Sno Ho (9 page)

"That's crazy! I had no clue who you were till after you...I mean we...you know...in your cabin...after your first lesson..."

"We fucked, Wade. If you can't use the word in a sentence, you shouldn't be allowed to do it."

"Damn it, Boone," Wade said, reaching over and placing his hand on my knee. "It wasn't cheap to me, so I didn't want to use a word that would make it sound that way."

I looked down at his hand, then up into his eyes.

"I swear I didn't know anything about you when I picked you up that first night other than how fucking hot I thought you were."

"You swear?"

"I swear it."

"Nothing other than my hotness made you come onto me?"

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Wade smiled. "I promise. Had I known you were that guy, I still wouldn't have thought anything other than what a stupid fucking idiot your ex had to be for letting someone who looked the way you look go."

I smiled at Wade despite it still stinging that Phillip actually told the hotel staff he was dumping me. "That was a very nice thing to say." I had flashes of calling up to the front desk the day before Phillip was supposed to arrive, ordering an entire dinner to be delivered to our cabin—all his favorites, lobster, champagne, shrimp cocktail.
They knew before I did,
probably laughing their asses off
. The worst part was in all the drama I'd forgotten to call and cancel the meal after Phillip broke it off. I'd wanted to die when I opened the door and there it all was.

"I think you're really...great, Boone."

I laughed, wondering if he was checking himself like I was, or if he really did think I was just—great.

"Can I stay with you, tonight?" Wade asked.

I chewed my lip, wanting to say yes, especially feeling as low as I did at the moment thanks to Phillip. "I wouldn't dream of asking you, Wade." I opened the car door and stepped out into the snow. I turned to close the door and he had the most pathetic and truly disappointed look on his face.

"I mean, it's like you said—you can't
believe
all the
disgusting
things I've put into my body this evening." His mouth fell open and I smiled at him innocently. "I certainly couldn't ask you fuck me knowing how repulsed you must still be—right?"

He started to speak and I slammed the door shut, gave him a wink and spun around to head for my cabin. A few 77

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seconds later I heard, "Asshole!" and I started to laugh as I looked back over my shoulder to see him shaking his head at me with the passenger side window rolled down.

"See you tomorrow!" I waved and turned away.

"We'll see!" Wade threatened, in what I assumed was some last minute attempt at defiance.

"I finally think I'm getting some of my power back," I said, smiling as I rounded the corner of the lodge, disappearing from his view.

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I opened my eyes and made a whiney noise as the banging continued. I finally sat up in bed and pushed the sleep mask up onto my forehead. I turned my head and listened, hazy eyed and irritated, not hearing anything now and wondering if I'd been dreaming it. As I began to lay back down I heard it again.

"Jeez-sus...damn wallz're comin' down." I managed to slur out as I tossed off the covers and got out of bed. I stumbled out of the bedroom as the banging continued, coming from the front door. "Hole-on azzole!"

I tried rubbing the sleep out of my eyes with the palms of my hands. I looked around, blinking several times as I stumbled, and then catching my balance as I made my way to the door. I ripped it open to find Wade standing there in what looked to be the pre-dawn light as the sun hadn't quite made its usual morning appearance yet.

"Good morning, sunshine." He pushed past me, carrying a shopping bag and what looked like two cups of coffee.

"What hell is this?" I asked, slamming the door.

"My baby's not a morning glory, I see." Wade set the cups down on the counter of the tiny island and walked into the kitchenette, which considering his size made him seem that much more gargantuan.

"Time is it?" was all I could get out.

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"About a quarter till six," Wade said, all chirpy and perky as he tossed the bag on the couch and made his way back over toward me.

I held out my hands in what was unmistakably an 'I wanna choke the life out of you' fashion. He smiled, taking my hands in his and pulled me into him, somewhat forcefully before covering my mouth with his. He wrapped his thick arms around me, pinning my hands behind my back. He tasted all minty and fresh, and lord knows I had to have tasted all rotten, full of hate and frustration.

The coolness of his snow suit against my skin made me very aware that I stood there in nothing but my briefs. The way his tongue was working over my mouth was quickly beginning to wake up Boone junior. Wade finally pulled away, loosening the vice grip he had on my body.

"You taste mighty fine in the morning."

"Why do you hate me so?" I took several steps back and Wade let go of my hands, but let his gaze mentally lick the rest of me, pausing for several moments over my package which was a smidge larger than it had been moments before.

"I don't hate you, Boone," Wade said in a cartoony fashion, like he was talking to a toddler. It made me want to pick up the closest thing I could find, and bludgeon him upside the head with it. "On the contrary—I missed you so much that I simply couldn't allow another second to pass by before seeing you again."

"Why don't you hate me so?" I asked, reaching up and rubbing my eyes again, feeling weakened and confused in my sleepy-time state.

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"I guess one
could
say, that had I perhaps been with you when I woke up this morning, missing you terribly—well I suppose I wouldn't have had to rush over here to see you quite so early."

I scowled at him, trying to straighten myself up. "You win, you dirty
evil
butt-munch. I'll never
not
let you stay over again. Now let's go back to bed."

I turned to make my way back to the bedroom and felt his hand grab me by the waist band of my briefs, pulling me from my backside into the living room. "No, sir, too late for that, I'm already wide awake and rarin' to go."

"Wade, please...me tired," I now whined like a two year old as I stomped my foot. "Come to bed with me, and I'll get nice and wide for you, I swear it."

He didn't respond to my offer, just continued to pull me by my undies. He finally let go of me then promptly slapped my ass with the palm of his hand, using enough force to cause my eyes to open nice and wide. I turned around ready to cuss him out, and he stood there dangling the coffee cups in front of me.

