The Hazards of Mistletoe (4 page)

“Is that your way of making fun of me? Of saying I couldn’t make friends another way?”

He set his burger down. “You’re the one who said it. I was just agreeing with you. Friends are important, especially in college.”

“Sorry to jump on you like that.” The thought of seeing Glen again had me in a bad mood. I needed to try to stop taking it out on other people.

“You’re really tense. What’s that about?”

“No comment.” I sipped my beer.

He shrugged. “Fair enough.”

I moved the conversation off of me. “You go to Ridgeview, right?”

“Yeah, but only for a few more months.”

“Nice. Excited to graduate?”

“Not really.” He sipped his beer. “It just means facing the real world.”

“I’m just starting, so the thought of being done seems light years away.”

“It goes fast, really fast.”

“That’s what everyone says.” I took another bite of my wrap. It wasn’t particularly good or satisfying, but at least I had beer to wash it down.

“So you’re the resident Vail expert. What exciting things do we have in store for us this week?” Dalton leaned back in his seat.

“Aside from skiing or snowboarding?”

“Which do you do?” he asked.

“I snowboard.”

“Nice, same here.”

“To answer your question, there’s everything snow related you could want. It’s a fun time usually.”

“Only usually?” He asked.

I shrugged. “Long story.”

“I don’t mind long stories. Plus we’ve got plenty of time.”

“Ok, then a long story I don’t want to share.”

“That’s honest. I’m guessing this has something to do with your bad mood.” Dalton finished off his burger.

“I’m not in a bad mood.”

He laughed. “Ok. Relax. I’ll figure it out eventually anyway.”

We finished up our food and Dalton insisted on paying the tab. I assumed my dad would pay him back for it later. “We should probably head back over to the gate. Let’s hope the flight doesn’t get further delayed.”

Before long our plane loaded. I was seated about five rows behind Dalton, and someone offered to switch seats so we could sit together. I didn’t mind sitting alone and told the man not to worry about it, but I appreciated the thoughtfulness of the passenger. It looked like some people still had the holiday spirit.

“What the hell is going on with you?” Winston yelled from behind me.

“Nothing.” I continued gazing out at the interstate below. If I looked out the window in the kitchen I could get a tiny view of Vail Mountain across the way.

“Bullshit. You’ve been moping around all week. Is this about your parents?”

“No.” I wasn’t looking forward to seeing them, but I was dreading seeing someone else more. Dreading, yet counting down to it. Maybe miraculously she’d have forgotten what had happened—and that I never explained myself. A year later and I still couldn’t get that devastated look of Savy’s out of my head, neither of the devastated looks.

“Then it’s the girl.”

“What girl?” I whirled around to look at my roommate. Winston and I weren’t friends when I first moved in the year before, but he’d grown on me. We’d met through a mutual friend, and so far he’d been a decent roommate.

“The one who stops you from getting any real action.”

“There’s no girl.” There wasn’t. Not for me. I’d hurt Savy, but it had been the right thing to do. She deserved someone better. Her whole life was about people disappointing her, and I refused to be another one added to her list.

“There’s a girl. Savy is it?”

“Where’d you hear that name?” Winston may have been growing on me, but I didn’t want him anywhere near her. I didn’t want anyone near her.

“I’ve heard it from you. You talk in your sleep.”

“No really. Where did you hear it?”

He leaned back against the counter. “Really. She’s the same girl in that picture on your phone. She has to be.”

“What the hell? Are you stalking me or something?”

“No. You just leave your phone out all the time. You’re obsessed. How often do you jack off to that picture? Four times a week?”

More like every night. “Never. She’s just an old friend. Drop it.”

“What I’m trying to figure out is why you’re obsessing even more right now? It’s got to mean she’s here.”

I ignored him. Maybe he’d go away.

“Yes, I’m right. I bet she’s staying over where your parents are at Lionshead.”

“I told you to drop it.”

“She’s hot.”

“Shut up.”

“No really. I’ve seen the picture. I get it.”

I spun around. “Don’t even talk about her.”

“I get it.”

“What do you get?” I snapped. Winston was seriously getting on my nerves. He had no idea what he was talking about and needed to stay out of it.

“She’s underage. That’s the problem.”

