Leda
“Let’s go downtown today,” Stratton said, raising his eyebrows at me. “You slept for over ten hours, Leda. I don’t think you should hit the slopes again.”
As much as I wanted to protest, I knew it was probably a good idea. When I sat up in bed and stretched, my joints were sore and my limbs were stiff. Just walking to the bathroom sounded more painful than anything I was willing to put up with. I frowned.
“I’m sorry,” I said, looking into his eyes. “I feel really guilty. You’re missing the whole last day out because of me. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather go for a little bit by yourself?”
Stratton shook his head. “Definitely not,” he said. “I’d rather be with you. After all, I left you alone for two minutes yesterday and look where we are now.” He grinned. “Can you be ready in an hour? The resort has a shuttle.”
I groaned. Bed felt so good, I didn’t even want to move. After he’d massaged me last night, I’d slept for almost four hours. Then Stratton had come back in with dinner. Room service steak and mashed potatoes. It wasn’t the kind of food that I’d normally pick out, but I’d been famished. This morning my stomach felt like an empty toothpaste tube. It was hard to believe that I’d eaten at all.
As I climbed out of bed, Stratton stood and watched me. “You might have pulled a muscle,” he said. “If you’re having trouble walking tomorrow, you should go to the doctor when we get back.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be fine,” I told him. “Trust me.”
Stratton took my elbow and guided me to the bathroom. “Poor Leda,” he teased. “You couldn’t even chase me around now if I did something wrong.” He tossed his head back and laughed as if it was the funniest thing he’d ever said. Maybe it was my bad mood, but for some reason his jab felt a little more hurtful than I wanted.
After I was dressed and finally ready, we went downstairs together. The resort offered a complimentary breakfast buffet and despite our late-night meal of steak and potatoes, I was starving. My mouth watered as the scent of sausage, bacon, and eggs wafted over to me through the air.
I shot a guilty look at Stratton. “Do you mind if we eat first? I’m starving.”
Stratton grinned. “Sure,” he said. “Do you still want to get lunch in town?”
I nodded pathetically. “I’m so hungry,” I complained. “I feel like I’ve never used this much energy in my life. Is this how you’re always eating?”
Stratton laughed. “Your metabolism isn’t used to it,” he said. “You’ll probably feel better in a few days when you’re back to your normal routine.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, heading for the buffet. Grabbing a plate, I loaded it up with everything in sight. It was embarrassing how hungry I was; I could almost hear Megan’s voice in my head. “Are you pregnant?”
Choking on a bite of sausage, I closed my eyes dramatically. It had been a few weeks since my last period. Ever since I’d started talking the pill, I’d been a little more lax about what constituted the “same time” every day. I mean, it wasn’t like I’d had anything to worry about. Not before Stratton.
It was true that we used condoms most of the times. But I remembered hooking up with him once, a month ago, and we hadn’t used protection. Cold fear gripped my belly and I looked down at my plate, no longer hungry.
“What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “Nothing,” I lied. “Just excited to see downtown Aspen. Do you think it still looks like that Farrelly brothers movie?” Stratton laughed and I sensed that he didn’t get the reference. For once, his misunderstanding of American culture came off as annoying and not cute.
“Are you sure?” Stratton reached over and took a piece of bacon off my plate. “You’re not going to eat after all?”
I shook my head. “Nah,” I said, looking away so he wouldn’t see me flush. “Let’s just go.”
Downtown Aspen was beautiful. There was fresh snow on the ground and some kind of ice sculpture competition going on around town. Every direction I looked, I saw something cool. There were tons of little shops and boutiques and I immediately thought of Megan. Her wedding was coming up soon, and I still hadn’t bought a present for her and Tyler.
“Do you want to go to Megan’s wedding with me?” I craned my neck at Stratton. “It’s at the end of the year.”
Stratton gave me an odd look. “Isn’t it after school finishes?” He asked. My cheeks burned and I nodded.
“Yeah,” I said. “Sorry. I just meant.. you know. If you decide to stay here.”
Stratton shrugged. “I don’t know what I’m going to do yet,” he answered finally. It was like the atmosphere between us had been deflated, like a balloon. “I haven’t even started looking at jobs.”
I looked down at my feet in the new ski boots that I’d bought for the trip. “Ah,” I said. “Yeah, well, you don’t have to decide right now.”
We walked in silence, our boots crunching on the frozen ground. My mind was whirling with questions. What if I was pregnant? What was I going to do? Should I keep it? Should I tell Stratton? But he doesn’t even know if he’s going to stick around after school yet! He might go back to Germany!
I had an unfortunate vision of the future: myself in a shabby rocking chair, with bloodshot eyes, lulling an infant back to sleep. I didn’t want to be a single parent. Hell, I didn’t even know if I wanted to be a parent at all. Everything was so confusing.
Stratton glanced at me. “You okay?” He asked cautiously. “You’re being really quiet.”
