by Alexa Land
When I shook my head, Kai said, “I was just about to grab us some food from the dining room. I’ll get you some, too.”
Izzy went along to help, and as soon as his daughter was out of earshot, Jessie grinned at me and asked, “Are there any condoms left?”
“Oh my God, I can’t even believe you did that!”
“It was mostly Nana’s doing. I mentioned your situation in passing, and she happened to have a friend who’s a pilot. She couldn’t resist making Operation Condom Drop a reality.” My brother looked thoroughly pleased with himself.
“Well, thanks. We used them to decorate the Christmas tree. The toothbrush came in handy, though.”
He frowned and asked, “Are you saying you didn’t sleep with that hottie?”
I rested my hand on the sleeping toddler’s back and shifted around on the couch as I said, “Since when have I ever been comfortable discussing my sex life?”
Jessie sighed as he tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. “Fine. You two are really cute together, though. Have you talked about how you’re going to make this work once you go back home?”
“We’re not.”
“What does that mean?”
I told him, “We both agreed that this is just going to be a weekend fling.”
“Oh, come on! I know you’re into him, and it’s obviously mutual.”
“He’s undeniably gorgeous, and I’ve never felt chemistry like that with anyone, but it just seems impossible. We both work long hours, and then there’s the 6-hour-round-trip commute between here and San Francisco—”
Jessie waved his hand dismissively. “Details.”
“Important ones!”
“It’s already more than a fling, Jed. I knew that as soon as I saw the two of you together. You just fit somehow.”
“Do we, though? We’re actually very different people. He doesn’t take anything seriously, and you know I’m the exact opposite. Wouldn’t we drive each other crazy?”
“Or maybe you’d balance each other perfectly.”
The toddler in my arms stirred a little as he soaked the front of my shirt with drool. I stroked his dark hair as I said, “It doesn’t matter anyway. Dakota doesn’t want this to turn into anything.”
“Are you sure?”
“He’s the one who brought up the subject and called it a fling.”
“Maybe he’s afraid of taking a chance,” he said, “and maybe you are, too. We both know you tend to be overly cautious.”
After a pause, I admitted, “The thought of never seeing Dakota again after I leave here feels like a punch in the gut, but you know what my life is like. How would I even find the time to date, let alone start a relationship?”
“If it’s meant to be, you’ll figure it out.”
“I don’t need platitudes, I need real advice.”
Jessie said, “I can’t tell you what to do.”
“Sure you can! You tell me what to do all the time, and you always have, ever since we were little!”
“Well yeah, if it’s something like ‘don’t wear that ugly sweater’ or ‘try taking a day off occasionally’. But only you know how you really feel about Dakota, and what you’re willing to do to make it work.”
I glanced at my brother and asked, “Which of my sweaters are ugly?”
“All of them. Would a pop of color kill you?”
Kai and Izzy returned with lunch, and I ate my sandwich while trying to avoid coating the baby in crumbs. Then Jessie went with Izzy to find some cookies, and Kai sat back in his club chair and grinned at me as he said, “So, you and Dakota, huh?”
“Your husband and I have already been over this.”
“I know, but I’m bored out of my mind, so humor me.”
“Here’s the highlight reel: he’s hot, I really like him, and it’d never work between us, even if distance and our work schedules weren’t factors.”
“Why won’t it work out?”
“We’re too different.”
“Because he’s super chill and you’re really not?”
“Basically.”
“But can you even imagine ending up with someone just like you? Trust me, you don’t want that. You need someone different enough to balance you out, who makes life interesting. That’s why Jessie and I work so well.”
I frowned and pointed out, “You’re like two sides of the same coin. How are you different?”
“We’re totally in sync now, but when Jessie and I first met, I was a single dad with a failing business and a daughter to raise, and I took everything way too seriously. It was more than that, actually. I was totally shut down,” he said, as he crossed his ankle over his knee.
“Jessie told me you two hated each other when you first met.”
“Oh, we did, and it wasn’t just because we were rivals on the drag racing circuit. You know I adore your brother, so take it with a grain of salt when I tell you he drove me insane back then. He was just so—”
“Peppy?”
Kai chuckled at that. “Exactly. He’s always been high energy and overflowing with enthusiasm, and at first, I didn’t realize that was exactly what I needed in my life. Now here we are, years later, and it’s not just that we balance each other out. It’s that—”
“I swear to God, if you say he completes you—”
“Dude, no. Although he does. But I’d never put it that way. I was just going to say something like, we both have skills that the other one doesn’t, but I wasn’t going to get all sappy about it.”
“Uh huh.”
My brother-in-law rolled his eyes, and then he said, “Anyway, I really believe there’s a lot to be said for ‘opposites attract’, and if you’re into this Dakota guy like I think you are, don’t use your differences as an excuse. He might actually be just what you need.”
“It’s funny. I never thought you’d be the type to give someone relationship advice.”
“Oh, I’m not. My general opinion is that people can work their own shit out, and what do I know anyway? But this is different, Jed. It’s important.”
“Why?”
