines of his chest, and I had to force myself to keep my eyes from wandering.

  Levi looked past me out the window, where the snow was still falling, albeit a little lighter than the day before.

  “We were supposed to go skiing today.”

  I snorted. “There’s no way. I’m a horrible skier.”

  He shrugged. “Fair enough. I’m not great either.”

  He sank down onto the couch with a sigh.

  Huh. So there was something in the world Levi Wheeler didn’t excel at. I filed away that piece of knowledge.

  “Mind if I watch TV?” he asked, tilting his head back against the couch.

  “Nope. Just don’t turn it up too loud.”

  He chuckled and flicked on the TV.

  It was a peaceful way to spend a morning, but I felt anything but peace. I tried to focus on my book but couldn’t stop myself from sneaking glances at the top of Levi’s head. It was the least interesting part of him, and I still couldn’t leave it alone.

  Neither of us talked for hours. The longer it went on, the more I found my mind wandering back to last night. I would get to the end of a page and realize I hadn’t absorbed any of the words on it, and sometimes it took me two or three tries before I could move on. I didn’t want to admit it, but Levi was under my skin. Staying away from him had seemed like such an easy thing to do when I was sitting in the safety of the cafe this morning.

  I redoubled my efforts. I wouldn’t fall to temptation, especially not when it came wrapped in the 6’3” package of my nemesis. Even if he was smokin’ hot.

  Chapter 17

  Levi

  To my frustration, I turned on the TV and discovered there weren’t any games on. I watched sports highlights instead, but it wasn’t the same. I didn’t feel any calmer, I couldn’t stop my leg from bouncing, and I was staring so hard at the TV it was a wonder my retinas didn’t burn.

  I could feel her. Even though I was sitting on the couch and Frankie was several feet away on the window seat, I could feel her. I was acutely aware of her presence, just like this morning when her absence had been my first waking thought. I was dying for another taste of her mouth but I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. I just couldn’t remember a time when I’d had better sex.

  It didn’t make any sense. This girl and I couldn’t be any less alike, and the only reason we had sex in the first place was that we were stranded and apparently that made me lose my mind. I knew better than to get involved with any girl who’d be a fixture in my life for longer than one hot night. This went extra for Frankie, yet I hadn’t been able to keep away from her. I was still struggling with it now. It was a one-time thing, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how good it was, how much she turned me on, how many things I still wanted to do to her.

  The fact that Frankie snuck out of bed first thing in the morning told me all I needed to know about where she stood. At least one of us was being smart about it.

  I got up to make myself a coffee and caught Frankie peeping at me over the top of her book. She snapped her eyes back to the page when she saw me catch her. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who was a little distracted today.

  “You want a coffee?” I asked.

  “Uh, sure.”

  I started up the machine and pulled two mugs from the cabinet. “Cream or sugar?” I asked.

  “Just a little cream please.”

  I returned to the living room a couple of minutes later with our coffees and held Frankie’s mug out to her. She was bundled up right to the neck, and only her hands poked out to hold her book. It was adorable.

  “Thanks,” she mumbled, taking the mug from me.

  “No problem.”

  I walked back over to the couch and resumed my previous activity of pretending to watch TV while trying not to think about Frankie. At least now I had coffee.

  Most problematic of all, my reasons for disliking her were crumbling around me like dry leaves. Who would have thought that spending some time with the girl would give me a better understanding of her character? Crazy.

  She was genuine and thoughtful, and behavior that I found annoying before suddenly didn’t bother me so much. It was harder than ever to distance
myself. All I wanted to do was hoist her off that window seat, toss her over my shoulder, and carry her into the bedroom to have my wicked way with her. At least then we would have something to do.

  I did everything I could to distract myself. I channel surfed, I messed around on my phone, I even tried to have a nap, but I could still feel Frankie like I’d grown an antenna that solely picked up her frequency.

  Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. My own company was not enough to distract myself. I flicked off the TV and got up, pacing over to the kitchen and opening the cupboard I’d shoved Garrick’s “care package” in the day before.

