The One I Love

by Mia Ford

  “Well, I’m no longer worried about being alone for Christmas,” I said. “That alone makes me feel so much better. As far as Grant is concerned, it’s a little confusing, I guess. I can see now what kind of damage he was doing to me, the abuses he was putting me through. I’m relieved that I’m now out of that situation and that I didn’t end up making a lifelong choice with him. At the same time, I feel like I’m a little lost. I don’t really remember who I am. I have been Grant’s slave for three years now, and then, poof, I have to remember what it’s like to be me again. It’s a bit overwhelming.”

  “I think that is natural,” Hailey said. “I mean, even in the best relationships, when they are over, you are left with a bit of an identity crisis, and with this one, he sucked the life right out of you.”

  “Yep,” I replied, sipping my wine. “But all in all, I am fine. I definitely will use some of this time for some soul searching, but I am much better than I ever thought I would be if Grant and I broke up.”

  “Good,” Hailey said, drinking her drink. “Now, all we have to do is get some warm clothes for skiing and get out on the slopes in the morning.”

  “I’m not sure if I am too excited about this,” I said, laughing. “But it’s vacation, so I am open to trying just about anything.”

  “And don’t forget your promise to find yourself a hunky skier and shack up in the light of the fireplace.” She laughed.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’ll get there.”

  We finished up our wine, talking about the people in the hotel, what we were planning to do while we were here, and the guys she planned on searching out as well. I almost forgot that Hailey was single, too, which made this a single girls’ weekend. I was hoping she would find herself a guy and forget all about my promise to hook up with someone. It just felt like the complete opposite of where I had been, but maybe that was point. Maybe that was what it would take to do a complete reset on my life. I sighed, thinking about it, never having been the girl that just randomly hooked up with men. Hailey had a great personality, but I was the brooding author, too shy to really talk to anyone, and from what I’ve found out, society only finds brooding authors to be sexy if they are men.

  I took the last gulp of wine and set down my glass, looking at Hailey. She was already dressed to go, but I wanted to freshen up just a bit after the drive to Aspen. I looked down at my watch and then back at her.

  “I’m going to run upstairs and freshen up before we go,” I said. “Give me like ten minutes, and I will come back down, and we can jet out of here.”

  “Sounds good,” she said, ordering another glass of wine. “I’ll be right here.”

  “Cool,” I replied, getting up and grabbing my coat from the back of the chair.

  I walked out of the lounge and across the marble floors to the elevators. I pressed the button and waited, smiling at the other guests as they exited the adjacent elevators. The door opened, and I climbed inside, turning around and looking up as the doors began to close. A man walked in front of the elevators and stopped, looking around like he’d lost someone. I thought about opening the doors so he could get inside, but I was frozen in place. This guy was probably the most attractive man I had ever seen in person. He had a definite ski boy look to him, but at the same time, was incredibly masculine. His hair was black and shaggy, and his eyes were a sparkling light brown. The contrast was almost breathtaking, just like people told me about my eyes. He had a strong, muscular physique that filled out his Henley. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, and I could see tattoos covering his arms.

  I had always thought a muscular man with tattoos was extremely sexy, but on him, it was like ten-fold. The doors squeezed shut, and my body relaxed. My shoulders pushed back against the mirrored walls. I hadn’t been taken aback by a man like that ever in my life. Sure, when I met Grant, I thought he was extremely handsome, but nothing that stopped me dead in my tracks. I almost had to assume that someone that good looking had some sort of major character flaw. They never were handsome and amazing at the same time. However, with the feeling bubbling up in my chest and the heat between my legs, I was starting to think that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to hook up with someone on this trip after all. Maybe I could even catch Mr. Tattoo’s attention.

  Chapter 9

  Cameron

  It was Friday and the start of another very busy weekend. My first class was one of the more extensive ones. It was a beginners’ class, but we took more time with them, really getting them acquainted with the equipment, how to wear it, and what to do while on the slopes. Most of the class was actually held outside, since they would be putting on and taking off their skis the whole time. It was a cold class, but nothing I wasn’t used to since at most of the resorts, we did the entire thing outside. The class had filled up after two people canceled the day before, so I didn’t have to make any adjustments, which was a good thing since I was a bit sore from heading out to the slopes the whole day Thursday. It had been a while since I had been out like that, and my body definitely let me know how it felt about it. I had come back and taken a hot bath, but I still woke up with sore muscles.

  “So,” Glen said, pulling the box of equipment across the snow. “Did you find that mystery girl from yesterday?”

  “Yes and no,” I said. “When I went upstairs, I looked down in the courtyard, and there she was. I threw on my shoes and coat and ran out there, freezing my ass off. However, by the time I got there, she was gone, and I didn’t see her anywhere inside. I ended up going back to the bar and having a drink before heading out when the wind died down and spending the evening skiing.”

  “Is that why you look like you are about a hundred years old today?”

  “I guess I should have stretched beforehand,” I said, laughing. “But it didn’t help, anyway. I pretty much thought about that girl the entire time I was out there.”