I nodded. “Fine,” I lied. “Just thinking.” I tried to flash him a smile. “I need to find Megan and Tyler a present,” I said. “Do you want to check out any of these stores?”
Stratton stretched and rocked on the balls of his feet. “I have no idea,” he said lamely. “I’m gonna take a walk over here, by myself for a while. You wanna meet back up for lunch?”
I nodded, feeling stung. Even though I was feeling like a bit of alone time might be good, his perceived rejection hurt. I frowned. I was probably acting crazy again. Maybe I really was pregnant.
When we split up, I ducked into a tiny shop. The windows were covered in filmy lace and there was antique lingerie on display. It was all ivory and rose-pink, and I blushed when I held up a pair of sheer panties.
“Can I help you?” A stylish middle-aged woman walked towards me. She smiled. “Are you looking for something in particular?”
I bit my lip. “My friend is getting married,” I told her. “And I’m on honeymoon. I want to surprise my husband.” Once the words were out of my mouth, I blushed. She laughed.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” she said. “Let me take you to a section that you’ll love.” The woman guided me by the elbow to the back of the store. On display were lurid things that I would never buy, like emerald silk corsets and black stockings. I blushed even redder. “I’ll leave you here,” the woman whispered confidentially. “Just let me know if you need any help.” I looked around nervously even after she’d left. There were some purple silk negligees on a hanger that I thought looked like Megan and I grabbed one and clutched it in my sweaty palms.
Chill out, Leda, I told myself. No one cares. People buy lingerie all the time. It’s a totally normal thing that people do. I stretched and winced after the bones in my shoulder blades popped. In the quiet shop, the sound seemed to echo off the walls. My eyes darted nervously to the opposite wall. There was a vintage-looking black corset with a sheer robe and matching thigh-high stockings. I didn’t look at the price tag because I knew that I’d lose my nerve if I did. Carrying both the vintage set and the purple robe to the counter, I set them down and tapped my toe, waiting impatiently.
“These are beautiful,” the woman cried when she took her place behind the counter. “This one just came in last week,” she said, pointing to the corset. I nodded.
“Do you have plain wrapping?” I blushed. “I don’t want my husband to know.”
She gave me a conspiratorial smile
. “Of course, dear,” she said gently. “Just give me one moment and I’ll this wrapped up perfectly for you.”
It felt like it took forever for her to take the security tags off the lingerie and wrap it up in tissue. By the time she was done, Stratton was waiting for me outside.
“Is that your husband?” The saleswoman cooed as I was leaving the store. “He’s a dish!”
I blushed and nodded. “Thanks,” I said, for lack of better words. She beamed at me and I let myself out into the cold Aspen air.
Stratton laughed when I walked up. “Shopping for Megan? Or for Tyler?” He teased with the familiar gleam in his eye. I wasn’t sure whatever had just happened while I was inside, but whatever it was, he seemed back to his usual cheerful self.
Chapter Four
Stratton
“I’m exhausted,” Leda said with a big yawn after lunch. “You want to go nap with me? We could go a couple of runs in the afternoon,” she added, stretching and showing off her flat tummy. “I feel like I still have some energy in me left.”
I nodded. “That’s a good idea,” I said cautiously. “But take it easy, okay? I don’t want to have to worry about you any more than I already do.”
Leda’s cheeks pinked and I looked away. I hadn’t exactly mean it like that, but when I thought about correcting her, the moment passed.
In the shuttle on the way back to the resort, Leda kept yawning. She eventually nodded off and I was left to look out the windows and contemplate my future. It wasn’t exactly true that I hadn’t started looking at jobs yet. I had—but none in this country. I was looking forward to the next part of my life, but I didn’t know if the next part of my life would contain Leda.
The vacation with her had been incredible, but it didn’t erase all the weird drama that had happened at home. Honestly, my life was much easier before she came along. It was easier to just do what I wanted without having to take someone else’s feelings into action all the time. And she could be so moody! When I’d first met Leda, I thought she was an ice queen. But then I realized it was just an act; she wasn’t really cold at all. She was very shy, and her sharp wit always kept others on their toes. Since I was past that, I wasn’t sure that I could ever manage to stay in her good graces. Whenever I was honest with her, she acted hurt. It was impossible to figure out just which side of hers I was on that day. Vacation hadn’t been like that; when it was just the two of us, things were so easy. But I knew as soon as we got back home, things would go back to the way they had been before.
Sometimes, I felt like marrying her had been the biggest mistake of my life.
When we got back to the hotel, Leda passed out on the bed. Her gentle snores eventually became white noise to me. I took a long shower, then did some reading for class. When it started to get dark, I gently shook her awake.
“Leda,” I said softly. “Wake up. Did you still want to go skiing?”
Leda frowned at me, then yawned gracefully in my face. “I don’t know,” she murmured. “You can go without me, I’ll just sleep here.”
I shook my head and turned on the light beside the bed. “No, if you keep sleeping, you won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
Leda pouted. She stretched under the covers and I followed the line of her curves. Between my legs, my cock stirred. I cursed myself; no matter how ambivalent I felt towards her in the moment, my body always had a reaction to hers.
