by Roz Marshall
"You askin'?"
"I'm askin'.'"
"Then I'm dancin'." She laughed that he knew the lines from a cult seventies sitcom. Maybe we've more in common than just skiing. Then she remembered that Colin was a boarder. Snow, then.
After the lively 'Dashing White Sergeant', Debbie felt rather flushed and out of breath, and flopped into her seat beside Colin with a sigh. "I thought I was getting fit, what with all the skiing I'm doing!"
"Skiing fitness doesn't always carry through to other, um, activities," he said, with a lift of his eyebrows.
"Mmmm," she said, taking a slurp of her drink, "so I'm discovering."
"So, what d'you do when you're not teaching? I never see you out in the town."
"Oh, we mostly go out in White Cairns — The Rowan is pretty good, and it saves anyone driving."
He made a pained face. "That must be so boring. All the action is down here!" He pointed round the room. "I mean, tonight's pretty tame in comparison, but there's an eighties night every Friday, and clubbing at the weekend. And, um," he gave her a meaningful look, "we make our own entertainment as well!"
She was sure her face had started to flush at that last comment, and she dropped her head so that he wouldn't see, pretending to rub at something on her knee. Hot breath on her ear startled her, and she almost flinched as he briefly put an arm round her shoulders and whispered, "I'll just go get us some more drinks, and then we'll have another dance?"
-::-
Several drinks and several dances later, Debbie had loosened up enough in Colin's company that she'd let him put his arm around her whilst they chatted in-between dances. She hadn't remembered him being funny when they'd originally met, on the interview day, but more and more she found herself giggling at his comments and warming to him. He's pretty good fun. And he seems to like me.
They were talking about their experiences of going to the gym, and Colin put her at arm's length for a moment to look at her. "Yeah, I can tell you work out." He put a hand around her bicep and squeezed, then raised his eyebrows appreciatively. "What about your legs?" he asked, and put his hand on her quadriceps. "Man! Feel those quads," he said, caressing her thigh. He slid his other arm back around her shoulders, but kept his hand on her leg, slowly stroking and massaging her muscles.
Debbie felt a catch in her stomach, and a tingling feeling between her legs. Is this what it feels like? Turning her head towards him, she realised that he was incredibly close, so close that she couldn't really focus on his face; so close that when he leaned in and kissed her, he hardly had to move at all.
For a moment, she was shocked, surprised that someone would want to kiss her; but then instinct kicked in and she found herself responding, moving her head in rhythm with his, and opening her mouth as his tongue probed insistently. For a minute or so she experimented, running the tip of her tongue along his teeth, winding it around his, retracting it as he thrust deep inside her mouth. But a sudden pain made her aware of his hand, which had moved northwards and was now pressing between her legs, pushing hard and rubbing inexpertly but imperiously. At the same time she realised that her face was quite wet, where his lips had tracked around her mouth and chin, and the spell was broken.
She sat up, pushing him away and getting unsteadily to her feet. "Sorry," she said, "I need the loo," pulled her bag over her shoulder and took a couple of steps towards the Ladies’ before she stopped, feeling dizzy. Is this the effect a snog has on me? Maybe I'd better get some fresh air. Concentrating on where she was putting her feet, she slowly made her way down the corridor until she reached the main door and pushed outside. A couple of Lifties were standing in the entrance-way, smoking and arguing about football, so she walked around the side and leaned her hands on a low wall whilst she got her breath back.
A murmur of noise from inside the hotel caught her attention, and then she heard footsteps, doors opening, and people spilling outside. Bagpipes started playing somewhere in the distance, and she squinted at her watch. Is it midnight? More and more people were piling out of the hotel and tramping down the short path to the village square. A stray firework went off overhead, and Debbie found herself stumbling unsteadily down the lane with the other revellers, and thronging into the central square, as raucous voices started to shout the seconds remaining until midnight, and more fireworks exploded in the sky above.
The frosty air caught in her lungs, and she shivered, wishing she'd stopped long enough to grab her jacket before she left the warmth of the hotel. As she started to pull up the zip on her fleece, it was as if the thought had conjured a guardian angel, and she felt warm arms going around her from behind, and Colin's breathy voice in her ear. "Happy new year, sexy lady!"
-::-
He turned her to face him, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him into a long kiss as the Hogmanay countdown concluded.
