2. Oliver
TWO
Oliver
“Hey, I just got in.”
“Nice,” Giles said on the other end of the phone. “Did you stop by The Ridge?”
“I’m here.” I looked up at the worn wooden sign. The bar was right off Main Street and Giles had already told me it would be the only place open this late to grab something to eat.
“Get some food, and by the time you’re done, the apartment should be all set up for you. I just got off the phone with Mattie and she said she’s finishing it up now. If she’s gone when you get there, it’s above the garage of the address I gave you, and my Aunt Bev left a key under the welcome mat.”
I smiled at that. Leaving a key under the mat? How small-town cliché. Key Ridge was just as charming as I remembered it being. I’d only been once, a few years back, but the memory of my time here had always stuck out to me. The streets were quaint, the people were nice, plus it was a stone’s throw away from some of the best snowboarding and hiking Colorado had to offer .
It was quite the drive from Denver, so I hadn’t had the chance to make it out here in ages, but I was psyched to be here for the rest of the ski season.
“Thanks again for hooking it up, man. I’m excited to be here.” I cradled my phone between the side of my face and my shoulder as I patted my coat pocket to double-check I hadn’t left my wallet back in my car parked around the corner.
“No, seriously, Ollie, thank you for coming. Johnny leaving was unexpected and it’s tough to find snowboard instructors late-season like this. And you know how it’s been lately. Bookings at the lodge are crazy, and of course, everyone wants a private lesson.”
“I’m your guy,” I said.
“Hey, I’ve got to run, Mattie’s calling me. But why don’t you stop by tomorrow for breakfast and then we can head to the hill together? I’ll show you around.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
I hung up and slipped my phone back into my pocket. Giles and I had known each other for years. I was only nineteen when I’d first moved out to Colorado, and I’d decided to enter a few local snowboarding competitions. Giles was a pro at the time and had all these incredible sponsorships and awards. He was a bit of a loner, but he showed me the ropes. We hadn’t seen too much of each other after I decided competitions weren’t for me, but we’d stayed in touch and had met up to board a few times over the years.
It had taken me by surprise when he offered me this job. Even though it was already late in the season, I had still jumped at the opportunity to move out here for a bit. I needed a taste of something different. My life in Denver had gotten a little monotonous lately, and this was exactly what I needed.
The smell of a well-used deep fryer and stale beer hit my nostrils the moment I stepped into the bar. The space was dark and tight, but in true small-town fashion, managed to cram in everything.
I made my way over to the bar before resting my arms on the top and leaning forward to get the attention of the sole bartender.
The man with a graying beard nodded in my direction before heading over. “What are you having?” he asked.
“Hey, man. Can I get a burger and fries to go?”
“Kitchen is pretty backed up. That group just put in a big order.” He pointed to five older guys cluttered around a dartboard. “Might be closer to twenty minutes.”
“Not a problem,” I said with a smile. “I got nowhere to be.”
He nodded. “Coming right up. Anything to drink while you wait?”
“Sure, give me whatever’s on draft.”
I tapped my fingers against the bar and looked to my left. A girl was perched on a barstool a few down from where I stood. She was by herself. Just as I was about to look away, she looked up and made brief eye contact with me before ripping her gaze away.
Shit, she was pretty. A long mane of golden-brown waves framed her round face with pink, heart-shaped lips and almond eyes that I desperately wanted to get a closer look at.
Key Ridge was off to a promising start.
The bartender passed me my beer. I thanked him and handed over some cash before sliding down so that I was on the barstool next to my new dream girl. Shyness and I didn’t know each other, and making a beeline for the first cute girl I spotted in this town was exactly my style.
I took a long pull of my beer before setting it down. “This seat taken?” I asked, already occupying it .
Her whole body stiffened before she slowly turned in her seat. Her light-blue eyes widened when they met mine. “Nope.”
I grinned at her. “I couldn’t help but notice you staring a second ago.”
That simple statement caused her wide eyes to narrow. “I wasn’t staring.”
Her voice was velvet.
I pretended to frown in contemplation and drew my eyebrows together. “Really? I could have sworn we made eye contact.”
“I was looking around the bar. Briefly meeting someone’s gaze accidently does not count as staring,” she argued. The briskness of her words screamed uptight—something I typically steered far away from. But the little lines that had formed between her brows were cute, and I had nothing else going on anyway.
