Chapter 39
Eri looked around the large room as Elias brought in their suitcases.
Avian had found a nice ski resort for them to stay at that included lessons in the stay’s cost. It was the best option considering they wanted to learn while they were there.
Their five rooms were at the end of the same hall in a U-shape.
She ventured into the bathroom and took in the walk-in shower and large tub.
Both of which she was sure they’d christen before they left.
She went back into the bedroom to find that Elias had opened both suitcases.
Eri went over to help him unpack them. They were only there for four days, but she liked to have options when she traveled.
She brought double the amount of clothes and three different ski suits, even though she knew they’d only be on the slopes twice.
It was after eight, and they didn’t have any plans for the evening other than getting dinner. There was a restaurant nearby, and they would go there once everyone finished unpacking, since the resort restaurant stopped taking food orders at eight.
“What do you want to do when we get back?” Eri asked, putting her ski suits on hangers.
“Whatever you want to, Amate.”
She hummed. “The shower in the bathroom is pretty big. I think we should test it out.”
Elias chuckled. “You realize you’ve been trying to jump on my dick since this morning. You’re ovulating, aren’t you?”
“I might be, but are you complaining about it?”
“Not at all, baby. I find it cute how eager and demanding you eventually get when you are.”
They finished unpacking their suitcases, and Eri pulled him towards the door.
She was hungry and intent on knocking on everyone else’s doors to hurry them along.
When she opened their door, she found Avian standing outside of it, hand raised to knock, attention next door as Nesiah emerged from the room.
“Seems like we’re all ready to eat,” Eri said, and Avian’s attention came to her.
“Yes,” her friend started. “I skipped lunch, and the snacks on the plane weren’t enough.”
“Which is why I texted and reminded you twice to eat,” Marco said from where he leaned against the wall next to the door.
“I know, but I was caught up making sure we were all packed, and I had everything,” Avian responded, stepping back as Eri and Elias exited their room. Her boyfriend locked the door behind them.
They rounded up Ricardo and Romi, exited the lodge, and piled into the SUV they rented. The drive to the restaurant was barely ten minutes, and when they arrived, the staff pushed two tables together to accommodate them.
Eri looked over the options and chose the sample platter before putting the menu aside. Their server came and took their drink orders, while a few of them were still deciding what they wanted to eat.
“What time are the lessons again in the morning? Ten?” Romi asked.
“Yes,” Avian started. “But we need to be there by nine forty-five.”
Some of them had opted for ski lessons while the others had decided to snowboard, and they’d been able to schedule them at the same time. After the lessons, they would have lunch before going to the ghost town and dinner.
Their drinks arrived, and they placed their food orders. Eri tried the drink she’d ordered. A fruity cocktail concoction that looked pretty on the menu. It tasted as good as it looked.
“Is it good?” Avian asked, and Eri nodded. “Can I taste it?”
“Did you suck dick today?” Eri teased, and Avian glared at her playfully.
“Did you?” Avian asked at the same time Marco replied, “She hasn’t yet.”
“I have not,” Eri responded, while her friend side-eyed her husband.
“She tried to,” Elias countered, and Eri elbowed him as the table shared a laugh.
Her boyfriend wasn’t completely wrong. She’d made a comment to him about joining the mile-high club, but decided the risk wasn’t worth being added to the no-fly list.
They continued discussing their activities for the trip before the subject shifted to the upcoming holidays as their food arrived. They conversed throughout dinner and, once the bill was settled, they left, getting back into the SUV.
When they arrived back at the ski resort, they said good night and went their separate ways.
Eri put her purse on the dresser, then sat on the bed, and removed her shoes while Elias emptied his pockets.
She removed her jewelry and set it on the bedside table, then went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
Returning to the bedroom, she found Elias putting her shoes beside the closet with his.
She took his hand and led him into the bathroom.
Eri slowly removed her clothes, his eyes trailing over her the entire time.
She then undressed him and pulled him into the shower.
She directed his hand between her legs, and he chuckled.
“See? Demanding,” he teased, brushing his finger against her clit.
Eri wrapped her hand around his dick. “And you like it.”
“I love it, baby.”
She placed her free hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down into a kiss. Eri knew she could be as demanding as she wanted, because he would give her whatever she asked for.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
The next morning, Elias was on the beginner slope with the others as they received lessons.
He, Marco, and Romi had opted for snowboard lessons, while the others were getting ski instructions.
He’d been snowboarding years ago when he was a kid, but contrary to popular belief, everything was not like riding a bike.
The three of them had three instructors because Ricardo and Javier both knew how, which was why they’d opted to ski and they had picked it up quickly.
The two gave them pointers now and then along with their instructor.
