Massive Size Mountain Man (Date Night In The Mountains #20)

Chapter 1

Avalon

Itake my rag out of the back pocket of my jeans and throw it into the laundry bin before hanging my apron up on its designated hook. Then, I glance into the foggy mirror in the staff room while patting my hair. No smeared make-up? Blonde hair reasonably neat? Good, good.

Not that it matters because my friend Courtney has come to the café during my break with her new baby, Johnny, and she’s the least judgmental person ever.

Court used to work here as well, but then she met the man of her dreams, so she quit and left me all alone!

I miss my buddy dearly, and when I said that I had a twenty minute break today, she agreed to bring her newborn to meet me.

It’s the only time we could find to catch up, and I’m so grateful to Court for stopping by.

I step from the staff room into the café, and immediately spot my friend. Courtney squeals when she sees me, the baby strapped to her chest.

“Hi Av!” she giggles while giving me a big hug. “Oh my god, you look radiant.”

“No, I don’t,” I say in a wry tone. “I got coffee stains on my shirt through the apron, can you believe it? The Northstar Café is so cheap when it comes to stuff. It’s really unbelievable.”

Courtney clucks and nods as we sit down at a small table, the baby snoozing against her.

“I know, and I can’t believe you’re still here, Avalon. Seriously, Northstar is rough and there are better places.”

I shoot her a wry look.

“You mean, like where your sister, Annabel, used to work?”

Court rolls her eyes.

“Oh my god, don’t even get me started on the Birchwood Cafe. Can you believe that she was propositioned by a run club while on shift? And that her boss expected her to say yes to the gangbang because it’s “part of her job”?”

I shake my head, still aghast at the news.

“No, it’s insane, and I’m glad Annabel’s boyfriend put that café out of business once he found out. It must be so nice to be with a powerful man who can make things happen.”

Court nods thoughtfully.

“Yeah, although my brother-in-law says he didn’t have anything to do with the Birchwood Café’s demise.

Hunter says that the cafe was badly mismanaged and went down the tubes all by itself, but I don’t know.

You know how powerful men are. They can make things happen through unseen means, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Hunter finagled their bankruptcy somehow. ”

I shake my head, eyes wide.

“Yeah, it must be so nice to be married to a powerful man like that,” I reiterate. “Speaking of which, you have your own powerful man now! What’s it like, being an old married lady with a baby? Johnny is too cute, by the way. But are we going to wake him up with our chatting?”

Courtney smiles sweetly while cupping her newborn’s head with one hand.

“No, because he sleeps like the dead,” she whispers conspiratorially while giving me a wink. “And I really am an old married lady now, with the emphasis on the word ‘old.’ I feel like I’ve aged twenty years in the last two!” she moans.

I shake my head.

“You’re not old, girlfriend. You’re what, twenty-one? You’re so gorgeous, Court, and no one can tell you’re a mom.”

“Yep, I’m twenty-one,” Court winks. “And everyone can tell I’m a mom because I’m so haggard and tired all the time, not to mention the spit-up staining my clothes 24/7.”

“Baby spit-up is normal,” I say in a mock-stern tone. “And you’re not haggard, Court. You’re just a new mom, that’s all, so it’s normal to feel tired all the time. You look great.”

My friend shoots me a whimsical smile.

“That’s why we’re buddies, Av. Because you always prop me up.”

“We prop each other up,” I retort immediately.

“We do,” Court agrees, musing on something. Then she shoots me a long look. “By the way, have you spoken with Stuart recently?”

I snort.

“No, and that douchebag better not contact me. I just know he’s dating someone else already.”

Stuart is my ex whom I dated throughout high school.

In some lame rom-com, I thought we’d actually get married, but then he texted me about two months ago some long missive about “not being in the right place in life” and “wishing me the best.” WTF!

First, who breaks up with a long-term girlfriend over text?

Second, it sounded like his message was written by Chat GPT.

Courtney told me to check for em dashes in the message, and sure enough, there were two.

I guess the reasoning is that no one uses em dashes in real life, and definitely not over text, so the special character was a dead giveaway.

Still, giveaway or not, I don’t care because Stuart’s text only called out the malaise that I’d been feeling myself.

We got together too young, and were bored of one another. Breaking up was a good thing.

Besides, I’m too restless to be pinned down by gangly boys with seeping acne on their necks.

