Five Night Valentine

by Emilia Beaumont

  “James,” I warned.

  He chuckled. "God, you must have it bad. So, what's her name?"

  "None of your business!"

  “Ha! I was right! There is someone.”

  “Maybe there is… but—”

  “But what?”

  I stroked the two-days worth of stubble on my chin. "But I leave in a couple of days, and she lives half-way across the country."

  “So?”

  “So… fuck. I’m probably never going to see her again.”

  James stopped messing about and said, “Oh. Not just a fling then?”

  “Exactly. I don’t know what to do.”

  James paused on the line for a beat, then let out long breath. “You know exactly what you need to do if you think she’s the one.”

  “I’ve only known her for four days.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” James replied. “When you know, you know.”

  “Maybe…”

  “Look, don’t drive yourself crazy over it. Remember what Pop used to say about overthinking shit: stop creating problems and find the solution! Now go have a good holiday and call me if you need another pep-talk. We miss your ugly ass.”

  I felt my chest tighten as I thought about my family, my Pop, and how they had all stood by me and supported me throughout my tours overseas. Urging me on when times were tough and always managing to say the right thing when I needed it. I couldn’t ask for better. “Thanks, I’ll see you soon.”

  James clicked off, and I stuffed the phone back in my pocket, giving Angel one last look before turning to go indoors. Time to hit up the gift shop.

  “I’m going to look like a big old bruised potato in the morning. Did you see those kids just zooming up and down the slope? It’s like they had no fear.”

  "That's because they don't. I remember my brothers and myself at that age. Nothing could stop us. I'm surprised we didn't break our necks from half the mischief we got up to." I tucked my arm around her waist, the smell of her shampoo causing my cock to rise as I thought about what we had done in the shower just an hour before. "But at least now you know you can go on the slopes."

  Angel laughed. “What do you mean? I can’t go on any slope except the kiddie’s one! The instructor said I would be a danger to myself and others. He practically banned me from the area.”

  "Smart man," I replied with a kiss. "Especially since for all the things I want to do to you, I need you in one glorious piece. You managed to stay upright most of the time though; you should be proud. You did good, babe."

  We walked into a white enclosed tent erected on the backside of the lodge. Tonight, we'd been invited to attend their special couples only soiree, an after party for Valentine's day, with an open bar, dancing, and a midnight buffet. Angel looked gorgeous in her green velvet dress, and I was going to have a hell of a time keeping my hands off her.

  “Wow,” she said as we stepped into the main room, decked out for the romantic holiday. “This is beautiful.”

  I had to admit, it was nice. Wasn’t as nice as the hot springs the day before, where I had Angel all to myself, but we had to take advantage of the lodge’s events and not always barricade ourselves in.

  We toured the enclosure, getting our bearings. There were various tables scattered around the space, with well-dressed couples on the dance floor in front of the swing band.

  "Come on," I said, tugging her towards the masses. "Let's dance."

  Angel laughed as I spun her into my arms and we turned in a slow circle with the rest of the dancers, my hands wrapped around her waist.

  "This is nice too," she sighed, her eyes alight with excitement.

  “I agree,” I said, pulling her closer. “And crazy.”

  She nodded, a blush stealing across her cheeks. “And crazy, but you have been a wonderful roommate.”

  I chuckled, arching a brow. “A roommate with benefits?”

  “Definitely,” she answered softly, sliding her arms around my neck.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat that had suddenly appeared. I didn’t want our time to end. Would book out the room for longer if she’d let me. Forever, if necessary. Being her valentine for only five short days was not enough.

  “What if, what if we continued this after this trip?” I asked, vocalising my tortured thoughts, putting myself on the line.

  She stumbled against me, nearly sending us careening into another couple. “W-what?”

  I shrugged, acting nonchalant about it. “You know, one of those long-distance relationships?”

  Angel stared at me, her eyes full of surprise and I swallowed, knowing I was going out on a limb. She intrigued me, and I didn’t want it to end when we parted ways in less than two days. I wanted to flesh it out, to see where it went.

  Hell, I had just been thinking about taking her to a family gathering. That had to mean something, right?

  “Nick,” she finally started, putting some distance between us. “I mean, this has been a heck of a lot of fun, but I’m not sure, I mean I’m not looking for anything serious right now. Are you? I just got out of a really long relationship… I thought we agreed? Five days and five nights only.”

  Ouch, it was as if I’d been stabbed in the heart. Wounds on the battlefield had never felt this bad.

  Eleven

  Angel

  I was a lying bitch. A fool. Why would I say such a thing?

  But I knew why. My heart had already been through two years of agonising torment. My poor heart couldn’t go another round. It was knocked out cold, face down on the mat. I couldn’t very well let it jump back in the ring and fight again for love? Could I?

  I sat picking at my food, watching Nick under hooded eyes, wishing I'd kept my mouth shut. When he'd proposed that we continue this after this trip, I'd froze. The thought of another relationship had seized the blood in my veins, and the words had spilled out of my mouth before I could give it a second thought.

  Unfortunately, it had taken the magic out of what was supposed to be our special night together. The celebration had deflated like an old party balloon and Nick and I barely said two words since.

