I was glad to see the guys quickly loading the car while Kerry opened doors. It was ironic to see the two people who had a natural defense against the cold hustling their rear ends to get inside the warm car.
Dawn and Jackson grabbed the backseat, while Wes and I sat in the middle row. Wes was rather quiet and when I reached for his hand, he pulled it away. I was surprised by the withdrawal at first and then realized he was trying to hide his temperature from me. I scowled at him.
“I’m fine, Sophie.”
I leaned forward and made a request. “Kerry, can you turn on the heat, please? I’m cold.”
Dawn yelled from the back. “Yeah, me too. Heat would be nice.”
“Yeah, sure,” she said. “There are vents on the sides back there if you need them.”
I immediately turned ours toward Wes and blew the heat right on him. Then I snatched his icy hand and started rubbing it between my own. By the time we got onto the highway, the vehicle had warmed up nicely, but Wes’ hands were still cold. I kept up the friction.
He leaned over, and put his lips close to my ear. “I love you,” he whispered.
I didn’t respond. He knew I was mad and cursing myself for going along with this trip. What was I thinking? Right. I wasn’t. I just wanted to get inside a warm, cozy place already. In three days this would be over. I tried to focus on that, but it didn’t make me feel any better. Of course, the nickel-size snowflake I saw fall outside our window didn’t help.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed. “Look. It’s snowing,” Dawn squealed. “This is awesome! Real snow!”
I shook my head.
Wes spoke up in spite of me. “Look, Sophie. It’s snow. This is going to be great.”
I was on my third time of calling myself an idiot in my head when Kerry chimed in.
“So, Wes, Sophie tells me you haven’t seen much snow.”
“No. I can’t remember the last time. And I’ve never skied. It’ll be a first. I’m looking forward to it.”
“It’ll be a lot of fun.” Kerry looked back and offered a smile and then reached to turn up the radio. Her head started bobbing to some MJ remix.
Wes pulled his hand free and patted my leg. Putting his lips against my ear again, he whispered, “If you don’t relax, I’ll open this door, while we’re moving, throw myself out of it, and walk in the cold.”
His lips were noticeably warm and I couldn’t help but laugh at the visual. Or at the fact that he’d probably do it and be completely unfazed by it.
“Fine,” I whispered. “But promise me you’ll be honest about how you’re doing. Please.”
He nodded and put his arm around me.
We were headed straight to the ski chalet. Kerry hadn’t outright lied to her parents about no boys coming, but they didn’t exactly know either. She said I was flying in with my friend Dawn and we wanted to go skiing, so stopping off at her house with a car full of hot guys wasn’t a good idea. That meant we jumped onto the highway and kept on going.
Kerry offered to stop for food and Dawn was hungry, but I didn’t want to waste any time on the road. A four-hour drive meant we would arrive at Wintergreen around 7:30 or 8:00, so I was able to convince them to stop for snacks and grab pizza once we got there.
“Are you sure you don’t want to eat now?” Kerry asked.
“Yes, I’m sure. Let’s just get there before we’re stuck driving in snow.”
“Good point,” Kerry replied.
With everyone in agreement, we continued on the road, past civilization, and onto the winding roads of the Virginia mountains. The snow seemed to dissipate the farther we drove but I knew that didn’t mean much. Storms rarely hovered in one spot, so for all I knew, it could be chasing us. And, if it was, I hoped it wouldn’t catch up until we were nestled into the warm, cozy house.
It was dark by the time we reached the foot of the main mountain. A small ski shop was located there, and Kerry wanted to stop and buy new gloves for her and Rich. Dawn and Jackson hopped out with them and Wes and I stayed in the car.
“So this is it?” Wes asked looking at the narrow road that would take us up. It was dark and there was nothing but trees and blackness ahead.
“Yeah.” I leaned over his lap to get a better look out of his window. “The view will be so much better once we get up there.”
