Chapter Three
The turbulence over the mountains was no joke. Emily closed her eyes, but between the jolt she got every time the plane lurched and the conversation with Alex replaying in her mind, she had no chance of sleeping. When was the last time she’d flirted with a total stranger and then exchanged numbers?
Arguably, she hadn’t planned on giving Alex her number. Yet it sent a thrill through her all the same to know her pen was in Alex’s pocket. Their whole exchange felt like a warm-up to the coming weekend. Except Alex would probably be nothing like the women Katherine invited. She was easy; comfortable, even. A flirt, but not in an intimidating way despite how attractive she was.
Emily snuck another peek in her direction. It was impressive how fast she’d nodded off and slept soundly through even the worst of the turbulence. Clearly she was exhausted, but Emily wished she’d wake up so they could talk more. Not that anything would come of it. They were only sharing airspace for the rest of the flight, and then they’d never see each other again. Thinking about what-ifs was silly.
Forcing her attention back to the magazine she’d brought, Emily tried again to read the article. The problem was that Alex was everything she liked: masculine leaning, confident, funny…and good-looking. In other words, trouble. Again, Emily’s eyes strayed. She could almost imagine running her hand through Alex’s short, tousled brown hair. And that wasn’t where her mind stopped.
Alex had a long, lean athletic build; a handsome, angular face; and gorgeous hazel eyes. To top it off, she was sharply dressed. She seemed to have come straight out of a business meeting in polished black shoes, charcoal slacks, and a lighter gray button-down shirt. No doubt she’d look good in gym clothes, too. Or in nothing at all.
A flush rushed up Emily’s neck. One second she was admiring Alex’s wardrobe and the next she was imagining what it would feel like to wrap her legs around Alex’s naked waist. Conjuring up a sex fantasy about a perfect stranger was out of the ordinary to say the least. But, Emily reminded herself, that was exactly what the weekend was supposed to be about.
She thought of the way Alex’s eyes had lingered on her and the moment when she’d realized that Alex was openly checking her out. Circuits in her body she’d given up for lost had switched on. When a pulse started in her nether regions, she almost laughed at how eager her body was. Eager, yes, but a little off course. After years not riding a bike, she needed something that came with training wheels, not a racing edition like Alex.
Still, her body’s response was somewhat comforting. At the very least, it confirmed that she did in fact want to have sex again. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed the sensation of being wanted—and of wanting someone else.
When she’d been with Cass, she hadn’t let herself even think about other women. After the breakup, she’d had no emotional energy left to even consider dating. But she had no reason to not let her mind fantasize about Alex now. Maybe Gianna was right. Maybe she needed this weekend more than she realized.
Alex rustled awake when the plane took a big dip. She straightened up in her seat and rubbed her eyes. A moment later the plane lurched again.
“There’s that turbulence,” Alex murmured. She looked over at Emily. “Welcome to the Rockies.”
“Is it always like this?”
“Whenever there’s a storm,” Alex said. “I’m thinking there’s gonna be a few more hiccups.”
Right on cue, the plane dipped again. Emily wasn’t sure if she should be relieved by Alex’s anticipation of the turbulence or worried about a possible storm. She pushed open the window shade, and the sight of total whiteout made her breath catch. Mild uneasiness was replaced with actual fear.
“How can the pilot even see through this?”
Before Alex could answer, the plane abruptly tilted upward and then turned hard to the left. The pilot’s voice came on over the speakers a moment later.
“Folks, we’ve got a little weather pattern up here that we didn’t anticipate. The good news is, if you were coming to Aspen to ski, looks like you’re going to have plenty of fresh powder.” The pilot chuckled. “We’re going to circle around and try a second approach. The seat belt sign is going to be on for the duration of the flight. I wouldn’t try to stand up if I were you. Face-planting never makes anyone look good.”
When the intercom switched off, Alex looked over at Emily. “Gotta love a pilot with a sense of humor.”