  Sighing inwardly, I pushed my full plate aside. “I think, I mean, I’m going to call it a night.”

  Nick looked up and I felt the stir of heat in my lower belly as I stared into those warm eyes, wishing I could see the tenderness in them once more. I had ruined it. Pushed him away and there was no going back.

  "Sure," he finally said, toying with the drink in front of him. "I'm going to hang out here for a while; I'm not ready to wind down yet. Unless you want me to—"

  “No, no. You stay. Don’t leave on my account,” I said awkwardly, politeness and distance creeping in.

  “If you’re sure?”

  “I am.” You stupid, stupid liar! Tell him no. Tell him you want him upstairs right now, on the bed and naked in five seconds flat. Instead, I gathered my clutch and nodded. We were being too civil, not wanting to tread on each other's toes. Where had the spark gone?

  “Okay then.”

  I sighed, angry with myself. I had pretty much shut him down when he asked to continue the hottest thing that had ever happened in my life in forever, no wonder he wanted to stay down here. I was an idiot, but I couldn’t make the words come out of my mouth. “Okay. See you later.”

  “Yeah,” he said as I stood and walked away, my feet feeling like lead as I made my way to our room. Once inside, I kicked off my shoes, my eyes filling with tears. He was pissed. I could see it written all over his face and honestly, I would be too if the shoe had been on the other foot and I’d been the one to ask him about the future. I’d shut him down so quickly… so casually. Was it any wonder that he was hurt?

  What was I thinking?

  Brushing at the wetness on my cheeks, in the bathroom I took off my dress, wiping off the makeup I had carefully applied hours before, the thrill of what tonight was going to bring now gone. It wasn’t every day a man like Nick came along, one that had made me deliriously happ
y in the span of a few days… hours really.

  Now I was wondering why I had wasted so much time on Tim, trying to be what he wanted and not what I wanted to be. Nick had brought out something in me, something I liked. He was my missing puzzle piece, making me whole and yet I was pushing him away.

  I threw the dirty cloth, laden with clumps of black mascara, in the sink, grabbing the tissues instead and dabbing at my eyes. If I didn’t care about where this was going, I wouldn’t be crying like this, right? I wouldn’t care that I had apparently hurt him.

  And I felt like I had.

  “Ugh Angel you’re an idiot,” I muttered, walking into the bedroom and throwing myself onto the bed, the bed that still smelled like his cologne.

  It was obvious that I was scared, but I couldn’t explain that to him. I was scared of being hurt again, yet I also knew that this short time with Nick was going to hurt me far more than I wanted it to.

  Most of all, I was scared that maybe I wanted this to continue too much.

  After a few hours of tossing and turning in bed, I finally got up, peeking in the living room to see if Nick had made camp on the replaced sofa-bed. The lodge hadn’t asked any questions the day when we’d reported the issue and immediately sent a new one up.

  The room was dark with no sign of life. He hadn’t made it back yet.

  Blowing out a breath, I put my hands on my hips, and ran through my options. I needed to apologise and explain to him my fears, my past relationship with Tim. Surely, he would understand my hesitation then and we could decide what was going to happen after this trip was over. If he still wanted to, that was. For all I knew he could've left already.

  Yet there I was inert, wasting away the hours we had left and the best romantic encounter of my entire life over some miscommunication and misunderstanding. All because I wasn’t brave enough to tell him the truth.

  Fuelled by this revelation, I threw on some clothes, a pair of sweats and chunky knitted sweater and headed out of the suite, hoping that I could catch Nick without being seen by too many people. It was after midnight as I took the excruciating slow elevator down to the lobby. I scanned the lobby through the glass before the elevator arrived but it was quiet, not a soul in sight. Seeing that the door was closed to the marquee from earlier, I spun around thinking where to go next. Where was he?

  “Can I help you?”

  I turned and found one of the porters at my elbow, a smile on his face despite the late hour. “Um, where did the party move to?”

  “The bar area, about an hour ago.”

  "Thanks," I answered. As I rounded the corner to the bar, I caught a glimpse of Nick's tall frame near the entrance. My steps faltered as I realised he wasn't alone, his arm wrapped around the blonde from the very first night as they left together.

  Without a word or so much of a noise, I backed away, my heart hammering in my chest. He had already replaced me. That quickly.

  I hid in the shadows knowing if I kept on going Nick would see me as soon as he rounded the corner. So I watched instead from the lobby shadows as he and his new conquest went by. She was giggling, clinging to him. He led her into the elevator and pressed her up against the glass. I couldn’t see his face but could imagine what he was doing to her. Kissing her neck, her lips, her cheeks. Like he had done to me. They’d end up in her room doing everything he was supposed to do to me that night.

  The elevator slid out of view and I wanted to wail and scream. Before I could let myself breakdown, I bolted up the stairs and leaned against the wall outside the suite, my heart now filled with dread. I had done more than piss him off. I'd pushed him away. Nick had moved on.

  “Crap,” I muttered, pushing off the wall and walking the rest of the way to our room. Because of my fear, I had lost him.

