One Walk in Winter

by Georgia Beers

  “You a local or a tourist?” The guy next to her had to lean close to be heard. He had also turned his back to the bar and mimicked her stance. He was handsome, with sandy hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. Tall. Maybe thirty, thirty-five. He wore a white henley and jeans.

  “A little of both, actually,” Hayley replied. “You?”

  “Local. Lived here all my life.” He had what looked like a rum and Coke in his hand, and he used that hand to point toward the dance floor. “Mostly tourists out there right now. A few locals.”

  “What do you do?” Hayley asked. Unlike many of her friends back home, she liked to talk to new people. She didn’t mind when a guy hit on her, as long as he wasn’t disgusting about it. Talking to people was enjoyable. She liked to learn about them.

  “I work over at the Marquez. You know it?”

  Hayley racked her brain, feeling like she’d heard the name before, but couldn’t place it and shook her head.

  “It’s a resort on the west end of town. Pretty high-end. Really nice. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of us. This is our busy time and we’re booked solid, so when I get a chance to cut loose and come out for a night, I do.”

  “Makes sense.” Hayley sipped her drink and took a moment to absorb the fact that this guy was actually competition. “Are you the only resort around here? It’s a pretty small town.”

  Hayley couldn’t hear the guy’s scoff, but she could see it. “No, there are two others. Mountain View, which does well because of its location and”—he leaned close—“its mountain view.”

  Hayley chuckled. “I see what you did there.”

  “The Evergreen is the other, but that’s a nonissue.”

  “Oh? How come?” Hayley sidled a little closer to the guy so she’d be sure to hear him.

  “Because they’re old.” The guy shrugged like it was the simplest answer around. “They’re completely outdated. I mean, they’ve got some plusses—mainly the restaurant—but they’re on their way out. No, Marquez is the place to be. We’re completely booked through the beginning of January.” He looked at her, pride on his face, and then something in his gaze shifted. “You should come by. I could work on you.”

  “Work on me?”

  The guy grinned. “I’m a massage therapist.” He flexed the fingers of the hand not holding his drink. Open, closed, open, closed. “I’ve got great hands.”

  Hayley wrinkled her nose. “I’m sure.” She turned back toward the bar and ordered another drink.

  “I’d give you a discount.”

  I wonder what I’d have to do for that discount. “That’s very kind of you, but I’m good.”

  “You sure?” He flexed his hand again.

  “Dude, now you’re just being creepy.” Hayley shook her head, took her drink, and walked away, looking for someplace—anyplace—else to hang. She noticed a group of women gathering their things, about to abandon a small, round, high-top table, and she swooped in, leaned her forearms on it, and claimed it as her own. She kept watch from her peripheral vision, but the guy made no attempt to approach her again. She’d probably bruised his ego, poor thing. She made a mental note to do some research on Marquez tomorrow, see what the guy was talking about, and with a shake of her head, she turned her focus to the dance floor.

  Bodies were moving, swaying, bouncing. Arms in the air, hips rocking. Laughter could sometimes be heard over the music. Probably seventy percent women to thirty percent men out there dancing. Hayley smiled. She wasn’t much of a dancer, but she loved to watch other people, and she envied the way some of them became one with the music. She was thinking exactly that about one woman in particular. She had her back to Hayley, but she was beautiful to watch. Wearing snug jeans, a sleeveless black top, and heels, she moved and swayed as if she’d written the music, as if she knew exactly where the next section was going, like it was created specifically for her body to enjoy. She moved her bare arms above her head, then reached back and lifted her oodles of dark hair up to bare her neck, which was long and sensuous, her hips continuing to sway the whole time.

  She was mesmerizing.

  Hayley forced herself to glance down at her drink before looking back up again, not wanting to come across as creepy as the massage guy had, but she couldn’t help it. She stared. At one point, the sexy woman danced slightly to her right, revealing her dance partner. Who turned out to be Tessa, the chef from Split Rail.

  “Oh, my God,” Hayley said quietly, when she realized the sexy dancer was Olivia, and her body did weird things then. Her knees felt a little weak, her legs rubbery. Her palms began to sweat and her throat went dry. She swallowed hard, then took a sip of her drink to help.

