* * *
LIAM
God, how cute her butt looked in those tight ski pants. I had high hopes of maybe getting stranded somewhere next to Aly, with our only chance of survival being to cling onto each other's body warmth. Or maybe it was just a fantasy in my head.
She kept watching me through her ski goggles, probably thinking I couldn't see her. That's okay, look all you want, baby. And maybe later you'll be doing a lot more than just looking…
Following my father up to his favorite ski trail, I was ready for a day of leisurely skiing, deciding against the harder trails that we usually favored when we came out here in the winter. As much as I'd love to show off and impress Aly, I wasn't going to get very far with her if I accidentally sprained an ankle or two.
Part of me thought that maybe Aly would need some assistance either learning to ski or brushing up on her skills, but somewhat to my dismay, I quickly realized that Aly was pretty damn good, as she made her way down the side of the large hill before anyone else. Well, there went my chances at trying to ‘help’ her.
It was still nice to watch her go, though, and even I couldn’t help but cheer her on once I got to the bottom, watching how fast she'd zoomed down the slope. "Not too shabby," I commended her as I slid up toward her at the bottom, spraying snow between us.
I could see she was trying to fight a grin, and shrugged it off like it was no big deal. "I've had some practice."
"I'm pretty practiced at some things myself," I said, just loud enough for her to hear. Even though her round cheeks were already tinged from the wind and the weather, I could see her throat swallowing hard. I loved having that kind of effect on her and smiled smugly to myself as I turned around.
The afternoon faded into early evening, and the sky started darkening with incoming snow clouds. Once we’d made it down to the bottom of the mountain for the final time, my dad clapped me on my shoulders while squeezing Kay's hand in his other hand. "Great day for skiing, huh? I figured you’d be out there on the diamond slope today, son. Trying to take it easy on us old-timers?"
I laughed. "Something like that." My eyes were still firmly on Aly as she tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. Damn, it made me want to nibble at that same lip myself.
Kay whispered something into my father's ear and he nodded along. "Good point, honey. Kay and I would like to have dinner at The Monte Carlo tonight, as a nice little date treat for ourselves. You two and Sage are more than welcome to order food in tonight.”
A night alone with Aly, and a free meal? This week just keeps getting better and better. "Sure, Dad. We'll find something to eat…" I didn't even have to look at Aly to know that she was probably thinking about our last fun encounter at those words.
When he made it back inside our house, my dad and Kay went upstairs to get ready while I slipped off my ski gear and settled in for the fireplace, warming up my hands.
"Did you have fun?" I overheard Sage croaking at Aly on the couch.
"It was pretty fun, yeah. Of course, it would've been much more fun if you could have come along," Aly replied, leaning over the backside of the couch.
"Well, of course. Fun is my middle name, you know. Ugh, I just want to get better! Why did this have to happen to me this weekend?"
I felt bad for Sage too; it would be terrible luck to end up with a cold the weekend you're supposed to go skiing in Vail. I probably would've been a bigger mess about it, truthfully. I absolutely hated being sick, or being made to feel weak over anything. It was one of the reasons why I had such a problem with being promptly booted from the pros…
"Shh, no need to worry about it anymore. Just take some medicine and try to get some rest, okay?" Aly said, trying to soothe her sister.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Would you mind giving me my next round of that disgusting crap in the kitchen? Mom says it's supposed to help my sore throat, but honestly it just tastes like ass."
Aly snorted. "So classy. Yeah, I'll go get it for you."
Seeing that maybe my clothes were a tad wetter than I realized at first, I decided to head upstairs to my bedroom and change into something warmer and more relaxed. It felt silly, but part of me wanted to look nice on Aly's behalf, especially with the hopeful plans I had for this weekend with her.
After freshening up in the shower and getting dressed again, I walked out of my room at the same time that Aly was walking Sage into Sage’s bedroom, shutting the door behind her sister with a sad smile. It looked as though her sister was going to be down and out for the count… And as terrible as it made me feel, deep down I was pleased.
I didn't want Aly to think I was intentionally trying to encroach on her personal space, but I wanted to talk to her at the very least. "So you had a good time today?" I questioned her, as we both awkwardly made our way down the steps.
Aly cleared her throat, clearly surprised that I’d even said anything. "Yes, I did, thank you. There's lots of good um, skiing here."
This time I laughed, finding it incredibly cute how she kept stumbling over the right things to say. I was surprised I could pull it off so well myself. "Yeah, that's one good thing about Vail. The snowboarding's not so bad, either."
She nodded along. "I'm not a big snowboarder."
"Really? It's not too different from skiing. In fact—"
My phone rang in my pocket, startling both of us. We smiled at each other shyly, and I pulled my phone out, seeing that it was Dad calling. "Hey Dad."
"Liam, I'm glad I was able to get a hold of you. Listen, the weather's gone crazy outside, looks like a blizzard coming through. The weather is getting…"
I frowned into the phone. "Dad?" The service kept cutting in and out, making it nearly impossible to hear his words stringed together. "Are you there?"
Aly's eyes flashed at mine as we exchanged a look. "What's going on?"
I shrugged. "Dad, can you hear me?"
"Sorry. Hard to. Understand. Blizzard. Restaurant. Road is all shut down. Staying over tonight. Stuck here. Call you in the morning, okay?" my dad said, static cutting in and out of half the conversation.
"You're stuck there overnight?" I tried to say, but the phone dropped the call. Oh shit.
Aly hugged herself, squeezing her arms tightly together. "What happened?"
"From the sound of it, it looks like there's a blizzard going on and our parents are stuck at the Monte Carlo. Which is totally okay," I added quickly, taking in the alarmed look on Aly's face. "The Monte Carlo is actually the restaurant at the resort you saw flying in overhead? They'll just book a night at the hotel, I'm sure. They're totally
fine."
"Oh, okay. Well, that doesn't sound so bad."
"No, it's not so bad," I slowly repeated, our situation dawning on me. Not only was Sage knocked out cold from medicine upstairs, but now both my father and Kay were going to be gone all night long.
It was just going to be me and Aly. Alone, together. Inside, I was doing laps, my fists punching the air above me.
Chapter 7
LIAM
* * *
I glanced over at the clock sitting on the mantle. It was already after eight o'clock, but I was just getting started.
Aly looked as though she were completely lost, unsure of what to do now, considering that she was going to be alone in this house with me. I could already see the thoughts running around her pretty head.
One of my own fun thoughts decided to come forth, and I was talking before I even had a chance to process what I was saying. "Hey, would you care to join me for a snowy swim?"
As cheesy as I sounded, Aly didn't seem to mind, raising an eyebrow at me as she flipped through a book at the table. "What do you mean?"
I beckoned to her. "Come find out."
Not caring about my spontaneous eruption of an idea, I waited for her to follow me to the door of our game room and pushed it open, quickly crossing it and heading down the heated steps that led to our outdoor heated pool in the back.
I heard Aly gasp behind me as she followed suit, and it only took a moment for her to realize that I was quickly undressing down to my underwear. "What on earth are you doing?"
I looked over my shoulder and grinned at her. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm getting in!"
It was, of course, freezing like crazy outside, the mere inches of cold I was exposed to digging its heels into my skin like tiny little jabs of needles everywhere, and my brain told me to quickly hop in.