Finn
Chloe was a nightmare at snowboarding, but we switched her back to skis and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon outside together. Parker found a few friends and ditched us, which was fine by me. I needed to talk with the beautiful girl who'd stolen my heart anyway.
I waited at the bottom of the run for her, my hands over the top of my eyes so I could see her come down. Her long blond hair flapped behind her as her pretty muted pink jacket and wind-pants fit her incredibly well. I let out a long whistle as she stopped beside me.
"You got plans later, pretty girl? If not, I know a great place in town that will cut you a steak fresh from the rack. We can grab a few, and I'll grill them for us." I lifted an eyebrow and waited for her response. Just having her with me lightened the load of concerns I carried around all the time.
"Sounds wonderful. I can't imagine anything better." She moved closer to me, and I popped my feet from my board and stepped in between her skis, wrapping my arm tightly around her middle.
"I can imagine something a lot better, but we'll start with dinner and a long conversation." I leaned forward and brushed my nose along hers, wanting to take things slow, and yet not.
"How about a cup of coffee now at the little shop at the club house, and then we'll have our second date? I don't want to talk about anything heavy tonight. Let's get it all out of the way before we leave here."
She slid her pretty pink mittens along my face, and pulled me in for a sweet kiss.
"Get a room!" Parker yelled as he moved past us.
"I like that idea. There are so many things we could do in a room if given enough time." I nipped at her lips and smiled.
"You act like such a nice guy, but I know there's a bad boy underneath it all. I keep seeing him peek out around the edges of your personality." She pulled from me.
"Actually, I'm always a nice guy. You're just making shit up." I licked at my lips again, and glanced down at her mouth. "I want my kiss."
"I do owe it to you." She slid her arms around my neck and flattened herself against the front of me before lifting up and capturing my lips.
I slid my hand over the curve of her ass and squeezed tightly as I explored her mouth fully. She took every bit of what I was giving, and met me with a hot passion that left me needy. It wasn't something I'd experienced in my past. Desire rolled through me and I pulled her in even closer, deepening the kiss as my body hardened.
She broke the kiss and looked up at me a little starry-eyed. "Damn you're a good kisser."
"Mmmm... you should see what else I can do with this tongue." I smiled as she shook her head and pushed at my chest.
"Not here. Not now. So incredibly bad."
"Not me. You're thinking of someone else, which come to think of it is highly disturbing." I picked up my board, and tucked it under my arm before nodding to the lodge. "Let's go have this talk and finish clearing the air between us."
"Yes. Then we should really test out these promises about your magical tongue." She wagged her eyebrows.
I growled and reached for her hand, hoping the talk would be short and the night long.
* * * *
I carried two cups of hot chocolate over to the table as Chloe played with her nails. She was nervous, and she wasn't the only one.
"Peppermint in yours or no?" I held out both cups toward her.
"Yes. I love it, unless you do."
"Nope. It's all yours." I sat down and pressed my forearms to the table. "I need to apologize."
"You already have, Finn." She took a tentative sip and looked shocked. "This isn't scorching hot."
"I know. You tell them child's temp and they make it to where you can drink it." I wagged my eyebrows. "And here you thought I was just sexy. I'm smart too."
She laughed, and the sound of it caused my heart to beat fast. I couldn't even contemplate her leaving in a few weeks. It was too much to consider.
"I owe the apology." I started to cut her off, but she lifted her hand. "No, let me finish. Please."
"Okay." I sat back and let my free hand drop into my lap, willing to give her center stage.
"Coming here was something I did begrudgingly, because I had to." She shrugged and glanced down at her mug. "I'm glad I did, but I think I wanted to just treat it like a quick stop off in life and move on. I just wrapped up my degree and my dreams have always been to be on the west coast."
"Which is beautiful." I nodded, hoping to encourage her to forgo thinking about my feelings and just open up to me.
"Yeah, but meeting you and things spiking so fast between us has me wondering if maybe I was just trying to stay in California because this place has too many memories. I mean... I do seriously hate the cold, but this place really is fun." She tugged her cap off and worked to smooth her long, blond hair. "I'd be near my family if I stayed, which would be great. Parker mentioned wanting me to this morning."
I leaned in and slid my open hand across the table, wanting her to take it.
She did, and I closed my fingers around hers.
"Listen, you have to do what you think is best, and remember that any decision you make can be undone. You move here and don't like it? Go back to California. You stay there and it sucks? Come back to us." I smiled, but my words only seemed to hurt her rather than help.
"My apology is for the way I treated you when I first got here. You didn't deserve it. I pre-judged you. Forgive me."
"My actions and the way I lived my life had everyone judging me the same, and you were all right." I pursed my lips. "Your apology is accepted, but it wasn't needed. You were the wake-up call that I needed so desperately."
"Why are you so damn nice?" She tugged her hand from me.
"Because I care about you, Chloe. I want your happiness. Wherever that is...go there. Be free to live your life." I forced a smile and picked up my hot chocolate. "You and I will be friends no matter where you are."
"What if I want more than a friendship?" She sucked her lip into her mouth as her eyebrows pulled together.
"Then we work on that while you're here, and when it's time to go, nothing changes. If we decided to be together like that, then location shouldn't change that. It would be hard, but worth it, right?"
"Yeah. I'm over-thinking this. I just can't help myself."
"Let's finish up here, and get on with the rest of the afternoon. We don't need to sit here and figure out the future. I'm sorry for being an ass, and you're sorry for being so fucking hot, and it's all good." I lifted my hands and shrugged.
She laughed, and leaned back in her chair as the worry on her pretty face melted. "Did you find out anything about our Dads? Why they can't stand each other?"
"Nope. I mentioned it to my Dad, but he closed up tighter than a clam." I stood and offered her my hand. "That's their problem, not ours. When it becomes ours, I'll deal with it for us."
She took my hand and lifted her mug. "Let's get these to go. I don't know what I figured we could work through up here, but I'm over it."
"Good, besides, I'd rather snuggle up by the fireplace and work through our shit if anything comes up as it comes up." I pulled her to me and kissed the top of her head. "But... I'm a simple man. I don't need complexity and I take things as they come."
"I like that. A lot." She moved up and kissed me once before taking my drink to have them put into to-go containers. "So, if I didn't want the peppermint hot chocolate, were you going to drink it?"