  Tessa saw her then. Made eye contact briefly. Hayley watched as Tessa leaned forward and said something to Olivia, who then turned to face Hayley, the expression on her face unreadable in the club lighting. She gave a tepid wave and they finished out the song before retrieving their drinks, coats, and purses from a nearby table and making their way to Hayley’s.

  “Hi,” Olivia said, slightly out of breath. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” There was a gentle glow coming from her skin. Perspiration from working hard on the dance floor. Her cheeks were flushed; Hayley could see that even in the dim light.

  “Yeah, I needed to get out. Be around people.” She pointed at their near-empty glasses. “You guys need refills?”

  Tessa nodded. “That’d be great. Cosmo for me, vodka cranberry for her.”

  “You got it.” Hayley headed for the bar. When she returned, three drinks in hand, the girls were watching the dancers on the dance floor. She returned to leaning her forearms on the table and joined them in simply observing the crowd, which almost seemed to move as one giant, throbbing entity, waves rolling through it to the beat of the music. It was kind of crazy in a very cool way.

  “Hey there, sexiest girls in the whole club.” Mike, who Hayley remembered as one of the bartenders from the Evergreen, sidled up to their table. He smiled at Hayley, then seemed to realize who she was because his expression faltered. “Oh. Hey.”

  Hayley gave him a nod and what she hoped was a friendly grin. He looked slightly uncertain but returned the nod, then spoke to Tessa. “Sorry I’m late. It got busy.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing.” Tessa leaned her head closer to Mike’s, and that made it hard to hear what they were saying—which Hayley decided maybe she wasn’t supposed to hear anyway. A new song kicked in and the crowd got a little louder in its enthusiasm.

  Hayley refocused her attention on the dance floor. Or tried to, rather, because it was hard with Olivia standing a mere foot away. Hayley watched as Olivia took a large gulp of her drink, then studied her as she looked ahead at the dancers. She had a great profile: straight nose, dark brows, strong chin, delicate throat. Hayley swallowed hard. She was so focused on Olivia that when Olivia turned to regard her, she almost jumped.

  Olivia seemed to pause a moment, her eyes slightly glassy and making Hayley think she’d had quite a bit to drink. When she opened her mouth to speak, the words that came out weren’t even close to what Hayley was expecting.

  “Dance with me.”

  It wasn’t a question or even an invitation. It was an order, a command, and Hayley, who didn’t really like to dance, had no intention of not obeying. Olivia headed toward the throng of writhing, sweaty, intoxicated people. Hayley followed her without hesitation, tried not to stare at her ass as Olivia began to move to the beat of the song, arms over her head, eyes unfocused.

  There was something surreal about this, about dancing with Olivia, bumping into her as the crowd moved and blended and absorbed them. Hayley felt like they were in slow motion, everything at half speed as she recalled the first time she’d seen Olivia. That morning in the woods—was it only a couple weeks ago?—and how instantly taken she’d been. That morning, that walk, had done something to her, but had there been a gun pointed at her head, Hayley couldn’t pinpoint what. Just…something.

  Olivia m
oved like she’d been born to dance, created for just that one activity. Her body was fluid, carefree. She let her head fall back as she raised her arms again, and moved them in tandem. Hayley did her best to imitate some sort of dance moves, to not stare.

  She couldn’t help it, though. Olivia was just too beautiful.

  Luckily, Hayley was far behind Olivia in terms of alcohol consumed, and she was able to force her gaze away and concentrate on pretending to have some rhythm. Being so close to Olivia was intoxicating in its own way. She could smell her perfume—something with a hint of citrus—and she did her best to be subtle about inhaling deeply.

  The next time she ventured a peek at Olivia’s face, she noticed her tossing glances at their table where Tessa and Mike seemed deep in conversation, heads still close together, bodies almost touching.

  “She’s into him,” Olivia said, as if making a random observation.

  “Yeah? You okay with that?” Hayley knew Olivia and Tessa were tight. She didn’t know much about Mike, though he seemed like a nice enough guy.

