Couldn’t be… Could it?
End of Part 1
Chapter Five
Jess Bilson finished the brief she was working on and sat back in her comfortable office chair to have a mini celebration. She hated typing up legal briefs; it was by far the most tedious and time consuming facet of being an attorney. She could have had a legal aid or paralegal do it, but truthfully most of them did not have the experience and expertise to do it properly. You would think that was something they were supposed to be taught while obtaining their degree, but it seemed that more and more of them developed amnesia when it came to this menial and boring chore.
She was fairly certain that when their employer asked them to do a brief, most paralegals slopped it up so they would never be asked to do it again. Jess wasn’t sure why the incompetents were not just fired and solid replacements put in their place. But then again it had come to the point that so many of them had chucked this vital part of the job that now it was almost impossible to find one that was able to turn in a solidly researched and well written brief.
She picked the document up from the printer and smiled with satisfaction. That was one of the best parts of the job; the feeling of accomplishment she got after she had done some exhausting chore she hated. Now she was prepared for the next day in court.
Jess’ mind was now free to think about other things, besides a Netflix binge and several cups of hot tea—like the rock that had crashed through Alex Mathers’ window on their date the other day. She could not get the fear out of her mind and the loud crashing noise as the brick exploded through the window and sailed mere inches from her head. If it had hit her she might have been killed.
And she couldn’t understand Alex’s somewhat cavalier manner in dealing with the whole thing. How was it that nothing ever rattled the man? She could tell that he was very angry. He had that look in his eyes. His eyes were normally very sexy and she could find herself lost in them for days at a time, but that night there had been a darkness in them and a coldness in his face as he said he knew who threw the brick.
Jess’ first thought had been Dean. She was afraid she had started a bit of a rivalry between the two men, and while it was flattering that they were fighting over her, she really did not want to start a war between two alpha males. It was bad for the business they owned and had built together. She certainly never wanted to come between two friends.
But she had to admit a part of her found the whole thing exciting. It was very much the same sort of excitement that little girls dreamed about when they were planning their wedding to prince charming. That was the fantasy; to have several strong men fighting for your affections and waiting to see which one you would choose.
She realized it was childish and it was now starting to get out of hand. She needed to put a stop to it soon, but she was conflicted; she had no idea which man she wanted to pursue or even if she wanted to pursue anyone. She had done so well by just being by herself and focusing on her career for so long that it was tempting to tell them both that she wasn’t interested. It sounded so easy.
So, why couldn’t she bring herself to say it? Why couldn’t she bring herself to make a decision on this? Jess had always been proud of her ability to quickly make a decision based on instinct and to stand firmly behind it and accept the consequences, good or bad. She wasn’t used to being indecisive. So, why was she having this problem now?
It was all starting to have an effect on her work and her sleep. She had never been one to sleep much, but now the sleep she was having was so interrupted that she found herself tossing and turning and waking up every forty-five minutes to an hour. When she had to drag herself out of bed, it was a huge chore. She was used to bouncing up out of bed, ready to take on the world. She missed that version of herself.
What if it wasn’t Dean?
That thought had also crossed her mind. She had wondered about that woman who had accosted her in the restroom at the restaurant on her first date with Alex. That woman was clearly out of her mind and she could have thrown the brick or had someone throw the brick for her. Throwing a brick that hard and that far was not easy. It required someone with a certain amount of physical strength. The woman did not appear to be that powerful, physically, but Jess had heard that the mad often possessed great strength. When the adrenaline was flowing it was not impossible for ninety-five pound women to lift cars up off of their children. It was an idea that scared her to death. Did Alex really have that many enemies?
Then there was Dean. There was so much about him she didn’t know, but he seemed so much more down to earth than Alex. Was he really that sweet? Or did he have a dark side that he easily hid from view?
Jess packed up her things and started to leave for the night. She had just passed Dean’s office when he called out to her. She wondered if he wanted to have another in-office rendezvous. That was not happening tonight. She had given in because the idea excited her, but to do it here again was just a bit tacky and Jess hated repeating herself; she had to do enough of that in court.
She walked into his office to find him diligently at work, although most would not know it to look at him. He was sitting with his feet up on his desk, the computer’s keyboard resting on his lap, drinking a glass of whiskey, and watching a news program on his flat screen plasma TV that was mounted to the wall. It was almost as good as being home, she thought.
“Hey, Dean. How are you?”
“I wanted to ask you that same thing. Alex told me about what happened the other night. That’s insane,” Dean said.
“Yeah. It ranks right up there on my list of most shocking things that have happened to me.”
“Do you believe Alex actually vaguely implied that I might be behind it?”
Jess paused a moment, unsure of how to answer. She didn’t want him to know that she’d had a lot of the same thoughts.
“I swear I felt like decking the guy. How crazy is that?”
“It’s pretty crazy,” Jess said.
