Chapter 22 #2
She catches it, pulling it over her head and sitting back down in the water on the other side of the hot tub, just before Tanner turns the corner and spots us.
I tip my chin to him but before I can speak, Grace chimes in from across the hot tub.
“Did you really ditch your new wife the second you got home to go work?” She kicks one of her feet up, splashing water toward her brother.
He shakes his head, walking around the hot tub toward the patio table. He stops and leans against the back of one of the chairs.
“No. Your friend is a bad influence on Collin. He drank too much and couldn’t get out and plow tonight. Believe me, I’d rather be home with Ronni instead of out here in the cold,” he says, tossing his head back groaning. “Not all of us are crazy like you with your cold plunges.”
He turns his attention to me. “Didn’t expect you to be around, TJ.
Figured you’d be hounding Sutton for dinner or something.
Anyway, I just wanted to make sure your driveway was good for tomorrow.
The salt should give me a solid head start when I’m back to plow in the morning and keep it from getting too icy overnight. ”
I nod, feeling my heartbeat slow down to an almost normal rate. That is until he takes a step to the side and I see the bra hanging from the branch just a few feet behind his head.
“Perfect. Thanks as always.”
He nods. “No problem. Well, I should probably get back to Ronni. You were my last stop on my way back to the cabin.”
“Yeah, don’t let us keep you,” I say with a laugh.
He takes a few steps back toward the walking path to the driveway and his truck, not noticing his sister’s bra in the tree.
“Hey, what are you doing out anyway?” he says, stopping and turning to face Grace. “I saw your van and the patio lights on and that’s why I came back in the first place.”
To her credit, she just shrugs nonchalantly. “I was out hiking and skiing all day with Josie. TJ said I could always use his hot tub if I wanted. I stopped by for a dip and he was already out here, so just hanging and talking about work.”
He looks at me for a second before looking back at his sister, seeming to accept her answer which is mostly true.
“Well, be nice to him,” he says, pointing a finger at her. “He’s been more than generous to all of us.”
She rolls her eyes at him. “Yeah, I know. Now get out of here. Tell V ‘hi’ from me too.”
He nods and I see his expression harden. “Speaking of V, we were thinking you could come stay at the cabin. You could take our guest room or park your van out by the barn like you used to if you want.”
I turn to see Grace’s eyes narrow and I see a flicker of irritation in them. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. Now seriously, get home to your new wife.” She makes a shooing gesture toward him.
He laughs and starts to head down the path back to his truck before calling back over his shoulder. “See you later, guys.”
Once I hear the door to his truck shut and the engine start, I look at Grace who looks like she’s about to burst with laughter.
“I’m glad you found that so amusing.” I cup my hand and splash her with a fistful of water, but she doesn’t flinch and just keeps laughing. I could listen to that sound on repeat all day.
“Seriously. He might look big and scary, but he’s a big softy. You don’t have anything to worry about.” Her eyes soften and she lifts a hand, curling a finger at me.
“Maybe, but I’d rather not take any chances.” I wade over to her and sit down next to her. “Also what was with that look you gave him? You looked irritated.”
She groans and shakes her head. “Just him being overly protective as usual. Nothing new.”
I sense the irritation in her voice and decide to not push that topic.
“On that note, do you want to tell him about us or just keep it between us for now? To be clear, I’m perfectly fine if you want to tell anyone.
I just don’t want to make anything messy for you.
There are strings attached to being with someone like me. ”
The last thing I want to do is drag her into the spotlight that still haunts me every now and then. If she doesn’t want that, I will do whatever it takes to keep it away from her. As far as I’m concerned though, the entire world could know I’m into her and it wouldn’t bother me for one second.
She hums and wobbles her head. “We said let’s keep it simple. So maybe let’s give it a beat before we tell anyone else?”
I wrap my arm around her, pulling her tight against my side. “If that’s what you want, then I’m good with that. But maybe be a little more careful where you throw your bras next time? That was dangerously close.”
She leans over, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “You and I both know that’s not going to happen. What about me says careful?”
I can’t argue with her there because she’s right. Both of us go with our guts. Nothing about what we’re doing seems careful. But even with that little scare just now, being here with her tonight just feels right.
“Do you want to come in and watch more of my lame old videos again?” I hook my thumb over my shoulder toward my house. “Or we could watch something made in the last decade.”
She looks that way and then back at me, her teeth digging into her lower lip.
“That sounds tempting,” she says and I can hear the hesitation in her voice, “but I’m supposed to leave for Grand Targhee first thing in the morning.
We’re going to ski there tomorrow to switch it up a bit. So I should probably get to bed soon.”