Elias was sure he could have picked up the activity fairly quickly had he been paying more attention to it.
However, his focus continued to drift to the ski instructor whenever he went near Eri.
He was irritated with the way the man touched her.
Elias wasn’t one to get jealous, and if he’d been touching her for teaching purposes, he wouldn’t have minded.
The contact the instructor was trying to pass off as professional was anything but. His girlfriend had already told the man to just explain how she needed to adjust her stance, what she needed to do.
Elias un-clicked from the board and removed his helmet as the ski instructor approached Eri. He knew the man wouldn’t keep his hands to himself. And regardless of how much his girlfriend wanted to learn to ski, he was over it. He grabbed the man’s wrist as he reached towards Eri again.
“You don’t need to touch her like that to teach her. She already told you that,” Elias said.
“I’m a hands-on teacher,” the man replied.
“You’ll be a handless teacher if you touch my girlfriend again,” Elias countered, squeezing the man’s wrist.
“If you’re fine with your friend instructing you, I’ll help over here,” the other instructor said, approaching, trying to diffuse the situation.
He turned his attention to Eri, releasing the man’s wrist. “You good with that, Amate?”
She’d moved the eye guard up at some point. “Yeah, that’s fine. You good, baby?”
“Yeah,” he replied. She studied him for a moment before nodding and pulling her eye guard back down.
He went back over to the other three, and for the rest of the lesson, the man stayed away from Eri. When they finished the lessons, they settled in the resort restaurant for lunch.
“Did everyone have fun?” Romi asked once they had their drinks and were waiting for their food.
“I did,” Nesiah stated. “I’ve been snowboarding twice and sucked at it. Skiing was easier. I thought Elias was going to put the instructor on his ass, though.”
“I was,” he replied, picking up his glass.
“You know I don’t want anyone else,” Eri replied, taking his face in her hand and kissing him.
“I know, but that doesn’t mean he can’t get his ass whooped for not respecting boundaries.”
After lunch, they were walking through the lobby when Ricardo looked into one of the rooms they passed.
“Y’all want to play air hockey?” he asked. “There are a few other games in there too.”
“I’m going to take a nap before we go to the ghost town. I didn’t sleep much last night,” Eri said. “You all should play though.”
“A nap sounds nice,” Romi seconded.
“It does,” Avian started. “Why don’t you four spend some guy time while we nap, and wake us up in an hour and a half?”
They agreed and went into the game room while the women went to take a nap. Ricardo and Marco went to the air hockey table, while Elias and Javier went to the dartboard.
“Elias, when are you going to give it to Eri?” Marco asked after a few minutes.
“Are you proposing?” Ricardo inquired, missing the block for Marco’s incoming shot.
“No,” he started, throwing a dart. “Our sixth-month anniversary is in a few days, but I wanted to give her a gift while we were here.”
“I thought you were following in Marco’s footsteps with a quick engagement,” Javier jested. “Didn’t both of your dads pop the question at six months too?”
“Just mine,” Marco responded. “But Uncle Lorenzo wasn’t far behind. It was what? Eight months?”
“Nine,” Elias corrected.
“Well, you still have time. You know they say, like father, like son, and your cousin proved it,” Ricardo teased.
“My mamma would love that,” Elias said.
“Careful, her senses might start tingling, and she might start meddling,” Marco replied. “But back to my original question.”
“I’m giving it to her tonight after dinner,” Elias answered. He planned on taking her on the lift and giving it to her as they ascended.
They played several rounds of the games before heading to wake the women up, so they could get ready to go to Ashcroft Ghost Town.
“Careful, baby,” Elias said as he helped Eri into the lift car after dinner. Once they were both in, they began to ascend to the top of the mountain.
“It’s such a pretty sight at night,” she said, looking out of the window as she sat across from him.
“I agree,” he responded as he watched her. When they were halfway to the top, he pulled the jewelry box out of his pocket. She turned to look at him, and he held it out to her.
“What’s this?” she asked, taking it from him.
“An early anniversary gift.” He watched her open the box.
“Oh, my gosh. Babe, it’s gorgeous,” she stated, pulling the locket from the box. She opened it and smiled at the picture of the two of them inside it. “Thank you, baby. I love it.” She leaned across the middle, and he met her, kissing her. “I love you.”
“I love you, Amate.”
They rode to the top and then back down to the bottom.
When they got off, they walked hand in hand to their room.
Once inside, he turned on the electric fireplace and pulled her to sit on his lap to cuddle as they warmed up.
As they did, he thought back to the discussion they’d had in the game room.
He wasn’t opposed to marriage. Not the way he liked to let his mother believe when he shut her down, and who knew what the next six months held.