Sure, Stuart had a steady job at the poultry plant, but let’s be real.

It was a gory position which left him splattered in blood every day, and he was never going to find something better.

Best case scenario, he’d be promoted to manager because his uncle owns the plant.

But Stuart would never reach upper-level management because my ex enjoyed slaughtering chickens too much to leave the production line.

It’s the truth, and I’m calling a spade a spade.

Nonetheless, the relationship’s done now, which leaves me in a slightly precarious position.

Courtney doesn’t know this, but Stuart helped me out financially sometimes.

He didn’t pay my rent, but he definitely covered my utilities and phone bill, and we shared accounts on Netflix, Prime, Hulu, and Peacock.

Okay, he paid for the accounts and let me sponge off him, but last week, he cut off my access and now I’m stuck watching free shorts on YouTube.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but I’m devastated because my shows are really important to me.

I was smack in the middle of Love Is Blind, where they had the brouhaha between Patrick and Kacie, and let’s just say I feel terrible for Patrick.

People are saying there’s a lot of internalized racism, in addition to overt racism, and I have to agree.

Nonetheless, I don’t know what happens between Patrick and Kacie in the end because my access has been cut off!

Yet I don’t make enough at Northstar to sign up for Netflix on my own.

Not when the standard plan is eighteen dollars a month because that’s eighteen dollars I don’t have.

So yes, I’ve decided to take things into my own hands, and I smile hesitantly at my friend.

“Okay, you have that look that tells me something’s up,” Courtney intones. “What is it? Spit it out, Av.”

I take a deep breath.

“It’s not bad, I promise. But do you remember how your sister worked for that group? The one that put on the College Bowl, where your sister met her boyfriend?”

Courtney brows furrow.

“Yes,” she says in a slow tone. “It’s called Sweet Lies. Why?”

I smile brightly.

“Well, because I signed up with them, and I’m going to do an event with them, that’s why!”

Courtney shakes her head, pausing delicately.

“Avalon, you know I love you. You know I’m not judging you because my sister worked for Sweet Lies, so I shouldn’t be saying anything.

But you know what Sweet Lies is, right? It’s an exclusive club for rich dudes where anything goes.

You’re expected to act sexy and then service them,” she says in a low whisper. “Like pleasure them.”

I nod.

“I know, and I’ve decided that I’m going to do it.”

Court stares at me.

“But why?” she asks. “My sister only did it because you know that our dad has ALS, and the medical expenses were bankrupting us. I couldn’t contribute back then because I was in high school, so Annie decided to go it on her own, and she took the Sweet Lies job out of desperation.

But you’re okay, financially, right? I mean, if you’re not, it’s fine.

I can help you. Jack has tons of money, and he just sold his latest sculpture for seven figures. Our cash flow is good.”

“Oh no no, it’s not about the money,” I fib lightly. “I could never take money from you, Court, although I appreciate the offer. And it’s so great that Jack’s artwork is selling for so much! Holy cow, you guys must be rolling in cash.”

“We are,” my friend responds immediately while fixing me with a look. “Which is why I want you to tell me if you need help. I’d do anything for you, Avalon. You know that. You saved my butt while I was working here at Northstar more than once.”

I laugh lightly, but don’t respond because actually, when Court needed money, I wasn’t able to help at all.

Out of desperation, Court signed on to be a model for a line of rubber vaginas.

Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like, and even talking about it grosses me out a little.

But it worked out for my friend because the artist taking a mold of her cunt was none other than the handsome Jack Dawson, and after a couple of steamy sessions in the studio, Court ended up marrying him!

But now, I couldn’t possibly ask for money from my friend when I wasn’t there for her when she needed help. As a result, I lie through my teeth.

“No, I’m just doing it for kicks. I mean, the money’s good, but that’s not the only reason why I joined Sweet Lies. I figured it could be fun!”

Court throws me another long look.

“There are lots of things that a girl can do for fun, Avalon, that have nothing to do with Sweet Lies. You could browse a bookstore, or take yourself out for a cup of hot chocolate. You could go on-line and meet guys—”

“I’m definitely not doing that,” I say quickly. “Ugh, dating online sounds awful.”

“I know,” Courtney says in a slow tone. “But you’re single now, and ready to mingle, right? There are many ways to meet men that have nothing to do with an exclusive gentlemen’s club.”

I nod cheerily.