Page 45 of Chasing The Alpha's Son
“Mason! You coming?” The girl with the braids is leaning through the doorway. Mason’s friends have all disappeared.
“You should go or Hans Gruber won’t be happy.”
He snickers at my amazing pop culture reference.
“Okay, meet me here at like ten tomorrow.”
“Can’t wait!”
I take a seat by the window to wait for Katie. The mountainside swoops out below me, the afternoon sun is beginning to sit low on the horizon, and golden rays are shooting out from behind the permafrosted mountaintops. It’s gorgeous, but if I’ve learned anything today it’s how inhospitable these gorgeous terrains are. I feel like there’s maybe a lesson in there, but I’m not sure.
Almost an hour goes by and Katie still hasn’t shown. It’s seriously dusky now, and dinner will be served in an hour or so. I shoot her a couple of texts but she doesn’t reply. Maybe she fell asleep. I guess this is payback for all those times I slept in and kept her waiting in the past. The view is so pretty I almost don’t mind; I just wish I’d brought down my sketchbook.
A gust of cold wind blows through the lounge and I turn to see Jasper, Clayton, and Olivia arriving home. They strut through the entryway like royalty, fresh from conquering the slopes, paying me no attention as they pass through.
I sigh and shoot Katie one more text. The longer I sit still, the more the pain in my leg from where I fell intensifies, and I remember what Mia recommended. The hot tubs.
I figure I’ll wait another fifteen minutes for Katie then go check them out. After ten Olivia strolls back into the lounge, sees me, rolls her head back, and turns in the opposite direction, disappearing from where she came.
There’s something up with her and I have no idea what it is, but I don’t care. She’s being rude, and her rudeness, plus Katie’s absence, plus my fall and the consequent humiliation, are putting me in a foul mood. I gather up my stuff, ready for a bit of me time.
If the ski slopes are Mia’s fortress of solitude, then maybe the hot tub can be mine. Clutching a fluffy white towel, I make my way down a stone staircase, my flip-flops thworping on each step. Down I go past an indoor gym, a pool, and a sauna to a set of glass doors. I must be on the lowest level of the packhouse. The hot tubs are sitting outside on a balcony with a stone ledge, like four bubbling cauldrons, each with steam pouring out.
Not imagining I’d be heading outside, I’ve only worn my swimming shorts and an old T-shirt, and as the cold air hits me I feel like I’ve face-planted in the snow all over again. I can’t wait another second to be in that hot, soothing water.
Glancing around quickly to make sure there’s no one else out here, I drop my towel at the base of the tub nearest to me and pull off my shirt. Then speedily I kick off my flip-flops and climb in. At first the water is so hot my little feet feel like they might boil off, but as I lower my whole body into it, I breathe a massive sigh of relief. It’s like every muscle relaxes at the same time, and every stress of the last few days (months?) drifts away. I rest my head against the smooth edge of the tub and look out at the view.That darn view.
Not five minutes into my soak, the sound of the door swinging opens pulls me from my steam-fueled reverie.
“Oh,” he says before I can even turn my head.
Behind Jasper the door is swinging shut, leaving him standing, towel over his bare shoulder, in just his swimming trunks (black, obviously), out in the cold.
Gulp. Big gulp.
Even though I’m mad, and even though he told me to leave him alone but doesn’t seem to be able to follow his own advice, I say, “Hi.”
“I didn’t think anyone would be here,” he says, still not moving.
“Clearly,” I say. “I’d also like the record to show that I was here first, just so you don’t think I’m following you around or anything.”
His face is expressionless.
“I should go.” He doesn’t move. Why isn’t he moving?
Little goosebumps are beginning to pop up all over his arms, his shoulders, his…chest, until I actually can’t take it any longer.
“Would you just get in? It’s like fifty below out there.”
His teeth beginning to chatter, Jasper actually moves toward the hot tub. I make room on the side closer to the steps and sit back as he lowers himself in. For a split second as his chest enters the water, an almost calm expression crosses his face. He closes his eyes, untenses his brow, and lets his bottom lip hang a little loose. For a moment I see a glimpse of the Jasper from the beach.
When he opens his eyes, he catches me staring and I swiftly glance away.
“These mountains are something,” I say, ever so awkwardly.
“Yeah, I guess.”
I force myself to keep my eyes focused on the valley, singling out one rocky outcrop and staring at it intensely.