  “Uh oh,” Glen said, smirking. “A girl that has finally gotten to you enough for you to think about her more than just the typical time.”

  “I don’t need your hell.” I laughed. “It doesn’t mean anything, besides the fact that she was pretty, and I am attracted to her.”

  “Sure,” Glen said. “I mean, I chase down girls and think about them for hours because I’m just attracted to them.”

  “Shut up,” I groaned. “She is not the typical girl. You didn’t see her. I can promise you, if you had seen her, you would have been bounding out into the snow after her, too.”

  “No, probably not.” He laughed. “But I do wish I had been able to see you out there freezing your ass off, chasing a ghost of a woman through the snow. I have to admit, it warms my heart a little to know that maybe, just maybe, you aren’t a complete and total douche bag from hell.”

  “Don’t count on it,” I said with a smirk.

  We finished setting up everything just as the group of beginners made their way up from the bottom of the hill. One by one, we helped them off the lift, instructing them on where to go and how to set up for the class. Everyone had bright and shiny new gear, and most of them had bright and shiny new snowsuits. I was assuming neon was in fashion these days because the class looked a bit like a group of highlighters in the snow. The only exception were two girls, and I could only tell they were girls from the shape of their bodies, standing in the back row. They were completely bundled up from head to toe, including shaded goggles for the sun. At least their outfits were neutral colors. Otherwise, the brightness of it all might have blinded me. I looked over at Glen as he looked over the troops, shaking his head and lifting his shoulders. As usual, he started the class out, and I stood by, lifting up gear as we explained each piece and the purpose of those pieces.

  “So, this is the latch that you will slip your boot into,” Glen said, holding up the boot. “Don’t do it yet. Just watch. We will get to all of it very shortly.”

  The girls in the back were struggling to bend over or grasp anything because they were dressed like the little
boy from A Christmas Story. I tried my best to hide my smirk and chuckle as the shorter one almost fell over, reaching for the taller one and nearly taking them both down. They looked so ridiculous bundled up like that, but I assumed they were probably from somewhere warm and had been bamboozled by the local shops into buying everything in the store for their probably one trip down the bunny slope. It must be nice being that rich that you can spend that much money on completely unimportant items of clothing, just to never wear them again. At least they didn’t have their cellphones out, not that they could press the buttons with the thickness of the gloves that they were wearing.

  The wind had died down a lot since the day before, and I felt like if I had been bundled up like they were, I would be sweating to death by now. However, I guessed that I was used to the frigid temperatures, and some even worse. I can vividly remember a time where we were hired by the National Park service to come out for a week straight and give safety lessons to skiers who trekked to Denali to brave the natural slopes. It was definitely the most gorgeous place I had ever skied, but damn if it wasn’t bite through your jacket cold out there. After the first day, I had them take me to the closest town to get a temperature-rated coat and snow pants. That was what these girls looked like, except their movements were going to be very restricted because of all the layers. At least if they took a fall, they would just roll down the hill and not get injured.

  When it came time to help everyone with their movements, Glen sent me over to the overstuffed girls, laughing at me as I tried to help them through their clothing. The short girl was hopeless, and had gone into full out laughing mode, sitting down in the snow and telling me to just help her friend. I shook my head and laughed, trying not to make them feel silly.

  “What are your names?” I asked.

  “I’m Hailey,” the one on the ground said.

  “I’m Bea,” the tall one replied with a giggle.

  “Are you girls from California?”

  “No.” Bea laughed. “Believe it or not, we are from Colorado. You would think with the way we are dressed that we had never felt cold weather before.”

  “Well, I wasn’t going to say anything.” I chuckled.

  “At least I won’t be cold when I go inside,” she said, a smile in her voice, though I couldn’t see her lips at all.

  “All right, show me how to put on your skis,” I said, standing back.

  She slipped her feet right into the latches, but grunted and giggled as she strenuously bent at the waist and clicked the straps in place. She then stood up and grasped onto the poles to keep her balance. We went through several different motions, her arms going in all the right places. She was actually pretty good at this, and I was a little surprised they were taking a beginners’ course.

  “So, have you girls skied before?”

  “Maybe when I was a kid,” Bea said. “Believe it or not, we live in a ski town, but work is so crazy, and until now, I didn’t have skis.”

  “Oh, well, what do you do?”

  “I’m a writer, a ghostwriter actually,” she said.

  “What is a ghostwriter?”

  “I write books for a publishing company, for authors that aren’t actually authors but want to publish a series of books,” she explained. “I sign my rights away to the material, and then the client purchases it.”

  “That’s interesting,” I said. “I didn’t even know that was a thing.”

  “Apparently,” Bea said, laughing.

  “All right, Hailey,” I said, reaching down and helping her to her feet. “Your turn.”

  Hailey was a bit more challenged by bending over, and her movements were a little jumbled, but they were good enough to make it down the mountain without breaking her neck. At least, I hoped they were. Part of me was curious what Bea looked like, since she sounded really sweet and probably around my age. However, her full-on mummy suit kept me from seeing more than her cheekbones, which was unfortunate, or fortunate, depending on the way that you looked at it.

