Chapter 9
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I didn’t let Anna out of my sight even though Rachel assured me that there would be no more drama. It was easy to convince Anna to play beach volleyball for the remainder of the afternoon since she was a little nervous about getting back on her skis. We decided it was time to call it a day around eight o’clock.
“I don’t know about you guys,” Eric said as we walked back toward the lodge, “but I’m finished. The hot tub sounds pretty damn good right now.”
“I’m already there,” Anna agreed as she pulled her elastic out, letting her blonde hair spill over her shoulders. “My body is killing me.”
Eric’s expression went from exhausted to ecstatic. My fist twitched. What was it about this guy that stirred my desire for blood? I decided he wasn’t worth the extra effort it required to hit him.
“Anna, your bag is still in here. Did you want me to bring it to you?” I called down the hall as I unlocked the door to my room.
“Right. I’ll come and get it. Just give me a sec.” She disappeared into her room with Rachel trailing behind.
I held the door open for Noah and then we both crashed on the bed. The soft, plush mattress felt awesome under my tired body.
“Dude, so what’s the deal with the bed? How come there’s only one?” Noah asked.
“Eric’s idea of a joke? Who knows.”
“Aaah.” Noah stretched out. “That was a lot of fun, man. Rachel’s a surprisingly good skier. I’m wiped.”
“Well, go ahead and get your beauty sleep then, I’m going to the hot tub.” I tossed a pillow at his head as I got up to find my bathing suit.
“Why? So you can make sure Eric doesn’t hit on your girl?” Noah hurled the pillow back, smoking me in the back of the head.
I pretended to think his observation was funny. “Like she’d ever fall for a prep like Eric.”
A knock sounded at the door and Anna poked her head in. “You boys decent?”
“Come on in, Anna. We’re just getting our trunks on.” Noah hesitated for a moment, and then said with as much coolness as he could gather, “Is . . . Rachel coming?”
“You’re such a dork, Noah. Yes, she’s coming,” Anna said. Noah blushed. I laughed.
“Knock, Knock,” Rachel chimed as she strutted in wearing a black bikini and holding a towel over her arm.
Noah stared, which was embarrassing even for me. I threw my towel to distract him and asked if he knew where my bathing suit was.
“How the hell should I know where your bathing suit is?” He got up and walked to the bathroom to get changed. I rolled my eyes and dug my trunks out of my duffle bag.
“Hurry! Come on, we’ll never get a spot in the tub if we’re the last ones there,” Rachel whined.
“So we don’t get a spot in the tub, so what? I’m sure it won’t be the end of the world, Rachel,” I said before taking my turn in the bathroom to get changed.
The hot tub was full, just as Rachel had said it would be. I should’ve put more faith in her prediction. Eric, Lexie, Tyler and Monica were already soaking their tired muscles.
“Hey,” Eric called to us as we walked toward them. “Come on in.”
Anna pulled up a chair and said, “Looks full. We’ll wait our turn.”
“There’s a spot right here on my lap, baby,” Eric flirted as he exchanged a laugh with Tyler. Apparently they didn’t get the memo about us being the hottest new couple.
Anna played along. “That’s sweet of you, Eric . . . maybe Rachel or Noah could take it. I’m going to sit on Jake’s lap.”
The laughs echoed through the room as Tyler called, “Burned!”
I sat down in the chair next to the hot tub, pulling Anna onto my lap while I wrapped my arms around her smooth waist.
“Mmm, now this is relaxing,” Anna moaned.
I was light-headed yet completely grounded at the same time. I was in absolute bliss holding Anna Taylor on my lap and feeling her warm skin against mine. Like floating on clouds. Like how it should be. Was meant to be.
A couple of hours later we were on our way back upstairs. My skin was wrinkly and soft. My muscles were relaxed.
“Well, we should get some sleep. More skiing and volleyball tomorrow.” Anna smiled as she forced back a yawn.
“My body could use a break,” I said. “Maybe we could do something different instead?”
“How about a hike?” Anna suggested.
