Birthday Challenge (Weekend Getaways)

BIRTHDAY
CHALLENGE

Dana Littlejohn

Erotic Romance

Secret Cravings Publishing

www.secretcravingspublishing.com

ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED:
Your non-refundable
purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal
reading on your own personal computer or device.
You do not have resell or
distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher
and the copyright owner of this book.
This book cannot be copied in any
format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through
upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a
prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S.
Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online,
offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to
be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must
delete it from your computer.

WARNING:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is
illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without
monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in
federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

If
you find a Secret Cravings Publishing e-book being sold or shared illegally,
please let us know at
[email protected]

A Secret Cravings Publishing Book

Erotic Romance

Birthday Challenge

Copyright © 2013 Dana Littlejohn

E-book ISBN:
978-1-61885-748-4

First E-book Publication: June 2013

Cover design by
Dawné
Dominique

Edited by Stephanie
Balistreri

Proofread by Sky Beaumont

All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by
Secret Cravings Publishing

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:
This literary work
may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express
written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER

Secret Cravings Publishing

www.secretcravingspublishing.com

Dedication

For everyone foolish enough to
adhere
the crazy advice from their friends and have their lives enriched all the more
for it.

The Cravings e-book Club

The Cravings Paranormal e-book Club

Have you heard about the newest idea in
ebooks
, the
ebook
club? Secret
Cravings Publishing has started two
ebook
clubs and
we invite you to become a member of either The Cravings e-book Club or the
Cravings Paranormal e-book Club. Join now and get two books absolutely free!

As a member, you will receive
Trouble
With
a
Cowboy*
by Sandy Sullivan and
Forget
Me Not**
by Jaden Sinclair FREE, just for joining!

You’ll also receive
4 BRAND-NEW EBOOKS
, specially selected by our Editorial Director,
every month for a total price of only $9.99 for all 4. This comes out to barely
$2.50 per book,
much less
than the retail price and you’ll be able to
enjoy your books
even before
they hit
Amazon or Barnes & Noble. We send your books
before
they are uploaded to the popular sales sites.
 
One of several privileges
of club membership.

*
Trouble
With
a
Cowboy
, a western, erotic romance:

Can some slashed tires and an ornery bull bring two hard-headed people
together for some fun in the sun and a little more?

**
Forget Me Not
, paranormal
erotic romance:

A war is
brewing, a war that could destroy an entire vampire race if left unchecked, and
Julian Marino has been requested to participate in it.  He stops his
search for a long time friend to go home and discovers there is more at stake
than just his wants.

As a member of the Cravings Club, you’ll receive 4 books in
a variety of genres every month. We will try to match your books to your
preferences,
however, if you’re a major paranormal fan, I
suggest you join the Cravings Paranormal Club. Everything is the same, 4 books
every month for $9.99 except that 3 of your 4 books will be paranormal. The
remaining book will be of a different genre.

As a club member, you will also receive:

·
        
our monthly newsletter

·
        
sneak previews of new books

·
        
exclusive interviews with your favorite
authors

·
        
special offers not available to the general
public

To join and tell us your favorite genres and
heat levels
 
plus which format works best
for you, go to the Secret Cravings Publishing website (
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
) At the bottom of the page you’ll see a button for the club. You can
sign up there and share your preferences for genre, format and heat level with
us. You will be charged, automatically, through PayPal, only $9.99 every
month.
 
Your b
ooks will be shipped within 1 day after PayPal payment has cleared.
You may cancel at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” button located on
the Cravings Club tab at the bottom of our website and keep the FREE BOOKS as
our gift.
  

We hope our Secret Cravings books will delight
you each and every month.

                                                                                                                       
Best
wishes,

                                                                                                                       
Beth
Walker

BIRTHDAY CHALLENGE

Dana Littlejohn

Copyright
© 2013

Chapter One

Danica
clicked the talk button on the
headset she wore, but continued typing. “Hello, tech support, how can I help
you?”

“
Dani
, why are you still working? It’s after four o’clock.
You only live down the street, what’s taking you so long?”

“I
know, Deidre, I know. I’m just finishing up right now, and then I’ll be on my
way. I promise.”

“It’s
kind of hard to have a birthday party when the birthday girl isn’t here.”

“Yeah,
girl, come on!” someone shouted in the background. “We’ve already started
drinking!”

“See,
Maria and Julie
have
already started drinking without
you,
Dani
. You know what happens when that starts. So
hurry up,” Deidre said just before the dial tone buzzed.

Dani
continued working another
fifteen minutes, answered her last question and logged off her computer. She
stood for a good stretch,
then
bounded toward the
stairs eager to start her birthday weekend. Rushing out the front door, she
made a beeline down the street to meet her friends.

“Sorry
I’m late, but I’m here.”

“Happy
birthday!” her friends yelled in unison.

“Thanks,
guys. Now that everybody knows it’s my birthday and I’m sufficiently
embarrassed, let me order a drink so I can begin to forget you just did that.”

The
waitress waiting in the wings came over.
“Happy birthday,
Dani
.
I’ve been keeping them hydrated and warm on this
cold night while they waited for you,” she said, giggling.

“Yes,
I see that. Bring me whatever Julie is drinking, she looks really
happy
and the appetizer sample platter
too, please. Thanks.”

“Okay,
I’ll be back with some more bread too.”

“So
where do we pick up on the book tonight?”

Deidre
shook her head as she sipped her drink. “Not tonight, my friend. Tonight we are
ditching our usual Friday night book club theme so you can enjoy your birthday
present.”

“I
thought we were going to hang out tonight and celebrate my birthday tomorrow. I
have the weekend off.”

“Nope,
you’re going to be enjoying your birthday gift without us this year.”