I quickly changed my tune and reached out for one and said, "Coffee."

"Well now—it's not exactly coffee."

I felt my heart sink, and placed a hand over my chest where it used be. "You're the meanest man in the whole wide world," I accused wishing him dead. "No coffee?"

"It's better," Wade grinned.

"Cappuccino—double espresso?" I licked my lips as my mouth began to water.

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"It's a Chai latte!" He held it out to me as I physically recoiled from it.

"Why do you hate me so?" I asked, very near tears, feeling like I was being tortured.

"Just try it, it has caffeine. And I told them to put extra sugar in it."

I looked back at him, distrustful and skeptical. "Real sugar?"

He let out a laugh and nodded as he held it out for me. I took it from him and drank a little.

"See that's good, huh—and much better for you than coffee?"

I took another sip and he smiled proudly. I smiled back, walked over to the phone and called up to the front desk asking for a pot of coffee. I set down the phone and glanced over at him. "Sadist," I said looking down at the bag on the couch. "What's that?"

"Ah!" Wade set down his cup and snatched up the bag, then tossed it over to me.

I took a step out of the way, letting it fall to the floor with a light thud. "No catch before coffee." I bent over to pick it up. I looked inside to see a few more ski suits and miscellaneous shirts and sweaters. "Well, sure—because my skiing lessons are going so well."

"They might if you applied yourself and paid the least bit of attention to me." Wade scolded. "I just thought you might like a few different choices, that's all."

I let out a sigh, but by no means offered up a thank you before heading to the bathroom to get in the shower.

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Showing up at this ungodly hour was bad enough, but without
coffee? That was abuse, pure and simple!

"Let me know if you need help reaching any of those problem areas," Wade called out.

I mumbled curses under my breath as I allowed my gaze one longing glance back at the bed I was so in love with. I let out a whimper as I thought about the textured layers of fluffy blankets, the gazillion thread count soft cottony sheets and the mattress that seemed to almost hug my body. "You just answer the damn door for the coffee." I rounded the corner into the bathroom and thought,
I lost my power again
.

* * * *

"Isn't it beautiful up here?" Wade yelled, turning the death contraption to the right and zipping up a hill.

"Sure is," I yelled back, feeling the rumble of his laugh vibrate my cheek as I hugged him tighter around the waist.

This looked a whole lot more fun when I was watching other
people do it.

The morning sun was bright and the crisp blue sky was clear aside from the occasional string of fluffy white clouds that rolled by like floats in a parade. We were whipping by not too far from the tree line, and I was able to catch the scent 83

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from the evergreens. I sucked in my breath when the snowmobile lifted up into the air momentarily from running over a bump, our bodies slamming back into the seat as it landed.

"Sorry! We're almost there!"

I smiled, feeling Wade pat my arm as if to soothe me.

Then I started to freak. "Both hands on the wheel!"

"There is no wheel!"

"Don't be a smart ass!"

"You want me to do what to your ass?"

"Not killing my ass would be really great!"

Wade laughed as the snowmobile began to slow down, the engine noise lessening as we finally came to a stop. I could feel the tension draining out of my arms as I loosened my grip on Wade's waist. He turned off the engine, and I suddenly couldn't hear anything other than the wind and the sound of Wade and I breathing. The sunlight on the snow was blisteringly bright as I lifted the amber colored goggles up onto my forehead.

"It's so quiet," I whispered as Wade got off the snowmobile.

"Why are you whispering?" he asked with a half grin as I followed suit, feeling my feet sink into the snow.

"I...I don't know." I felt a little silly. I looked back from where we had come and felt a little dirty having disturbed the pristine white blanket. I always thought snow was beautiful until people messed it all up, like a crisp white shirt from the dry cleaners. So pretty and fresh on the hanger until you 84

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actually put it on and tucked it into your jeans, creating all the wrinkles.

I felt Wade take my hand and begin to pull me with him.

"Come on, it's just over this ridge."

I smiled, loving the way my feet sank into the snow. "You know, I could actually enjoy this whole snow thing if it weren't so damn cold."

"Unfortunately you can't get one without the other." Wade looked back laughing at me I assumed because of the silly way I was walking, trying to disturb as little as possible by stepping into the same spots he had.

He continued to tug on me as I trudged along behind him, enjoying the vast plains of white cut only by the occasional patch of trees.

I looked up as we made it to the top of the hill and felt my mouth drop. The view seemed to stretch out endlessly as far as the eye could see and everywhere I looked there was something more amazing than the last. "This is a much better view than you get from the lodge."

"Even better than the view from my house."

"It is indeed." I looked on as Wade pointed out the lodge below. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him.

I rested my head back against his chest as I scoped out the panorama that looked like something you'd see on a postcard. The town was below looking all tiny and Wade pointed out where his house was, on the opposite side of the valley. The mountain range beyond stretched out into the mist as if it might go on forever.

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Wade squeezed me a little. "Makes you feel small doesn't it?"

I smiled, understanding where his perspective was coming from. "I see that, but no—makes me feel like I could do anything. It's amazing, as if I could open my arms and jump, getting caught up in the wind like a leaf, and just float away."

"This is my favorite spot," Wade said. "I come up here whenever I get the chance. My Dad actually brought me here when I was a kid after Mom died. She'd always teased him about never allowing her to come up here with him. This was really his spot, the place he came when he wanted to be alone. He told me he felt close to Mom here, as if her spirit now resided here—her way of showing him who's boss."

I could see the steam from his breath out of the corner of my eye as I looked out over the sights before me. "It certainly feels magical."