“She’s not underage.”

“She looks pretty young.”

“She’s nineteen now.” Nineteen and three months and six days. Not that I was obsessed enough to know those details.

“How old was she in the picture?”

“Eighteen. Okay. She’s not a kid.” Not by age. She was only a year younger than me, but sometimes she seemed so much younger. She was so trusting of the wrong people.

“And have you done her?”

“This conversation is over. I’m going out for a run.”

“It’s dark.”

“Like that matters.” I put on my shoes and zipped up my jacket before heading out into the cold night.

I’d almost had her. I’d almost experienced what I’d craved for years. The small taste I’d had still drove me crazy a year later. I could picture every inch of that amazing body of hers, and when I let myself, I could imagine another outcome. An outcome where I’d taken what she’d offered. But I hadn’t. I’d left her better off. She’d blocked me from every social media platform imaginable so I had no idea how she’d been. I hoped she’d found someone better. Someone who deserved her.

I’d started to call her a few times, but I’d always stopped. What could I possible say? I’d destroyed our friendship that night, and a phone call wasn’t going to change that. Nothing could change it.

I pushed myself as hard as I could during my run. I needed to burn off the stress so I could face whatever this week held.

“When did you get so skinny?” Dad pulled me into a hug as soon as I entered baggage claim.

“Gee, great to see you too.” I self-consciously wrapped my Delta Mu sweatshirt tighter around me.

“I am paying for a full meal plan for you, aren’t I?” Dad was hard to read. Sometimes it was tough to tell if he was joking or not.

“I eat, Dad. I’m not too skinny, this sweatshirt is just oversized.”

“You’re skin and bones.”

I wasn’t. I wasn’t overweight, but I wasn’t under. I was in the best shape I’d been in my whole life thanks to living near the campus fitness center. “And you look fantastic. Let’s move on.”

“Hi, George. It’s great to see you.” Dalton held out his hand to Dad. He winked at me. Maybe he understood how frustrating parents could be.

“Hey, Dalton. It’s great to see you again.” Dad did that whole guy half hug thing.

Dalton stepped back after the hug. “How’s it going? I’m guessing my mom’s back at the place?”

“Yeah, we knew it would be tight to pile everyone in.”

“And you drew the short straw.”

Dad laughed. “No, I couldn’t wait to see you guys. I haven’t seen Savy in months it feels like.”

“It’s been four months. Not too bad for us.”

Dad patted my back. “Glad you’re still full of all that sunshine and rainbows.”

“That’s our plane.” I walked over to the baggage carousel that displayed our flight number. Dad had embarrassed me with the weight comment. Did he have to say it in front of Dalton?

The carousel started up, and I watched for my bag. I usually avoided checking bags when I could, but it’s hard in the winter when everything you need to wear is big and bulky. At least I hadn’t had to worry about bringing my snowboard or anything. My dad always took care of that for me.

Dalton reached around me to grab his bag. The crowd started to thin out.

“Looks like your bag didn’t make it, hun,” Dad said calmly from behind me.

“It’s here. It has to be here.” There was no way I was spending the week with only the one extra set of clothes I’d packed in my carry on.

After watching the same two bags circle around another few times I was ready to face the truth. I groaned. “I’ll go fill out the lost luggage form.”

Dad put a hand on my shoulder. “They’ll find it and bring it over. Until then I’m sure you can borrow some clothes from Laney. You’re nearly the same size.”

“I’ll wear my own.” Borrowing clothes from his girlfriend’s daughter? Not exactly ideal.

Twenty minutes later we were finally getting into Dad’s rental car.

I gladly took the passenger seat. Sometimes it was perfectly fine to play the girl card.

“Cheer up, you’ll get your stuff.”

“I’m fine. Really.” I certainly wasn’t going to tell him what really had me in a bad mood. There was a strong likelihood that I was going to be facing Glen in just a few hours. Hopefully I could avoid seeing him alone at all.

“How were your flights?” Dad asked casually. “In the end it worked out that you both got in at the same time.”

“They went fine. It was nice getting to meet Savannah early too.” Dalton hadn’t struck me as a kiss up. Maybe he was telling the truth.

“That is nice. I think you guys are really going to have fun this week. We have some great activities planned.”