The crowd started cheering and a bell started to toll somewhere nearby, its peal echoing around the featureless concrete buildings that architects had favoured in the nineteen-sixties when they'd built the resort. Its reverberations seemed to thrum through her head, making it difficult to think, but her senses were working overtime, as Colin's hand circled a buttock, pressing her hips into his and making her aware of the bulge in his crotch. Is that his— thing? His other hand wormed its way under her fleece and then under her t-shirt, as his lips pressed insistently over hers. Then her breath caught in her throat as she felt his hand move over her bra, pull the fabric down and pinch her nipple.
"Ow!" she exclaimed involuntarily, pulling back from him and starting to flush with embarrassment, but he turned her and pushed her against a wall, pinning her with his hips and pulling her breast free from the bra cup as he did so. She began to feel dizzy again as she felt his mouth sucking on her breast, his tongue flicking her nipple, and his hardness grinding rhythmically against her thigh. It's not meant to be like this, she thought woozily, why am I letting him do this to me? Then pain flared through her head again as she felt his teeth bite her nipple, and she yelped in agony.
Suddenly strong hands were pushing him aside, and she heard a familiar voice saying, "That's no way to treat a lady, you idiot, can you no tell you're hurting her?" She fell back against the wall, pulling her t-shirt down, and through blurry eyes saw Callum squaring up to Colin, who balled his fists aggressively. But something in the set of Callum's jaw must've quelled Colin's raging hormones, and he backed off, breathing hard, then grunted, "Happy New Year to you, too," before turning on his heel and disappearing into the crowd.
Soft leather brushed against her face as Callum pulled her to his shoulder, and she slumped into him with relief. "Are y'okay?" he whispered, and she just nodded into his jacket, not trusting her voice.
"Poor thing," he murmured, "that guy's a creep."
"Yeah."
He gave her a quick hug, and kissed her forehead. "C'mon, let's get you home. My car's just round the corner."
-::-
"I didn't think you drank, Debbie?" said Callum, glancing across at her as he buckled into the drivers' seat.
"I don't."
"But," Callum was confused, "how come you're the worse for wear, then?"
"I was only drinking orange juice all night. I jus' feel a bit dizzy. Mus' be all the dancin'."
Callum leaned across towards the passenger seat, and was saddened when he saw her flinch. He raised his hands. "I'm not going to touch you, just wanted to check if I could smell booze on you." A thought occurred to him. "Who bought your drinks tonight? Was it one of us? Or Colin?"
That seemed to take a moment's concentration. "I got the firs' one. And then Colin was buying me drinks. Cheap CostPrice oh-jay from a carton. Wasn't very nice but I was thirsty with all the dancin'."
Callum sat back and shook his head. "I think he spiked your drinks. Vodka, probably, you can't really taste that. You've been drinking vodka and orange all night. No wonder you feel dizzy."
In the reflected light from the streetlamp outside, he cou
ld see her eyes widen, and an incredulous look crossed her face. "Y'mean I'm drunk?" She sounded shocked at the idea.
"More tipsy than drunk, I'd say. But the sooner we get you home to bed, the better."
-::-
Debbie found herself dozing on the journey back, lulled by the hum of the engine and the soothing celtic music CD that was playing through the car stereo. Her thoughts were filled with fragments of conversations, fleeting feelings and fractured images from the evening.
Memories of spinning with Ben, the world around her a blur and just Ben's face filling her vision, where she'd felt like Rose in 'Titanic' as she spiralled around Jack in the third-class knees-up. Memories of the validation she'd felt as Colin had started to kiss her for the first time. Memories of the jostling crowd, selfish and uncaring in their desperation to leave the old year behind and to greet the boundless possibilities of the new year. Memories of Spock on the dance floor with his two left feet and his goofy smile. Marty's desire to go dancin' and paaaar-tay! Callum's vibrator going off. Her pain as she was pawed by Colin. The intoxicating smell of leather from Callum's jacket when he rescued her. Julie's anger at being passed over for the blonde. Zoë scoffing at her book, and her disparaging remarks about Debbie needing 'a real man'.
A real man. A real man! Zoë's right, for once.
I need to find someone who likes me for me, not a creep like Colin who just wants to get me into bed. Someone who cares about me as a person, and doesn't see me just as some sex-object for his own pleasure. She felt her cheeks starting to turn pink as she remembered Colin's rough hands on her naked skin. Why did I let him do that to me?