  “All right,” I said, looking back at the rest of the class. “Are we ready to make a run down the bunny slope?”

  “Yeah,” the class said enthusiastically.

  “You ladies want to go first?”

  “Sure,” Hailey said.

  “Why not? If we fall, we will just lay there as cushion for the rest of them.” Bea laughed.

  Hailey situated herself at the edge of the hill and pushed off, letting out a little squeal as she went down. Not long after, Bea let loose, showing me really great form as she pushed through the white fluff, moving her skis back and forth. I was impressed at how quickly she seemed to catch onto everything. The ski down the bunny slope was the last thing they did with us for the day, so I liked to make sure every one of them made it down the hill safely. I felt that it was a testament to my teaching skills if they didn’t fall or lose a piece of equipment on the way down. My first two were a success, and I smiled as they reached the bottom and celebrated, ramming into each other with their cushioned suits and falling backward.

  Everyone laughed as they went down, and I stood there waiting for them to clear the bottom before sending the next skier down. Bea threw her head back and pulled off her beanie and goggles, laughing wildly as she tried to climb to her feet. I stood there, slightly taken back, squinting my eyes down at the flashes of red glimmering in her hair. Her smile was bright and big, and she looked absolutely gorgeous surrounded by all the snow. I stopped the next skier for just a minute and moved to the edge of the hill, taking a closer look. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Bea was the girl that I had seen in the hotel the day before. I had spent the entire morning with her and didn’t even know who I was talking to. God, I was such an idiot. I had totally missed my chance, though I did get to talk to her for a little bit.

  I looked back over at Glen, and he looked at me confused, walking over and putting his hand on my shoulder. He looked down at the girls as they dragged themselves off the bottom of the slopes and to the sidelines. He turned back to me and cleared his throat.

  “You all right, buddy?”

  “That was her,” I said, shocked. “That was the girl from the courtyard yesterday.”

  “The ones stuffed like sausages?”

  “Yeah.” I chuckled.

  Glen laughed and moved down the line, double checking everyone’s skis and poles. One by one, the rest of the class went down the mountain without one incident of failure. My mind, though, was somewhere else at that point, and I was anxious to get down to the bottom myself and find this girl. By the time the last of the skiers had reached the bottom, Bea and Hailey were gone. I pulled my goggles down and clipped into my skis, taking off down the slope before Glen could stop me. I was going to find this girl.

  Chapter 10

  Bea

  We scooted off the end of the slope, laughter filling our stomachs. We grabbed each other’s hands and pulled ourselves to our feet. I glanced back up the hill, looking at the tall, muscular guy that I had seen just the day before, standing outside of the elevator. It was Mr. Tattoo, and his name happened to be Cameron, my ski instructor. I looked back at Hailey, who was waiting for me, and smiled, making my way over to the bench and letting the concierge service take my skis. I actually really like skiing, but I knew that if I wanted to really enjoy it, I would have to lose some of the layers. I was barely able to control my movements and just kind of floated down to the end and fell over. I had to admit, though, it was fun, and I hadn’t laughed that much in years. I really loved having Hailey around to lift my spirits.

  We walked back up to the resort and inside, taking off our jackets and the rest of our layers and giving them to the concierge to send up to our rooms. We then headed over to the bar and sat down at the end, ordering Irish Coffees to warm ourselves up and relax. My cheeks, since they were pretty much the only things showing outside, were red and tingly as the heat from the building washed over me. I was glad I hadn’t brought all my layers into the bar, or I would be sweating li
ke an animal.

  “So, what did you think?” Hailey asked.

  “I actually think that I may really like skiing,” I said with surprise. “Though next time, I am going to do my snow pants, an under shirt, a sweater, and one of the lighter jackets. I was like the damn Stay Puff Marshmallow Man coming down the bunny slope. It was a good thing that there were no kids there this morning.”

  “Yeah, we would have either scared them half to death, or they would have chased after us, thinking Frosty had finally come back to life,” she said, laughing. “All in all, though, I could totally see me and you hitting the slopes back home on the weekends. Maybe we’ll even meet us a couple of handsome men to take out with us.”

  “You are always thinking about men.” I laughed. “I will be perfectly happy taking myself to the slopes and enjoying the day whizzing down the mountain. Thank God for ski lifts, though. I couldn’t imagine going up and down that mountain without it. Then I might not think that skiing was that fun after all.”

  “Yeah,” she scoffed. “I could totally see us making it halfway back up and just collapsing, deciding it was better to freeze to death than keep going up the mountain. I am glad we decided to buy gear, though. We may actually get some use out of it back at home. It makes going back to the grind seem a bit more exciting than before.”

  “You act like our vacation is over.” I laughed. “It’s totally only day two. We have lots of skiing time left.”

  “Yes, we do,” she said, clinking her coffee mug against mine.