“Really? Because it felt like an intentional look to me. And if it was accidental, why look away so guiltily?” I asked.
“I looked away when you looked up because I wasn’t trying to stare into the eyes of some random guy I don’t know.”
Something about her irritation sparked joy inside me. I leaned an arm against the bar, drawing myself closer to her. “For the record, looking away that quickly just makes it seem like you were caught.”
She continued to lock eyes with me before finally looking to the ceiling and letting out a drawn-out sigh. “Fine. Maybe I glanced over for a second.”
My grin widened. “Is that so?”
“Don’t let it go to your ego,” she said.
“I love to be stared at. And my ego is already unmanageable, so don’t let that stop you. ”
Her scowl wavered as the corner of her lips turned upward. Just like that, I knew I had her on the hook. She might not want to admit it, but she liked me. Charming women was one of my few talents in life.
“Is that right?” she countered. Her irritated tone now sounded a hell of a lot more like flirting and I was living for it.
Her eyes roamed over my face in an excited, familiar way. I knew what this was. She was attracted to me. Despite the drained glass and empty plate in front of her, she wanted to linger so she could talk to me more. I’d have to do my best not to disappoint her.
“You live around here?” I asked. She didn’t seem like a local. The coat hanging off her barstool was too thin and her haircut looked expensive. The kind you could only get in some fancy salon in a city.
“Nope.” She shuddered at the thought. “I just got into town. I’m staying with my sister.”
I mentally gave myself a pat on the back for reading her right.
“You here for the weekend or something?”
Her lips curved down as she eyed the empty glass in front of her. “Or something.”
I desperately wanted to wipe the new forlorn expression clean off her face.
“Isn’t that a coincidence. I just got into town too.”
“Huh?” She shifted in her seat so we faced each other. “That’s surprising. You seem like a local.”
“And why is that?” I countered, although I knew with my thick flannel jacket and messy, beanie-clad hair, I probably looked every bit the local.
She didn’t shy away from me, though. Instead, she shrugged. “You’ve got that whole, I-could-build-a-log-cabin-with-my-bare-hands vibe. ”
That made me toss back my head with a laugh. “Are you saying I look like a lumberjack?”
“You are wearing plaid,” she pointed out.
I took another sip of my beer, pleased with myself that her almost-smile had returned. “What’s your name?” I finally asked.
“Frankie.”
“Frankie,” I repeated, not positive I’d heard her right.
“Yes, why?” Defensiveness coated her words, making me chuckle.
“No reason. It’s just an interesting name.”
“It’s short for Frances,” she said haughtily. “I was named after my grandmother.”
“And Fran or Franny didn’t suit you?”
She shook her head. Despite her best efforts, her smile kept creeping wider. “Everyone used to call her Fran. When I was a baby, my parents decided I would be Frankie, and I’ve been Frankie ever since.” She shifted in her seat so she could evaluate me better. “And what’s your name? Better be a good one if you’re giving me attitude about mine.”
“Oliver,” I told her. “Or Ollie. I’ll answer to both.”
She pretended to mull it over in her mind for a bit before finally nodding. “I like it.”
“Thank God.” I wiped my brow. “Would have been a pain to change it after all these years.”
That got a small laugh out of her. It was short and soft before she cleared her throat and bit her lip. I wanted to thump my chest in triumph that I’d finally gotten a chuckle out of the girl. Frankie very much gave off the impression that she needed more laughter in her life. Everything about her read as tense and on edge.
If this was her attempt at flirting, I’d hate to see how she’d act if she genuinely didn’t like me .
“So, Frankie, what brings you into town. Skiing? Snowboarding? Just a visit with your sister?”
She snorted. “You wouldn’t catch me dead skiing or snowboarding.”
I clutched my heart and winced as if she’d inflicted some sort of irreparable damage on me.
Her eyebrows shot up. “What? Are you big on those things?”
Was I big on those things? I wanted to laugh. My entire life revolved around extreme sports. It was the sole reason I moved to Colorado in the first place. “I just came over here from Denver to be a snowboard instructor.”
Frankie gave a knowing smirk. “Of course you did.”
Her words should have rubbed me the wrong way. They came across as elitist, and I couldn’t help but get the feeling she might be looking down on me in some way. But it didn’t bother me. I liked who I was and how I chose to live my life. My brother, Nathan, said I’d never grow up. Maybe that was the case, but what was so wrong with my lifestyle? I loved things the way they were. I didn’t want to weigh myself down with the unnecessary burdens of the world.