Planned activities? That wasn’t something we ever did.

“Oh, great. I’m excited. This is my first time out in Vail,” Dalton chatted away.

“It’s probably too late to head out tonight, but tomorrow morning the weather’s supposed to be great.”

“Great. I can’t wait.” I couldn’t. Despite my dislike of the cold, I did love snowboarding when I was wearing the right gear. I’d stuffed my ski jacket into my carry on. That was a lucky break.

“How are the rooms going to work?” Dalton asked.

“That depends.”

“On?” I asked quickly. This had better not be when my dad told me I’d be sleeping on the pull out couch.

“Your mom and I thought it might be nice to let the girls have the third bedroom together if you’d be ok with the couch, Dalton.”

“That’s fine with me. Sharing a room with Laney isn’t exactly my favorite thing.”

“Great, glad that’s settled.” Dad smiled. “And Savy, you and Laney will be fine. I bet it’s going to be a blast. No keeping everyone up with your giggling and girl talk.”

I put my head in the palm of my hand. “I wouldn’t worry about that. We’re not twelve.”

Dalton laughed. I got the sense he wasn’t laughing at me so it didn’t bother me.

The drive from Denver to Vail was pretty typical. The roads were clear, and despite the extra holiday traffic it didn’t take more than two and a half hours. Even so, I had to go to the bathroom so bad by the time we reached our exit that I wasn’t sure I was going to make it.

I couldn’t wait until we got up to our room. I ran into the lobby bathroom. Feeling much better, I took a minute to look at my reflection in the mirror. I ran my fingers through my hair to straighten it out, but there was nothing I could do about the dark circles under my eyes. A night of fitful sleep and a day of airports had left their mark.

I walked out into the lobby where my Dad and Dalton were waiting. “Feeling better?” Dad smiled.

“Much.” Lost baggage was one thing, but lost baggage and a bursting bladder was another.

We walked into the elevator, and I tried to ignore the memories that flooded me. The last time I’d gone up in that elevator had been during that night with Glen.
Stop
I told myself. There is nothing good that could come from going down memory lane.

We’d barely made it a few steps down the hall when a door flung open.

“Dalton!” A girl with her long brown hair tied into a side ponytail ran out and hugged Dalton around the waist. “You’re finally here!”

He laughed. “Hey, Laney.”

“Hey, you must be Savannah.” She grinned and held out a hand. “I’m Laney.”

“Hi Laney. Nice to meet you.”

“Dalton?” A dark haired woman walked out into the hall. She grinned when she saw him and pulled him into a hug. Then she turned her attention to me. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Savannah.”

I smiled politely and held out a hand. I knew better than to worry too much. I’d tried so hard with Mac, and he’d never warmed up to me. I figured Gina wouldn’t be any different. “Great to meet you.”

We walked inside and Dad hugged Gina. Hadn’t they just seen each other hours before? I refused to dwell on it. If he was happy, who was I to get in the way?

“How did the pick-up go?” Gina asked him.

“Good, except for Savannah’s bag doing the disappearing act.”

“Oh no. I hate when that happens.” Gina seemed legitimately distressed for me. “Did you fill out the form?”

“Yeah, hopefully it just missed the Atlanta flight.”

“If there’s anything you need while you wait I’m sure between Laney and me we’ll have you covered. And if it doesn’t show by tomorrow we’ll just have to shop.” She grinned. “Wouldn’t that be too bad?”

“I brought so much more stuff than I actually need,” Laney added. “I’m sure my stuff will fit you.”

“Thanks.” There were definitely some benefits to having other girls around.

“Where’s Grandma and Grandpa?” I was surprised they hadn’t been waiting at the door.

“They’re having dinner with the Maxtons tonight. They were going to wait, but then your flight was delayed.”

The Maxtons. My stomach churned. That was Glen’s family. I grabbed the bag I did have and followed Laney into the room we’d be sharing. It was the smallest of the rooms, and it had two twin sized beds inside. “I took this one. Hope you don’t mind.” She sat down on the one closest to the window.

“It’s totally fine.” I dropped my stuff and looked around.

“You’ve been here a ton, right?”

“Yeah. We’ve been coming here for years.”