Page 35

Veronica

On the Slopes

W aking up in bed next to Tanner, I can feel the warmth of his body against me. Snuggled into the soft red plaid flannel sheets with him, Rex sleeping at the foot of the bed, it’s somehow perfectly familiar and completely foreign all at once. It feels like I’ve always been here and the rest of my life before now has just been a dream. Like today, I’m waking up where my heart has always been.

I guess this is one way to start a new year.

My eyes linger on Tanner sleeping beside me. He’s still bundled up under the covers, his arms crossed under his pillow. Everything about him is so timeless, rugged, and masculine. In this old cabin, it feels like we could be waking up on the Wyoming frontier a century ago.

My gaze wanders to his face. He was already gorgeous but seeing the details of his face now, with his beard nearly gone and mustache trimmed, I could get used to starting my day like this. Laying on my side facing him, I softly run my fingers across his face.

Every day since this man kissed me, my mind has been clear. At ease. Sure, I was a little worried about getting caught by Collin initially, but even that paled in comparison to the pleasure and comfort he brings me.

Yes. I’m definitely in love with Tanner. Fucking. Chapman. Am I crazy for falling this hard for someone this fast?

Maybe? I don’t know.

It just feels so right. He’s been a part of my life for so long. He just fits in. We’re passionate about this place, skiing, and the happiness it brings us. We know each other’s families. And now we know we have amazing chemistry together.

As my mind starts trying to imagine what a future with him could look like, my fingers tracing the line of his jaw, his head shifts and he lets out a contented low grunt. His eyes flutter open and a warm smile crosses his face as his green eyes meet mine. He unwinds his hands from under his pillow to cup my cheek, his hand matching mine.

“Am I dreaming? Or are you actually here, waking up with me in my bed?” He leans forward, planting a soft kiss on my lips.

“It sure feels like a dream, but nope, I’m definitely here in your bed,” I say, my hands drifting down his side, resting on his hip.

He lets out another contented grunt.

“As much as I like the idea of a morning quickie, I think we’re back on the clock, Ronni. Gotta get Collin and Lizzy coffees and some pastries as promised.” As he says this, he wraps his leg over my hip, pulling our bodies together. In one quick movement, he’s now on top of me, his hands pinning mine above my head, his powerful chest inches from my face.

“Later,” his eyes say exactly what he has in mind, the corner of his mouth lifting, as he leans forward to whisper in my ear, “you’re mine.”

If you only knew Tanner, if you only knew. I’m falling head over heels for you so fast, so hard. I’m already yours.

◆◆◆

We get to the condo a bit earlier than expected, coffees and pastries in hand for Collin and Lizzy. I know Collin took it surprisingly well that Tanner and I were together. No, not well, great actually. I hope a night to sleep on it hasn’t changed things.

And Lizzy, well her expression gave her feelings away. Can’t wait to talk with her about this. I’m sure she has a million questions already and I’m not sure I want to answer all of them.

As we walk into the condo from the mudroom, Collin and Lizzy are nowhere to be seen. Glad to see they’re back to their usual selves, sleeping in after a night out.

“Tanner, can you go ahead and set out breakfast? I’ll go get them up,” I say, turning up towards the bedrooms from the landing.

As I turn, I run into an unexpected object.

No. Not an object.

A… a fucking cowboy?!

I take a step back to see the cowboy from the Silver Dollar Cowboy Bar the night before, hat in hand, walking out of Lizzy’s room.

Fuck. She really did it. She bagged her cowboy!

“Pardon me, ma’am,” he says with a thick draw as he heads toward the mudroom on his way out, nodding at Tanner.

Well I guess Lizzy must be up. Might as well start there. As I walk towards the main bedroom, Lizzy is coming out of the door and starting to close it. When she turns and faces me, her expression is unusually startled. I mean, I did just catch her cowboy on a walk of shame so I guess that checks out.

I smile, already wanting to hear all about how she pulled that off. As I reach the landing, I hear Collin’s voice from inside the room.

“Hey, Lizzy, did he make it o-,” he says, emerging from the bedroom behind Lizzy, freezing in place as he sees me in the hall. His eyes go wide and the color drains from his face.

