Chapter 25 Aspen
Aspen
It’s been two days since my birthday. Which means it’s been two days since the most incredible kiss of my life. I knew it was risky asking for that. I also expected him to say no. Needless to say, when he pulled me close and looked at me like he was going to devour me, I thought I was dreaming.
I could barely think straight all night.
Dinner with Dawson was awkward because I think he’s catching on that I’m not as interested in him as he is in me.
I’m trying, really trying, to like him, but I can’t stop thinking about Brooks.
Even when we were all at Roadside, I kept watching the door like he’d walk in and sweep me off my feet.
It’s stupid.
He told me we can’t be anything else. I’m trying to respect that, but it’s so hard when I want so much more with him.
Thankfully, I’ve managed to keep my cool around him. He brings me dinner every night. He knocks on my door and hands me a Tupperware full of whatever he made that night. It’s always delicious. I can’t even explain how nice it feels to have someone take care of me for a change.
We both keep things more than professional at work. We’re hardly ever alone together, which is probably for the best.
But that changes one day while I’m working on his budget for the Blue Haven Halloween Festival. Brooks walks up to where I’m working and closes my laptop. “You wanna go see the newly renovated guest cabin?”
“I would love to!” Not only do I want to see the renovations that Jazz has been going on about, but I’d also do just about anything to spend time with Brooks.
“Let’s go.”
I slip my laptop into a nearby drawer and follow Brooks out of the lodge and down through the walking paths to the guest cabins. Our hands brush more than once. I wish he would just reach out and take my hand, but I know that’s not going to happen.
“Are you renovating all of the cabins?” I ask as he pulls out the key to the one we’re seeing.
“Eventually, yes. But we’re starting with the ones that needed a little more TLC first.”
He opens the door and ushers me inside. I haven’t been to the cabins since my initial tour with Brooks all those months ago. I remember them being pretty bare bones, but this one has been modernized.
“Wow,” I gasp, looking around. “This looks so nice.”
The kitchenette has been upgraded. The walls are still natural wood, but the furniture is new, and there’s a colorful rug in the center and beautiful artwork hanging over the couch.
“We’re still going to leave a few cabins as they were because we have plenty of guests who come here for the traditional cabin feel and escape.
But for some of the new guests with younger families, we wanted to make it an escape but still be comfortable and what they’re used to at home and other potential hotels. ”
“This truly looks fantastic, Brooks. I think this will bring in a lot of younger families. Have you updated the website yet?”
I turn to find him watching me, arms crossed over his chest, smiling at me.
“What?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing. I just like watching you.”
I bite my lip to keep from smiling too big.
“We haven’t updated the website yet, no. I think Harper was going to work on that next week.”
“I can help with that, if she’s too busy.”
“I’ll let her know.”
He’s standing across the room from me, but I still feel his pull. My stupid heart is fluttering. It takes everything in me not to walk over to him.
“Do you wanna see the upstairs?” he asks.
“Yes,” I croak out. Anything to get me out of this trance he puts me in every time we’re together.
I turn and force myself up the stairs. I figure it will give me a moment to get myself together, but then I hear footsteps and realize that Brooks is following me. Of course he is.
The upstairs is a loft area with a large bed and a small couch. Both are way nicer quality than what was in here before.
With this being one of the smaller units, Brooks has to slide behind me to get onto the landing. He puts his hand on my lower back to keep me steady, but once we’re both up there, he doesn’t remove it.
“What do you think?”
I swallow and pretend like I’m not extremely aware of his hand on me. “It’s so nice, Brooks. Really. You guys did an awesome job.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
I look over at him and smile. “You trying to impress me or something?”
“Your opinion matters to me, yes.”
My mouth suddenly goes dry. “Why’s that?”
His gaze drops from my eyes to my lips. Oh my god, is he going to kiss me?
“Because you’re important to me.” His voice is low and gravely, and it makes my breath hitch.
I’m important to Brooks Calloway? Until he said it, I never realized how much it would mean for someone to say that to me.
He leans in ever so slightly as his eyes dip to my lips and then… the door of the cabin bursts open.
We jump apart, and I inhale deeply to calm my nerves before peering over the railing to see Jazz coming in.
“Hey!” I shout down at her.
She jumps and looks up. “Jesus Christ! You scared the shit out of me. I didn’t think anyone was here.”
I laugh and make my way downstairs with Brooks following an appropriate distance behind me.