I felt his breath in my ear. He inhaled into my hair, and I was about to point out where I thought Kerry’s house was when a tickling sensation going down my neck sidetracked me.
The bridge of his nose was touching my cheek. I leaned into him, turning to find his lips. They were warm, soft, and incredibly inviting. I put my palm on the side of his face and rested my thumb in the crease of his smile line.
For the first time since we set out on this trip, I remembered the reason we had wanted to come. This was for us. So we could spend time together without the stress of everything we left behind. At that moment, I was one hundred percent glad we had come.
“Disgusting,” Dawn said as she opened the door. “Get a room, will ya?”
“You have a lot of nerve,” I replied, sitting up into my own seat.
“I have no idea what you are referring to.”
She climbed into the back while Kerry climbed into the front, saying, “Yeah, well, we’ll all have time to get a room once we get up this mountain, and we’d better hurry. The lady inside said there’s a winter storm warning. They’re expecting anywhere from six to ten inches.
I gasped. “You are kidding me.”
Kerry turned around and looked at me like I had asked a dumb question.
“No, she’s not kidding,” Dawn continued. “Totally rocks. I can’t wait. It’s going to be awesome.”
Rich backed up the Suburban and headed up the mountain. I was quiet, trying to process all of it. Concentrating was difficult between my ears popping from the rise in altitude and Dawn’s excitement.
“Jackson, did you bring the camera? I think I forgot mine. Damn.”
“No,” he answered, “but I have one in my phone.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Dawn said, relieved. “Good. I have to get pics of a blizzard. I’ve never been in one of those.”
“A blizzard?” I turned to her, eyes wide.
Kerry chimed in from the front, “No, she didn’t say blizzard. Just snow.”
Dawn countered with, “I’m from California. Six to ten inches is a blizzard in my book.”
My shoulders dropped a good three inches. Wes put his hand on my thigh for silent support. With a storm like this, we could be snowed in a day or two before they cleared the roads enough for us to get out. But, as long as we were inside, we’d be good to go. We weren’t set to leave until Monday morning anyway. Being snowed in for the weekend might actually be our best bet.
I started thinking ahead. “We’ll need to get food tonight, before we get to the house.”
“Yeah, you’re right, Sophie,” Kerry said. Then, looking at Rich, she continued. “We’ll need to stop for groceries. Get everything now. Just in case we can’t go out.”
Rich nodded. He’d been up here before and knew there was only one store and it was about three-quarters of the way up. I knew that store had everything, including fresh pizza, and that’s where we needed to be.
The way up was unimpressive because it was impossible to see the view in the dark. Normally, you could see massive hillside panoramas, similar to the overlook back home, but on a grander scale, and the hills here were less interrupted by houses.
As we drove, I thought about two spots on the hillsides that I hoped to take Wes to see, but the weather prediction was making me wonder if I’d get the chance. Casting even more doubt were the snow flurries that had begun to fall.
“It’s starting,” I said.
Wes rubbed my leg again in hopes of keeping me relaxed.
“Oh, we’re here,” Kerry said.
Rich pulled into the parking lot. There was only one space left out of the five or six total. We weren’t
the only ones with the idea of stocking up. We all got out and grabbed a basket. The store was too small for carts.
Kerry and Dawn went straight to the junk food aisle. My two best friends. It figures they would think alike. Rich and Jackson went for the drinks. Wes and I, the adults, were in charge of the actual food. According to my calculations we would need breakfast for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday mornings, at least. Then we’d need lunch and dinner for Saturday and Sunday. As a safety measure, we added in Tuesday and Wednesday, in case we really got snowed in and couldn’t leave on time.
I picked up three dozen eggs, two packs of bacon, pancake mix, maple syrup, butter, and three cans of cinnamon buns. Wes grabbed all he could in the way of hot food supplies. They didn’t have a huge selection, so he grabbed stuff to make spaghetti twice, hot dogs twice, and frozen pizzas once. Then we added bread, a bunch of sandwich meats, and several kinds of cheeses. Their produce section was nonexistent, so we settled on relish and ketchup for the hot dogs and tiny jars of mustard and mayo for the sandwiches.