The car scrunched to a halt in the driveway outside the house they rented in White Cairns and, as if he had read her thoughts, Callum turned to her and said, solemnly, "Debbie, you mustn't blame yourself for what happened tonight. Colin's a toad, and he gives decent men a bad name. He'd never have had a chance with you if he hadn't spiked your drinks," he looked at her earnestly, "you know that, don't you?"
She nodded, feeling small.
"And he knew it too, which is why he tried to get you drunk."
"Thanks," she said, reaching out and touching his hand briefly.
"Now, Doctor Callum prescribes a long drink of water, to dilute the alcohol, and then bed for you, madam!" he said, leaping out of the car and hurrying round to open the passenger door for her.
-::-
The light spilling into the bedroom from the hallway lent an ethereal glow to Debbie's sleeping form. Her eyelashes flickered ever-so-slightly, and Callum wondered if she was dreaming. I hope she's having nice dreams, after such a rotten evening.
He knelt down beside her bed, and slowly, gently, ran the back of a finger down the curve of her jaw, gazing at her face and drinking in her features in a way he never dared to do while she was awake. She's so pretty it makes my heart hurt. And yet she doesn't think she's beautiful. Silently, he shook his head.
Her nose had a scattering of freckles, caressed into being by the sun during her days in the mountains, and he couldn't resist leaning over and planting a tiny kiss on the end of it. Her lips, too full by modern standards, were like intoxicating delicacies in a confectioners' shop to him, like the finest creations just waiting to be tasted, and savoured, and honoured. "G'night, sweetness," he whispered, and slowly, softly, kissed her lips.
As he drew back, a sleepy arm came around his shoulders, and she lifted her chin and found his mouth. It was like nectar, candy-floss and crème brûlée all at the same time, so delicious and wonderful that he thought his heart would burst out of his chest. His arms went around her and he kissed her, and kissed her, and kissed her, wanting her to know how he felt, to know that there were some decent guys to be had, even if they weren't as tall or as good-looking as Colin, wanting her to know how it felt to be treated with respect, as someone to be cherished and loved, not used and forgotten like yesterday's newspaper. He felt his chest constrict, and drew back with a shuddering breath, slowly opening his eyes.
A small smile played on Debbie's lips, which were slightly parted and flushed in the aftermath of their embrace. But her eyes were closed and her features smooth in the relaxation of unconsciousness. Disappointment suffused him for a moment. She's still asleep.
But then he remembered how wonderful it had felt to finally hold her and to kiss her, and he felt sure that it would happen again. I'll just have to hang in there. One day she'll see beyond the pretty-boy faces of the likes of Marty or Colin and realise that she needs someone who really likes her, not a guy who's only after a trophy or a tally on his bedpost. And when that day comes, I'll be waiting, I'll be there for her.
A stray tear trickled down Debbie's cheek, and his heart caught again as he reached out and softly brushed it away. I'll be there for you, Debbie.
-::-
In Debbie's dream, the hogmanay fireworks exploded overhead as a tall, dark stranger swept her into his arms and kissed her with an intensity and passion that emptied her head of all conscious thought and left her feeling breathless and dissolute.
As he disappeared once more into the night, leaving her alone and yearning, she became aware that something momentous had happened in her life; something that was now lost to her, perhaps never to be found again. One day, I'll find a real man who will love me like that. She felt a tear squeeze out of the corner of her eye. But for now I'll just have to make do with my dreams.
A note from the author
Thank you for reading, and I hope you have enjoyed this short story from White Cairns Ski School.
I'd really appreciate it if you could write a simple review of the book, even if it's only a line or two. Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed, and such a small percentage of readers take the time to do so that every review I get really matters.
If you enjoyed this book and would like a free short story from the White Cairns series, and to hear about upcoming releases and special offers, please sign up for my email list:
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About the author
Roz lives in Scotland with her husband and the obligatory dog and cat. She has been writing since childhood, including screenwriting, songwriting, web pages and even sentiments for greeting cards!
The White Cairns novellas are written from experiences she had whilst working as a ski instructor in various Scottish ski resorts and slopes - they do say you should 'write what you know'!
Website: www.rozmarshall.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rozmarshallauthor
In this series:
The White Cairns Ski School books, in chronological order:
Episode 1, "Winter Arrives"
Short Story 1, "Skiing with Santa"
Short Story 2, "A Dream for Hogmanay"
Episode 2, "Fear of Falling"
Episode 3, "My Snowy Valentine"
Episode 4 should be published in Spring 2014.
The books are available as eBooks from all major online booksellers, and will also be available in paperback format very soon.