“That’s not fair,” she whined. “I want to nap. I’m an adult,” she added, rolling over and pulling a pillow over her head. “I can do what I want.”
I laughed shortly. “That’s ridiculous,” I told her. “Sometimes as an adult, you have to compromise.”
Leda didn’t answer. I gently pulled the pillow away from her face and tossed it towards the foot of the bed. “Like, I could have gone skiing all day. I feel fine. But then you would have felt left out and lonely, so I didn’t.”
Leda rolled onto her back and looked at me. With a huge sigh, she nodded her head. “I know,” she groaned. “I’m just so exhausted.”
“Lets go ski for a while, and then we can come inside and use the hot tub, okay? Does that sound good?”
“What about dinner?” She eyed me lazily. “I’m gonna be starving later, too,” she added. “God, why am I so freaking hungry right now?”
I laughed. “It’s the exercise. If we go skiing, you can have a big dinner,” I said in a soothing voice. Finally, Leda sat up, grumbling. She pulled her hair out of its messy topknot and I watched the waves cascade down around her face.
“Fine,” she said, pouting. “But not for more than an hour or two.”
“That’s fine,” I said calmly. “I’ll let you get dressed.”
When we were bundled up, Leda looked grumpier than ever. I patted her on the back as we waited for a lift. The wind was icier than usual and I felt a chill run down my spine as a whirlwind of snow gusted in our faces. We didn’t talk because we both had scarves pulled over our mouths. I led Leda down the same trail as yesterday, and she didn’t manage to fall this time. After we went down once, I told her that I’d meet her at the bottom of a more advanced hill.
“There’s an option for you to take the easy route down,” I told her. “Take the lift down and get off halfway. The bottom half of the hill isn’t very steep.”
Leda nodded and we clomped off in opposite directions. By the time I got up to the top of the hill, I was feeling more distracted and confused than ever. It was hard to think that tomorrow night, by this time, we’d be back in Charlottesville.
She managed to get under my skin in a way that no other woman had, not since Miriam. And not even like Miriam, if I was being completely honest. Miriam told you everything. Leda told you nothing, and made you guess.
I was relieved when I got to the bottom of the hill and saw that she was still in one piece. Call me crazy, but after she’d fallen the day before, I was worried that she’d manage to hurt herself even further. Outwardly, Leda wasn’t as tough as she would have everyone believe.
“You wanna go in?” I called out loudly. “Change and then dinner?”
She shook her head. “I feel great,” she said. “Do you wanna go again?”
“We should go in,” I told her. Leda pouted but she followed after me. In the lodge, she was shaking when she pulled off her jacket.
“Should we get room service?”
“Sure,” I said. “If that’s what you want. We could go out, too, though.”
Leda shook her head and rested it on my shoulder. I caught a scent of her hair and my lower belly jumped. Impulsively, I leaned down and kissed her on the temple.
“That’s what I want,” she said quietly.
Back in the room, she ran herself a hot bath. We ordered dinner and picked out a movie on TV. But she stayed in the bathroom for so long that I had to pound on the door.
“Your food’s getting cold,” I told her. “I’m going to eat everything myself if you don’t come out right now.”
“I can’t,” Leda called back. “I’ll be out in a little while.”
I rolled my eyes. Women. She was probably in there plucking her eyebrows or something equally ridiculous. Plucking a fry off her plate, I walked over to the door and chewed loudly.
“This is good,” I called in a teasing voice. “You sure you don’t want to come out and eat?”
“I’m fine,” she called back shakily. “Just relax!”
Chapter Five
Leda
“I’m fine!” I yelled back, stamping my foot on the bathroom floor. I wasn’t fine. Everything was a disaster.
I’d hidden the lingerie bag in the bathroom, with plans to surprise Stratton. At first I thought he was going to go out by himself and give me time to get ready, but that didn’t work.
I stared at myself in the mirror. The burn from the curling iron was glaring red-hot on my forehead and starting to ooze pus. I winced as I pulled strands of hair out of the wound. When I’d burned myself, I’d dropped the iron on my chest
, burning a hole in the corset. The pain had made me jump back and I’d ripped the lace on the robe; it had caught on the bathroom cabinet and created a huge tear. Plus one of my eyes was bloodshot and watery from stabbing myself with a mascara wand.
Being sexy with pulled muscles all over your body is harder than it looks. On top of everything, I was starving. I’d ordered the same meal as last night—steak and potatoes—with a side of mac and cheese and a salad. The delivery guy had come over thirty minutes ago and my stomach was rumbling so hard that I thought I was going to throw up.
In desperation, I looked at the clock. It was only nine. There was no way Stratton would sleep for hours. I was freezing and hungry in the bathroom, and I felt weird about staying inside for so long. Every tweak of my nerves was exacerbated by the thoughts running through my head. What if I was pregnant? What was I going to do?
BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) Page 144
