We went into the office to get passes for the day. Damon also needed to rent a snowboard.
When everyone was ready, we trekked to the chalet to help Liam and Jesse settle the kids in. Then, it was finally time to hit the slopes.
"Alright, should we start off at the double-black diamond hill?" Clayton asked, rubbing his hands together. "Since we're all athletes here we can start at the more difficult mountain."
"It's better if we start off at one of the smaller hills," Damon said. "I'm a bit rusty."
"Good idea," I said.
We got in the gondola that took us up all the way to the top of one of the smaller hills.
The view as we went up was breathtaking. A blanket of white snow covered almost everything.
When we arrived at the top, we got on our boards. I took a second to take in the cool, fresh air that stung my face a little.
"You love this," Clayton said, sitting down on the snow next to me as he strapped his board on.
I nodded. "It reminds me of the times Shawn and I went with our dad when we were younger. My dad was the one who taught me and Shawn how to snowboard."
"Have you been to this mountain before?" I asked.
I shook my head. "Usually, we went to the one that's closer to where my dad lives. It's called Glen Eden."
"Ah, that one is nice. But the mountains here are much larger. I want to show you something later, but I don't know how daring you are."
I smiled. "Are you challenging me?"
"Maybe."
"Well, I'm pretty daring, but I've become more and more risk-averse the older I get."
"First things first, I have to see how skillful you are," Clayton said, getting up from the ground. "Let's see what you got."
I smiled and since it'd been years since I last snowboarded, I hoped I wasn't going to embarrass myself in front of Clayton.
Clayton went down backward, and looked up at me, waiting for me to come down.
I went down, carving through the fresh layer of snow, and glided past Clayton, turning around to look back at him.
"You're good," Clayton said. "Better than I expected."
"Were you expecting me to be bad?"
"Kind of," Clayton said jokingly.
I punched him on his shoulder and continued down the hill. Halfway down, I watched someone wipe out spectacularly. The man was really big and the hill seemed to shake a little when he fell. When I got closer, I realized it was Damon.
"Are you okay?" I asked him.
"Yeah, fine," Damon said. "Pretend you didn't see that."
I laughed. "If you say so."
When I got down the hill, I looked around for Clayton, wanting to see if he got down the hill before me. I felt someone tap my shoulder. Of course it was Clayton.
"Now that I've seen how good you are, I want to take you somewhere that I think you'll like," Clayton said. "Come with me."
Since there were so many people at the smaller hill, we'd lost the other guys. Although we all knew to meet at the chalet if we ever needed to.
Clayton and I got into one of the gondolas that brought us up to the tallest hill.
Being in such a tight space with Clayton made me feel tingly inside.
"You want to kiss me in here?" Clayton asked.
"Is this what you wanted to show me?"
Clayton laughed. "No, but I'm an opportunist, and this is the perfect opportunity to kiss you now that we're alone."
Clayton's offer was too tempting, and before I could answer him, Clayton put his hand against my thigh, and he leaned in for a kiss. Our lips were cold from being outside, but they quickly warmed up when we kissed.
Clayton slid his tongue inside my mouth, then he took off one of his gloves and he slid his hand up my many layers of clothing, squeezing my pecs.
"I'm surprised by how warm your hands are," I said.
"They're hand warmers," Clayton said, pulling one out from his glove. "Do you have any?"
I shook my head.
"Well, you can have mine," Clayton said.
"Do you have an extra set?"
"No, but I don't really need them, my hands get too warm."
"It's okay, I don't want your hands to be cold."
"Please," Clayton said. "Take them."
Clayton took off my gloves for me, and he put the hand warmers inside.
When I put the gloves back on, it felt like I was putting my hand next to a warm fire.
"Thank you," I said.
We got all the way up to the top of the double black diamond hill. The steepest and highest one in the resort.
It was less busy at this hill because of how challenging it was, but there were still quite a lot of people.
"Come this way," Clayton said.
"Where are we going?" I asked as I watched Clayton lead me toward the trees away from the slope.
"You'll see."
Clayton brought me through the forest at the top of the mountain. I was confused about where we were going until we reached the edge. There was no one on this side of the mountain.
"Put your board on," Clayton said.
"No way, you want to go down this side?" I asked, looking down the slope that was lined with trees. "It's not a marked path."
"That's the point," Clayton said. "It's called back-country snowboarding."
"They'll kick us out if they catch us," I said.
Clayton smiled. "They definitely will."
"How do I know it's even safe to go down? What if there's a huge cliff near the middle?"
"You may not know it's safe, but I do, and you've just got to trust me."
Clayton sat down and strapped his snowboard on. At that point, I had two choices, entertain his crazy idea and go down with him, or head back to where I knew it was safe."
I gulped, as Clayton continued to look at me with a smile, daring me to take that risk with him.
"I can't believe you're making me do this right now," I groaned, and sat down to put my board on."
"That's the spirit," Clayton said.
Right before we went down, Clayton kissed me hard on the lips.