“Uhh… morning, lil sis,” he says, swallowing a lump in his throat.

Wait. What. The. Fuck. Did they…?

No. There’s no fucking way!

“Guys. Seriously,” my voice is loud and shocked, “what in the actual fuck?”

Tanner hears me from the kitchen and makes his way to us, stopping just short of the landing but still able to see the bedroom door.

“What’s wrong?” he asks as he reaches me, stopping as he sees the scene in front of us. He pauses, eyeing them carefully. “Wait a second, did they?” He gestures between Collin and Lizzy with a smirk.

Lizzy is the first to address the elephant, well cowboy, in the room.

“Ugh. Oh my god you guys. Collin and I didn’t fuck. We just shared the cowboy, ok?” she says as if their whatever was some trivial matter that didn’t warrant acknowledgment or shock.

“Yeah. I mean… I guess it was more of a cowboy sandwich. We didn’t touch ea-,” Collin starts, before I cut him off.

“Nope. Nope. Nope,” I say, extending a hand toward them, making a stop motion with my hand. “I haven’t even finished my coffee yet. Just get dressed and come to the dining room.”

I look back to Tanner who is trying his best to not burst into laughter, holding it in for my sake.

A few minutes later, Collin and then Lizzy join Tanner and me at the table in awkward silence, grabbing their coffees and a pastry.

“You guys have a good night ringing in the new year? Any fireworks?” Collin asks, winking before taking a bite of his croissant.

“Yeah, it was nice. Got to bed early,” Tanner starts. “I’d ask about yours but-” he trails off, finally unable to contain his laughter. “Dude, this has to be at the top of your list of shenanigans and I wasn’t even involved,” he continues between his booming laughs. “But cowboys aren’t really my thing. Now cowgirls on the other hand…” Tanner looks back at me and winks.

I roll my eyes at Tanner, his laughter stopping when he senses my lack of amusement. I mean… he’s right though. I never would have thought that they would be just as wild of a duo as Collin and Tanner.

“I mean,” I start, “just like… how?”

“Oh, don’t be so surprised, V,” Lizzy says defiantly. “I got his number at the bar and he texted me right after you two left us. He asked what we were up to the rest of the night.”

She cocks her head to the side, shrugging.

“Yolo, I guess,” she continues, before taking a bite of her chocolate croissant.

I palm my face, finally letting out a laugh I’ve been holding back. I can hear Collin and Lizzy exhale at my reaction, the tension in the room taken down a notch.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys but I’m ready for the first chair of the new year. So can you two get ready and moving?” Tanner asks, eyeing Collin and Lizzy, still shaking his head and laughing.

Fortunately, the rest of the day is far less dramatic. After the morning’s happenings , we get out on the slopes. As expected, the place feels empty, all the tourists and even locals sleeping in after a hard night of partying. I always love skiing the day of a holiday or after for this reason. It feels like we have the mountain entirely to ourselves, or at least until people sleep off their hangovers and come out later in the day.

After a couple mellow warm up runs, I realize I have a shadow today. I don’t know if I’m skiing harder and faster or if Tanner is skiing slower, but he’s been lagging behind me.

We all reach the next chair, Tanner and Collin sitting on the outside seats with Lizzy and I between them. As the lift takes us back up the mountain, I give Tanner a playful punch on the thigh with my mitten.

“So what’s up, slow poke? You taking it easy today or am I actually kicking your ass?” I ask, trying to gauge his reaction through our goggles.

He snorts a laugh, “Nope, just decided I want to enjoy the view and watch my girlfriend shred a few runs.”

Girlfriend. There’s something about hearing that word from him, on the slopes here, that makes my heart melt and my body warm. I know we started this without labels, but it just feels so good now to be out in the open and acknowledge the feelings are clearly mutual.

“Bro, tone it down like two notches,” Collin says from the far end of the chair, before letting out a laugh.

“Awww, you two are so cute,” Lizzy says, with a mocking tone.

Ugh. I’ve had enough of the threesome buddies already today. Like they have room to judge after their night.