Dawn and Kerry’s baskets overflowed with chips, cookies, and candy. And Jackson and Rich gave up on the baskets entirely. They came around the aisle with arms piled high with six-packs of sodas and waters.
Kerry said her mom kept a stash of tea bags, hot chocolate, and cider at the house, so we were good on that. I added milk and cereal to the mix and then we checked out.
There wasn’t room in the back of the Suburban for everything, so we all held some of the groceries on our laps the rest of the way up. The farther Rich drove, the larger the flakes became, and the more I couldn’t wait to get inside.
Chapter 16
SETTLING IN
“It isn’t sticking,” Kerry observed.
I looked out at the moving black pavement and she was right.
“What does that mean?” Dawn asked.
Kerry turned around, more than willing to fill in Dawn on a few East Coast weather tidbits. “It means it’s not cold enough outside for the snow to stick to the roads. See? It disappears as soon as it touches.”
“Oh, man. That sucks.”
“I’d personally like to see it stick,” Wes chimed in.
I ignored his comment.
“Yeah, me too,” Dawn agreed, overly bummed.
Rich casually added, “It probably will. The temperature will drop tonight.”
“Cool,” Dawn said.
I rolled my eyes as Wes said, “Cool.” He strengthened his massage of my leg.
“Oh, crap!” Kerry nearly shouted.
We all jumped, frantically looking around for whatever it was we missed.
“The pizza. We forgot the pizza.”
We were just pulling into her driveway when she remembered it. We had been so busy stocking up on food supplies that we forgot to pick up the pizza for tonight’s dinner.
“And we were right there.” She grunted.
I reminded her of the frozen pizzas we had stocked up on, but neither she nor Dawn were having that.
“No way,” Kerry said. “I don’t want that junk. That’s for emergencies. I want the fresh stuff.”
Rich offered to turn around, and we almost did, but Kerry suggested that we unpack first.
“Actually,” she amended, “let’s let the guys unpack, and we girls can go back.”
That sounded like a plan to me. It meant Wes would be inside the warm house and that was exactly where I wanted him to be.
“Sounds good,” I agreed.
The guys unpacked the stuff from the back of the Suburban and we took all the groceries in. Kerry even went so far as to put the guys in charge of putting the items in the fridge and cabinets. I found it amusing to see them all taking orders from Kerry, like good little soldiers. It was cute.
I also noticed Jackson and Rich slip out of their coats right away while Wes was still walking around in his. “Kerry can you start the fireplace and turn on some heat in here?”
“Rich knows how. He’ll do it.”
I didn’t even have time to see how soon Rich planned on doing that before Kerry pulled me by my arm right out into the cold. I soon discovered that she just wanted to get Dawn and me alone so she could pry.
We weren’t even out of the driveway before she jumped on Dawn. “So, Dawn, how long have you and surfer hottie been going out?”
Dawn laughed, and so did I. It did seem funny to picture them that opposite. Jackson looks like he’d carry a surfboard, but he prefers the acoustic guitar.
“What’s so funny?” Kerry asked.
“Kerry, do you assume all boys from the West coast surf?” I asked.
Dawn settled herself down. “I’m so not into surfers.”
Kerry defended herself. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with surfers. That’s who I’d be looking for if I moved to Cali. One in a wet suit, for sure.” I looked over to see her twitching her neck again, just visualizing a fiiine one.
“Well, no offense, but surfers just aren’t my cup of tea.”
“Fair enough. Well, then, how long have you and the hottie-whatever-he-is been dating?”
“Not long. Almost two months.”
I couldn’t help but jump in. “Yeah, but you’d never know by the way they constantly cling to each other.”
“Yeah, whatever, Sophie. He’s a good kisser, and you’ve got nerve.”
“What?” I said innocently.