"This may be our last kiss," Clayton said jokingly.
"Don't say that."
He laughed. "I'm just messing with you. We'll be fine."
Clayton went down first, and I had no choice but to follow him since there were so many trees, I didn't know what the safest route was. But I was impressed by how Clayton seemed like he'd gone down this mountain so many times. He carved past the various trees, making a path for me. My heart was beating so much faster, not knowing what kind of danger lay ahead. But I trusted Clayton.
"This is what snowboarding really is," Clayton said.
I smiled. Doing something like this made me feel young again. It was spontaneous and wild.
Halfway down, Clayton stopped abruptly, and I wasn't able to stop in time. I bumped into him and we fell a few feet down the hill. Thankfully it wasn't a steep part.
"Why'd you stop like that?" I asked as I was lying right on top of Clayton. We were both covered in snow.
"Brake checking you." Clayton laughed. "There's also a small dropoff we're about to get to, and I wanted to warn you."
"What? You didn't tell me this when we were up at the top."
"Had I told you, you might have changed your mind about coming down this way with me."
"I definitely would've."
Clayton took his glove off and brushed his hand across my face to dust the snow off. "Come on, take the risk with me."
I sighed, not knowing why Clayton was so damn good at convincing me to do things I'd never do.
"Let's hang out here for a second and just enjoy the scenery," I said.
We sat up and looked around us. We were completely surrounded by very tall trees and snow.
"It doesn't even feel like we're at a ski resort," I said.
"It's why I wanted to bring you here."
"Does Brayden know about this spot?"
"I think so. He was th
e one who showed me there were actually many ways to go down the mountain."
I smiled and Clayton leaned in for a kiss.
It was nice to get to spend that alone time with Clayton.
We got back up on our boards, and I took a deep breath, not knowing what Clayton meant by a small cliff. For all I knew, it could've been a very big drop. But I didn't have a choice, I had to trust Clayton at that point.
Clayton went down fast, and I had to catch up. As if it wasn't scary enough to be backcountry snowboarding, Clayton was going down at full speed.
All of a sudden, Clayton disappeared from view, and I realized he'd dropped down the cliff.
It all happened so quickly. Before I knew it, I was in the air. My adrenaline skyrocketed, and I scanned the ground beneath me to try and land safely. I heard Clayton let out a liberating scream, both his hands were in the air like he was riding a rollercoaster.
My board finally hit the ground again, and the snow cushioned my landing. I could finally breathe again, but my body was still pumping with adrenaline.
"You did it," Clayton said.
"I had no choice," I said.
"Would you do it again?"
I saw the enthusiasm on Clayton's face. His smile was contagious.
"With you, I will."
"That's the spirit."
From there, we snowboarded for a while to get to the bottom.
Clayton and I went up a few more times to go down the secret path. Each time, we went a little faster as I got familiar with the path. Each time, we stopped right before the cliff to share a kiss. I never thought I could have so much fun snowboarding with someone.
We were wiped out by midday, and we wondered where all the other guys were.
"I'm starving," Clayton said. "Should we go to the chalet and get some food?"
"Yeah, I'm craving poutine," I said.
"I'm craving burgers, and hotdogs... maybe even some ice cream."
"Ice cream? It's too cold for that."
"It's never too cold for ice cream."
We both laughed as we headed back to the chalet.
When we got there, we noticed Damon had tapped out early. We ordered some food and joined the guys who were seated next to a big window with a view of the mountain.
"Where did you guys go?" Damon asked me and Clayton. "None of us could find you guys."
Clayton and I looked at each other and smiled.
"Just up and down the mountain," Clayton said cryptically to Damon and winking at me.
19
Clayton
It was the last night with Westley. Our week had gone by so fast, and it was only at the end of it when I realized how beautiful this week had been, and how I wanted it to last forever.
I wanted to spend one last night in a room with him, but with so many people at my cottage, I knew it was going to be difficult.
There was the attic that no one except me knew how to get up to. I stored extra clothes and supplies up there. But it wasn't insulated, so it was much colder than the rest of the house.
Throughout the evening, I secretly brought sleeping bags and blankets up there, creating a makeshift bed on the wooden floor. I found some tea lights in a box and put them around the bed I'd created. When it was done, it looked like a glowing nest and quite cozy.
I hadn't been this romantic in a long time, and I was hoping Westley would be surprised when he saw what I'd created.
Later in the evening, when all the guys fell asleep and it was just Westley and me, I led him up the ladder to the attic.
"What in the world?" Westley asked.
I smiled, and wrapped my arms around him, kissing him gently on the temple.
"I wanted to spend the night with you tonight. Just you and me."
He smiled, and kissed me on the lips.
"This is perfect," he said.
I pulled the ladder up to the attic and closed the door.
20
Westley
I looked around the attic, stunned at everything Clayton had done to set the mood.
"I didn't know you were this romantic," I said.
Clayton laughed. "I didn't know either." He pulled out a bottle of wine he was holding behind his back.