  Olivia shrugged and made a face that said she was on the fence about it, but the song changed before Hayley could dig further, and Olivia announced she was thirsty. Hayley was both relieved to not have to pretend-dance any longer and bummed not be in such close proximity with Olivia any longer. She followed her off the dance floor and back to the table.

  * * *

  Olivia had had more to drink than she probably should have, but Hayley kept buying her refills. No, correction: Hayley kept buying everybody refills. She took a sip of her vodka cranberry and knew this was it for her. The cranberry juice was starting not to sit well in her stomach and the last thing she needed to do was puke her guts out in a nightclub restroom. She wasn’t a college kid anymore. She was a grown-ass woman who knew when she was drunk, when she’d reached her limit.

  She should’ve stopped two drinks ago, but she was feeling off-balance with Hayley causing her worlds to collide. She was drinking and dancing with her boss. That was the reality of the situation. It had been nothing more than a coincidence that they were both at Glitter, as Hayley had no way of knowing Olivia would be there, but it was still weird. I mean, what are the odds? And why does she have to look that good?

  The thoughts shot through Olivia’s alcohol-dulled brain, and she chewed on the inside of her cheek to keep from responding to them.

  And Hayley did look good, that was for damn sure. The black jeans looked tailored to her body—especially her ass—the ankle boots with the slight heel were sexy as hell, and the white top showed much more cleavage than she needed to see. No. No, that was a lie. Olivia actually felt like she needed to see more cleavage. More skin in general. Yeah, more skin, that would be great…

  “Right, Liv?” Tessa’s voice yanked Olivia out of her steamy daydream and back to the cold harshness of reality—mainly that she was drunk and fantasizing about her boss. God, she was pathetic.

  “I’m sorry.” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “I missed it.”

  “Hayley was just saying that Alec over at Marquez was hitting on her.”

  Olivia took an extra couple of seconds to comprehend what Tessa had said, then was surprised to feel her lip curl, as if she were a lioness and was about to snarl. “Ugh, that guy. He’s such a dick.”

  Hayley’s eyes went wide, as Tessa and Mike both burst out laughing.

  Olivia took a slug of her drink, then set the glass on the table too firmly. “I’ll go talk to him.”

  Both Tessa and Hayley had a hold of her before she could take a second step. “No need,” Hayley said. “I handled him.” But there was a sexy little half-smile on her face that Olivia loved.

  “How’d you get so drunk this early?” Tessa asked, looking at her watch in obvious disapproval.

  “I drank too fast.”

  “Mm-hmm.” Tessa sighed.

  Tessa was annoyed with her. Even drunk, Olivia could tell. “All right. Fine.” She began to gather her things.

  “I can take her home,” Hayley said.

  Tessa stopped. Olivia looked from Hayley’s open, friendly expression to Tessa’s uncertain, hesitant one. “You can?”

  “Sure.” Hayley took out her phone. “I’ll get us an Uber. What’s the address?”

  Tessa held eye contact with Hayley for a long beat, then turned to Olivia. “You okay with that?”

  No words would form, for some reason, so Olivia nodded. Tessa rattled off Olivia’s address.

  “Done. Be right back.” Hayley headed for the bar, presumably to close her tab.

  “You sure you’re okay with this?” Tessa asked. Mike looked on expectantly.

  Olivia nodded again.

  Tessa pointed at her then. “You keep your hands to yourself, understand me?”

  Olivia was drunk, but not so drunk that the implication passed her by, and she felt her eyes go wide.

  “Oh, please,” Tessa said with a scoff. “Don’t play all big-eyed innocent little girl with me. I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at her.”

  Olivia had no time to respond—or come up with a response—because Hayley reappeared. “Uber’s super close by,” she said. “Ready?” She picked up Olivia’s coat and held it open while Olivia put her arms in. Turning to Tessa, she said, “Thanks for coming over to hang with me so I didn’t look like a friendless loser.”

  Tessa smiled reluctantly. She liked Hayley, Olivia could tell, and she couldn’t really blame her. She gave Mike a hug, then Tessa.

  “Advil and water before you go to bed, ya lush,” Mike called to her as she followed Hayley through the patrons—having to inch by sideways in some instances—toward the door.

