Kissing Fire (24 page)

“Well, you’re in luck too because we’ve gotten some
great snow the past weeks. It’s been snowing every day so about
seventy percent of the mountain is opened. But the back bowls are
opened yet.”

“That won’t bother me. You know that’s not my
thing,” he smiled.

“What time do you want to head out?”

“When the lifts open.”

********

Justin stayed for four days. I was surprised at how
much I missed him when he left. I’d asked about what happened after
Preston and I made our escape. Justin explained how he and Caroline
had stayed in their safe apartment for a couple of weeks, but the
bad guys were caught and everything had returned to normal. They
were being guarded, but neither of them minded, so all was good on
the Seattle front.

The drive to the airport had been a bit quiet. He
made me promise to call Preston. I did, but I also told him that it
wouldn’t be for a while. I made Justin promise he wouldn’t tell
Preston. I knew he would tell Caroline since I’m sure they shared
everything with each other, so I asked him to beg her not to say
anything to Preston either. When we pulled into the airport and
Justin got out of the car, I ran around and hugged him
fiercely.

“Thank you for coming. It really meant a lot to
me.”

“I had to see you. I knew how you were feeling and
Caroline was worried about you too.”

“Tell her to come and visit me. I would love to have
her out for a few days, if she could stand me.” I grinned,
lopsidedly.

We hugged again and then I said, “I love you
Justin.”

“I love you too Ava. Don’t wait too long. There’s no
sense in extending your misery.” Then he kissed my cheek and
strolled into the terminal.

The drive back to my super sized studio was sad, as
I thought how much it meant for me to have my brother pay me that
surprise visit. It was a good thing I had to work that night or
else I would’ve been in a depressed mood for the rest of the
day.

Since I had a few hours before I had to show up at
work, I decided to check my email and much to my glee there was a
message from Melissa. She informed me that she was planning to
visit me. She’d never been snow skiing and had always wanted to
give it a go, so she wanted to know what dates would work the best.
I told her the week before Christmas since the lift tickets would
be cheap and the crowds would be minimal. If she didn’t come then,
she should wait until after the New Year.

About two hours later, I received her reply that she
had booked her flight and she would be visiting that week.

Oh my gosh! I would have to hook her up with a
really good ski instructor. I didn’t want her to come all the way
out here and her not have a great time on the slopes. I would start
asking around that night for some names. I would be sure to get a
male instructor because for some reason, the idea of Melissa with a
female made me break out in fits of giggles.

********

Melissa was arriving the next day and it had been
three months since I’d left Preston. Justin had been right. Time
didn’t heal anything. I felt exactly the same as I did the day I
left. Oh, maybe I didn’t explode into tears as often as I did at
first, but my heart was still crushed and the anguish was just as
excruciating. Even at night I could feel his warm body and smell
his enticing scent, and I still wrapped myself in his damn shirt,
refusing to throw it away or even wash it for that matter. But the
worst part of all was when I imagined his hands, lips and tongue
all over me and that part of him entering me, driving me to
ecstasy. I imagined his taste on my tongue and I would awaken with
tears on my cheeks, desperate for him to be with me, inside of me,
telling me he loved me. It was the worst kind of pain I could
possibly think of.

I was glad Melissa would be here to take my mind, at
least temporarily, off of Preston. Nothing else seemed to work. The
guys that came into Tres Chicas would flirt with me, but I didn’t
want to have anything to do with them. They were more of an
annoyance than anything. My boss chastised me for it on more than
one occasion.

“Avery, tips are tied to this. And not only that, if
you flirt back, they’ll stay and drink more. A female bartender
that doesn’t flirt with the customers is bad for business. Now,
I’ve warned you twice, I don’t want to have to warn you again.”

“Sorry Jim. Derrick’s talked to me too. I guess I’m
a little touchy about it is all. I’ll try to do better.”

“Avery, no trying. You have to do better, or you’re
out. You got it?”

“Yes sir.”

