“You buy your parents bad gifts on purpose?”
“Yeah, you know, like ugly sweaters and stuff like that. The funny thing is it all started with me buying them matching jogging suits that I actually thought they would like.”
“What do your parents do for work?” I asked as we both took a seat on the stairs and stayed a few feet away from one another. “I’m sorry if you told me before, but I don’t remember.”
“They run a ski resort in town here.”
“That’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah, growing up I always had free skiing. But they want me to work with them, and I’ve never really been that into skiing. I always just wipe out and hurt myself.”
“I understand.”
Being part of the family business was certainly something that I understood. It wasn’t for Cassidy and it wasn’t for me. We were free thinkers who had our own paths to follow.
“Should we try out the hot tub?”
“Sure,” I replied with zero self-control to deny her.
BILLIONAIRE IN REHAB PART III
Chapter Thirteen
Cassidy
I had given up on avoiding Erik. There was no use. I couldn’t avoid him, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to anymore. As we climbed into the hot tub, it felt more like we were on a date than he was in a treatment center.
He sat on the other side of the hot tub from me, and I appreciated him giving me the space. When I invited him to come home with me for Christmas, it was out of pity. He had a sad look on his face when I told him about my family, and I had always been a sucker for puppy dog eyes.
My family enjoyed Christmas, and I was happy to bring anyone home with me if they could have an enjoyable day with us. Over the years, I had brought home some shady characters; my family really was used to dealing with my invites and the randomness of who would walk through the doors.
But I still wasn’t planning on letting my family find out that Erik was really a patient at the Paradise Peak. It was wrong, and I knew it. Well, to be exact, I hadn’t specifically heard that we weren’t allowed to bring patients home for Christmas. So, technically, I could claim ignorance if it was ever brought up at work.
“It’s quiet around here, though, I like it,” Erik said as he closed his eyes and looked up at the stars.
“I know. It’s weird how peaceful it seems here, yet just over that hill there are thousands of people squeezing in a family skiing vacation with their holiday.”
“You and your family have lived here your whole life?”
“Well, my family has. I tried living other places while I was drinking. I always ended up back at home when some random alcoholic boyfriend would leave me stranded someplace.”
“I know you are being honest with your past and drinking, but I have to say, I just don’t see you as a drunk. Every time I look at you, I see you as working as a daycare worker or something else sweet like that.”
I burst into laughter at the idea I could ever work with children. Erik obviously didn’t know me all that well. I didn’t have patience for children; there was no way I could ever work with them. And, I certainly didn’t plan on having any of my own anytime soon. I had a hard enough time taking care of myself.
“It’s the tongue piercing, isn’t it? All those daycare workers have tongue piercings,” I joked.
“That piercing is really hot,” he said as he lifted his head and looked over at me.
I had just narrowly escaped his grip while we were in the pool, and I suspected I was going to have to fend him off again really soon. My defenses were weakening, though. His touch felt good. His skin against mine felt almost like we were meant for each other.
When he grabbed my ass, I didn’t pull away right away because it honestly didn’t bother me. Which was weird. Throughout my history as a dating woman, I never remembered feeling all that comfortable with men.
Sure, I enjoyed a good roll in the hay like anyone else. But I always felt like my body wasn’t good enough. I had an underlying narrative that told me they weren’t interested in me and didn’t like my body. Men never specifically said those things to me, yet I said them and felt them when I was with a guy.
Things were different with Erik. I felt different. When his hands had been on me, I didn’t think about myself consciousness at all. I only thought about how much I wanted to kiss him.
Kissing Erik was quickly occupying my thoughts, and before I realized what was going on, he had slid across the hot tub and landed himself right next to me. My heart quickened with anticipation as I tried to contain my excitement. I wanted to feel his hand touch my leg. I practically willed it to happen as I looked over at him and then quickly away.