“Sounds good to me.” I kept my eyes locked onto Anna’s. Her face was flush from the hot tub, her hair was wispy, and her eyes were getting heavy.
Rachel rested her head against Noah’s shoulder and yawned, “Good night, guys. See you bright and early.” She attempted a sluggish wave and turned to leave.
“Not too early, right?” I called after her to make sure she wasn’t planning any morning attacks.
“Nine o’clock, sharp,” she called back.
I rolled my eyes and reached for Anna’s hand as Noah unlocked our room and then disappeared to give us some privacy. We stood face to face as our fingers played together.
“I don’t want to say good night,” I admitted as I brought her hand to my cheek and kissed her fingers softly.
“I know.” Anna leaned into me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I kissed her forehead and stroked her smooth hair. My heart was playing a loud beat in my chest.
“So, let’s not. Let’s stay up and talk. I couldn’t sleep right now anyway.” I pulled away to watch her face, hoping she was agreeable.
“I know what you mean. I’m tired, but I’m not ready for bed.” Anna took a step back. “Let me go change and I’ll meet you back here in a couple of minutes.”
“Sounds good.”
We found a cozy spot by the fire in the lounge area. I sat down at the end of the big leather sofa, pulled Anna down beside me and locked my arms around her. How could I have missed this before? How could the idea of “us” have never crossed my mind before? It was hard to pinpoint what it was about her that made me want to keep her next to me all the time now. She was irresistible. So smart. So beautiful. So sweet. She was everything.
“I feel so silly about the whole arm thing earlier today. I totally overreacted,” Anna said as she rested her head on my chest and snuggled in.
I paced my breathing and replied, “You didn’t overreact. What do you mean?”
“Well, you didn’t see me when I fell. I was crying and everything. It hurt so bad, I thought for sure it was broken.” Anna ran her hand over her arm.
“Anna, I am so sorry I wasn’t there with you.” I could’ve taken the pain away. I could’ve healed her before she felt anything. I should’ve been there.
“Jake, it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have changed anything.”
“I know, but I just wish I was there for you.” I lowered my head.
“S’okay. You’re here now,” she said sweetly. Lifting my arm slightly, she kissed my wrist softly, leaving her lips there for a tantalizing moment. It made my body go limp as I became completely defenceless. When her lips left my wrist, I could still feel their warmth.
The fire crackled, captivating us with its flickering flames and we stayed like that for several minutes. The lounge was nearly empty, with just a few other couples at the bar.
Anna giggled. “You know what I was just thinking about?”
I chuckled in reaction. “No, sorry, I can’t read minds.” Although that would have been a cool gift.
“I was remembering that time when we went camping a couple of summers ago and you were trying so hard—” Anna broke off to laugh. “You were trying so hard to start the fire.”
I laughed as the memory returned to me. “I had everything in that fire pit—magazines, wood, leaves, toilet paper . . . food.”
Anna was laughing so hard that her body was shaking. “And don’t forget Noah’s T-shirt!”
“Shh! He still doesn’t know what happened to his shirt!” I laughed.
“You were so funny!”
“I was trying to impress you,” I said, realizing it to be true.
“Oh, is that what you were trying to do?” Anna wiped a tear from her eye as her laughter dimmed. “I wish I would’ve noticed.”
“Well, that’s not as bad as the time we were building that tree house in your backyard,” I casually reminded her.
“Oh, please. The tree house incident was your fault.”
“You can’t be serious. You were so high on your horse about being the first girl in our neighbourhood to build a tree house all by herself that you wouldn’t let anyone help.”
“Well, still. You knew what I wanted. You could’ve passed it to me,” Anna giggled.
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t. It wouldn’t have been half as entertaining as watching you fall out of the tree trying to reach it.” I laughed as I remembered Anna plunging several feet to the ground while she had been reaching for the hammer with a lasso rope—too stubborn to ask me to pass it to her. She was afraid people would find out that a boy helped her build the tree house.
We laughed as we continued to reminisce about the past few years. We had some great times together.
“It’s weird, you know?” Anna said softly after a minute of silence.
“What is?”