“Honestly? Because you don’t seem happy, and that worries my husband. I don’t like seeing him upset, so I figure if I help you with a little nudge in the right direction, that could end up benefitting Jessie in turn.”
That surprised me, and I tried to explain it away with, “It’s not that I’m unhappy. I’m just tired a lot. I don’t really sleep, and with the hours I work…”
My voice trailed off, and Kai said, “You don’t owe me any explanations. I’m not saying Jessie and I are right, either. I’m just telling you what it looks like from the outside.”
Before I could reply, Jessie and Izzy returned with hot chocolate and cookies for all of us, along with a stack of board games. My niece told me, “We’re going to play ‘Sorry’ in teams, you and me against my dads, Uncle Jed. Try not to wake Ryder, because he’ll try to eat the game pieces.”
I ended up spending the rest of the day with Jessie, Kai, and the kids. When they went upstairs around nine, I thought about getting my laptop and doing some work, but I just couldn’t find the motivation. Instead, when I heard Dante asking if anyone had ideas for what to do that evening, I spoke up and said, “There’s a great, unpretentious bar less than half an hour from here. I noticed the hotel has a shuttle bus for taking guests to the ski resorts. Do you think we could bribe someone on the staff to take us out for a few drinks?”
Nana Dombruso was already on her feet. The petite dynamo was wearing a candy cane striped velour track suit, and she straightened her Santa hat with a look of determination as she exclaimed, “We’re going drinking, even if we have to declare a mutiny and hijack that shuttle bus!”
Fortunately, it didn’t come to that. After Dante slipped the lodge owners’ son a wad of cash, the twenty-two-year-old redhead was more than happy to take him anywhere he wanted to go. I gave him the address for Dakota’s bar and told the group I’d meet them there. Then I went into the dining
room and put together a plate of food before heading out in my SUV.
Dakota was alone in the bar when I arrived. He looked up from his magazine, and his face lit up as he said, “Hey! This is a nice surprise.”
“I brought you some dinner, but you’d better eat it fast, because the real surprise is on its way here.”
“What kind of surprise?”
“The kind that’s thirsty and sick of being stuck in a hotel.”
“You’re bringing me customers?”
“Yup. The family I told you about has been climbing the walls in this weather, so I just happened to mention this great local bar I knew about,” I said. “A few are staying behind to watch the kids, but about thirty or forty people will be arriving any minute.”
“I’ve never had that many customers all at once.”
“Hire me for the next five hours, and I’ll give you a hand.”
“You’re hired.”
I stepped around the bar and kissed him, and then I said, “Eat your dinner, and I’ll put up some drink specials. What do you have a lot of?”
“Beer. How did you know I hadn’t eaten?”
As he stuck the slab of lasagna into the microwave and took a bite of garlic bread, I said, “You told me you usually bring a sandwich to work. Today, you didn’t have a chance to pack any food, but I hope you found something to eat.”
“I had some peanuts. There’s a huge jar of them under the counter.”
“Well, that’s something anyway. What drinks would you consider your specialty?”
He said, “I’ve been told I make a mean Long Island iced tea.”
“Oh, I can definitely vouch for that. What do you charge for one of those?”
“Four bucks.”
“Well, tonight they’re on special for five, and you should really consider raising your regular price to six dollars, given how much alcohol is in one of those.”
I pulled a chalkboard off the wall and wrote on it as he said, “You’re jacking up the prices? I thought you liked these people.”
“Oh, I do. I like you too, and that’s why I don’t want to see you selling yourself and your products short. Believe me, five bucks is a good deal, especially compared to San Francisco prices.”
“Well, okay.”
“Did you do something different with the cocktail you made for me? It seemed particularly good.”
“I played with the ratios and added a splash of orange liqueur.”
“Perfect. Make them just like that, and let’s call them a Long Island Lumberjack.”
He grinned at me and asked, “Sure, but why the name change?”
“Local color. Let’s come up with a couple more.”
By the time the party shuttle pulled up about fifteen minutes later, Dakota had finished his dinner and we’d thought of three more drink specials. Dante’s cousin Rachel led the charge, and when she reached the bar and asked what was good, Dakota camped it up with, “You want what we all want sister, a big, sexy lumberjack that’s strong enough to make you forget your own name.” He pointed at the specials board, and she giggled at that, then ordered eight of them for herself and the rest of the ladies in her party.
As I lined up eight glasses for Dakota and scooped ice into them, he said, “You’ve done this before.”
“I worked three jobs at a time when I was in school, including waiting tables and occasionally bartending at the alumni club. I’ve forgotten most of the recipes by now, but I have you for that part.” Dakota kissed my forehead before turning his attention to filling the drink orders.
For the next three hours or so, the alcohol flowed freely, the family ran up a huge tab, and Nana danced with her husband until they both fell asleep in one of the booths. Finally, around one a.m., Dante paid the tab and said, “Thanks for everything you two, this was great. I’m going to get Nana and my drunk-ass cousins back to the hotel. We’ll see you at breakfast, right?”
“We’ll be there.”