“I think in this case I’d take smart and serious.”
“Don’t worry. This happens all the time.”
“You sure?”
“Completely.”
“Okay.” Emily turned her gaze back to the magazine she’d been pretending to read for the past hour. Staring out the window and fretting about a plane crash wouldn’t do her mounting anxiety any good. The turbulence had eased now that the pilot had taken them higher, but Emily knew they’d have to go through it all over again once they’d finished circling back.
“It doesn’t feel right that it’s morning again,” Alex said, setting her watch.
Not many people wore a watch anymore—unless you counted those little wrist computers—but Alex’s had an old-fashioned look of something that had been passed down and needed to be wound every day. Rather than make her seem low tech, it only made her seem more dashing.
“Where are you flying in from?”
“Tokyo. But I spent last night at a friend’s house in San Francisco and my time zones are completely whacked.” Alex nodded at Emily’s magazine. “So, how do you have the world’s best orgasm?”
“I’m sorry, what?”
Alex pointed at the headline of the article and Emily felt her cheeks flush. She snapped the magazine closed. “I honestly wasn’t reading that article.”
“You get the magazines for the pictures?”
Emily rolled her eyes, but her cheeks still burned. “It’s not that kind of magazine. I’m sure it says something about exercise and drinking plenty of water. And Kegels. Doesn’t that pretty much cure everything?” She smiled, hoping she could pull off pretending to be cool despite being mortified.
“Kegels?” Alex laughed. “I guess I should give that a try. You know, you don’t have to close the magazine on my account.”
“I was closing it on my account,” Emily said.
“So you’re not going to read it?”
“No.” Especially not with you looking over my shoulder.
“But what if there’s some secret that neither of us know? Aren’t you curious?”
“I’m curious about a lot of things.” Emily rolled the magazine into a tube and pushed it into the seat pocket.
“You have better restraint than I do,” Alex joked.
Emily didn’t know how to answer. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been that embarrassed. While being turned on.
Static crackled on the intercom and the pilot’s voice came through the speakers once more. “Well, folks, apparently the storm is getting worse down there. Air traffic control is advising against another attempt at landing. I hate to say it, but we’re being diverted to Denver.”
A collective groan went through the cabin. Alex made a clicking sound with her tongue but didn’t seem all that surprised. Maybe for her it wasn’t a big deal, but Emily had no idea how she was going to get to Aspen now. If it was a proper storm, she doubted there’d be any chance at another flight that day and she couldn’t afford to rent a car to drive from Denver to Aspen. Maybe she could pay for a rideshare, but it occurred to her that she didn’t even know Katherine’s Aspen address. The itinerary only included a note about a driver picking her up at the airport and a number to call when she arrived.
She glanced over at Alex, all of her questions tumbling through her mind at once. “You don’t look all that shocked.”
“Been through this before. Is this going to mess up your weekend plans?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Emily had half a thought to finally admit everything. “Wonder how lo
ng the storm will last.”
“The forecast yesterday mentioned a quick-moving cold front, but you never know.” Alex leaned back in her seat. “Can’t do anything about it now.”
Within minutes of Alex’s eyes closing, she was asleep. Emily doubted it at first, considering the noise in the cabin of everyone talking and the flight attendant’s announcement after the pilot’s, but the muscles of her face were completely relaxed and she was in fact softly snoring. Probably that was for the best. If Alex had stayed awake, Emily might have confessed her weekend plans.
* * *
Alex didn’t rouse from her slumber until the wheels hit the tarmac. The moment she opened her eyes, the memory of her seat companion, the storm, and the change in airports hit her along with chagrin that she’d nodded off. Again. Only sheer exhaustion gave her that superpower. She glanced over at Emily, wondering if it would be weird to apologize for any possible drooling, but she was scrolling through her phone. The airlines icon was at the top of her screen and Alex guessed she was trying to find a flight from Denver to Aspen.