I folded my hands in front of me and waited for Frankie to continue. When she didn’t, I pressed, “What are you here for, then?”
She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut, as if whatever she was about to say was physically difficult for her to talk about. “I got fired.” It came out as a whisper.
“Fired, huh? You do a crappy job or something?”
That caused her scowl to return, like I knew it would. Man, she was fun to mess with.
“I did a fantastic job, for your information.” She tried to infuse venom into her words, but she just sounded defeated. “I gave everything to that company. I was the best person on my team, and they knew it. I was the only one willing to stay late and I never missed a deadline.” She exhaled sharply. “But they didn’t care. In the end, I was just a number to them. An expendable person they could dump like a piece of garbage so they could improve their numbers.”
She looked genuinely upset by this. No— heartbroken . This was more than being worried about money or something like that. She actually cared. I couldn’t even imagine loving a job that much.
“I’m sorry,” I said, with as much sincerity as I could muster. Just because I didn’t understand the corporate grind, didn’t mean I couldn’t see that she was in pain over this. “That sounds tough.”
Frankie clenched and unclenched her hands. “I was shocked when it happened. I just stood there like an idiot when my boss told me. I didn’t even register it at first. I asked him if he was ready for our Q1 presentation.” She sniffled, and I hoped she wouldn’t cry. Getting deep didn’t exactly make me comfortable. I was the fun, carefree guy. Not the guy you stayed up late with and told all your secrets to.
“Look, I know we don’t know each other, and I know I have no idea what your job was or what it entailed, but they sound like assholes. Idiot assholes,” I said.
She didn’t meet my eyes, but she smiled at that. “He was kind of an asshole.”
“See? Didn’t that make you feel better to say?”
“A little,” she admitted.
“And now you can take some time off,” I continued. “Travel. Do something different. It’ll be like a blessing in disguise.”
She gave a sharp laugh at that. “Take some time off? No way. I already started working on my résumé on the flight over here. I’ll be applying to jobs as soon as I wake up in the morning. The job market sucks right now, so it might take me a while to find something. Looking for a job is even more work than actually working.”
Uptight. I knew it. This girl was in one of the most beautiful mountain towns in the world and she didn’t care at all. She could have been anywhere right now—in some bland high rise in a faceless city, or cooped up at a desk in the back of a musty library. Her surroundings were nothing because all she cared about was her career. I’d never related to anyone less. She’d come to Key Ridge to plan her next step. I’d come here because I never planned my next step. Giles had only asked me a few weeks ago, and I’d come here on impulse. I had no idea what would come after and that was fine by me.
“Sounds like you got it all figured out,” I said.
Frankie pressed her mouth into a thin line. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I shrugged. “That you’ve got your plan for your life and that’s that. You’re inflexible, rigid.” Her mouth parted to protest, but I continued. “You’re completely fine busting your ass at a nine-to-five to make someone else rich who doesn’t give a shit about you. You have this nice little routine that you’re dying to get back to. I get it, I do. I might not agree, but I know a lot of people can’t handle instability.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting stability,” she argued.
“Sure, I guess.” I knew my words were getting under her skin and I relished it. “Some people don’t have an adventurous bone in their body, and that’s okay.”
Now she looked offended. “I came here, didn’t I? I dropped everything and got on a flight without a second thought.”
I dipped my chin and gave her a pitying look. “And what are you going to do now that you’re here? Sit in front of a computer screen and find the next job to suck your soul away.”
“Burger and fries.” The bartender interrupted us to hand me a brown paper bag with grease soaking the bottom.
“Well, Frankie. It was lovely to meet you, but I have a date with this burger and my couch to get to.”
“I can be adventurous.” She was still arguing with me as she slid off her barstool and put on her way-too-thin coat. I wanted to point out that she shouldn’t be walking anywhere in that. She’d likely get sick or something. But I bit my tongue. I was already pushing boundaries with her, and an overbearing comment like that might push a girl like Frankie to her limit.
“Whatever you say,” I said.
“You just met me. You don’t know me,” she huffed as she followed me to the front of the bar and out the door.
I turned to look at her and she came to a crashing halt, almost running right into my chest. “I might not know you, know you. But I know you.”
The moonlight lit up the street outside. Frankie looked even more beautiful out here than under the harsh neon glow of the bar lights.