I place my hand on Tanner’s thigh, resting my head on his shoulder. Even with heavy ski mittens and a helmet on, it feels good to be close to him. Nope, not even Collin and Lizzy’s teasing can ruin this.

“So, what’s next y’all?” Tanner asks. “You feel up for some tree runs? I was thinking we could head over to Grizzly Glade.”

“That sounds perfect,” I say before Collin and Lizzy can even respond. “Great thinking, boyfriend .”

I watch Tanner closely, watching his mouth open wide as a completely unrestrained smile grows across his face, his dimples on display just under his goggles. His boyish excitement is unable to be contained.

“Ugh for fuck’s sake, get a room you two,” Lizzy scoffs.

I begrudgingly take my eyes off Tanner to look back her way, sticking my tongue out at her.

A few moments later, we hop off the chair and make our way over to Grizzly Glade. It’s one of my favorite tree skiing areas on the mountain, a steep wide pitch littered with dense trees, boulders, and the occasional short cliff. It’s challenging, but always fun. It does warrant skiing with a buddy close by though with the hazards present.

Even with the light snow from the night before, this area seemingly holds fresh fluffy snow from prior storms for days. I lead the way down the slope, darting between trees, avoiding rocks. I peak over my shoulder and can see the puffs of snow kicked into the air, meaning Tanner isn’t too far behind.

As I make my way down, I’m caught off guard by an unexpectedly large mogul and I’m bucked up off the ground. I land awkwardly, taking a quick tumble and end up on my back. I’m momentarily disoriented, but I think I’m fine. I did fall hard enough that my skis came off and are on either side of me in the snow.

“Ronni!” Tanner yells from behind, his deep voice cutting through the trees. He’s at my side in seconds, popping off his skis and getting down on his knees. He takes off his goggles, a frantic worried expression on his face. I pull my googles up to rest on the brim of my helmet, looking back at him.

“I’m fine, Tanner. I just got a little off balance,” I say, reading his expression. There’s a look of pure terror in his eyes. I prop myself up on my elbow, touching his face with my gloved hand.

“Tanner,” I say softly, “I’m fine, really. Just help me up?”

I can see him finally exhale, his fears at ease. He lifts me up in his arms and I’m back on my feet.

“Sorry, I just…” he says, lowering his eyes, still breathing heavily. The way this man cares about me is heart meltingly palpable. I still can’t fathom how he hid this for so long. Was I really so blind? And now that he’s able to show it, wearing it all on his sleeve, I feel loved in a way I didn’t think was possible.

“I know, Tanner.” I place my hand back on his face, our eyes meeting.

“I love you,” I whisper. The words shock me but they’ve never felt so right before. I lean forward to kiss him, my mouth open just enough to feel the heat of his breath on my lips. My hand is on his chest and he pulls back just enough to look down at me, his beautiful green eyes feel like they are looking deep into my soul.

“I love you too, Ronni,” he whispers in his deep raspy voice. “I love you so fucking much.”

He leans back towards me, our mouths meeting. This time I can feel the hunger in him, his mouth open and his tongue teasing mine. It’s like decades of passion that’s been brewing in him is flooding out, unleashed by the words he’s wanted to hear and say for so long.

“Oh come on already,” a familiar voice echoes through the woods from behind us. “Guys, I love you both, but seriously, baby steps here. Ease me into this a bit more.”

We look back to see Collin and Lizzy further up the run, on top of a rocky outcropping, shaking their heads as they literally look down at us.

“I said get a room guys, not go hide in the woods!” Lizzy adds.

“You two really have a lot of room to talk right now,” I shout, still holding Tanner.

◆◆◆

The rest of the day goes on like this, openly enjoying being with Tanner, trading playful jabs with Collin and Lizzy. I feel like I’m living in a dream, a happy bubble.

When we’re ready to head in for lunch, I end up with Lizzy on Marmot, the two person chair.

“Ok, first things first,” I say as the old chair slowly takes us up towards the lodge, “I want zero details of your night with my brother. Zero. Got it?”

I look to her, she huffs crossing her arms.