Whenever a freak storm came up, the chances of finding an open flight were virtually nil but telling Emily as much might be overstepping. She pulled out her own phone and quickly tapped the app for a car rental service. One of the perks of a job with travel was that she rarely had any trouble securing a rental car—even at the last minute. In a few clicks, she had an SUV with snow tires reserved.
The stewardess spoke over the intercom, giving information for rerouting to Aspen and connecting flights and baggage claim. When Alex looked over at Emily, it was clear she wasn’t happy. Her jaw was clenched and she was scrolling through flights with an expression that bordered on a glare. If suggesting she abandon hope for a flight into Aspen in the next forty-eight hours was overstepping, then proposing they share the drive most certainly crossed a line.
As soon as the plane rumbled to a halt at the gate, the other passengers in first class stood up. Alex eyed Emily again. It was ridiculous to consider driving over four hours in a snowstorm with someone who was basically a stranger. Still, the idea nudged her again.
“It was nice meeting you,” Alex said, standing up.
“You too. Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime.” Emily shook her head. “Actually, I guess that’s probably unlikely.”
“You never know. I travel a lot. We could randomly have seats next to each other again. I also have your number.” Alex tapped the pocket where she’d put Emily’s pen. “Who knows when I’ll need a caterer?”
The almost-smirk on Emily’s face buoyed Alex’s spirits. Nearly enough to ask about sharing the drive. She got up to open the overhead bin and pulled out Emily’s carry-on, then set it on the seat she’d vacated.
“You didn’t have to get that down, but thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Alex eyed the short line filing toward the door. She had no reason not to step into the queue, but she hesitated and glanced at Emily again. “I may have accidentally noticed you were looking up flights. Did you find one?”
“There’s nothing until Sunday night. I don’t get what they expect everyone on this flight to do. Wait here until then? Take a bus? Actually, I can’t even find a bus. Tried that already.” Emily exhaled. “Can’t find a rideshare either—at least not for under three hundred. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Anyway, I’ll figure it out.” She smiled, but it was clearly forced. “What’s a little more adventure, right?”
The other first-class passengers had exited and now everyone in economy was squeezing past. Alex stepped out of the way and back into their row, leaning somewhat awkwardly over Emily’s suitcase.
“This is probably crazy, but do you want to share a ride with me? I’ve already got a rental car lined up.”
Emily looked from her phone to Alex and then to her luggage. “That’s generous, but…”
“We’re both going to Aspen anyway.” Alex tried not to sound too hopeful. A long car ride in crappy driving conditions wasn’t exactly a promise of fun times. But still. She wanted Emily to say yes.
“You sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
“I can pay for gas or split the rental fee.”
“Or you can keep me awake.” Alex gave her a wry smile. “I’m sorry about dozing off earlier. Hope I didn’t drool.”
“No drooling. You did snore, but it was kind of cute.”
Snoring was most definitely not cute, but the fact that Emily had dropped the word made Alex even happier they had an excuse for more time together.
“I was impressed by how fast you fell asleep. You didn’t even wake up when we went through that second cloud bank.”
“I barely slept last night,” Alex admitted. “I really could use company to keep me awake on the drive to Aspen.”
“How long is the drive?” Emily held up her phone. “I’m going to try sending another text to the person I was supposed to meet at the airport to let them know I’ll be late.”
“Four hours if we’re lucky.” As soon as Alex said it, she wondered if Emily would back out of their arrangement. A four-hour drive was typical in good weather, but with the snow it could certainly be longer. “But first we have to get out of the airport and into the rental. Denver’s always a zoo when there’s a storm. I’m guessing it’ll be late afternoon when we get to Aspen.”
“You sure you’re okay being stuck with me that long?” Emily asked.
“It’ll give me time to try and figure out what secret thing you’re doing in Aspen.”
A smile edged Emily’s lips. “I appreciate the ride. A lot. And I’m still not telling you.”