Not wanting to blow this gig I had going, I made a
valiant effort to pay closer attention to my customers and make
sure they were happy. Flirting was never my greatest thing, so I
tried my best to do what I thought was the closest thing to it.
Girls like Felicia always seemed to know what to do. Not me. I
fumbled along, miserable in my own skin, and acted like a dork. No
matter. If my boss said to flirt, I’d put on my best flirt that I
could.

We were fairly busy all night long, and the bar
seats were always filled. I was constantly on the go, but
apparently, my boss was happy because nothing else was mentioned to
me. I’d confided in Derrick about my lack of flirting ability and
he just laughed, saying I was a natural. Easy for him to say when
he wasn’t the one having to flirt. All night long I had that weird
sensation that someone was staring at me, though every time I
looked to see who it might me, I was staring at a sea of blank
faces. By the end of the night I was worn out and as I walked home,
I hoped my exhaustion would bring me at least a few hours of sleep.
Knowing Melissa, she would want to party when she arrived.

Chapter 22

Preston

It didn’t take long for that restlessness to kick
in. Upon hearing Justin’s brief--very brief, I might add--account
of her, I knew I wouldn’t last. He was tight lipped, but acted like
he wanted to say things. She must’ve made him promise not to. Being
the kind of guy he was, he wouldn’t break that promise either.
Being the kind of guy that I was, I wouldn’t press him, although
that’s all I wanted to do.

My days in Seattle were numbered. I’d known that
from the start. Ever since I’d discovered where she’d gone, I had
counted the days until I could go to her. She needed time and
that’s why I didn’t charge right after her. She would’ve pushed me
away. In all likelihood she still would, but I was going to try
anyway.

My last night there, I announced at dinner I was
leaving in the morning and would be driving to Vail. Justin and
Caroline both looked at me, grinned and she said, “It’s about damn
time.”

“Well, I might be crawling back here with my tail
between my legs before it’s all said and done.”

“I don’t even want to hear it. You’re more
persistent than anyone I know. And persuasive. If anyone can sway
Ava, you can,” Justin added.

“Oh, God, I hope so.” It was a desperate plea and I
knew it. “I never knew what living life felt like until I met
her.”

Justin and Caroline looked at each other first and
then and me. “We know,” Justin said.

When dawn broke, I was in my car, on interstate 90,
headed toward Denver. It was a twenty hour drive, but I promised
myself I would stop for one overnight somewhere in between. My
first thoughts were to go back to Montana, but when I delved deeper
into that, I knew my heart couldn’t bear it. My stop would be
someplace else...a place that would evoke no memory of Avery. Maybe
I’d stop somewhere between Boise and Salt Lake City. I would call
it when I started to feel tired.

The lights on the interstate were beginning to have
those star bursts around them so I knew that was my signal. I saw
an exit up ahead with some motels, so I pulled into the first one
which happened to be a Comfort Lodge. Hoping it really was
comfortable, I scored a room and took a hot shower. Not expecting
to sleep, I flipped the TV on, but was surprised when I rolled over
and looked at the clock to see it was four a.m. I’d fallen sound
asleep, which was highly unusual for me. It must’ve been because I
was on my way to be closer to her. Nothing else about it made
sense. Insomnia had ruled my life ever since that dreadful day, so
that must’ve been it. Crawling between the sheets, I rolled back
over to see if I could sleep a little more. My mind churned with
what I would do if I came face to face with her. Would I run or go
and speak to her? Would I dare to even say a word? Would she answer
me if I did?

Fear...debilitating fear ran through my body. It was
the kind of fear that caused you to break out in a cold sweat and
made your heart thunder in your chest. That’s what I felt when I
thought about Avery not speaking to me ever again. That was right
before that God awful kind of visceral anguish ripped into me,
making me feel like I was being gutted alive.

How could something so beautiful as love hurt so
deeply? I’d asked myself that so damn many times I don’t know why I
kept repeating that question. I truly was the perfect example of
insanity.

