“Why would you get a bigger boot?” He looked at me with confusion.
Why was it any of his business what I did or wore? “Because my feet
felt pinched; not that it makes any difference to you, Theo.”
He nodded, and the social cues implied he should walk away, but he
stayed.
“Can I help you with something, man?” The guy at the counter directed his question to Theo, helping me out because it was awkward with him standing there.
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
I felt my eyes get big. I’d never heard him say “thanks” to anyone. He just wasn’t one for platitudes, was all.
“Claire, could I talk to you?”
I held my breath. What could he want? Did he want to apologize for emotionally cheating on me with Tara? Or ask me if I could pretend to be his fake girlfriend to make her jealous? This was Theo after all, so I was sure I would be surprised, regardless.
“I don’t think so, Theo. There’s nothing to say.” I kept my eyes on the guy behind the counter, as he quickly adjusted my bindings to pair with the slightly larger boot.
“Alright. If you change your mind, I’ll be outside.”
I almost let out a joke, asking, “Is that a threat,” but I didn’t want to extend the conversation. I very recently had hoped that he would have proposed to me, but after meeting Blake, I learned what a connection felt like, so I wanted nothing short of that.
Once I made it outside, I felt relief that Theo was not waiting for me. Instead, I saw Tara watching a group of teens do the “French Fries” position. I was heading towards the lift, knowing I was too late for the first lesson to jump in when she called my name.
“Claire! Wait a minute, please.” She motioned for the other instructor who had been standing there to keep an eye on the teens, and she expertly glided over to me. “Can we talk for a minute?” Her eyes looked bright, and there was a sense of urgency in her voice.
“Okay, sure. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to let you know that I broke up with Theo. And there’s something I want to tell you: I swear I didn’t know that you and he were still dating when he and I met. If I had known anything of the like, I wouldn’t have pursued anything with that guy.” She looked like she had tears in hereyes as she spoke to me. “Please forgive me, Claire. I am not that type of woman.” A tear fell from her cheek.
I leaned in and hugged her. “I know you didn’t know. He played both of us, and there’s nothing to forgive.”
The relief on her face was instant as she let out a breath and released her shoulders. “That is so good to hear, Claire. Thank you. Anyway, it’s good that it’s all out in the open, so we never waste our time on a guy like that again. Not that you need to worry about that. You’ve found yourself such a hunk with that Blake guy!”
I couldn’t keep the ruse any longer. I had to come clean. “He’s not really my boyfriend. Once I came here and saw that Theo was here, I needed a quick solution to save face. And then after I found out that he’d been cheating on me…”
Tara put her hand on my shoulder and shook her head.
“I kind of had a freakout. Blake proposed the idea to be my fake boyfriend for the week. That’s all it is. The relationship isn’t real whatsoever.” Shrugging my shoulders, I saw Tara’s gaze avert from my own, looking just past me.
“Are you sure about that?” She smiled, giving me a quick hug, and went back to her lesson. I slowly turned around to see Blake. He wasn’t wearing ski clothes, but instead, a pea coat over a wool weather, and a scarf hanging around his neck. He walked over to me and held out a hot drink, as he had two in his hands.
“Blake? What are you doing?” I had more questions than answers. Was he not skiing today? Was this our final goodbye? Had I left behind a shoe at his parents’ home last night?
“I was hoping we could catch up for a few minutes if you had them to spare?” He looked over at the chair lift. The line looked a mile long.
“Yes, I guess I do. That will take forever.” I opened the lid on the drink and looked inside. It was a towering hot chocolate with hundreds of marshmallows, just how I liked it.
“Great. First, I just want to address a few things that may have been misconstrued. Starting with what my mom told you. Yes, it is all true about my father not wanting to hand me the company until I get married.” His addressing this piece of information made me feel validated that yes, it wasnewsworthy and surprising. He continued, “That being said, I don’t want the company.”
What? My jaw went completely slack. “Why not? It’s one of the most powerful corporations in America. You’d literallyown snow.”
He shook his head. “It’s not who I am. And believe me, I’ve tried to be that guy. I’ve done everything I could to be that guy. But I just can’t. It’s not where my priorities lie.”
My reaction was mostly visceral.
