by A. K. Evans
I hugged Greg and told him I’d see him the next day. Tony walked me out and I made my way home. After parking the Jeep outside the condo, letting myself inside, and heading to my bedroom I called Wes just as I had promised I would and let him know that I had gotten home.
Yes. I was definitely home and it finally felt good again.
Chapter 32
Charley
“How could this possibly be happening to us right now, Charley? I feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know?”
“I know Em. It’s crazy,” I answered.
The limo we were riding in had just pulled up to the tarmac where the private jet Wes chartered to take us to Aspen was parked. Yep. Emme and I, both of whom have had just about the shittiest luck in the world, just had a very comfortable limo, outfitted with champagne, pick us (and our luggage) up at our place this afternoon and we were about to board a private jet to Aspen, Colorado. It bears repeating that we have had just about the shittiest luck in the world and now we were here. How did this even happen?
To top it off, and quite possibly even better than all that, I looked out of the window and saw four of the most gorgeous men in the world standing there chatting with each other. I put the window down, snapped a picture with my phone, and put the window back up. I then sent that picture in a group text to Nikki, Monroe, and Emme.
If this isn’t the ONLY reason you need to move here, I don’t know what is!
Nikki responded almost immediately.
You two are the luckiest bitches in the world! That’s a whole lot of panty melting hotness in one photo.
Emme and I looked at each other and laughed.
Monroe’s response came a few seconds later.
Who gives a shit about the list anymore? I could totally move out there right now and give up the goods for the blonde.
My eyes got big. For her to make a statement like that meant she really felt something for him.
I was about to reply when the driver opened our door. We tossed our phones in our purses and climbed out. As we did, the guys turned to look at us and dropped their heads, laughing. I stood there confused at this reaction and looked to Emme. She shrugged her shoulders. Wes said something to them and they all started stalking over to us, which I found even more odd.
They finally got close enough and Wes spoke, “Who else is in the limo?”
My eyebrows drew together. “Nobody, why?”
“We’re going to be gone a week, Charley.”
“I know that, Wes,” I said with a bit of attitude. What was he getting at?
“How much fucking clothing do you need for one week?”
“Oh shit,” Stone said, his tone indicating he sensed a bit of danger in the air.
I looked to see that the limo driver had put our suitcases and bags out behind the limo.
“Seriously, Wes? Do you really need an explanation? There are five suitcases and four bags. Two of those suitcases are Emme’s. Two of them are mine. One of my suitcases was used just to fit all the layers I’ll need for being out in the cold considering I grew up in warm and sunny California. Then, I have the other one for normal clothes for when I’m not outside. That same suitcase also has clothes for dressing up in case we end up going out at any point in time. Forgive me, but I’ve never been to the X Games before, so I was unsure of what to pack. Lucky for you, Emme and I didn’t want to overdo it so we shared the last suitcase to put all of our shoes in.”
“Appreciate the courtesy,” he said, shaking his head while smirking.
“Moving on, of the four bags you see there? Once again, two of them are Emme’s and the other two are mine. One of my bags is carrying my makeup, toiletries, and everything else needed to make me look half decent. I know it may be hard to believe, but I don’t actually wake up looking like this. The other bag? Well, that one is filled with panties, bras, nighties, and other lace trimmed…”
“Quiet. The guys don’t need to hear about that one,” Wes said.
“Fuck,” Zane said.
“Hey, that’s where her explanation got interesting. I’d like to know more about that last bag,” Luke said.
Wes’ jaw clenched.
I then heard Zane ask Emme, “You and Charley pack similarly?”
She blushed and looked down.
Zane tipped his head back and looked at the sky as he said, “Fuck me.”
“Lucky bastards,” Stone said.
Wes chimed in, “Charley, which bag is the goody bag?”
I had a gray bag and a black and pink striped one.
“The black and pink one,” I answered.
He walked over to the bag, grabbed it, and then grabbed a suitcase. Then he asked, “Stone, Luke, can you grab the other suitcases?”
“I’ll get the rest of the bags,” Zane said looking at Emme with a sexy grin on his face.
The guys all started walking back to the plane. Emme and I just looked at each other, smiled, and fell into step right behind the guys.
I had never flown on a private jet before, but it was something I could definitely get used to. Sophisticated design details, unparalleled comfort, huge flat screen televisions, and plenty of leg room were just a fraction of the perks afforded on this particular jet. I parked my booty in one of the roomy, cream colored, soft leather window seats while Emme sat in the one directly across and facing mine. A few minutes later the guys joined us. Wes sat next to me, Zane slid in next to Emme, and Stone and Luke sat in the seats facing each other on the other side of the massive aisle.
At that moment both Emme’s phone and my phone chimed notifying us of an incoming text. I knew that was our group text conversation. About thirty seconds after that they chimed again. We both grabbed our phones and looked at them.
Nikki had responded to Monroe’s earlier statement about giving up the goods to Stone.
If moving means Monroe is FINALLY going to get laid, I’m packing my bags and purchasing a one-way ticket!!
Monroe then replied.