"What's all this for anyway?" I asked.
"Well, seeing as how it's our last night at the cottage, I wanted to do something special."
I smiled. "It's definitely special, all right."
Clayton went over to an old dusty record player he had on the floor. It didn't even look like it worked, but when he turned it on, a classical song started playing.
Clayton walked over to the blankets and pillows he'd laid out on the floor. "Come and drink with me."
"Gladly," I said.
I sat down next to Clayton. I wanted to curl up against him because the attic was much colder than the rest of the house.
"This is all really unexpected," I said. "I feel... so special. Do you do this to every guy you're interested in?"
Clayton shook his head. "I... haven't been this interested in another man since my late husband. You should feel special, because you are to me."
His words warmed my heart. Clayton popped open the cork on the wine and took a sip straight from the bottle. He handed it over to me and I took a sip too.
"I want to talk to you about... us," he said, sounding incredibly nervous. Either he was cold too, or his voice was shaking because of his nerves. "But I'm not sure if it's too much, too soon."
"Tell me what's on your mind," I said, putting a hand on his thigh.
"Well, after this week together with you, I've realized something."
"What have you realized?"
"That... I really like you."
I smiled and tried to find the right words to say. I didn't want to lead Clayton on, knowing we only had one last night together. "I'm flattered. I... really like you too."
There was a brief moment of silence as Clayton locked eyes with me. I sensed that he had more to say.
"How much do you like me?" Clayton asked.
"Well, enough to have slept with you," I said. "Enough to have had all these new experiences with another man."
"But beyond the sex part, what do you think of me, as a person?"
"I think you're incredibly generous," I said. "I think you've raised your son well from what I can see, and I admire your entrepreneurial success."
"If I asked you... if you could ever see a future with me, what would you say?"
"I'd tell you... no."
"No?" Clayton asked, his eyes widening.
"I told you earlier this week that what happens here stays here. There's no way things would work when we go home to our separate lives."
"How are you so sure?" Clayton asked.
"I just know how busy I'll be, and how busy you'll be. We don't even live close to each other."
"But you don't know if we don't try."
I could see just how much he really liked me from how relentless he was. I took a deep breath.
"I just know, Clay. You had the pleasure of seeing me when I don't have to work. You got to see me at my best when I'm not stressed, when I can have these beautiful nights with you and not have to worry about being called into the hospital. But once I get back, I don't want you to see me at my worst. I don't want anyone to witness the mental breakdowns I have when I can't save a patient's life. I don't want you to have to wait for me to finish an overtime shift. It won't be fair to someone like you, someone who has such a big heart."
"What if I told you that I can endure all that? I can endure it and I will. What if I tell you that I've never loved a person so deeply in such a short amount of time, and that the feeling in my heart makes me know this is real."
"You really think you can handle me, all of me, at my worst?"
"Try me," Clayton said with a smile.
I couldn't help but kiss him at that moment. Despite what I'd just told him, Clayton was all in.
I put both my hands on Clayton's strong pecs, an
d he placed his hands on my sides. We kissed as I opened my mouth and Clayton's tongue slid inside. The cold attic got slightly warmer.
Clayton pulled back. "You're so incredibly handsome, it's ridiculous."
I smiled. "Says the most handsome man at this cottage."
"My son better not hear you say that."
"Well, he does share your genes."
We kissed again, this time Clayton groaned quietly as his hands moved down my ass, squeezing it. I moved on top of him slowly.
"I love you," Clayton whispered, without any hesitation.
"I... love you too, Clayton."
"I... want you to make love to me tonight," Clayton said. "But this time, I want you to fuck me."
"Really? But I thought... you were always the dominant one."
"I've always been the top. But I know you've dated women in the past, and if we're going to have a relationship, I'm sure you're going to want to top once in a while."
I moved my hands down to Clayton's ass, and the thought of being inside such a strong, muscular man made my cock throb.
"I thought you'd never let me," I said.
"Well, I'm all yours. I told you, Westley, I'm all in."
Clayton noticed my hard-on, and he moved my hands down my pants to stroke me. His warm hand felt so good as he jerked me off.
I closed my eyes and it almost felt like I was inside him.
Loving Clayton was a risk. As a surgeon, I was used to taking risks, but this was the biggest risk I'd taken in a long time. To love a man for the first time was something I never expected. But when I was with Clayton, the whole world felt right.
I took Clayton's pants off, and his cock shot out. He was already leaking precome. I ran my hands along his hairy thighs. I pressed Clayton's legs against his chest and started licking his hole. To see such a big man in such a vulnerable position was such a turn on. To know that Clayton was letting me fuck him even though he was a top, made it that much hotter.
Clayton's hole tasted surprisingly sweet, and as I drew circles around it, he squirmed and moaned.
"Fuck, Daddy," I said.
"I can't believe you just called me Daddy," he said with a smile.
"I can't believe it either. The only person I've ever called Daddy is... well, my own father."
CLAYTON (Single Dads Club Book 3) Page 7