New Year Second Chance

“We’re not going there to ski.”

Okay. Now I’m worried.

“Three days, Jenna. That’s all I’m asking. Just you and me.”

That sounds even more intimidating.

I shake my head. “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” he asks me.

I don’t answer.

“I’ll promise you three things. One, I won’t ask you to get back together with me. In fact, I won’t ask you for anything while we’re there. Two, I won’t lay a finger on you. Three, after the three days are done and you’re convinced you don’t want anything more to do with me, I’ll let you go and I’ll never bother you again.”

Wow. He really wants me to go with him. And I have to admit, his proposition is starting to sound tempting.

Three days at a private ski lodge. I can imagine that will be relaxing and probably luxurious. Plus I can’t remember the last time I had a vacation. True, I’ll have to tolerate Dax’s company, but he’s promising he’ll behave.

I don’t trust him anymore, but I do know that he’s a man of his word.

“You won’t ask me to get back together with you?” I ask him.

“I won’t even bring it up,” Dax answers. “Though I can’t say I won’t try to convince you in other ways.”

Ah.

“But you won’t lay a finger on me?”

“Unless you want me to.”

I see. So he’s still planning on seducing me.

“I’ll be at your command,” he adds. “Whatever you want, you’ll have it.”

“You mean you’ll be like my personal genie?”

He shrugs. “Pretty much.”

“So you’re going to buy your way into my good graces? Is that your plan?”

“I can’t tell you my plan,” Dax says. “But yes, it involves doing anything to get back into your good graces.”

And I can tell he means it. He means business.

I nod. “And if you fail, you’ll never bother me again?”

“I’ll end things better than I did the last time,” he assures me.

End things. Why does the sound of that make me want to cringe?

So he’ll break my heart a second time. Is that it? Wait. What am I talking about? He can only break my heart if I give it to him again. And if I do decide to entrust it to him once more, I’m not going to let him break it. I’m going to proceed with the utmost caution this time.

If I do.

Even if I don’t, I’m going to try to make the most of this, to enjoy it as much as possible. Maybe, even if it’s just for a short while, I can feel young and free again. I can recover some of the old Jenna I feel I’ve lost, take back the life I used to live. At the very least, I owe myself that chance.

“Fine,” I agree. “Three days.”

I suppose I can ask Emily to help my dad take care of Shanna for that long. After all, she was the one who suggested I think of myself, that I give Dax a chance.

Dax gives me a grin. “We have a deal.”

~ Five

Dax

Rose Red was given to me by one of my father’s friends, someone who knew my mother. He was also one of the first investors in my company. Well, not exactly given. He offered to sell me the lodge at half the market price, saying he had been wanting to get rid of it ever since cold weather started making his back hurt but couldn’t find someone who he could trust to take care of it. I accepted and paid him in full. Still, I consider it a gift. Now, it’s one of three properties I own.

I still remember the first time I came here. I walked through the door and I fell in love with the place. The solid wood that looks like it could withstand a hundred storms. The glossy red varnish of the furniture which lets the lodge live up to its name. The cozy rugs and cushions. The elegant lamps. The huge fireplace in the living room. The Jacuzzi upstairs with a view of the trees. The rustic styled yet modernly equipped kitchen. The entertainment room. The gym that has everything I need to keep fit. The canopied bed in each bedroom. I loved everything.

And to think it wasn’t snowing then. Now that snowflakes are cascading outside the windows, the lodge ironically looks warmer. And more enchanting.

“This place is lovely,” Jenna echoes my sentiment as she comes to the living room.

She no longer has her green coat on. Her pink turtleneck emphasizes her slender shoulders, long arms and the perfect curves of her breasts. Her black gloves are off as well. She runs her fingers across the edge of the end table.

“It’s a pity it’s empty most of the time.”

I shrug as I get off the couch. “Well, it’s isolated, so it wouldn’t be a good place to live in. You know, far from the mall or a hospital. I doubt you can get pizza delivered here. Or Uber.”