After we said good night and the family made their way to the waiting shuttle bus, Dakota turned to me and exclaimed, “Dante left us a two hundred dollar tip! And did you see the size of that tab? I don’t make that in a month!”
“What a great night! Tending bar at the alumni club was never this much fun.”
He drew me into an embrace and kissed me before saying, “Go sit down while I run a couple of loads of glasses through the dishwasher. We probably won’t have any more customers tonight, so I’m going to get a jump on cleaning up.”
“I’ll help.”
He tried to talk me out of it, but I went to work wiping down the tables while he took care of the glasses. Next, he wrote up a notice with his holiday hours and posted it on the door, and then he opened the register and tried to hand to me all the cash as he said, “I’ll pay you the rest of what I owe you after I go to the bank tomorrow.”
“You don’t owe me any money.”
“Sure I do. I’m splitting the profit from tonight fifty-fifty.”
“Nope. I helped out because I wanted to, not because I expected to get paid.”
“Still, though.”
I said, “If you want to give me something, I do have one request.”
“Anything. Just name it and it’s yours.”
“When we get back to our hotel room, I want to call all the shots.”
Dakota flashed me a big smile. “That sounds kinky, and I’m totally in.”
The first order of business when we returned to the lodge was to dote on the surprisingly mellow cat, who was curled up in his new bed. Then I told Dakota, “In ten minutes, take off your clothes and meet me in the bathroom.”
By the time he joined me, I’d drawn a bath and was sitting on the edge of the tub in just my briefs, while music played from my phone. After he lowered himself into the steaming water, he asked, “Will you be joining me?”
“Actually, I have something else in mind.”
He seemed surprised when I picked up some body wash and started to bathe him, but he went along with it. I took my time, running my soapy hands over every part of him before shampooing his hair. After that, I let him soak for a while, and when the water started to cool, he got out of the tub and I dried him off. Then I took his hand and led him to the bed as I said, “Please get comfortable on your stomach, so I can give you a massage.”
“You don’t have to keep doing stuff for me.”
“Remember how you agreed I’d get to call the shots?”
He nodded at that and then did as I asked. I straddled his hips and rubbed some lotion between my palms before going to work on his back and shoulders. It made me happy when he murmured, “Oh wow, that feels wonderful.”
I worked my way down his body, skimming my hands over his ass before massaging each leg in turn, followed by his feet. When I asked him to roll over, I discovered he had a hard-on, which made both of us grin. I applied a little more lotion to my hands and worked on his thighs before running my tongue up the length of his shaft. He drew a sharp breath, and his cock twitched as I wrapped my lips around it.
Even though I wasn’t all that experienced, I could tell when he really liked something by the sounds that slipped from him. I put everything I had into that blow job, using my lips and hands and tongue to make him feel good, and in a few minutes, he moaned and shot into my mouth. I felt his body shake beneath me, and he threw his head back and rocked his hips as he came. It was deeply gratifying to know I was the cause of all that pleasure.
Afterwards, we shifted around and curled up under the thick, warm duvet. Dakota put his head on my chest, and I rubbed his back as he said, “Nobody ever took care of me like that, with the bath and the massage, even the way you’re holding me right now.”
“It’s how you deserve to be treated, Dakota.”
He looked up at me with some sort of strong emotion in his dark eyes, and I cupped his cheek and kissed him. Then he returned his head to my chest and said, very quietly, “Thank you for making me feel like I matter.” That
made my heart ache.
He fell asleep a few minutes later, and I watched him for a while. Then I slipped out of bed, sat in front of the fireplace with my feet tucked under me, and went to work on the gift I was knitting for him. It was important to me to get it done before I left.
That gift would keep him warm and make him comfortable. In other words, it would take care of him when I couldn’t. It was a piece of me I could leave behind, so he wouldn’t forget me.
When the cat jumped up on the chair and settled in beside me, I ran a hand over his soft fur. Then I pushed down the flood of emotions that had welled up in me and concentrated on finishing Dakota’s present.
The next morning was as gray and rainy as the one before it. After I took a shower and we both got dressed, we spent some time with the cat and sipped coffee in front of the fireplace. We had a lot to do that day, but we decided to enjoy our morning first.
Eventually, we joined everyone for brunch in the dining room, which was decorated with clusters of skinny Christmas trees that sparkled with white lights. Izzy immediately bonded with Dakota. After we ate, she dragged him off to play freeze tag with some of Dante’s nephews, while I and the rest of her family lingered at the table. I had to grin as I watched them. Dakota was upbeat and animated, and he kept trying to make the kids laugh with his exaggerated poses.
A few minutes later, Nana came up to me and said, “That’s a hell of a man right there.” She adjusted the red and white striped cuffs of her green velour track suit and added, “I couldn’t help but notice the way you two kept making goo-goo eyes at each other when we were at the bar last night, and I hope you’re planning to hold on to him, Jed.”
Since I had no idea what to say to that, I went with, “I’ve only known him for three days.”
“What difference does that make? Every great relationship in the history of great relationships was three days old at one point.”
“That’s true. But his life is here, and mine’s in San Francisco.”