Deidre
nudged Maria. “Shush girl, not yet,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s eat first.”

“That’s
right,
she’s got a nice ride in front of her. She
should eat,” Julie added.

Deidre
reached over slapping her arm playfully to quiet her laughs. “Dang, drunk folk
can’t hold nothing.”

Dani
leaned back and wrapped her arms
around her chest. “Okay, guys, spit it out, what’s going on?”

“Fine,
fine, now that
your
drunk friends all but spilled the beans,” Deidre paused to roll her eyes at
Julie and Maria. “I guess I have to tell you.”

Dani
chuckled. “Oh, now they’re just my
friends.”

“Of
course, they’re always your friends when they’re cutting up,” Deidre explained
with a laugh. “Anyway, this year since you’re the first one to take the plunge
into the thirties we’ve decided to get you something you wouldn’t get for
yourself.”

Julie
dug into her purse. She passed an envelope to Deidre who slid it over to
Dani
.

“Happy
birthday,
Dani
.”

“Again,”
Julie added with a giggle.

“Thanks,
guys.”
Dani
removed the contents with a frown after
she discovered the envelope wasn’t some elaborate card. “It’s a confirmation for
a weekend at Powder Power Mountain.”

“Good
food, fresh snow to ski on and some of the hottest instructors in the world,”
Julie said excitedly.

“The
world
?”
Dani
asked with a raised brow.

“Well,
Utah, at the least.”

“Powder
Power!
Come
on guys. You know I don’t—”

 
“Well, it’s about time you
did
. Come on
Dani
.
You’re going to be thirty tomorrow. It’s time to put your big girl panties on
and do some stuff,” Deidre told her.

“At
first we planned for all of us to go so we could have a girlfriend weekend, but
then we got to thinking we can do that anytime. You, however, hardly ever leave
the damn house anymore since you got the option to work from home,” Maria
explained. “You are too young to do the hermit thing.”

“Wow,
I don’t know what to say, guys.”

“Say
thanks and let’s eat because the last shuttle to the resort leaves at eight o’clock,”
Deidre said accepting the food the waitress passed around.

After
dinner,
Dani
got into Deidre’s car under the
impression they would drop her down the street, but they passed by her house.

“Guys,
we can’t go to the station yet. I don’t have any clothes packed or anything.”

Deidre
raised her hand. “Have no fear, birthday girl. We are way ahead of you.”

She pulled
into the parking lot of the bus station, walked to the car trunk and removed a
duffle bag.

“Uh-oh,
up until now I was excited, but now I’m getting nervous,”
Dani
said when she tossed the bag to her.

“Your
gift comes with a stipulation.”

“A
stipulation?
Now I’m downright afraid.”

“You have
to promise us that you will have a good time. To do that you have to do, what
Dani
would never
do,” Deidre instructed, pointing a finger at her.

Dani
looked to her other friends as
they nodded in agreement. Not really knowing what they meant, she held up her
hand up and smiled.

“I
promise.”

“Fantastic.
Now
get
! Your bus is loading.”

Her
friends ushered her to the line and onto the bus. She waved out the window as it
took off. Taking in the night’s events, she busted out laughing. Here she was
on a bus to the mountains to do something
un
-
Dani
-like—not like that list was very long anyway. Although
raised in Salt Lake City, she had never gone up there. The view of the
mountains were breathtaking from town, she just never had the desire to get
closer.

All
the sports her siblings and friends grew up doing, skiing, snowmobiling, or
even ice skating didn’t appeal to her. She liked cheering them on, but it never
occurred to her to actually participated.
Dani
leaned
more toward the technical rather than physical. She was the science club kid
and one who took apart the radios and computers just to see how they worked. After
college she put her technical based brain to work for her as an IT person for
Blackman Technologies.

Dani
smiled as she thought about her
friends. They were doers, total opposites of her. They liked outdoor sports and
hands-on fun. She liked to go watch them play. They put fun in her life. She was
happy being their geeky sidekick, but she wasn’t oblivious to how dull her life
was. She knew she needed a little more excitement in her mostly monotonous existence.
Sighing, she let her head fall back.

“Maybe
they’re right. Perhaps it is time to make some changes. You only get one go
around in life, right?” she muttered rhetorically.

“Excuse
me?”

Dani
turned as the woman across from
her leaned close.
“Nothing.
I was just thinking out
loud. Sorry.”

The
woman nodded and sat back.

She
would really try to have a good time for herself and for them. With her mind
made up,
Dani
rummaging through the bag Deidre gave
her. Inside she found a MP3 on top of the clothes they packed and an envelope. She
pulled it out to read.

Hey
Dani
!

We
have planned a fun-filled weekend for you. When you arrive at the resort, make
sure you have one of their special hot toddies in front of the fireplace before
you go to bed. They are to die for!

Here
is your birthday challenge.

Step
outside of your comfort zone. Dare yourself and just do it! Don’t second-guess
and don’t think like
Dani
. Find your inner bad girl
and pump her up. We know you can do it.
J

We
set up a few things to jumpstart your weekend. In the morning, you have a private
ski lesson scheduled. This way if you break your neck no one will see it, just
the instructor. Later in the day, assuming you are in one piece, you have
beginner lessons for ice skating and snowmobiling.

Don’t
freak out! If you find yourself freaking even after I’ve said that have another
hot toddy.
J

The
whole point of this trip is to do what you usually wouldn’t do. Make sure you
have some fun so you can tell us all about it. Happy birthday!

Love,
Deidre

“
Aww
,” she said out loud and the woman across the aisle from
her looked up.

She gave
the woman a small smile then put the note back in the bag. Before closing it,
she removed the MP3, put the headphones in place and decided no matter what she
would take their challenge to do something un-
Dani
-like
this weekend.