This wasn’t gonna work. Sleep was surely gone for
now. My eyes scanned the room for one of those little hotel coffee
pots and I didn’t see one. Perhaps it was on the bathroom counter.
I tossed back the covers, thankful for the few hours of sleep I had
gotten. When I made it into the bathroom, I discovered the coffee
maker. I set it up to go and got in the shower to wake myself up.
By the time I finished, my coffee was done and I was ready to hit
the road. It was too early for the hotel restaurant to be open.
Hell, normal people were barely even moving yet. It wasn’t even
five a.m. Too bad for me. I’d stop and grab some food later. Not
eating didn’t bother me much, as long as I had some coffee in
me.

The rest of the day was pretty damn boring because I
only had a couple of choices. Loud music or thoughts of Avery. I
chose loud music from a sanity perspective.

My car pulled into Vail at eight that night. I
checked into the Grand Ski Lodge and decided to take a walk around
the Lion’s Head part of town, which was where my hotel was located.
I’d been here once, a long time ago, but this part of Vail had
really grown. There were restaurants and bars everywhere. I was
hoping I wouldn’t run into her tonight. I needed to prepare myself
and I was not yet in my element.

Chapter 23

Avery

Melissa’s flight was due to arrive in ten minutes
and I was running late. The short term lot was to my left and I was
in the right hand lane, damn it. I stopped to let the cars zoom by
and then I snuck in. Finding the first spot I could, I quickly
pulled in and raced to baggage claim.

The door slid open and there she stood, fully decked
out from head to toe in the brightest shiny scarlet jumpsuit I’d
ever seen. Her hair was shorter than when I saw her last and it
looked as though she’d stuck her finger into an electric socket
because it was quite frizzy...and vividly red with sparkly stuff in
it.

“AVA!” she yelled. Her voice nearly shook the walls
and everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at us.
Moments later I found myself lifted up in her massive arms as she
swung me around like a rag doll.

“Ayyyye,” I screamed, as much from being startled as
from having the air completely squished out of my lungs. Melissa
had added some more girth to her body since I’d seen her last.
“Melissa,” I eked out, “you have to put me down. Can’t
breathe.”

“Oh my God! You’re such a wimp!” she let me go and I
dropped to the floor like a lead weight.

As I lay on my ass in the middle of the baggage
claim area, with dozens of people watching us, I started to laugh.
Really laugh, like I hadn’t done in ages.

“Would you at least help me up?” I asked, between
guffaws.

“Well, damn girl, you need to grow some muscle.” She
extended her arm and I latched onto her hand as she nearly flung me
to the other side of the room.

“What the hell Melissa?”

“You’re such a wuss. Christ, you were supposed to be
working out and all. And look at you, you look like a damn
toothpick. What am I gonna do with you? Have you been laying off
the Ben and Jerry’s?”

“Actually, I haven’t. Since Pres...well, you know,
I’ve taken in more Ben and Jerry’s than I care to admit. But let’s
get your bag and go.”

“You mean you’re not even going to comment on my new
look?”

Oh God, I was so hoping I wouldn’t have to go
there.

“I was gonna mention that. You’ve
changed your hair style.”

“Yeah! Cool, huh?”

“Er, yeah, it’s, um, awesome.”

Dear God, it was cherry red. She looked like the
homing beacon at the top of the C2 buoy as you entered the
Charleston harbor. How could I tell her that though? I couldn’t
because it would hurt her feelings and there wasn’t anything I
would do to hurt Melissa’s feelings.

“So, why the change?”

“Oh, well, I thought maybe I might meet someone out
here. This will help attract men, don’t you think?”

The circus was more like it. Sweet
Jesus, help me now.

I coughed a few times and then said, “Yeah, well, I
guess. You know these ski bums though. You never can tell.”

“So Ava, did you book me some lessons with
Sven?”

“Sven?”

“Yeah, you know, hot Nordic guy that can teach me
how to ski?”

“Oh yeah!” I half chuckled. Griffin and Marley were
gonna kill me. I could already see the looks on their faces when we
showed up in the morning, me with Melissa in tow. “Actually you
have two instructors and their names are Griffin and Marley.”

“Not Lars and Sven?”