by Mia Ford
Thinking about it, though, it was really nice to have Cameron in my head instead of Grant. Next to each other, Cameron seemed like the man in the romance novel, while Grant was just the asshole ex with an axe to grind. I chuckled to myself, realizing that I had turned my life into a storyline for a love book. It definitely made everything seem more exciting, but I also knew I needed to pull myself back into reality.
I sat there on the bench for about forty minutes, until I was so cold that I was shaking. The sky was starting to lighten, and I knew it wouldn’t be long until the sun began to come up over the mountains. I stood up and stretched, listening to the light chirping of the small birds nested in the trees of the courtyard and beyond. I turned and walked back toward the resort and inside, stopping at the small concession station at the front and fixing myself a hot cup of coffee. It wouldn’t be long until the early bird skiers woke up and made their way out to the slopes, getting in a few good runs before the masses flocked through the snow. I wondered what it was like for the people who lived in Aspen to constantly be plagued by tourists, to always be shoveling snow, and to feel like they were in a perpetual loop of winter. I knew that it wasn’t always cold and snowy there, but I liked to think of it that way.
I took my coffee and headed back toward my room, figuring I would take a shower and change my clothes before coming down to breakfast. For the first time in forever, I actually felt like joining the masses and being part of a group instead of hiding out upstairs, ordering room service. I figured that Hailey would sleep in, especially knowing how much more wine she consumed the night before than me. It was pretty certain that she would be nursing a hangover all day. Hopefully, though, I would be able to explore, maybe even running into the hot man from my dreams.
Chapter 13
Cameron
Was it weird that I woke up before the sun and sat at my window, staring at the empty slopes? Not that weird. I used to do it all the time back home. What was weird was that the first thing I thought about when I opened my eyes was Bea. I imagined her soundly sleeping, wrapped up in her blankets in her suite, the little tufts of snow falling outside of her window. I knew how quiet it was on the other side of the glass. I used to sit there and take in the silence just before the early birds would take the slopes. It was a time for me to clear my mind, prepare for the training that I was facing, and move forward without fear or caution. It was probably my most favorite time of the day, and I often thought about it when things got hectic or out of control in my life. There was definitely no time for those kinds of things in the regular world, but as I sat there watching the sky lighten and the sun begin to peek through the crevasses of the mountain, I felt a renewed sense of self.
After the sun had come up, I jumped in the shower and went downstairs, grabbing a bagel and some coffee from the breakfast bar. I then made my way up to the fifth floor and stood out of sight, waiting for Bea to come out. My plan was to casually bump into her as if it were an accident. Like I was helping the hotel deliver a bagel to someone’s room on the fifth floor. I wasn’t sure if it would work, and most likely, she would see right through it, but I had spent enough time sitting around and thinking about her. I had to see her, even if it meant forcing fate’s hand.
I stood there for quite a while, eventually drinking most of the coffee in the cup. I leaned against the doorway, standing up straight every time I heard the creak of a door or the ding of the elevator. What if I was standing here, but she had already left her room before I got there? It would be pretty awkward for her to walk up behind me and see me creeping around her floor. I wasn’t spying on her, but I knew that it would be what it looked like from the outside perspective. I started to worry about it more and more, second-guessing myself and jumping every time the elevator made a noise. What was I doing? I was standing in the hallway of a girl I had met one time, waiting for her to come out of her room so I could ask her out. Since when did I become such a pussy that I couldn’t handle just doing it the right way?
I sighed and looked down at the cold bagel and empty coffee cup. I turned and tossed the cup in the trash and set the tray by the trashcan, holding the bagel in my hand, figuring it was probably going to be my breakfast since I had just chickened out of my plan. Besides, even if she did believe it, there was nothing saying she would actually agree to go to breakfast with me. I sighed, deciding to take the elevators on the other side of the floor since they came down near the lounge. As I started walking down the hall, Bea’s room door flew open, almost hitting me in the arm.
“Oh my Gosh,” Bea said, racing out and grabbing my arm. “I am so sorry, sir, I wasn’t…. wait a minute.”
“Oh, hey,” I said, trying to act surprised. “I was just coming up to deliver this bagel to room 514 for the kitchen.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, they had some call outs this morning, and I happened to be standing there,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.
“Interesting.” She smiled. “I wasn’t aware the maid service got room service, too.”
“What?”
“That room left early this morning.” She chuckled. “I was coming in from a morning stroll when they were leaving. The maid is in there right now, cleaning.”
Just as she said that, the door to 514 swung opened, and the maid pushed the cart out, waving at the two of us. I smiled and held up the bagel, watching as she turned and walked down toward the elevators. I put on a huge, fake grin and looked at Bea, who looked more amused than angry.
“Okay, I lied,” I said. “I wanted to see you, so I thought I could just ‘bump’ into you when you came out. It was a terrible cover… obviously. I just really wanted to take you breakfast. I didn’t think you would say yes after making the whole comment about fate.”
“So, you decided to try to cheat fate,” she said, shaking her head and smirking. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure,” I said, leaning in.
