“That’s good.” She smiled. “Otherwise, you might be branded a stalker.”
“Yeah, not what I was really going for there.” I laughed nervously.
I reached over and tossed the bagel into the trashcan in the hallway and dusted off my hands. An awkward silence fell between us, and I wanted to kick my own ass for being such a numbnuts. My whole life, I had been able to talk to people, never getting clammy or shuddery, but with this girl, I couldn’t seem to get out a sentence without pausing. I didn’t know what had come over me. It was like I was a different person, sent back to when I was an awkward teen, thinking about asking out the head cheerleader. Even then, though, when I was standing in front of her, I had all the confidence in the world. This girl just had a way of making me stumb
le over my words whenever I was with her. I looked up and noticed her watching me fight with myself, an amused look on her face.
“Why were you up so early?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said with blushed cheeks. “I had a dream and woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. So, I got dressed and went out to the courtyard. It was so peaceful and so quiet. I love that feeling, when it’s first thing in the morning after a big snow and the birds aren’t even awake yet. It’s beautiful and makes me wonder if there was ever a time humanity was so still and quiet.”
“I did the same thing, only from the comfort of my windows in my room.” I chuckled. “I’ve spent many a morning on the slopes, though, just listening to the silence around me, watching the snow shimmer in the reflecting light as the sky lightens. It’s almost humbling, and I am able to really clear my head.”
“It sure is beautiful,” she said, taking a deep breath and a step toward her door.
“Listen,” I said, reaching out to touch her hand. “I may have gone about this the wrong way, but the truth is, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I left you right here. When I’m around you, I’m just not the guy that I had grown accustomed to being. I am shaky, stuttering, and can’t seem to put a sentence fully together to save my life. I figure, if it is something that is getting to me that bad, then I needed to just act on it. I’m not used to women getting to me like that. So, please, come to breakfast with me. Let me get to know you better and show you who I am. I know this is temporary, but I can’t really think of any other reason why I should just leave you alone.”
“Wow,” she said, smiling. “That was good. You had it together on that one.”
“You like that?”
“Yeah.” She laughed. “All right, I’ll go to breakfast with you. If you could, though, just wait here for a few and let me get out of my pj’s and brush my teeth first.”
“Okay,” I replied, just then realizing she wasn’t dressed for the day. “I’ll be right here.”
She smiled as she shut the door behind her, and I leaned back against the wall, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. Well, that didn’t quite go as I thought it would, but at least, she was going to have breakfast with me. She was a sneaky little thing, making me obsess over fate and then telling me she didn’t believe in it after all. I should have come up last night when I was yearning to, but maybe this had turned out exactly how it should. In my head though, I had a much smoother setup planned. She runs into me, laughs in a giggly way, I charm her with my smile, and off we go to have breakfast on the terrace.
First of all, she was not the kind of girl you would find giggling over a guy. Secondly, I couldn’t pull out my charm around her to save my life. And third, who would eat breakfast on the terrace when it was like fourteen degrees outside? So, I didn’t really plan this out that well, but at least, I put some kind of thought to it. These days, I’d been living my life kind of on a whim, without much thought. I thought it was important to put thought into Bea. She was special.
I was drawn from my thoughts as she walked out of the room wearing jeans, a sweater, and a pair of black and white Chuck Taylor’s. She looked beautiful and adorable at the same time. We went downstairs and got a table at the restaurant, ordering two mimosas and relaxing.
“Don’t you have a class this morning?” she asked.
“Glen is covering it for me,” I said, smiling.
“Oh, so you got your business partner in on this covert operation?” She laughed.
“Yeah, well, behind every great man is a great woman.” I chuckled.
We spent the rest of the morning talking and laughing, getting to know each other better. She had a spunk to her that I hadn’t noticed before, but it seemed to light up the entire room. When we had finished breakfast, I walked her to the elevator, pulling on my coat, ready to get up the hill to my job.
“Thank you for breakfast.” She smiled. “Hopefully, it won’t be too long until you stalk me again.”
“I mean, I can have that arranged.” I chuckled. “When will I see you again?”
“I’ll come find you for a private ski lesson.” She smirked. “I want to see if you are as good of a skier as you say you are.”
With that, she climbed into the elevator, and I stood there smiling at her until the doors had closed. I was definitely on cloud nine.
Chapter 14
Bea
I had to admit, breakfast with Cameron was definitely unexpected, but not at all unwanted. After the dream I had the night before, I was terrified that I would get all clammed up seeing him, but with his adorable shyness kicking in, I felt compelled to be sarcastic and assertive. It actually worked out pretty well, and I got to spend my morning with a handsome guy, eating delicious food in the restaurant. I really didn’t want the date to be over, but I knew that I needed to end it and remind myself that I was only here for a limited time, and that getting too attached most definitely would be a bad thing. So, I said goodbye, meaning it when I told him I would come find him for a private ski lesson, and headed back up to the room.
When I got upstairs, I found a note from Hailey, telling me to meet her in the lounge when I got back so we could go out into town and do some shopping. I swore that girl had a serious shopping habit, but I didn’t mind at all because if I had that kind of money, I would have a shopping habit, too. I took off my tennis shoes, pulled on my black leather boots, and grabbed my jacket and scarf on the way out the door.
Just like she said she would be, Hailey was sitting at the bar, drinking a mimosa and chatting up the cute guy behind the bar. I shook my head and laughed as I approached, finding Hailey to be so fun and outgoing, something I wished I could be all the time. I stood next to her and smiled as she gulped down her drink and winked at the bartender.