I refused to show him any weakness. “More like blinding me, whitey.”
He grinned and bowed, before disappearing into one of the back rooms. When the door clicked shut, I sunk onto the couch and blew out my first breath of air since the bathroom door opened two minutes before. That was a lie. He didn’t have a stitch of white on his whole body that I could tell, andalmostfully against my will, I had gotten a close look. Too bad he was an idiot.
The fireplace in front of me showed signs of a fire earlier in the day, but it had since gone out, leaving the air inside the cabin chilly. I rubbed my hands over my arms to allow some blood flow.
What was I going to do?
There was no way I could stay in the cabin alone with Chase. I had a month’s worth of writing to do this week, and I needed a quiet, cozy cabin, with zero distractions. Given my past history with Chase, I knew it was impossible for him to not be distracting. And annoying.
The bedroom door opened, and Chase stepped out in a pair of loose-fitting sweats and an old Green Day T-Shirt. I tried to not be jealous of those sweatpants. They looked so warm and comfortable. A step below flannels. He rubbed his hand through his wet hair as he sat on the recliner facing the couch. The shock had worn off and left me feeling very unsettled.
“Well, I guess my quiet week of ice fishing has been shot to blazes now, huh?”
“Not necessarily. You are welcome to leave and come back in a week, when I’m gone.” I smiled sweetly at him.
He scoffed. “I’ve decided that, even though you might be a pervert or an ax murderer—because it’s so late—I’ll allow you to stay the night. One night. We can send you on your way in the morning, but I will be sleeping with my door locked, so don’t get any ideas.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I have just as much permission as you have to be here. More so, since this cabin belongs to Gina’s family, not Matt’s.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Matt is my brother and your best friend, but Gina’smysister-in-lawandmy best friend. Not yours.”
“That’s harsh.”
I continued, fully aware of the growing gleam in his eyes, and my pathetic argument. “This is her family’s cabin, therefore, her word is stronger than Matt’s.”
“We may be able to figure this out right now. I have my receipt for my payment. Matt was so kind to give me one for tax purposes. It’s just in my bag. If you could just show me your receipt saying you also paid for your week stay, then we’ll know for sure.”
Gina had refused to accept payment, and it would seem that the dirty dog standing before me knew this. I raised my chin a fraction higher. “I don’t have it on me.”
He leaned back in the recliner, folding his arms, really enjoying himself at my expense. “You don’t have it because you didn’t pay for it, or because you forgot it?”
“I don’t have it on me,” I repeated, resisting the urge to snarl.
He bit his lip to keep his smile from growing any broader. “That’s too bad.”
I cleared my throat. “Which room is mine?”
“That depends on whether you’re a pervert or an ax murderer.” He grinned at me. “I’d definitely prefer one over the other.”
“If I were you, Iwouldlock your door tonight,” I said, as I brushed past him toward the two bedrooms and grabbed my laptop off the couch. The room to the right of the bathroom was empty, so I stormed inside and slammed the door shut behind me.
The room was small, barely big enough to fit a queen size bed and a small dresser in the corner. There was one window and a full-length mirror that hung on the wall behind the door. I put the laptop bag onto the moose and bear covered bedspread.
Dang it.
I didn’t have any clothes with me. I sat down, the bed squeaking as it accepted my full weight. Why did I stalk into the bedroom first? I should have grabbed my makeup bag and went into the bathroom. Now, I’m going to have to walk back out and face Chase again to get my toiletry bag. I sat there for a few moments, hoping to make it seem like I had been doing important things.
I opened the door and exited the room at the same time Chase was walking out of the bathroom. Our shoulders bumped in the tight quarters.
“Whoops,” he mumbled as he turned and looked at me. “I’m done in there.”
“Thanks,” I said over my shoulder, as I walked into the living room and grabbed my makeup kit off the couch.
As I made my way back toward the bathroom, he stopped just inside of his doorway, and motioned toward the bag in my hand. “Light packer, huh? I’ll bet you have all your clothes vacuumed packed in nice little Tetris size bundles. It will make it nice and easy for packing to go home tomorrow.”
My eyes narrowed at him, “I’m not going home. If you are any sort of gentleman at all, you would.”