  “What are you doing?” Frankie asked.

  I grabbed the Monopoly box. I couldn’t believe I was resorting to such a thing.

  “I’m bored. Let’s play Monopoly.”

  “Did you just say what I think you said?” Frankie asked.

  I walked back into the living room and stood in front of her, holding up the box. “Garrick sent this up for us yesterday.”

  “And you want to play it?” Frankie’s book was still open in her hands and she seemed to keep one eye on the page while she spoke.

  “Yes,” I replied. “Come on.”

  She didn’t move. “I don’t want to play Monopoly.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m reading.”

  “You’ve been reading all day. Humor me a little here.” I locked eyes with her. “Please?”

  Frankie let out a gust of breath. “Did you just say please? Jeez, I knew I should have started taping our conversations. Nobody is ever going to believe me.”

  I rolled my eyes and extended a hand to her. Frankie eyed it suspiciously, but eventually something gave and she allowed me to help her up.

  “I’m telling you right now,” she said, “if you’re one of those ugly competitive types that toss the board when they’re not winning, I do not put up with that kind of bullshit.”

  “You’ve got nothing to worry about,” I said, even though I could think of several times when Garrick and I were younger when I did just that.

  We set up the board in front of the fireplace. I took the top hat as my piece, which Frankie frowned on for being predictable. She took the dog.

  Frankie may have agreed to play to shut me up, but I could see the cogs in her head turning with strategy. She wanted to beat me.

  She wouldn’t, but I’d let her figure that out for herself.

  “Ugh! You’re joking me!” Frankie complained. “How much do I owe you this time?”

  I grinned. “Five hundred. Hardly worth getting your panties in a twist over.”

  “Yeah, five hundred isn’t a big deal if you’ve got it,” she grumbled. “Capitalist pig.”

  “Stop complaining and pay your damn rent,” I replied. “I should charge you extra for wasting my time.”

  Frankie rooted through her stack of cash and tossed a collection of multicolored bills at me. I tutted and collected the bills, sorting them into neat piles.

  “What was that you said about sore losers?” I asked.

  Frankie glared, but her expression soon cracked, and a smile like a sunbeam burst through.

  “I should have mentioned that Monopoly brings out the worst in me.”

  “Monopoly brings out the worst in all of us,” I replied. “Many a relationship have splintered on its cragged shores.”

  “I don’t know about that,” she said, pointing to my organized stacks of money. “You seem to be doing quite well for yourself. Must be because you’re a businessman.”

  I laughed. “Maybe I’m a businessman because I’m good at Monopoly.”

  Frankie handed me the dice, and I rolled, landing on the Just Visiting square of jail. A boring turn for me.

  “Do you think Black Mountain and Feisty Fox are going to merge now that Val and Garrick are getting married?” Frankie wondered, smiling. “You know, like bridging an alliance between two great kingdoms?”

  My jaw tensed, but I forced a stiff shrug and handed her the dice. Frankie caught my eye. Her smile had vanished, and her brow wrinkled with thought. “That’s your problem with her, isn’t it?”

  “What is?”

  “You’re anxious about Val’s intentions for your business.”

  “It’s not that simple,” I said. “And anxious is putting it on a bit thick.”

  Frankie shook her head. “I can’t believe you.”

  “That family has been pressing into our business for years,” I replied. “Her parents are ruthless. I think it’s understandable for me to go into this union with a little caution and I’m not going to apologize for that.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you that Val is nothing like her parents? If she had to choose between Garrick and her family’s legacy, I know she wouldn’t hesitate for a second to marry your brother.” Frankie chewed her bottom lip and stared at me, and when she spoke next, it was in a gentler tone. “I don’t know anything about business or corporate espionage or even beer, but I know people pretty damn well. Val’s a good egg. If you get to know her a little better, you’ll see that too.”

  Normally I would ignore that kind of advice, but I could see how much Frankie believed what she said. More than that, my approval of Val meant something to her. That shouldn’t have mattered to me, but for some reason it did. I filed away a mental note to look a little closer at Val the next time I saw her.

