27. Dylan
Wiping away the steam from my fogged-up bathroom mirror, I grin at my reflection and reach for my toothbrush.
Today isn”t just another day… today is the day, and I can”t wait to see Lara”s face when she discovers where I”m taking her.
She”ll be surprised because it isn”t like anyone our age can afford a weekend at this place. But I”ve saved for a while and can”t think of anything else I”d want to spend my money on.
I grab a towel, rub my head, dry my wet hair, and walk into the bedroom. It”s dark inside the room, so I flick the bedside lamp, pull my duffel bag out of my closet, and throw it on the bed.
Time to pack.
I pull on a long-sleeved thermal shirt and add a sweater.
I told Lara to pack warmly, and I hope she remembers. Otherwise, I won”t hear the end of it.
After I throw some clothes in my bag, I zip up the duffel and head downstairs.
The house is dark, with zero signs of life. It”s too early for anyone to be up yet—even for Uncle Malcolm, who”s always the first to rise and out to the barn.
I send Lara a quick text to check if she”s awake because she isn”t the best in the mornings, and it”ll throw a wrench in my plans if she”s still sleeping.
Me: Morning, baby. U awake?
I make coffee, and then my phone dings.
Lara: It”s too damn early.
Grinning, I text back that I”m coming to pick her up soon, then slide the phone into my back pocket. I can”t wait to spend the day with her, even though she might be crabby. But she”ll love the surprise I have for her.
I shut my eyes and reflect on last weekend when we were together. It was more amazing than anything I could”ve imagined.
And now that we”re together. Finally. Life doesn”t get better than this.
I grab a thermos, pour the coffee inside, and make a new pot for Uncle Malcolm. He”ll appreciate it if fresh coffee is ready. He knows I”m leaving early anyway, so he”ll probably expect it.
After throwing some toasted bagels and bananas into a bag and gathering everything, I head to my truck. There”s thick frost over everything, and I let the truck warm for a few minutes while I scrape frost from the windshield. Then I get in the truck, flip the headlights on, and head to Lara”s.
My mind wanders again to memories of her from last weekend. I”ll never forget that… the way she looked at me, kissed me, felt on my fingers, tasted on my tongue.
Hopefully, this weekend will be a repeat of all that.
A few minutes later, I pull onto the turn up to her driveway. Her house is dark except for one lone light on the porch. I hope she didn”t fall back asleep after my text. I don”t want to knock and wake her dad. I have no problem with Mr. Baine, but I”m sure he”s not thrilled by the idea of me taking his daughter away for the weekend.
As I pull into the parking space, though, I see her sitting on the porch in one of the rocking chairs. She smiles as I pull up. I hop out of the truck, walk over, take her luggage, and kiss her.
”Ready?”
”Yeah.” She nods. ”Let”s hurry before my dad comes out.”
I look at the house. ”He awake in there?”
She opens the passenger door, and I follow and place her bag in the back.
”He knows you”re leaving?” I ask.
”I told him. But I didn”t tell him who I was going with.”
I look at her nervously. ”Don”t you think you should”ve? I don”t want him chasing us down the highway with a shotgun.”
Lara bursts out laughing. ”That”s quite the picture. He knows. I was kidding.”
My muscles uncoil as I relax, shutting her door and entering on the other side.
”So, are you going to tell me where we”re going?” she asks. ”You”ve been cryptic about it these last few days.”
”It”s a surprise.”
”Are we going camping?” She leans back. ”You told me to pack warm clothes.”
It”s fun having this secret.
”We”re not camping,” I tell her. ”We”ll be outside, sometimes. But we”ll have a big, comfy bed to sleep in.” I glance over, and she has a blush on her cheeks. ”What?”
She giggles. ”Just one bed?”
I take her hand. ”Just the one.”
She cocks her head. ”Sounds like it”s going to be a good weekend.”
”Hey, you want any coffee?” I hold up the thermos. ”I brought breakfast, too.”
She grabs the thermos, and I reach into the back and grab the bag with the food. She goes into it and unwraps one of the bagels. ”You know, you”re off to a good start this morning.” She tears off a piece of the bagel and pops it into her mouth. ”But you should still tell me where we”re going.”
”Nah. That”ll ruin the surprise. Just be patient. You”ll find out soon.”
”Fine.” She takes another bite of the bagel. ”Does your aunt and uncle know you”re taking me away for the weekend?”
I grab the other bagel from the bag. ”I told them I”d be gone all weekend, but I didn”t say who”s going with me. If I told Aunt Mary, she”d have a million and one questions.”
I wanted to protect Lara from any unnecessary rummers.
She nods. ”Yeah. And we don”t need everyone knowing everything about our lives.”
”Not yet, anyway.” I glance at her and wink, then bite my bagel. ”Oh, I forgot the cream cheese.”
”It”s okay. These are good on their own,” Lara says, tearing off another piece.
”I made them, actually. I was watching a YouTube video.”
”Really?” Her eyes grow wide. ”You made these?”
I can”t help but smile. ”Yep. Thought it would be fun. They turned out pretty good.”
”They did.” She giggles and takes another bite. ”I could eat five more.”
”Don”t eat too much,” I tell her. ”You won”t be up for what I have planned.”
She reaches into the bag and pulls out a banana. ”Which is?”
”I said you”ll find out when we get there.”
She rolls her eyes. ”You”re impossible.”
