Page 12 of Going Down

I try to do that as he takes my chilly fingers to warm them between his, glancing around to ensure our private moment is hidden by the SUV rooftops surrounding us. Then Dash secures my board in the carrier at the back of my Jeep and holds his palm to the sky. “I learned to drive on one of these. Do you mind?”

I place the keys in his hand and toss my bag in the back before getting in. Dash maneuvers the car out of the parking lot.

I live in a popular set of townhomes with four housemates sharing two bedrooms. Dash carries my board inside and up the staircase. He doesn’t give me a chance to tell my roommate his name and introduces himself. They chatter back and forth while I slip a few overnight items into my backpack.

The other girls stop in to see if we’re interested in having drinks at a local bar. Declining, Dash is as enchanting towards them as he always is and my housemates flirt back. Although, he’s never more than a foot from my side. It’s as if we’re in this protective bubble where no one else can touch us. It takes several rounds of goodbyes before my roommate and housemates leave us alone.

I reach for an extra bath sheet, shoving it into the backpack to hide a few emergency condoms I’d dropped in there when I hoped no one was looking. Dash seems like the type to have that covered, but a girl should never be complacent.

“I have plenty of those,” he says, encouraging me to put the towel back.

Then I accidentally catch wind of what I look like in the mirror. After riding most of the day, my appearance isn’t nearly as pretty as it was the first time I went to Dash’s. Working the slopes requires endurance. I get as sweaty as a hockey player in the third period and haven’t washed my dreads recently.

“It’s not a big deal. I can even shower here before we leave.” The last thing my appearance screams is “date me” let alone “do me”. I’d at least like to rinse my hair along with the rest of my body.

He nods at the towel. The glint in his eye betrays the innocuous look on his face. I wasn’t as sly as I thought I was. My nose wrinkles and I worry my lip. He meant the condoms.

Dash’s blue eyes stare down at me. “Kat, I like you the way you are.” He rubs my arms through my work jacket. “And I was planning on us getting a lot sweatier before cleaning you up. I have plenty of body wash at my place. Bring this if you need it.” He removes the towel and drops my specialty dread shampoo on top of the foil packages and a fresh pair of lacy panties. Pausing, his mouth quirks. “As for those, it’s whenever you’re ready.”

“If I’m ready tonight?”

He shrugs and pulls me close. “If you’re not, I’ll go down on you until you are.”

I cool my flaming cheek on Dash’s cool parka, wanting to be able to tell him all the ways I want to explore his body with the same shameless honesty he’s capable of.

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6

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Fear and desire are two sides of the same coin

On the way back to his little hut, we stopped back at the resort parking lot long enough for Dash to brush off his truck, and get the engine started. I trail behind him up the road to his place. He’s on early tomorrow and I’m scheduled for the afternoon. Without the second vehicle, I’ll be stranded with no way to get to the mountain while he’s on patrol.

He gets the sliding door shut and the curtain pulled back in the nick of time to stop Capote from running out into the snow. The kitten gives Dash a rotten-cat glare as if he’s ruined her fun. Being young, her attention becomes rapt by the way the curtain swings and she bats at it. We both laugh, eager to use her distraction to our advantage.

Dash takes a minute to stoke the fire. He tosses his ski cap on the table and shakes out his man bun. Then he pulls me close, taking my hat away and unzipping the front of my coat.

“Aren’t you hot under all these layers?”

“I’m not sure. Am I?” I ask, acting bewildered.

“It makes me hot thinking about it.” He teases. “You have your CPR and Outdoor Emergency certifications. At any point, did you have to learn how to take a temperature?” He holds a hand to his brow. “I may have come down with Kat Pox.”

“What exactly are the symptoms of Kat Pox?” I laugh uncontrollably at his cheese.

“I spot you and get hard.”

This makes me double over and Dash snags my middle turning me so my back is to his front.

“It’s an awful affliction.”

“I can tell.” I wiggle my butt into his groin.

Dash moves long locks of hair over my shoulder and his teeth nip at the sensitive skin behind my ears. His lips linger on the nape of my neck.

“Listen, Kat. I want you, but I need us to be on the same page if this is going to go any further. I’m gone at the end of the season. My contract is only until March. I have another job lined up and can’t stick around.”

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