“Oh, don’t pretend that you and Wes aren’t always all over each other. Just because you act like old people about it doesn’t hide a thing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you guys act like an old married couple. It’s ridiculous.”
Kerry was getting a kick out of us.
“What are you laughing at?” I countered. “What about you? ‘Oh, Rich knows how to start the fire and turn on the heat,’” I mocked.
“All right already,” Kerry said. “I just want to know who’s going to get it on in my parents’ chalet.”
“Not Sophie,” Dawn declared.
It was probably true, but the accusation still made me turn around with my mouth dropped open, making it obvious that I didn’t appreciate the comment.
“It’s true. Married people don’t do anything.”
Kerry laughed and looked at me. I didn’t say anything to counter. “Okay, Sophie and Wes can take the loft upstairs since they don’t need privacy.” She was still giggling.
“The loft is fine with me.” I crossed my arms.
The loft was fine with me. It was an upstairs rec room that had been converted into a third bedroom. It had its own bath, and aside from the open landing, it was plenty private.
We picked up three large pizzas and headed back up to the chalet. At Wes’ you could tell his view was amazing even at night, because the distant hillsides were lit up with house lights. There was nothing to see on this mountain after dark.
As soon as we got back and I stepped inside, I was relieved to see and feel that Rich had started the fire like Kerry had asked. Even though it was a gas fireplace, whenever they arrived, they always had to light the pilot, and do something more than flip a switch, so I was glad to see that it was taken care of.
The main level was one large, open space with a kitchen, great room, and one bedroom on each end. In the center was the stone, circular fireplace that was exposed on all sides. The back of the house was loaded with windows and a mountainside view that was out of this world in the daytime.
Rich and Jackson were at the table playing Xtreme Takeover, with Wes watching, intrigued. It was a relatively new game and I hadn’t seen one at Wes’ house, so he was probably fascinated. It was a strategy game, and although Wes had seen just about everything, it was good to see him interested—and also down to a sweatshirt.
“Okay, guys. Time to put the Xiacons away,” Kerry ordered.
“I’m almost in his bunker,” Rich pleaded.
“Come on, I’m starving. Put it away.”
Rich sighed, shrugged, and
put the board back in the box. “We’ll pick this up later.” His glare challenged Jackson.
“Picking on the new people, Rich?” Kerry asked with a smile.
“I’m not. He’s played this before. He’s pretty good.”
With the table cleared off, Kerry opened up the pizza boxes and grabbed some paper plates from the pantry. Everyone grabbed a Pepsi and we ate. All of it. We were all starving from the long trip. By the time we were finished, it was after 9:00 and we wanted to settle into our rooms.
Interestingly, the guys had left the bags at the front door. They were not even going there with deciding who was sleeping where. They had left that for us, and Kerry had no problem taking control. She put her and Rich in the master bedroom and Dawn and Jackson in the smaller room directly across the great room. Like she mentioned in the car, she sent Wes and me upstairs.
I tried to pick up my bag, but Wes scooped it up first and motioned for me to go ahead. I rarely went up to the loft because, usually, it was just me and Kerry or us and her parents, so we only needed one level.
I was impressed again with the layout and was glad we had been given the space. At the top of the steps the room opened up to a large area with a fireplace and huge floor-to-ceiling windows on the entire back wall. I smiled, imagining the view in the morning.
To the left was a queen-size bed. It was set back, away from the stairs, which allowed some privacy. To the right, and closer to the steps, was a small round table with two chairs positioned in front of the window.
In the center of the space was a cozy-looking, double-wide chaise lounge positioned in front of the fireplace. It called our names the moment we saw it. I couldn’t wait to nestle into that with a fire going.
The bathroom door was right next to the bed and hid a small sink, shower, and toilet. The space was more than enough for us. One thing that was missing was a dresser, but Wes noticed a platform with built-in drawers beneath the bed. We went ahead and unpacked our clothes into those and tossed our bags into the corner.