As we drive for the next hour, Lara and I talk about mundane things about the ranch, her dad, my cousins, Coco, and her upcoming competitions—just light stuff. Fun stuff.
”I”ll be glad when the new year starts,” she says. ”Because I can start thinking about all the competitions I want to enter.”
”And what about Christmas?” I ask her. ”You”re not looking forward to that?” As soon as I say the words, I regret them.
Lara lost her sister this year, and her mother moved out. Of course, she”s not excited about Christmas. I start to apologize, but she speaks up.
”You know… I haven”t thought about it much. I haven”t even bought presents for anyone yet.”
”We can do that this weekend. Lots of shopping where we”re going.”
Lara perks up. ”Are we spending the weekend near a mall?”
I let out a chuckle. ”No. But there”s shopping where we”re going… you”ll be able to tell where we”re going really soon now.”
She narrows her eyes and looks out the side window. ”I will?”
”Just as soon as we get closer to the mountains.”
She looks up ahead. ”But we”ll be there in another five minutes.”
I give her a wink as I pull off the next exit. ”Exactly.”
Lara gives me a confused look. ”We”re going to the mountains?”
”Not just going there,” I tell her as we pull to a stop sign. ”We”re going there.” I point up the street.
”The ski resort?” Lara asks. ”Whoa. Dylan? That place is fancy.”
”Very fancy,” I tell her.
Her jaw drops as I head down the street and take the turn for the resort. ”Are you serious?”
I pull into the parking lot. ”I am.”
Lara starts to laugh as she gets out of the truck. ”Okay, you”ve successfully surprised me. Congratulations.”
I wrap my arm around her waist and head toward the ski lodge. ”I”m proud of myself, too. And don”t worry… there”s more than just skiing.”
She kisses my cheek. ”I, um, I”m not sure I brought enough money, though.”
”Don”t worry about it. The weekend is my treat, okay?”
She looks up at me as we walk. ”That”s way too much. I couldn”t.”
”I got a deal on a package and had money saved.” I lead her toward the lodge. ”And you”re worth it.”
For the next several hours, Lara and I have fun going up and down the mountain on the lift and skiing down. There aren”t many people out, and we don”t have to wait in lines to take the ski lift every time.
By noon, we”ve already had an entire day on the slopes to ourselves.
”You hungry?” she asks after we make it down one last time.
”Starving. You want to go inside and see what they have?” I remove my goggles and shake freshly fallen snow out of my hair.
”Yeah, let”s change out of this stuff and head in.”
Once we get changed in the locker areas and sit in the lodge restaurant, we order hot chocolates and big bowls of beef stew with ham and cheese sandwiches on the side.
”I can”t remember the last time I worked up this much of an appetite,” she says, bringing a heaping spoonful of stew to her lips. ”Skiing builds up an appetite.” She grabs her ham sandwich next and takes a couple of bites. ”Holy crap, this is good.”
I smile at her beauty, at her appetite, and at the fact that she”s smiling and enjoying herself. ”I”m glad you like it.”
”So, what”re we doing next?” She returns to her stew. ”I”m not sure if my legs will take any more skiing today.”
”No more for today,” I tell her. ”But there”s something cool included in the package that you might like.”
”And what”s that?” she asks, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
”Massages for two.”
”Seriously?” she squeals. ”That sounds so good right now.”
”Our appointment is in an hour, and our suite should be ready by the time we”re done with those.”
Lara”s mouth drops open. ”Dylan, I”m telling you, this is too much.”
I let out a chuckle. ”I just want to make sure you have a good weekend.”
”I mean, I already have.” She pushes her empty bowl of stew away. ”Skiing. Good food. Great company.” She smiles suggestively as she takes a sip of hot chocolate.
I take her hand and kiss the back of it.
She looks into my eyes, and I feel a rush of heat between us.
”When did you say our suite will be ready?” she whispers, then bites her lower lip.
I grin at her. ”Not soon enough, baby.”
By the time our massages are finished and we get the keycards to our room, we”re running to the elevator, and thankfully, it”s empty when we get on.
As the doors close, I push her against the wall and kiss her.
She pulls me against her by my belt. ”We don”t have anything planned for the rest of the evening, right?”
”Dinner reservations?” I say breathlessly against her mouth.
”Switch it to room service,” she says as the elevator dings and the doors open.
I take her hand and lead her down the long hall toward our booked suite.
I tap my keycard on the pad, and there”s a light click before the red flashing light turns green, and we step inside.
Thank the lord I upgraded our room to the best money can buy—at the expense of laboring on the ranch for my uncle, of course.
The suite utilizes every inch of space and is cozy with a roaring propane fireplace, a plush sofa, and blankets draped over the armrests. The walls are polished wood, and the floors are covered in fluffy rugs.
The suite is equipped with all the amenities we could ever need, including a stocked fridge with snacks and drinks, a flat-screen TV, and a cozy reading nook. There”s even a hot tub on the balcony, where we can soak and enjoy the views.
With the floor-to-ceiling windows, I see the breathtaking views of the snowy mountains from where I stand. Snow is piled high outside, and the sky is dotted with twinkling stars, sparkling like jewels in the distance.
After I”m finished processing, my brain returns to what Lara had said.
”You don”t want dinner?” I ask, tilting my head.
She grabs the Do Not Disturb sign hanging on the inside doorknob and hangs it outside before locking the door behind her. ”I”m your dinner.”