“This.” She ran her fingers up my arm, sending goosebumps sprawling across my skin.
“You mean us?” My heart skipped a beat as I said it.
“Yeah. How long have you liked me?”
I took a deep breath. “Truthfully?”
“Of course,” she whispered.
“Consciously, just a few days.”
“What do you mean consciously?”
“I mean, I guess I’ve always been attracted to you and always jealous of anyone you showed interest in, but I never thought of you as a girlfriend before you came back from Africa.”
“And why now?”
“Because I realized that it makes me physically sick to think of you with another guy.”
Even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew she was smiling. She pressed her back into me and pulled my arms tighter around her.
“And what about you? How long have you known that you liked me?” I asked, not sure what I was expecting.
“Truthfully?” she said. “I’m not sure I do yet.”
I squeezed her tightly, causing her to cough. “Not funny!”
“I thought it was,” she laughed. “I don’t know, actually. I guess I realized it when I was away these last few months and the only person I missed was you. But then again, there was a couple months last year when I couldn’t get you out of my mind either.”
“Really? When?” I said, trying to recall a time when she might have been more awkward around me.
“The two months you dated that cheerleader . . . Erin.” She shuddered when she said her name.
I nodded, remembering how Anna never seemed to be around for those two months. It really bothered me, and I knew it had something to do with Erin, which is why I ended up breaking it off with her. I just figured Anna didn’t want to be a third wheel; I never imagined it had anything to do with her being jealous. Adorable.
“Well, sorry about that. I promise never to do that again.” I grinned.
Anna didn’t respond right away. Then finally, she said, “I wonder how long this will last?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.
“You and me. I wonder how long it will take for you to get bored of me. And I wonder if we’ll be able to be friends again after that.”
I pulled her away from me, turning her so I could study her face. “Are you serious?”
She raised her eyebrows to suggest she was.
“Why would you say that?” I felt like she was breaking up with me already. I had never thought about the idea of us not working out. It hadn’t crossed my mind at all because of how perfect and whole everything felt when she was near. “Do you not want to do this?” I asked reluctantly.
“No . . . I mean, yes!”
“What?” Clarification, please.
“I do want to do this. I definitely do. I have no doubt that I will not be the one screwing this up.”
“Well, I certainly won’t be.”
“I hope so,” she said with a sincere smile. “But you do have a reputation.”
“I do not!”
“You haven’t been in a relationship for longer than three months. You’re always the one to break up with the girl and leave her heartbroken.”
“I wouldn’t say heartbroken.”
“Trust me, Jake—I’m the one that the heartbroken girls call when you won’t take them back.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” I cringed.
“Yeah, so naturally I’m a little concerned. I don’t want to end up like one of them.”
I took her face in my hands. “Anna, I have put a lot of thought into us over the last few days. I wanted to make damn sure this was a forever thing, because I value your friendship too much.”
“That’s sweet, Jake.”
“It’s true.” I brought her face closer and touched her lips with mine. Then I pulled her back into me and we watched the fire together as the lounge gradually emptied of its remaining guests.
“I can’t believe how late it is,” Anna sighed as she studied her watch. “Two thirty.”
“I am not getting up at nine o’clock. I’ll tell you that right now,” I protested, remembering Rachel’s threat.
Anna laughed. “Well, we could always take naps on the chairlift.”
I smiled at the idea. My eyes were getting heavy, but I forced them open and held Anna closer. Our bodies fit together perfectly, like two puzzle pieces.
“We should go to bed, Jake. We’ll look horrible tomorrow.” Anna stretched.
“You could never look horrible.”
“Ha! You’re smooth.”
“I guess there’s always tomorrow.” My body stiffened at the thought of letting her go.
“Always tomorrow,” Anna agreed as she tilted her head back and met my lips with hers.
We got up and slowly walked back to our rooms. When we reached her room, I leaned in for another memorable, slow kiss. Her lips were so smooth. They still tasted like watermelon lip gloss, even though I thought I had kissed it all off.
“Sweet dreams, Anna Taylor.”
“Dream of me,” she whispered as her nose tickled mine.
“Always.”