Chapter 19
DELANEY
I suspected he was going to kiss me on the way out of the house when we all but bumped into each other. And then again, in the car on the short ride to the slopes. Parker looked over at me so intently as he pulled into the parking spot, I was certain of it.
Instead, he got out and proceeded to put on his ski boots.
I hadn’t skied in years, and actually never had my own equipment, so after tickets and rentals, we headed to the slopes.
“I don’t mind if you want to hit the bigger hills. It’s all green for me,” I said as we made our way to the lift.
Parker fit in perfectly here. By the way he moved, it was clear he was a good skier. Probably a natural athlete, one of those guys who was good at everything.
“No way,” he said. “I’m with you.”
It sounded so… comforting… the way he said it. Like the warm blanket he’d laid over me last night. I’d nearly melted when I realized what he’d done.
Never mind that I woke up in the middle of the night to an empty room, the guy I thought maybe, possibly, I’d end up with nowhere to be seen. But instead of being embarrassed this morning that I’d conked out, Parker made me feel immediately at home.
Like now.
“I guess it’s like a bicycle,” I said, skiing toward the lift. “I haven’t done this in years.”
“Once a skier, always a skier,” he said as we waited in line. Since it was Monday, and with the storm, the place was all but abandoned. It was a short line with only four people ahead of us. We boarded quickly and headed up the mountain.
“Sorry for falling asleep on you last night,” I said as we made our way up. The flurries were getting heavier, making the ski resort look like a postcard.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. We put in a shift and a half of drinking.”
“And didn’t even use the Baileys for hot tub cocoa.”
“There’s always tonight.”
We were close enough that our legs were touching, not that I could feel anything with our ski pants between us. I turned to him, thinking about drinking spiked hot chocolate in the hot tub later. “That sounds good,” I said, having given this whole situation a lot of thought this morning.
I could either live in the past and worry about the future or embrace the present. Take things as they come and try not to get inside my head too much. Carpe diem and all that. Which is exactly what I planned to do.
“Sounds better than good to me.”
We were nearly halfway up. Just enough time to…
Parker leaned into me. Closing my eyes, breathing in the cold, crisp air, I met him halfway.
His lips were soft and warm, like a sip of that hot cocoa we’d talked about, making my insides all melty.
Our tongues met, and we immediately picked up where we left off last night.
I could have kissed him for hours, but thankfully one of us realized we were still on a ski lift. He pulled back just in time.
The lift operator must have seen couples like us all the time. He didn’t even blink as we scrambled to ski off. Thankfully, even between being rusty on skis and that kiss, I was able to stay on my feet.
“Green Valley work for you?”
“Sure,” I said, following him to what I knew was one of the gentlest slopes. My father taught me to ski here, and it was the first one I’d ever skied on my own.
“Race to the bottom?” he asked as we slowed at the top of the hill. “Kidding,” he said, before I could respond. “Just take it nice and slow. There’s hardly anyone here.”
I was just about to push off when he added, “You’ve got this, cupcake.”
Jamming my poles into the ground, I stopped. Looked at him. And nearly said something I probably would have regretted. Instead I simply smiled and said, “Thanks. I’m ready.”
Parker stayed with me the entire time, and like down below on the flat surface, it really did come back quickly. By the time we got to the bottom third, I was already letting myself pick up speed.
You’ve got this, cupcake.
I nearly blurted, “I love when you call me that,” but, thankfully, I caught the words before they came out of my mouth.
It was one lesson my mother had tried to instill, to think before I talked, that I never quite followed.
She said it made me appear flightier than I really was, but I never really agreed with her.
Being honest, saying what was on my mind, was just… me. For better or worse.
“See?” he asked as I immediately skied back to the short lift line.
“You were right,” I said as the couple in front of us boarded.
Just like that, we were on our way up again. This time, Parker didn’t wait. As soon as the safety bar was down, he leaned into me. This kiss was not at all like the last one. His mouth opened immediately, Parker and I melding together as if we would consume each other.
“If I’ve ever tasted anything sweeter in my life,” he said, pulling back, “I can’t remember it.”
“Stop,” I said, swatting him. “That’s such a line.”
“No,” he said, serious. “It’s not. Although I’m pretty certain if your lips taste that good, there is one thing that will taste even better.”
Before the shock of his words could register—Parker was the “nice” one, after all—it was time to dismount.
I’d have talked to Parker about what he said, except the devilish man skied right over to the run.
With a quick look back to ensure I was there, presumably, he was off.
This time, I did race him. My ski legs were back, much more quickly than I had anticipated.
And so it went.
Lift after lift. After the fourth kiss when Parker asked, “Where do you like to be kissed most?” just as we dismounted, I decided to take him to task on the next run.
We’d graduated to one of the steeper green runs, and I thought a challenge might be fun.
So when he pulled the bar down, I said, “You obviously like bets, the whole bachelor thing and all.”
“That’s more of a pact than a bet,” he said.
“Maybe a little of both?”
“Maybe,” he conceded. “What are you thinking?”
“If I try an intermediate run”—Parker’s eyes widened—“you have to say the dirtiest thing you can think of on our next lift.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” I teased. Flirting with him had become my new favorite pastime. “Obviously you’re a bit of a dirty talker.”
He tried not to smile. “Noticed that, huh?”
“Uh. Yeah.”
“Does it bother you?”
Was he serious? “No, just the opposite,” I admitted.
“Good.” He leaned over for a quick kiss since we were more than halfway up the hill.
Scratch that. Kissing Parker was my new favorite pastime.
“So, is it on?” I asked.
“Like Donkey Kong.”
Laughing, I nearly stumbled dismounting, but Parker caught me.
I couldn’t really feel his hand through the glove and snow jacket, but the fact that he was touching me did something to my insides.
Like his kisses, it was as if the cold couldn’t get to me.
Usually by now I’d have been begging to go into the lodge to warm up, but with Parker by my side, I wanted to ride this lift all day.
“Whispering Pines?”
“Sure,” I said. “Wait, does it have moguls?”
“Nope.”
Sure enough, I was worried for nothing. Parker stayed with me the entire time, but Whispering Pines wasn’t all that much more challenging than the hardest beginner run.
When we got to the bottom, though, there was something about Parker’s expression that gave me pause.
“What is it?” I asked, certain he was up to something.
“Hate to say it, cupcake, but I have to hit the little boy’s room. Quick break in the lodge?”
“Oh, you stinker. Way to get out of your end of the bet.”
“Not at all,” he said as we skied toward the lodge. “We’re not done skiing yet.”
And so it was, for the first time in my life, I was less looking forward to sitting by the fire inside the lodge, drink in hand, than I was getting back on that lift and hearing what Parker had to say.
It wasn’t until our coats and hats were off and Parker and I cozied up to the bar in the adult section of the lodge, not too far from the fire, that I realized something.
I hadn’t thought of the hurt Makis had doled out to me all morning. My chest hadn’t felt heavy. My thoughts were not jumbled with confusion. It had simply been a pleasurable—more than pleasurable—day so far.
And best yet?
It wasn’t over.