“Fine, V,” she says frowning, “can we at least talk about you then? I’ve gotten zero details since I found out about you and Tanner, freaking mountain man, Chapman last night. I’m dying for some girl talk here!”

“I guess that’s fine,” I say, feeling my cheeks flush. This is the first time I’ve talked about Tanner with anyone. It makes it all feel… so real.

“So, what’s that mountain man like? Is it as big as the rest of him? Has he been giving you mind blowing orgasms every chance he gets?” Damn, Lizzy. You went right for it. This girl does not mess around.

“What makes you think I’ve even seen his dick?” I challenge.

“You expect me to believe you’ve been glowing this much and slept over at his house last night and not dipped your hand into the mountain man cookie jar?” she asks, eyebrows raised. “Because that’s the only thing I can think of when Miss I don’t have time to date and I don’t do one night stands is now walking around calling this ski bro her boyfriend .”

“Ok. That’s fair. But first, he’s not just some ski bro. And second, it’s… proportional,” I say, grinning wildly, “and he knows how to use it in all the right ways.”

“Jesus,” she mutters under her breath, “no wonder you’ve been so giddy the last few days.”

She shimmies her shoulders. “So when was the first time you two fucked?” Ugh. Lizzy. Always direct.

“Remember when you and Collin couldn’t get on the gondola in time and we rode separately?” I ask, biting my lower lip at the memory, practically feeling him between my legs again.

“Ugh. Don’t turn this back on me,” she pouts, before something clicks in her brain and her jaw drops. “Wait! Oh my god! Did you guys seriously fuck on the gondola?” she asks incredulously.

“Oh, god no! That would have been fucking crazy,” I say, grabbing the bar on the chairlift. “But he went down on me and got me off just before the gondola ride ended. Like literal seconds before we met you two for lunch. Before he started, he said, and I quote, he wanted me t o relax and enjoy my vacation. ”

Even through her goggles, I can sense the stunned look in her eyes matching her dropped jaw. “That’s fucking hot . Like hotter than any of my book boyfriends. Or real life boyfriends for that matter. He sounds like a fucking keeper, V.”

“I… I know.” Admitting it out loud makes this all feel so real.

I spend the next few minutes filling her in on the rest of the sordid details. Last night after the bar, in front of the fireplace while they made the ice cream run, the mudroom kiss, the mudroom again , TJ’s guesthouse. Ok. Wow. We have been busy

I think she might be actually impressed at just how much we were sneaking around and managed to squeeze in this past week.

“Damn,” she says, letting out a sigh, “I think I like Horny Veronica. This is the happiest I’ve seen you in ages. But you’re already calling him your boyfriend after just days. So is this, like, serious ?”

My body tenses just a bit at the question. But I know in my heart the answer is yes. Although Tanner and I haven’t openly talked about all the details that much, we know we’ve never felt this way before.

Do we love each other? Yes, as crazy as that sounds right now. Is there incredible chemistry? Um, hell yes. I think we’d do anything to make this work, but what would that even look like? Moving to Jackson, him going to Dayton, Ohio, or something else? I can’t see this man living in Ohio, away from the mountains that are practically a part of his soul. And he’d be even further from his family.

Oddly, the thoughts and uncertainty don’t make me anxious, just hopeful. It’s like with him, I don’t have to plan out every little detail. I can just trust him to be there for me and make me feel like everything will be ok. It finally feels like there’s a light at the end of the miserable tunnel I’ve been stuck in for years. I know what’s coming is bright, I just don’t know what it is or how I’ll get there.

“I’m going to take your silence as a yes. I can see your wheels turning, like you’re clearly planning out all the scenarios to make this work.” She knows me so well. “Love you, girl. I’m happy for you. You guys will figure it out,” she continues, resting her hand on my knee. “So, does he have any brothers?”

I cackle at her question and how she can always pivot her tone on the fly. “Actually, he does have a younger brother, Clay. Definitely not your type though.”

The lift is finally reaching the top and it’s almost time to get lunch. But I keep going back to what she said.

He’s a keeper.

Yes, he is. And now that he’s all mine, I’m determined to figure out how to keep it that way.