I pull the shower curtain back just enough to cover me but also to watch him leave the bathroom in only a towel around his waist. He closed the door behind him and then I stood there for a full ten seconds, water pouring over me, brain completely mush.
I let out a strangled noise that might be a laugh or might be a scream. That man is unbelievable.
I finish my shower, scrubbing at my skin as if I can erase the moment entirely. By the time I step out, wrapped in a towel, Luka is gone.
I dress quickly, braid my damp hair, and stomp into the kitchen to grab breakfast.
I shove toast into my mouth, grab my jacket, and head for the door.
This was nothing, I tell myself as I step out into the cold morning air. And I absolutely refuse to think about it ever again. I make it three steps before my traitorous brain betrays me completely.
Because no matter how hard I try…
I can still see him.
My phone buzzes as I close the chalet door behind me and head for my lesson with Zack.
Mom calling…
I hesitated for half a second before answering. If I don’t, she’ll assume I’ve been kidnapped by European snow pirates.
"Hi," I say, walking down the path that leads to the resort where I’m meeting Zack.
"Well," she answers immediately, "you’re alive."
"Last I checked." I sing-song. "Though I’m having my first real ski lesson today, so I might not be for long."
"Skiing? You?" she chuckles. "Did you lose a bet?"
"No mother… I am being forced to learn to ski because Luka refuses to let me do what I was hired to do. I’m learning to ski against my will and better judgement."
"You barely know this man and he’s already getting you to do things farther out of your comfort zone than all of your ex-boyfriends combined. Flying to Switzerland on a whim… skiing… I find that very interesting, don’t you?"
"No.. no, I don’t. He’s the reason I emptied my savings account to fly all the way out to snow hell."
I don’t bother to tell her that he also decided to shower with me this morning, uninvited, and tried to use some snow bunny with terrible taste in men to make me jealous last night.
"This is a great opportunity for you. You haven’t left the country, much less Scottsdale, since college, and then your job with Legacy PR started right after that. You should take advantage of this time out of the office," she says as if this is somehow a vacation.
"Sipping pina coladas on a sandy beach in a bikini is a vacation…this is definitely not that." I tell her.
"It might not be your idea of a vacation, but I’ve always wanted to go to the Swiss Alps. I saw a picture of the storm on the news. Switzerland looked like it had been buried under a wedding cake."
"It felt like it, too."
She hums like a nosy mother. "Okay then, besides skiing against your will and the snow… How’s itreallygoing?"
"With the weather or the Olympian who thinks he’s allergic to accountability?"
"With the Olympian," she says calmly.
I pass other skiers as I’m starting to get closer to the resort. "He’s… difficult."
"Everyone in Seattle loves him, you know. Maybe you just got off on the wrong foot?"
"I don’t know if there’s any way he and I could be on the right foot. I want to save his career, and he would like to give it an early grave. We’ve been at an impasse since the moment we met."
"I’m just saying," she continues lightly, "when the entire city adores someone, there’s usually something there worth seeing."