Chapter Four
Maybe it was the altitude. Or the company. Whatever it was, Emily had finally stopped worrying about the sex party. All her usual concerns had slipped away for the moment too. She felt strangely free. And like she was exactly where she was supposed to be—which was odd, considering stuck in traffic in a snowstorm had not been on her list of weekend expectations.
“We’re going to lose this station pretty soon,” Alex said, plugging her phone into the car’s USB outlet. “Want to find some music for us?”
“Sure.” Emily scrolled through the list of artists thinking Alex’s tastes weren’t so different from hers, then wondered which was her favorite. Over the past hour she’d come up with plenty of questions but had stopped short of asking each time. She didn’t want to distract Alex from the road, and all of her questions seemed to be ones she’d ask someone she was on a date with.
When the local Denver station crackled out, she pressed the button on the dash switching from the radio to Alex’s phone and pulled up the playlist entitled “Favorites.” That was one way to get her question answered.
The first song was a hit by The Pretenders that Emily had loved in high school. As soon as the first chord played, Alex looked over at Emily. “Of all the music on my phone, you picked this one?”
“It’s your playlist. If you’re trying to keep your identity as a cheesy romantic a secret, you shouldn’t make a favorites list that headlines this song.” Emily laughed when Alex shot her a pained look.
“I’m not secretly a cheesy romantic.”
“You sure about that? Even in my darkest hour, you wouldn’t stand by me?” Emily winked when Alex looked her way and then held her hand over her heart and sang the rest.
“Okay, maybe I’m a little bit cheesy.”
“A little?”
“Hey, you know the words to this song, too,” Alex pointed out.
“Don’t tell anyone.” Once upon a time Emily may have been a cheesy romantic. Then she’d been introduced to reality. Still, the song was good. She started singing again and her heart skipped a beat when Alex joined in. Not only did Alex know how to harmonize, she had a gorgeous warm alto.
“You’re a good singer,” Emily said.
“Even better in the shower when I really belt it out,” Alex joked. “So are you.”
“My high school
glee club was serious business.”
“You were in glee club?”
Emily laughed. “That’s by far the most enthusiastic response I’ve ever gotten to admitting I was a glee club nerd.”
“Oh, I don’t believe for one minute that you were a nerd.”
“Jazz hands?” Emily waved her hands in the air.
Alex shook her head. “Still not a nerd.”
The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love” came on next. “I love this song. Haven’t heard it in ages.”
“Apparently you need to hang out with cheesy romantics more often.”
“Maybe.” Emily heard the flirty tone in her voice but didn’t care. She started singing, pushing herself to go for each note. Now that she’d admitted she’d been in a high school show choir there was no reason to hold back, especially when Alex joined in for the chorus.
The song ended, and Alex looked over at her and smiled. “We sound pretty good together.”
“Yeah, not too shabby. But don’t start doing jazz hands.”
“Why not?” Alex’s fingers danced on the steering wheel playfully.
Emily shook her head. She shouldn’t be considering what else Alex’s hands could do, but she was considering it all the same.
“You’re thinking I should leave jazz hands to the professionals, aren’t you?”
“Maybe I am, but I wouldn’t say it.” At least she could still banter. But she didn’t chance another look at Alex in case her blush showed. Fortunately, there was no way Alex could know she’d been fantasizing about how her hands would feel.
Who was she kidding, thinking she was ready for a weekend with eight other women? She got embarrassed and hot thinking about Alex’s hands touching her when sex wasn’t even on the table.
The next song on the playlist wasn’t as familiar to Emily, but Alex seemed to know all the words and bopped in her seat as she sang.
“Who is this?”
“Alicia Keys.”
“I like it,” Emily said.
Alex grinned and started singing again. As soon as the song ended, Emily clapped and Alex pretended to bow. “You should’ve been in glee club.”
One Weekend in Aspen Page 3