  The dice clattered across the board. Frankie groaned.

  “Looks like you’ve landed on Park Place,” I drawled.

  “I haven’t landed on anything yet. I haven’t moved.”

  “But you’re going to.” I gestured to the dice. “Hop to it.”

  Park Place and Boardwalk were my crown jewels. I had outfitted each with a hotel that burned a hole through the wallet of unlucky visitors. Frankie was my first guest.

  Rather than moving her dog to its doom, however, Frankie stood. “I’m hungry.”

  I looked up at her and frowned. “You’re hungry now?”

  “Yeah. Starving.”

  If I were playing with anyone other than Frankie, I would demand that we finish the game first. I even once wrestled Garrick down to the floor when he tried to cut a game of Scrabble short. But with Frankie? I was beginning to suspect I would have trouble denying her anything. At least for tonight.

  “Okay, fine.” I sighed dramatically and rose to my feet.

  “I don’t know what you’re grumbling about,” she said. “It’s not like you were going to win.”

  Cheeky. I had the sudden image of her bent over my knee with red handprints on her ass. A tendril of heat wrapped around my cock and I forced myself to think of ice baths and cold fish so I wouldn’t go to the restaurant with a raging hard-on.

  We put on our shoes and left the room, heading toward the resort’s main restaurant.

  “What are you going to get?” Frankie asked as she skipped ahead of me down the hallway. “I can’t stop thinking about a big, juicy burger.”

  “That’s the kind of decision I’ll reserve until I’ve seen the menu.”

  Frankie looked behind her and stuck out her tongue at me. In a move that surprised both of us, I stuck mine out back. She halted around the next corner and drew close to the large window overlooking the back garden, her cheeks creasing up with a smile.

  I pulled up beside her and shoved my hands in my pockets. The scene looked no different to me than the view from our room, but Frankie took it in with fresh eyes.

  “It’s a beautiful place to be,” she said.

  “Yup.”

  “I mean it. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “You’ve never seen snow before?”

  She chuckled. “Not like this. It sucks that we’re stuck here, but I still feel lucky for getting to see it all.”

  “We’ll see how lucky you feel when I finish destroying you at Monopoly.” I guided her away with a hand on her waist. “Come on. I’m starving.”

  Chapter 18

  Frankie


  I plastered myself to the hall window and frowned. “Since when did it get dark outside?”

  Levi sidled up next to me. “Since we killed nearly two bottles of wine with our late lunch.”

  My cackling laugh flooded the hallway. He had a point. I was no stranger to time flying when I was having fun, I just never expected to have so much fun with Levi. Not only had our late lunch stretched into dinner territory, but even the Monopoly game beforehand had gone by in a flash. Especially compared to the gruelingly long morning of “reading” before it.

  I knew we were in a bubble on the mountain and that it couldn’t last. After all, it was the nature of bubbles to burst. That was what made them so beautiful. Our bubble was due to burst the moment we got back to Portland, when we both remembered how much we disliked each other, and I was already mourning it. If somebody offered me a helicopter ride back to civilization right now I would probably turn it down, which was surprising considering I would have done just about anything to escape a couple days ago and had considered grand theft skidoo to accomplish it.

  A few flakes of snow pattered against the window, but the main event was the wind. The glass bowed and shook with the force of some of the gusts. I could hear it howling through some of the vents, like it was searching for a way in from the cold. I wrapped my arms around my shoulders and smiled, glad that I was warm and cozy in the safety of the hotel.

  “Come on.” Levi placed a hand on my shoulder and turned me from the window.

  We got back to the room and flicked on all the lights.

  I sighed happily. “I’m still not used to how luxurious this suite is. Not the worst place to be marooned, if you ask me.”

  “You’ve obviously never been to the Ritz.”

  I rolled my eyes at Levi’s remark and stepped into the living room, grabbing the fireplace remote and flicking it on.

  “Should we finish this game of Monopoly then?” Levi asked, following me.

  I wrinkled my nose. “I’d rather not.”