“What does that even mean?” She let out a frustrated sigh.
Even though she was incredibly irritated with me right now, I still felt tempted to ask her back to my place—a place I hadn’t even been yet. Frankie was stunning. Tense and easily bothered, sure, but stunning, nonetheless. I had to drag my gaze away from her pout.
She must have caught the shift in my eyes because she traced her lips with her tongue. Damn. That wasn’t fair.
Who was I kidding? Frankie wasn’t the type of girl to proposition for a one-night stand or anything of that nature. She looked like she overthought everything. Probably had to go home and make a pros and cons list before she made even the smallest of decisions.
But still, I did see a flicker of something in her eyes. Lust? Intrigue? Maybe it was just frustration. I couldn’t quite place it, but the way she seemed to forget we were still arguing as she lingered by my side said everything I needed to know.
We stood outside, wordless, for what felt like a while but surely was only seconds. The cold evening air was far more bitter than it had been in Denver, and I fought the urge to reach out and put an arm around Frankie and her insufficient coat.
“Look, I’m a straight shooter. Sorry if I offended you,” I offered. “Can I walk you home or something?”
“I’m fine. My sister lives right around the corner.” Her voice was softer than it had been only minutes ago.
“Alright, then,” I said, disappointed this was where we’d be leaving things.
Warm air trickled from her pink lips, and I found myself unable to take my eyes off of them.
“You’re right,” she whispered, taking me by surprise. “I’m not adventurous.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Look, I shouldn’t have?—”
“You know what’s something I would never do?” she continued.
“What?” I breathed, our bodies drawing closer together as if they were magnetized.
“Kiss a random stranger outside a bar who I’ll never see again.” Her voice shook, but her eyes were determined.
The bag of food in my hands and the warmth of my new apartment were completely forgotten. Suddenly, I was thinking of nothing else except what she might taste like.
“Is that something you’re looking to cross off your bucket list tonight?” I asked huskily .
She nodded, her eyes searching mine. She tilted her head up and her mouth looked like an offering. I leaned toward her instinctively, our eyes locked. I saw the open invitation in them and eagerly bent the rest of the way down until my lips brushed hers. They were warm and soft. The slight shiver that ran through her as soon as I touched her made me ravenous for more.
For someone so uptight, her lips tasted reckless.
I pressed into her, my mouth moving over hers as I lightly nipped her bottom lip. She tilted her head, parting her mouth and letting her tongue dance against mine. I lifted my free hand to cup her soft cheek before moving it to her hair and tangling my fingers in it.
The kiss was sweet and hot all at once. I’d had my share of meaningless makeouts in my life, but none had hit me quite as hard as this one. Maybe it was the fresh start in a new town. Maybe it was that everything about Frankie was still a puzzle to me. Whatever it was, I welcomed it.
She nibbled on my bottom lip before pulling away. I tried to lightly tug her back in with my hand, but she moved her face out of my grasp.
“Come home with me?” I asked, desperate for more.
She laughed breathlessly and opened her eyes. “I’ve got to get back to my sister’s.”
“Please?” I offered her my best charming smile. Somehow, I knew it was fruitless. I couldn’t change her mind, but I wanted to. “We don’t have to do anything—although more of this would be amazing. We can just talk. Or you can have some of my fries.” I held up the forgotten bag at my side. They must be getting cold, but I couldn’t have cared less. I’d happily let them freeze if it meant standing out here for a few more minutes with Frankie locked beneath my gaze.
But to my dismay, Frankie patted my chest and stepped away from me. Her absence left me cold, but I let her go without argument.
“I’ve got to get going. This was fun though.” She had already turned away from me. Just like that, whatever magical moment that had transpired between us had completely passed. She turned back around to point at me. “Think about this moment next time you call some woman you’ve just met in a bar rigid and unadventurous.”
“I don’t think I used those exact words,” I called.
When she kept walking, I tried again.
“Can I get your number?” I asked, even though she was already a quarter of the way down the block.
“No offense, Oliver, but I don’t think we have all that much in common,” she called back.
My heart raced with adrenaline. “I would beg to disagree. I think we have a lot in common. Like how much we both enjoyed that kiss.”
“Goodnight,” was all she said before turning a corner and walking out of sight.
“Maybe I’ll see you around,” I called after her.
But she was gone.
“Damn,” I breathed, rubbing my hand over my mouth.
That was a hell of a welcome.