“Sorry. Brooks was showing me the renovations.”
“Ah, right.” Jazz looks from me to Brooks and narrows her eyes. I haven’t told her about anything that has happened with Brooks. She stopped asking after I started hanging out with Dawson more. But she looks suspicious today, and I can only imagine what her interrogation will be like later.
“It looks really good,” I say, trying to ease some of the awkwardness.
“It sure does,” Jazz agrees with a smirk on her face.
Brooks gently touches my shoulder. “I’m gonna head back to the lodge. I’ll see you later.”
I nod, a little disappointed I won’t be walking back with him, but it’ll be good for us to have some space after that moment we just shared. “Alright. See you in a bit.”
He turns to Jazz. “Have a good afternoon, Jasmine.”
“You too, bossman.”
Once Brooks is a safe distance from the cabin, Jazz blurts out, “What the fuck did I walk in on?”
“Uh, a cabin tour?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Aspen.”
“I’m not!” But my voice comes out way too high. She knows I’m lying.
“Are you messing around with Brooks?”
“No! I told you I won’t do that.” The lie feels sour on my tongue.
“I know what you said, but I also know what I saw.”
“And what exactly did you see?”
“The two of you. Alone. You with flushed cheeks.”
Oh god. Are my cheeks flushed? I do feel hot. Why does he affect me like this? He said nothing can happen between us. Nothing did happen.
“I—I…”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying. Nothing happened here today.”
“But something has happened previously?” she questions, picking up on my words.
I shrug one shoulder and look away. “Maybe.”
She shoves my shoulder. “You dirty skank! Tell me everything!”
“It’s nothing really. We’ve. . . kissed. Twice. That’s all.”
“Oh my god! I cannot believe this! You kissed Brooks? I am so jealous. How was it? He’s a great kisser, isn’t he?”
I let out a big breath. “It was so good, Jazz. Like the best kiss I’ve ever had.”
“I knew it! So what’s going on then? Are you gonna kiss some more?” She wriggles her eyebrows.
“No. He said we can’t, and I agree. It would ruin his relationship with Zach and complicate my position here at Moonlight. It wouldn’t be good.”
“Oh, come on,” she groans. “Those are stupid reasons. Well, I get the whole Zach being his son thing, but Zach isn’t a little kid anymore. He’s a big boy. He should be able to handle this.”
“I know, but I have to respect Brooks’s decision, you know?”
Her shoulders slump. “Yeah, but that sucks!”
“Tell me about it.”
“So, that’s why you haven’t done anything with Dawson yet?”
I sigh. “It feels wrong to take it any further when my head is stuck on someone else.”
“I get it. Must be so hard having so many guys falling at your feet.”
I bark out a laugh. “Oh my god, stop. There has been zero falling.”
“Please! Zach is begging for you back. Dawson is being all cute and taking you on dates. And Daddy Brooks is looking at you like he needs you alone in his bedroom stat.”
I slump down onto the couch, and Jazz sits next to me. “I don’t know how this happened.”
“Well, you’re hot, babe.”
I laugh. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Why do you need to do anything? We’re young. Dawson isn’t pushing you for more, is he?” I shake my head. “So keep going on dates with him. Keep kissing Brooks when he’s feeling weak. And keep little Calloway far, far away from you. Done!”
“You make it sound so easy.”
She shrugs. “We don’t need to overcomplicate anything. Just have fun.”
“Yeah. I’ll try my best.”
“And… if anything else happens with Brooks, I’d better be the first to know! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
“I know, I guess I was just a little embarrassed because he kissed me and then acted like it was a huge mistake.”
She scoffs. “Yeah, that’s a dick move. But, and not to make excuses for a man, it sounds like he has a lot of conflicting feelings he’s trying to work out.”
“I know, I’m trying to be respectful of that, but then he just keeps being so nice to me.”
“Damn him and his kindness!”
We both laugh. “This is so messy.”
“Life wouldn’t be fun if it weren’t a little messy,” she tells me as she rubs my back to comfort me. “You’ll figure it out, though. You don’t need to rush.”
“Thanks for being such a good friend to me, Jazz.”
“One of my many many skills,” she teases. “But I’ve gotta get to work. They want me to finish cleaning up in here before I can head out for the day.”
I stand from the couch. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
I take my time walking back to the lodge. My brain has been running overtime recently, but maybe Jazz is right. I’ll just let everything play out and see what happens.