  Twelve

  Nick

  Day Five

  She was avoiding me.

  Despite only knowing her for a few days, I could easily pinpoint her moods and this one was brimming with annoyance. The ‘get the hell away from me before I castrate you’ mood.

  I’d made it back to our suite in the wee hours of the morning and instead of barging into the bedroom and waking Angel, I crashed on the sofa for a few uncomfortable hours of sleep.

  The bedroom door was still closed when I woke, and I had contemplated knocking on it before grabbing my ski gear and hitting the slopes, figuring if she wanted to sleep in, then I was going to let her.

  Besides, I hadn’t hit the slopes the entire time I was here.

  And maybe after I was done her mood would’ve lifted and we could talk since I’d clearly put my foot in it.

  After a few runs, I returned to the suite to find the door still closed, my ire starting to peak. Something was up, and I wasn’t so sure I wanted to know what it was.

  Was she still embarrassed by last night? That our night had been ruined. Sure, I’d been mildly pissed to know she was treating this as a fling, inconsequential, when I believed it could be something much more and for a few hours, I’d attempted to put her out of my mind. Foolishly flirting to bring my spirits back up.

  It hadn’t worked out. One hour in the presence of another woman, the same blonde from a few nights before, and I quickly realised that I couldn’t just forget Angel and how she made me feel. When the blonde had kissed me in the bar, drunken off her ass, the heat was missing, and I kindly pushed her away yet still helped her get to her room before she collapsed into a stupor.

  What the hell had Angel done to me? She had me thinking of a long-term relationship, a long-distance one at that. She had me turned off other women, and now I was worried she was mad at me.

  Damn, I was already whipped, and we were just getting started. Or it had already ended. I wasn’t sure which. Regardless, she and I needed to talk.

  As if on cue, the bedroom opened. She faltered for a second when she noticed me sitting there but soon recovered, marching onwards, dressed in her customary tight-fitting black leggings, a t-shirt to match, and a magazine tucked under her arm.

  “Hey, there you are,” I said, attempting a smile, as she headed towards the door.

  “I’m going to get a massage,” she responded coldly, pulling open the door. “I’ll be back later.”

  “Wait,” I frowned, following her out into the hall. “Can we just take a second and talk about last night?”

  Her shoulders stiffened but she didn’t stop, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. “I really can’t Nick. I’m going to be late. I have an appointment.”

  That was not fucking good enough for me to let it drop. “Come on, Angel, stop a second, will you?”

  She didn’t so I pursued her, down the stairs and through the lobby, feeling my blood pressure start to boil as she refused to slow down. It wasn’t until we had entered the spa, pushing through the green-tinged glass doors, that she finally did stop, only because she came to the counter.

  “Hi, Angel Rose for a massage.”

  The woman at the counter eyed me as well. “A couple’s massage?”

  “No.”

  “Yes,” I blurted.

  Angel turned at my answer and I gave her a grin. “If you refuse to talk to me, I refuse to leave you alone.”

  "I'm trying to relax, Nick," she hissed, her eyes narrowing. "Can't we do this later?"

  I shook my head and she blew out a breath, turning back to the woman. “Just ignore him. It’s just one.”

  “Plus another,” I answered, stepping up to the counter.

  The woman’s eyes went from my face to Angel’s, finally typing something in her computer. “I have a couple’s room open right now. Looks like the both of you need to unwind. Follow me.”

  “Oh my god,” Angel muttered, stalking past me. “Are you seriously going to do this?”

  “I am,” I said as we walked through another frosted door, the sound of tinkling water all around us. “Until you talk to me.”

  She huffed but didn’t object again as we were shown to a small room, the wall clad with
expensive glossy wood, the lights turned down low. Two tables sat side-by-side, ready.

  "Please disrobe and lie face down. There are complimentary robes or towels to put on if you wish. But get yourself ready and I'll be back soon," she said cheerily before leaving us alone, shutting the door behind her.

  Angel whirled around and placed her hands on her hips, attempting to stare me down. “Last chance, Nick. Please leave.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head. "Nope, not going to happen. I'm not going to give up that easily."

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “You’re ignoring me. Tell me why. What did I do that was so wrong?”

  Something crossed her features, a fire, an anger. But there was also something else and I was surprised to see a bit of hurt in that passing shadow. “I-I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

  The door opened, and another attendant walked in, surprised to see us both still fully clothed. “You’re not undressed… I’m here for the couple’s massage?”

  Angel gave me a look. “He won’t leave.”

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few bills, giving them to the masseuse. "Here. We'll be out in an hour."

  She looked at me dubiously. “But sir.”

  I gave her my best grin. "It's still Valentine's week, isn't it? We want to be alone. Think of it as a gift from the both of us."

  “What are you doing?” Angel asked as the masseuse looked from me to her before turning and walking outside, shutting the door firmly behind her. “There goes my massage!”

  I pushed up the sleeves on my thermals and pointed towards the table. “Get on. I will give you your massage and we will talk as I do.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not doing anything like that. Get my masseuse back, Nick. Right now.”

  “Not going to happen,” I answered. “Either you want your massage, or you don’t, Angel.”