“You know the offer still stands. You can stay in the guesthouse if you want. Or my house. I know you love your van, but if you want a real bed for a night, you don’t have to ask,” I say, hoping I’m not pushing her too far. I want her to keep choosing to be with me.
“Suuure. That’s it. Purely altruistic,” she says, smirking at me before resting her head on my shoulder and I love the way she rubs her cheek against me. “And I know, but I don’t want to bother you in the morning. I’ll probably be up even before you.”
“Alright. Fair enough,” I say, still wishing to spend more time with her but knowing damn well she’s going to do what she wants. Besides if she needs sleep, coming to bed with me right now is the last thing she should do, because there would be no sleep happening.
“But I’ll see you Tuesday morning.” She stands in the water, leaning down to kiss me, before climbing out of the hot tub. I hook my fingers into the waistband of her shorts, not wanting to let go of her just yet. She looks down and lets out a short laugh. “We can pick up where we left off then.”
“Tuesday? You’re lucky that you have such a flexible boss who lets you work remote,” I say, running my hands up the backs of her thighs.
She shakes her head grinning. “I’m lucky for a lot of reasons.”
Me too.
“Alright, I’ll be here when you get back,” I add, trying not to sound too desperate.
“Good, because I have something I want to show you.”
I raise an eyebrow, my eyes roaming her body. I’m going to memorize every inch, every tattoo, and every piercing on her. My mouth waters just thinking about tasting those little pieces of jewelry again. She picks up on the gesture, snorting a laugh.
“Something for work, not for play,” she teases, leaning down and grabbing my towel. “Now, I’m going to go get a shower in the guesthouse before going back to my van.”
She turns away from me, bending over, running the towel up and down those long legs. She looks back over her shoulder, grinning when she sees me shamelessly watching her.
“Night, Tommy. Don’t have too much fun out here.” She tosses me a playful wink, my towel wrapped over her shoulders and my t-shirt clung to her body, showing the silhouette of her curves. “And I’m keeping these.”
With that, she turns and walks into the guesthouse and this time, I don’t feel bad admiring every detail of her body. I slip my hand into my shorts and stroke my throbbing cock, still tasting her sweet pussy on my lips.
“Remind me why I got up at the crack of dawn to do this again?” Sutton glares at me from across the small gondola. He takes his glove off and rubs his temple with his thumb and forefinger, letting out a long groan.
I reach my ski pole out, tapping the top of his helmet. He bats it out of the way and flips me off.
“You know for someone so young and spry,” I say, making air quotes with my hands, “you look awfully hungover there, big guy. Party a little too hard with the staff after closing?”
He playfully kicks my shin with the toe of his ski boot, which would hurt like hell if I wasn’t also wearing ski boots.
I hear my phone ping in my chest pocket.
I race to take off my gloves and quickly rip it out, hoping it’s her.
I’m trying not to be too clingy, but I asked Grace to text me when she and Josie were out on the mountain.
Grand Targhee is only a couple hours away, but I hate being this far away after being around her so much the last few weeks.
Looking down at my phone, I’m quickly disappointed when I see the message.
Miles: You’re still coming this week, right? The guys will all be there. Can’t wait to talk.
I put my phone away and look up to find Sutton watching me with his knowing grin.
I throw my head back against the gondola window behind me. “What?”
“Wasn’t her? You’re in deep, man.”
"I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“You mean who I’m talking about?” he asks, raising his voice in a flirty tone.
I pull my phone back out, showing him the message. “It was Miles. See? He won’t back off.”
He hums thoughtfully. “Alright, but I know you weren’t racing to get your phone out of your pocket to check a message from him. And you’re going to have to give him an answer about that tour sooner or later. Just pull off the bandaid one way or another.”
“I know,” I say, sighing in frustration and put my phone away again. I level a glare back at him. “You know, you still haven’t told me why Kelsey hates you. So we’re not talking about this either.”
He cocks his head to the side and gives me a smug grin. “Fair enough.”
A few minutes later, we finally reach the top and get out of the gondola, seeing the crowded area just outside the mid-mountain lodge. He takes one look at the crowd before turning back to me.
“Seriously, TJ. I know you like her, but why are we out here today? She’s not even skiing here.
I can’t remember the last time you asked me to go out and ski, especially on a powder day with fresh snow and crowded lift lines.
And for someone who used to be in front of huge crowds all the time, you really always hate them now. ”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Seemed like it’d be fun.”
He lifts an eyebrow, narrowing his gaze on me and I can tell he doesn’t believe me, which is fair because I don’t believe myself either.
Sutton’s right. I like skiing, but I never go on busy days at the resort. I just know that when I woke up this morning and looked out in my driveway to see her van gone, I wanted to be close to her some way, somehow.
Being out on the mountain that she loves just called to me.