Page 22 of Pretend to be Mine
“What do you want to do today?” I ask as I finish my drink and push the glass away.
She shrugs. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know,” I answer. “Let’s do something we can’t do at home.”
“Skiing!” she says, overly excited.
I laugh at her drunken enthusiasm. “I’ve never skied in my life. I’m from Texas,” I point out.
Savannah shakes her head. “I’ll teach you. Once you get the hang of it, it’s like riding a bike.”
I snort. “Yeah, says the girl who grew up doing it.”
“Come on. Please. I’ll show you around my old stomping grounds.”
Eventually, I give in and she gets her way.
We buy some warmer clothes and make our way to a resort where we rent some skis.
“Come on. We’ll try you out on the bunny slopes,” she says.
“What’s the bunny slopes?”
Savannah grins. “You’ll see.”
When we get there, I see nothing but children. “Seriously?”
“Just until you get the hang of it,” she promises.
She helps me into the skis and shows me how to move my feet. She talks a lot, but I honestly don’t understand most of it, so I go with the “do it and learn” technique. I bust my ass about a million times and Savannah practically pees her pants laughing, watching me fall over and over. By the end of the day, she hasn’t gotten a chance to ski, and I’m pretty sure my ass is bruised.
Tired and sore, I head back to the hotel and we stop at the restaurant for dinner. Drinks are poured with heavy hands, and neither of us complain, as we go about eating. Talking is light, and about nothing at all, as tired as we are. We quickly eat and agree to call it a night. I let us both into my room and Savannah uses the door inside to head directly to hers.
“Night. Take a hot bath so you’re not so sore tomorrow.”
“I never should’ve let you talk me into that.”
She smiles and it makes it all worth it.
“Night,” I say as she walks through the door and closes it behind her.
I immediately go for that hot bath. I fill the tub to the brim; the hotel has an assortment of bubbles and salts. I pick some Epsom salt and pour it into the tub before sliding in. My body instantly relaxes as I lean back and rest my head against the wall. I need to really think about Savannah and figure out how I plan on keeping myself from getting too close to her. It’s just, things are so easy with her that I forget to keep my guard up. I’m sure tomorrow will only make things that much more confusing. I wish there was a way that we could both get what we want, but still—I don’t know what I want. Do I want to keep her as a friend? My mind says yes. Do I want something more? My body says yes. Which way do I go? It’s like I’m stuck at a fork in the road and I’m frozen, so confused, I have no idea which branch to follow.
