* * * *
By the time I met her at the Wolf Lodge on the east side of town, I was pissy and convinced that she was still taken by some guy back home. Why wouldn't a girl as beautiful and talented as her be?
She was obviously an incredibly catch, and by the way she kissed and petted at me all night, she knew how to turn a man on. There was no way someone like her was single. That meant she was just getting out of a relationship.
"Wait...didn't she tell me that? She was just getting out of a relationship and didn't want to date anyone else right now?" Or was that another girl I'd been involved with?
The conversations seemed to run together. I grumbled under my breath and parked the truck before getting out, pulling my board out and walking toward them.
She was in ski pants and a long sleeve shirt that fit her incredibly well. She smiled and her whole face lit up. She was happy to see me, and here I was planning to light into her.
Guilty before proven innocent, huh?
I let out a long, slow breath as I approached them and forced a smile.
"Finn, this is my brother, Parker. Parker, my friend, Finn."
Parker stuck out his hand and gave me a goofy grin. "Hey. Nice to meet you."
"You too. I heard you got some skills." I nodded toward his board.
"Some, but I'm always up for learning something new." Parker glanced toward Chloe. "I'm going to go wax my board in the lodge. I'll meet you guys by the lift."
"Alright. See you up there." She turned to me and smiled. "You look good."
"Yeah? Same man I was yesterday, I think." I shrugged and turned to walk after her brother. "You coming?"
She moved up beside me and I could tell from the tension in her shoulders that she was reading into my comments.
"What's the matter?" She pulled me to a stop and forced me to face her.
"I'm tired. I worked my ass off all day and tried to hurry, which left me a little more put out than I thought it would." I shrugged and looked around her, not sure why I felt the need to be a dick, but I did. "It's all good."
"Okay," she mumbled and fell in behind me.
I should have gone home after talking to Brian. I couldn't shake the thought of her being with someone else and yet to ask her would have me looking needy and childish. She'd already mentioned that her life wasn't going to be in Colorado, and that we were strictly going to remain friends. I just needed to lean on that and stop pushing in the other direction.
Parker turned as I walked up beside him and smiled. "Hurry up and scoot over. I haven't waxed mine either."
Chloe walked past us and left the building, moving toward the lift with her skis in her hands.
"What's that about? She okay?" Parker glanced from Chloe to me.
"Yeah, absolutely." I shrugged and worked on getting my board ready.
"Don't hurt my sister. I know you're the big shit around here, which is totally cool, but she's not just another notch on your belt. Understood?" The kid stood up to me and I gave him the respect he deserved for having the balls to do it. I would have done it for my sister too if I had one.
"Hell yeah. I hear you loud and clear." I winked and turned back to the task at hand. "Question for you, you know, in the hopes of not having my heart crushed...she got a boyfriend?”
Parker looked like he was thinking about whether to be truthful or not. "Why does it matter?"
"Because it does." I stood to my full height and looked down at him.
"Yeah, she does. They've been dating forever. He's headed to the NFL next year." He shrugged, took his board and headed for the door. "She's just a friend to you, right?"
"Yep. Just skiing buddies. She's not interested in anything else. I just didn't know why. Now I do." I smiled as my heart broke in my chest.
She had lied to me, but why?
"Cool." He walked out and put his arm around Chloe's shoulders.
I finished up and walked out behind them, slipping on a tight facade. I would have fun with them as friends and then I was done. My heart was already too wrapped up and it was my own fucking fault. Chloe wasn't to blame. I was. She had been clear with her intentions.
"You guys ready?" I glanced toward Chloe and smiled. "You sure you don't want to try one of these babies? They're so much fun."
She gave me a tight smile, still upset about our conversation. "No, but thanks."
Parker helped her up onto the lift and took the seat next to her, which was fine with me.
I waved at them and winked at her.
"I'll catch you at the top." I waited until the next one came, and sunk down into it.
The wind and snow blew around me as I tried hard to pull myself out of the slump I was diving into. This was a good thing. It was the caution tape being resurrected. She was off limits and even though she was starting to open up to me, it would only lead to her cheating on her boy and hating herself.
She wasn't the type of woman who wanted to cheat, she'd made that clear. I could respect that and would just back off. Besides... I was a manwhore. All the lovey-dovey shit I was starting to feel was incredibly uncomfortable if I really thought about it.
I dropped off the lift and moved beside them before glancing around. "There's two hard slopes and an easy one."
"I'm going to focus on the easy one for a little while to see if I remember how to do this." Chloe turned and walked toward it.
"I'll go with you, Sis." Parker called after her, but I caught his arm.
"No. I'll go. I need to talk to her for a minute anyway. You get on the hard one and show me some shit. Seriously. I'll be watching from the side." I smiled and Parker looked at Chloe, then back to the new hill.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Get to it." I pushed at his shoulder and he turned, moving quickly to the starting line.
I jogged toward Chloe and stopped beside her. "Hey."
"Hey." She glanced over at me and moved to a bench to tighten her skis.
"Sorry about earlier. I'm just tired. Forgive me?" I smiled and touched her shoulder, not wanting the nasty energy between us to keep up. I could have fun for a few weeks off and on with her. I'd just treat her like Brian.
"Already done." She gave me a sad smile and I knew it was a lie.
"Chloe." I reached for her, but she moved, getting up and heading toward the mountain.
She paused and looked back, as if she knew things were ending between us before they even began. "Are you still coming over tonight?"
"I can't." I lied. "Something has come up with my Dad. Rain check?"
"Absolutely." She nodded, her beautiful face expressionless.
If I thought my heart shattered over finding out that she was still with her man, I had no clue. It hurt so much worse standing there, watching her hurt.
Why did she want me in her life if someone already had the spot I wanted so badly?
She didn't seem like the kind of woman to play around with someone’s emotions, so what the fuck was happening?
Chapter 17
Chloe
"That was a blast!" Parker yelled after we'd been on the slopes for more than two hours. We all met back up at the bottom, the guys breathless from trying to outdo each other.