“I don’t believe in fate.” She giggled. “I just wanted to see if you would actually still be interested after I didn’t invite you back into my place. It seems that you have exceeded my expectations, and I give you extra points for the little flair you gave with that creativity.”
“I’m sorry, I, uh, I am such a nerd, and I’ll be honest, I don’t know how to do this,” I said. “I have been on the road for such a long time that actually courting someone… it’s a little…”
“Courting? In your travels, did you realize it’s not the 1700s?”
She laughed, holding her stomach and closing her eyes. I chuckled, feeling completely embarrassed. When she opened her eyes, she smiled and gave me a pitied look. She took in a deep breath, propped the door open with the stopper, and stepped out into the hallway. She reached up and pushed a piece of my hair out of my face and retracted her hand quickly, her cheeks blushing.
“Sorry, I, uh, it’s an old habit,” she said, shaking her head.
“It’s okay,” I said, laughing. “Waiting in the hall for a girl is not an old habit.”
“That’s good.” She smiled. “Otherwise, you might be branded a stalker.”
“Yeah, not what I was really going for there.” I laughed nervously.
I reached over and tossed the bagel into the trashcan in the hallway and dusted off my hands. An awkward silence fell between us, and I wanted to kick my own ass for being such a numbnuts. My whole life, I had been able to talk to people, never getting clammy or shuddery, but with this girl, I couldn’t seem to get out a sentence without pausing. I didn’t know what had come over me. It was like I was a different person, sent back to when I was an awkward teen, thinking about asking out the head cheerleader. Even then, though, when I was standing in front of her, I had all the confidence in the world. This girl just had a way of making me stumble over my words whenever I was with her. I looked up and noticed her watching me fight with myself, an amused look on her face.
“Why were you up so early?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said with b
lushed cheeks. “I had a dream and woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. So, I got dressed and went out to the courtyard. It was so peaceful and so quiet. I love that feeling, when it’s first thing in the morning after a big snow and the birds aren’t even awake yet. It’s beautiful and makes me wonder if there was ever a time humanity was so still and quiet.”
“I did the same thing, only from the comfort of my windows in my room.” I chuckled. “I’ve spent many a morning on the slopes, though, just listening to the silence around me, watching the snow shimmer in the reflecting light as the sky lightens. It’s almost humbling, and I am able to really clear my head.”
“It sure is beautiful,” she said, taking a deep breath and a step toward her door.
“Listen,” I said, reaching out to touch her hand. “I may have gone about this the wrong way, but the truth is, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I left you right here. When I’m around you, I’m just not the guy that I had grown accustomed to being. I am shaky, stuttering, and can’t seem to put a sentence fully together to save my life. I figure, if it is something that is getting to me that bad, then I needed to just act on it. I’m not used to women getting to me like that. So, please, come to breakfast with me. Let me get to know you better and show you who I am. I know this is temporary, but I can’t really think of any other reason why I should just leave you alone.”
“Wow,” she said, smiling. “That was good. You had it together on that one.”
“You like that?”
“Yeah.” She laughed. “All right, I’ll go to breakfast with you. If you could, though, just wait here for a few and let me get out of my pj’s and brush my teeth first.”
“Okay,” I replied, just then realizing she wasn’t dressed for the day. “I’ll be right here.”
She smiled as she shut the door behind her, and I leaned back against the wall, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. Well, that didn’t quite go as I thought it would, but at least, she was going to have breakfast with me. She was a sneaky little thing, making me obsess over fate and then telling me she didn’t believe in it after all. I should have come up last night when I was yearning to, but maybe this had turned out exactly how it should. In my head though, I had a much smoother setup planned. She runs into me, laughs in a giggly way, I charm her with my smile, and off we go to have breakfast on the terrace.
First of all, she was not the kind of girl you would find giggling over a guy. Secondly, I couldn’t pull out my charm around her to save my life. And third, who would eat breakfast on the terrace when it was like fourteen degrees outside? So, I didn’t really plan this out that well, but at least, I put some kind of thought to it. These days, I’d been living my life kind of on a whim, without much thought. I thought it was important to put thought into Bea. She was special.
I was drawn from my thoughts as she walked out of the room wearing jeans, a sweater, and a pair of black and white Chuck Taylor’s. She looked beautiful and adorable at the same time. We went downstairs and got a table at the restaurant, ordering two mimosas and relaxing.
“Don’t you have a class this morning?” she asked.
“Glen is covering it for me,” I said, smiling.
“Oh, so you got your business partner in on this covert operation?” She laughed.
“Yeah, well, behind every great man is a great woman.” I chuckled.
We spent the rest of the morning talking and laughing, getting to know each other better. She had a spunk to her that I hadn’t noticed before, but it seemed to light up the entire room. When we had finished breakfast, I walked her to the elevator, pulling on my coat, ready to get up the hill to my job.
“Thank you for breakfast.” She smiled. “Hopefully, it won’t be too long until you stalk me again.”