  The Uber was waiting for them right out front, and within a minute, they were seated in the back seat. The car was a smaller model, and Hayley’s thigh was pressed against Olivia’s. “You ladies have a good time tonight?” the driver asked, as he pulled out into the sparse traffic.

  “I don’t know about this one,” Hayley said, jerking a thumb in Olivia’s direction. “But I did. That’s a pretty cool club.”

  “Ah, so you’re not from around here.”

  Olivia listened as Hayley chatted with the driver like he was an old friend. Between the easy banter and the warmth of Hayley’s thigh against hers, there was something comforting about the whole situation. Olivia couldn’t put her finger on why.

  Evergreen Hills wasn’t terribly big, and the driver pulled into Olivia’s driveway within about twenty minutes. She sat there, looking out the window at her house, her brain a little bit foggy.

  “Okay,” Hayley said, as if she’d suddenly made a decision. “Let’s get you inside.” She got out of the car, went around to Olivia’s side, and pulled her door open, helped her out of the car, then leaned back in to thank the driver.

  Cold, fresh air was always a good tool in getting a person to sober up a little bit, and it started to work on Olivia. She threw her arms out to the side and inhaled deeply through her nose, then held the air in her lungs, savoring its sharpness. “God, I love it here,” she said quietly as she exhaled. “I love the fresh air. Don’t you?”

  Hayley was watching her but also had her hands pushed deep into the pockets of her coat and was bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. “I do, yes, but I’d like it to be a little less freezer-like.”

  Olivia chuckled and shook her head. “Wimp.”

  “Guilty as charged. I freely admit it. Where are your keys?”

  Olivia arched one eyebrow as questions floated through her head. What was Hayley playing at here? Why hadn’t she just taken the Uber back to the Evergreen? And why had Olivia chosen a black SUV? It looked so dirty in the winter. And whose dog was howling like a wild animal at this time of night?

  “Um…isn’t that Walter?” Hayley asked. “He must hear us out here.”

  Olivia squinted at her, letting the words roll around in her head.

  “Look, I just want to make sure you get inside okay.” Hayley held her ha
nds up, palms facing Olivia. “You had a lot to drink, and I want to make sure you’re safe. Okay?”

  Well. That was nice, right? Olivia cleared her throat and handed her keys over to Hayley. “Okay.”

  Hayley took the keys and held out her arm. “Here, hold on to me. It might be slippery.”

  Olivia wanted that short walk to last longer, but she pretended she didn’t. Hayley was shorter than her, but solid. Steady. She unlocked the door, then held it open for Olivia to enter. She started up the five steps that would lead into her kitchen.

  Walter was his usual exuberant self at the top of the steps, so happy to see her, as if she’d been gone for days and days. He made little whining sounds as his entire body wiggled with joy and he spun in a circle, then another. Olivia’s foot caught the top step and sent her pitching forward, but that motion was stopped suddenly by Hayley’s grip.

  “You okay?”

  Olivia nodded and righted herself. She felt her face heat up. It was a good sign that she was sobering up a bit. Drunk people were rarely embarrassed, right?

  “Does he need to go out?” Hayley asked as she squatted down to lavish attention on Olivia’s dog.

  Olivia pointed toward the back door.

  “Fenced in?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” Hayley toed off her shoes and called for Walter to follow her. The door opened and closed and the motion sensor light clicked on. Olivia could see her own backyard lit up. Hayley came back into the kitchen, walked straight to the fridge, and opened it. Which Olivia thought was a little bit obnoxious until Hayley handed her a bottle of water. “You should start drinking that now.”

  Oh. Yeah, okay, that was nice. Olivia did as she was told.

  Hayley looked around, then stopped abruptly, as if she didn’t want to seem like she was looking around. “I like your place.”

  “Thanks. Me too.” Olivia took another long pull from the bottle.

  They stood there, awkwardly enough that Olivia could feel it even in her still-slightly-inebriated state, until Walter saved them by barking at the door from outside. Hayley jumped to let him in. It’s funny how an animal can alleviate uncomfortable situations, and Walter was no exception. The second he came bounding into the kitchen, spinning and grabbing various toys from his basket to bring to her, the awkwardness evaporated.