You act like I’m the only virgin left on the planet. Em? Char? Say it ain’t so.
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. I looked up to find Emme biting back her laughter while Wes, Zane, Stone, and Luke looked at us like we were crazy. I tapped out a quick reply.
Definitely not the last virgin on Earth, mama. We are on the plane now, though. I can put a good word in with Stone if you’d like. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to help a potentially dying breed. :P
Nikki replied.
YES!!!!!!!!
Monroe immediately answered.
Don’t you dare!
Emme chimed in.
We won’t, but if this keeps up we’re going to have to tell them something. Charley and I are not very good at hiding our reactions to this convo and we’re already getting strange looks.
Ok, I’m out. Have a great trip. Keep us updated. Lots of luck. Love you!! xoxo
That response came from Monroe.
Nikki kept at it.
NO!! We need to make this happen for our girl. Look at that picture, Monroe. He’s smokin’ hot! And I’ve seen the way he looks at those legs of yours. He’d be all over this. Come on. Charley? Em?
I replied.
As much as I agree with you, I can’t do it, Nik. Guess you’ll have to come out to see us again to take care of business yourself. :)
Whatever. Boring! Hope you have a great time in Aspen. Picture updates, ladies!
This is what I love about Nikki. She’ d fight you on something until the bitter end, but she’d ultimately respect your wishes.
I tossed my phone back in my purse as I looked up to see Emme doing the same. I looked away from her to see all the guys looking at us.
“Sorry,” I said. “Girl talk with Nikki and Monroe.”
Luke and Stone nodded their heads, smiled, and looked away. Zane looked to Emme and I looked to Wes.
“Love seeing you happy and laughing like that. Want to do what I can to help you convince your girls
to move here,” Wes said quietly.
“I really love you for that,” I said as I kissed him quickly on the lips.
“Mean it, gorgeous. Whatever I’ve got to do, I want to see you like that every single day.”
I whispered back, “Your friends are hot.” His jaw clenched. “Not nearly as hot as you, honey. But, to my friends, your friends are smoking hot. Stone is our ticket. If he could be interested in Monroe, that’s how we make this happen.”
“No shit?” he asked.
“No shit. But, I told you before that Emme was fragile and I needed to be sure about Zane. I need to be sure about Stone with Monroe because Monroe is something super special. Stone can’t play her. This would need to be a long-term thing. If that’s not his style, don’t push it and we come up with another plan.”
“I’ll work on it,” he said.
I rested my head on his shoulder and said, “Thank you, Wes.”
He leaned his head down to mine and kissed the top of my head before he said, “Anything you need, Charley.”
Roughly two hours later we had landed in Aspen. Wes rented two white Chevy Tahoes for us to ride around in. Of course, it ended up being Zane, Emme, Wes, and me in one car while Stone and Luke rode in the other. We just arrived at the house Wes booked for the week we would be staying here in Aspen and I had to admit it was absolutely breathtaking.
Wes pulled up the driveway, parked the Tahoe, and we all climbed out. He opened the rear gate of the car and I went to get one of my suitcases.
“Gorgeous, the guys and I will get the bags. It’s cold out here. You and Emme head inside,” he said as he handed me the key for the house.
“Wes, I can pull one of the suitcases and carry a bag,” I replied.
Wes clenched his jaw and through gritted teeth said, “Charley. Get. In. The. House.”
I saluted him and answered, “Yes, sir.”
He dropped the keys in my hand, so I grabbed Emme and took off to the front door. As we stepped inside we took in the beautiful space.
The foyer had a wide staircase off to the right leading up to the second floor. To the left was an open door that led into a den. The den had a mahogany colored leather sectional and matching ottoman that looked toward a wall mounted television. Cabinets were built into the wall under the television and shelving was built in along both sides of it. The shelves were lined with books. There was a wet bar off to the back side of the den while closer to the entrance was a desk large enough to fit a couple chairs around it. A door off to the left of the wet bar led into a bathroom.
Emme and I backed out of the den and continued through the foyer into the main living space. Wood beams and paneling covered the entire expanse of ceiling space. The main living area was an open floor plan, housing the contemporarily styled kitchen, cozy living room, and the not so formal dining area. There were hardwood floors throughout each of these areas. The kitchen had dark wood cabinets with brushed silver fixtures, granite countertops, which there were plenty of, and modern stainless appliances. Off to the right of the kitchen was the living room. It had lots of seating between the gray microfiber sectional and three mocha colored microfiber chairs. The focal point of the living room was the oversized fireplace. Another huge, flat screen television was mounted to the wall above the fireplace. Accents throughout the room, such as the red, white, and brown throw pillows and the super soft throws, made the room warm and inviting. The large dining area featured a solid wood table that had enough seating for ten people. Quite possibly the best part of the entire space was the countless floor to ceiling windows. Every room was so bright and the entire house felt spacious with all the natural light. Double wood-trimmed, glass sliding doors off the dining area led out onto the covered patio that had a stone built fire pit surrounded by seven Adirondack chairs, a built-in barbecue, high stools at a high-rise table, lots of additional seating, and a large hot tub.