“I mean, I can have that arranged.” I chuckled. “When will I see you again?”
“I’ll come find you for a private ski lesson.” She smirked. “I want to see if you are as good of a skier as you say you are.”
With that, she climbed into the elevator, and I stood there smiling at her until the doors had closed. I was definitely on cloud nine.
Chapter 14
Bea
I had to admit, breakfast with Cameron was definitely unexpected, but not at all unwanted. After the dream I had the night before, I was terrified that I would get all clammed up seeing him, but with his adorable shyness kicking in, I felt compelled to be sarcastic and assertive. It actually worked out pretty well, and I got to spend my morning with a handsome guy, eating delicious food in the restaurant. I really didn’t want the date to be over, but I knew that I needed to end it and remind myself that I was only here for a limited time, and that getting too attached most definitely would be a bad thing. So, I said goodbye, meaning it when I told him I would come find him for a private ski lesson, and headed back up to the room.
When I got upstairs, I found a note from Hailey, telling me to meet her in the lounge when I got back so we could go out into town and do some shopping. I swore that girl had a serious shopping habit, but I didn’t mind at all because if I had that kind of money, I would have a shopping habit, too. I took off my tennis shoes, pulled on my black leather boots, and grabbed my jacket and scarf on the way out the door.
Just like she said she would be, Hailey was sitting at the bar, drinking a mimosa and chatting up the cute guy behind the bar. I shook my head and laughed as I approached, finding Hailey to be so fun and outgoing, something I wished I could be all the time. I stood next to her and smiled as she gulped down her drink and winked at the bartender.
“You ready?” I asked.
“Sure am,” she said.
“You have a shopping problem,” I replied. “I love it.”
“Ha! I love it, too.” She laughed as we walked through the building. “So, I saw you with Cameron this morning in the restaurant.”
“Why didn’t you come say hi?”
“You guys looked so involved in conversation, I didn’t want to break it up,” she said, smiling as we climbed into a cab.
First, we went to the coffee shop in town and got some coffee, something I was starting to feel like I needed after the long night that I had. Then, we went from store to store, perusing the shelves and giggling every time we saw a celebrity walk by. This place was definitely a celebrity haven. That was for sure.
“So, I heard you mumbling loudly in your sleep last night,” she said. “Did you have a bad dream?”
“Yeah,” I said quickly. “I don’t remember it, though. I just woke up in a cold sweat. It was very strange.”
“Don’t you hate that?”
“Yeah,” I said, chuckling nervously. “Really sucks. So, what are we shopping for today?”
“I don’t know,” she sighed. “Some new clothes and maybe some gifts to send back to my parents so they aren’t too pissed at me.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I was the needy friend.”
“Don’t apologize. You saved me from their yearly wrath.” She laughed. “I did not want to go over there at all. So, what happened this morning? Did he knock on the door?”
“No.” I giggled. “It was actually kind of funny. I walked out in the hall to see if there was a paper to read, and when I opened the door, I almost knocked him over. He gave some excuse about bringing a bagel up to the room next to ours. The thing was, I had been up before the sun, and I knew that the people had left, so I called him out. Just at that moment, the maid walked out of that room, and he gave in and told the truth.”
“Which was?”
“He had been waiting there all morning, waiting for me to open the door.” I laughed. “He was going to do that whole act, just as an excuse to ask me out to breakfast. At first, I was going to put him off again, but he, like, opened up to me and told me how nervous I made him and how much he wanted to take me to breakfast. I mean, how could I refuse?”
“That is really sweet.” She smiled. “What did you guys talk about?”
“Pretty
much everything,” I replied. “He is a lot sweeter than I thought he was going to be. It isn’t often that you find a hot guy that is also charming and open like that. It was really refreshing. I actually really enjoyed eating with him.”
“That’s nice,” she said, being standoffish.
“Okay,” I said, standing in front of her. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” she said. “What?”
“It is not nothing when you answer me with, ‘that is really sweet’ and ‘that’s nice.’ So, spill it. What is it that you want to say about this situation?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I mean, I love that you are finding this connection with anyone other than Grant, so I don’t want to ruin it but…”
“But what?”
“It’s just that you should be careful because Cameron is a hopper,” she said, shrugging.
I immediately heard what she was trying to tell me, and my mind went a little hazy. I had gone out to breakfast, let my guard down, told myself to not get attached, and there I was, spilling my guts to my best friend like some lovesick puppy. Maybe she was right. Maybe I picked the wrong guy to get over Grant with. I was never the girl that could separate her feelings very well, which was probably why I had an entire collection of chick flicks at home, waiting for another broken heart. At the same time, I wanted to believe that after Grant, I had learned my lesson and at least built up some kind of wall, even if it was made of paper and not stone. I didn’t want to think I was the girl that would fall for anything just because it felt like I was in a real-life romance novel.
I took a deep breath and picked at the fuzz on the sweater on the rack in front of me. Hailey was holding up clothes to herself in the mirror, and I felt like a complete idiot. She looked at me in the mirror and sighed, turning toward me.
