Page 76 of Edge of Desire

The guys weren’t saying a thing. All they did was stare at Melissa’s hair. And boobs. She had some whoppers, no doubt about it. She’d shimmy around and smush them together, so they looked like gigantic hot-pink marshmallows just waiting to be squeezed.

“Melissa, you were amazing today. Guys, where are you taking her tomorrow?”

No answer. Just heavy breathing. Or more like huffing and puffing. And some drooling too.

“Okay, guys, look, if you three want to leave, just say the word. I work here and know everyone. I can grab a bite to eat and go home. It’s cool. Really.”

The three of them glanced at me, then at each other, and they skedaddled out, leaving me sitting at the bar. I scratched my head, still trying to figure it out. Here I was thinking that Melissa would be ostracized, but no, she goes home with two guys instead. I mean that sort of creeped me out, but she was a consenting adult and who was I to interfere?

Since I went home alone that night, I decided to watch a comedy movie. Maybe Netflix would have a good romantic comedy. I needed a large laugh, because it seemed like everyone was having fun but me.

I walked into my studio and tossed everything on the table, then went into my bedroom, which was also the living room too. I hit the shower, and when I finished, my flannel jammies, the ones with the pink poodles on them that I had recently purchased, were calling out to me. I pulled them out of the drawer, but when I reached for my jammie top, something unusual caught my eye. It was Preston’s shirt, the one I still slept with every night, hugged tightly to my chest, tucked right beneath my nose, like a baby’s blanket. Here’s the thing. I always, and I mean always, tucked that damn shirt beneath my pillow every morning. The reason being was I was mortified by the fact I slept with the damn thing. This morning, I had been extra careful, even though I was hung over as hell, because Melissa was there, and I didn’t want her to know that I slept with Preston’s shirt. There was no way in hell I wanted to hear her crap over it. So yes, I’d been careful to hide it under my pillow before I had even gotten out of bed.

So, that raised the question of, how the hell did it get from under my pillow to the top of my bed? Did it grow feet? Highly unlikely. The next question was, who’d been in my studio snooping around?

Quickly pulling on my jammie bottoms, I looked around for signs of anything else. Was anything missing? I didn’t have much. I bought most of my stuff after I’d arrived here because everything I owned was still at Justin’s. He’d brought me some things when he’d visited and Preston had bought me a few sweaters and such when we were at the cabin, but I owned nothing of value other than my laptop and TV. They were untouched, so who’d been in here? I hope it hadn’t been some creeper snooping through my things. In the morning, I’d give my landlord a call and find out if anyone else might have a key. Just to be safe, I dragged the couch in front of the door. That bit of extra security might ensure I didn’t have any unexpected intruders during the night.

The whole incident freaked me out and had my heart thumping for the rest of the night. The movie was a wash. I couldn’t focuslong enough to enjoy it. I tried to sleep but thoughts of the creeper and then of Preston prevented that. I chalked up one more sleepless night in Vail.

The next morning, since I didn’t hear from anyone, I just showed up at the ski school, where they stood waiting for me.

“Where the heck have you been?” Melissa asked.

“Well, a phone call would’ve been nice.”

“Oh, sorry. We were a little, um, busy.”

“Spare me the details. Guys, what’s up for today? Double blacks with some waist-high moguls?” I asked sarcastically.

Griffin smiled and said, “We thought we’d hold off on that until tomorrow.” I almost lost my eyeballs with that comment. “But we’ll move to the black runs today. We think she’s ready, don’t we, Marley?”

“Oh, our girl is definitely ready.” The three of them snickered. This was going to be a long day.

“You know, why don’t we meet up around lunch? That’ll give you time to ski together without having to worry about me.”

“You sure?” Melissa asked.

“Yeah. I’ll hit the back bowls and then we can meet for lunch and ski together this afternoon. Name the time and place.”

We decided on Two Elk at one thirty and I was off. It was a bluebird day, and the snow was perfect, not a powder day, but packed and groomed. I made it to the back and did a bunch of runs, but all the while, I had that odd sensation again, like someone was watching me. I’d stop and search, but never saw anyone. I was probably imagining things, so I’d aim my skis down mountain and take off again. That feeling persisted all morning, even after I met the gang for lunch.

After we ate, I skied the front side of the mountain with them, but sure enough, they had Melissa skiing groomed black runs by then. And boy what a sight she was. She looked like an enormous flaming carnation flying down the mountain. I’d never seen anything like it. The whoops and hollers she emitted would never be heard again on the slopes of Vail, unless she returned to make them herself. People everywhere stopped and ogled her. It was difficult not to. She owned that mountain when she skied.

That night, it was just the two of us, Melissa’s choice. Griffin and Marley were still drooling over her, but she begged off, saying she was tired and wanted to spend some alone time with me.

We walked back to my place, and again, the sensation of someone watching me hit. It was freaking me out now, and I kept jerking my head around, hunting for the source.

“What is wrong with you?” Melissa wanted to know.

“I don’t know. I keep feeling like someone is watching me.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s me they’re looking at. I get it all the time.”

“No, I felt it all day, even when I was alone.”

“That’s strange. Do people normally stare at you?”

“Not really. I’m not what you’d call a people magnet, Melissa.”

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