“If this is what the downstairs looks like, I can’t imagine the bedrooms,” Emme said.
“I’m going to guess we won’t be disappointed,” I replied.
We heard the guys come in the front door and turned to see them walking through with all the bags. They set the bags down just inside the door and walked to Emme and me.
“Everything good?” Wes asked us.
“Wes, this is real estate heaven. It’s absolutely beautiful here,” I said.
“The views are incredible. I could be happy staying here for the rest of my life and never leaving,” Emme said.
“Not going to disagree with that, but you’d need to be fully stocked with food. And there’s shit for food here,” Luke chimed in from behind the refrigerator door.
“Em and I will go get food,” I said.
Wes spoke up, “We can order something in or go out for food today. You don’t need to do that, Charley.”
Before I could respond Emme spoke.
“I really appreciate you hiring me to shoot photos for this event, Wes. I appreciate even more that you are allowing me to stay in this spectacular home with all of you. We showed up at the airport today to get on a private jet you chartered and I wasn’t even allowed to carry my bags because of the testosterone that’s been surrounding me all day. At this point, I would be offended if you didn’t let me contribute by at least conceding on this and letting Charley and I take the car so we can make a run to the grocery store. We could whip up some chicken fajita quesadillas for dinner tonight,” she said looking to me for approval on her menu selection.
Wes looked from Emme to me. Then he looked to the guys.
“You don’t give them the car keys, I’m taking them in the car I’ve got the keys to and driving them myself,” Stone said. “I’m fucking starved and they just promised a home cooked meal.”
I looked back to Wes with a wide grin spreading across my face and held out my hand. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the car key.
“Be careful,” he said as he handed the key to me.
“Love you, honey,” I responded. Then, I gave him a quick kiss.
“Love you, too. Here. Take my card to pay for the food,” Wes said pulling his wallet out.
“No. We are buying the food. You’ve covered everything else. We’re getting this,” I said.
“You want to take the car and go buy food?” Wes asked.
I looked at him and nodded.
“I’m giving in here on having you two go out to do this. There are four guys here that’ll eat more food in one sitting than the two of you will eat in an entire day combined. I’m paying for the food. End of story,” Wes insisted.
I realized I wouldn’t win this fight. And the guys were clearly hungry so I conceded and took Wes’ credit card to buy groceries.
“Wise choice, gorgeous. The guys and I will get the bags upstairs. All the bedrooms have their own ensuite bath. Any specific preference on a room?” he asked.
“I’m good as long as I’m with you,” I answered.
He grinned. Then, he looked to Em and said, “Want to pick one out before you go?”
She shook her head. “Are there enough bedrooms here for everyone?” she asked. “I’d be fine with the couch down here.”
Zane spoke up, “There are six bedrooms here. Even if there weren’t you wouldn’t be sleeping on the couch, sweetheart.”
Emme blushed and looked away. I knew she was now going to have to fight to not have a break down.
I decided to step in. “Ok, so any room will work for us. Now, we are going to head out so we can get back and make some food. Any last-minute food requests?” I asked.
“I’ll eat anything right about now,” Luke said.
Stone, Zane, and Wes nodded their agreement.
With that, Emme and I went to the grocery store. After spending about an hour there we felt we had stocked up on enough food. As we pulled into the driveway, the front door opened. Wes and Luke came out to help carry in the groceries. We unloaded all the bags and then got to work on making dinner.
I cho
pped the white onions, red peppers, and yellow peppers while Emme chopped up the chicken. We figured extra chicken was a good idea since we were feeding a small army of large, active men. While she continued cubing the chicken I began sautéing the peppers and onions. Just as I removed them from the pan, Emme was ready to go with the chicken. After the chicken was cooked through we added the peppers and onions and let the flavors meld for a few minutes. We had already preheated the oven and had three oversized cookie sheets set out. We assembled the quesadillas with a layer of Mexican blend cheese followed by a layer of chicken, peppers, and onions, and then another layer of cheese sandwiched between two flour tortillas. Once we made up all the quesadillas we put them in the oven to crisp up and melt the cheese. Fifteen minutes later we sat down with the guys to eat.
There was a bit of moaning all around the table after bites of food were taken.
I looked to Wes and he winked at me.
“Good?” I asked.
“Phenomenal,” he answered after swallowing a bite of his food.
“I think it’s safe to say that you made a good choice in agreeing to have Emme and I go to the store for food so we could cook this week.”
He chuckled and took another bite of his quesadilla. After, the conversation turned to some of the details for the upcoming week. I learned a lot about the X Games in general, what Blackman Boards sponsorship of the event would involve, what the expectations were of Emme as far as media coverage, and then a bit more about the actual snowboarding.
Zane and Stone would be riding the superpipe, which is essentially a halfpipe with walls that are twenty-two feet high on both sides of the flat bottom. It sounded incredibly terrifying. While Luke could keep up with the guys on the pipe, he preferred big air and would be competing in that event in the upcoming week.