“Well, I just wanted to make sure that he hadn’t put weird ideas into your head. I know you are a lot more level-headed than he is, but I was just checking in with you. And I wanted to make sure that you weren’t too traumatized by what happened.”
“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me,” Jess said.
“That is great. So, other than that, how have you been? How is the Jones case coming along?”
“It’s fine. I’m fine. I’ve been working hard on it and I think it’s going to turn out ok.”
Dean looked at her for a moment without saying anything as if trying to size her up for something.
“What are you doing this weekend?” He finally asked, refilling his whiskey glass.
“Nothing much, probably just work.”
“You are so boring,” Dean joked. “You have to get out more. We appreciate how hard you work, but you have to put 'living' in there somewhere, too.”
“Well, you can’t have it both ways. Either you want me to rock out in court or you want me to have fun,” Jess said. She realized that it had come out a bit snottier than she had intended.
“Right you are,” Dean said. She was unsure which he was referring to or which way he preferred her to go. “But this weekend I was hoping you would accompany me to my cabin up North in Chesterville.”
“What?” Jess asked. He was asking her to go away with him for the weekend?
This was all coming very fast and she was almost offended at the gall that he had, but she was also a bit attracted to it. He had a way of making the ridiculous and absurd sound perfectly plausible. That was why he was so good.
“Yeah. I want you to go away with me for a romantic weekend. They have a great ski lodge not far from my cabin up there and I was intending on doing some skiing and maybe some snowboarding. Do you ski? Or snowboard?”
Jess swallowed hard.
“Yes, I do ski. I haven’t done any snowboarding though.”
“Well, it’s no big thing; I’ll teach you.”
>
“I’m sure you will, but I don’t think I can blow off work to run away with you for the weekend.”
“You can bring your work with you; I will as well. That way we can both work and play. It’s kind of my mantra.”
Jess smiled. The guy was so slick. It was almost impossible to say no to him. It had been forever since she had been away anywhere for a weekend. And the thought of hitting the slopes again sounded like a blast. She used to go skiing all the time with friends from her sorority when she was in college.
“Ok. I’ll go.”
Dean smiled and gave himself a chuckle. “Great. I can’t wait.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Dean.”
“Goodnight, sexy.”
Jess tried to hide the excitement in her walk as she stepped out of Dean’s office and walked down the hall. The more she thought about it, the more amazing it sounded. It was all very romantic and sweet. She planned to get some work done, but she planned to get more play done than work. That meant she had to pull a couple of all-nighters over the next few days, which wouldn’t be too hard; she was totally used to that.
There were some things in life worth making sacrifices for.
Chapter Six
Jess was in shock at the size of the “cabin” that Dean owned in Chesterville. It was actually a two story log cabin-type house, which he’d obviously had custom made. It had four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a huge kitchen and large dining room—complete with a long table that was capable of seating twelve, a sauna, a billiard room with a beautiful pool table, a dartboard, and a poker table. And Jess’ favorite—a big Jacuzzi on an enclosed deck outside.
After Dean gave her the nice tour, they decided to waste no time in hitting the slopes. Jess had not skied in a few years, but she heard it was very much like riding a bike, where you never really forgot how. She doubted this was completely true. She had not ridden a bike since she was ten and if she got on one now she would no doubt get hurt and have to relearn everything all over again. But she was no coward and she was ready to get out there and rock out. Plus she didn’t want to look like a geek in front of Dean.
“God, it’s great to be back out here,” Dean said as he prepared to get set up for his first launch.
Jess had to agree. The crisp air and the snow beneath her feet felt very familiar. The air tasted and breathed so much easier than the city air she was used to and it felt so refreshing to be out among nature and to get back in touch with human roots.
“You want to go first?” Dean asked.
“No, I’ll let you. I don’t want to get in your way,” Jess said.
“No problem,” Dean replied.
He started his ascent down the mountain. Jess was impressed at the masterful way that he held his skis under control, letting the momentum take him where he needed to go and moving his body just ever so slightly along with it. She found herself laughing at the rush that had to be going through Dean’s body right now. She wanted to go so badly, but she was a bit terrified. Would her body remember how to do everything? Would she crash into a tree? She guessed there was only one way to find out.
She pushed off and began to move downhill. Her skis found the snow and began to cut through it and pick up momentum. Within seconds her body found the groove and everything came flooding back to her. The cold air whipped against her face, but not in a punishing way. It was very sweet actually, like the cold lips that belonged to a good friend, but warmed as they brushed the skin.
Her heart was beating fast in her chest, increasing with the increase in speed. She thought about slowing down, but the rush was too great and she found herself wishing that she could go faster. She pushed harder, even though it was against her better judgment.
She could see Dean waiting for her at the bottom, having just finished his run. He was clapping and cheering her on. She was laughing so hard from the giddy feelings rushing through her body that it was affecting her stability slightly. She tried to calm down a little bit, but to no avail. She just wanted to ski.
She finished the run and came to a stop without stumbling or falling over. She considered that to be a huge accomplishment. Dean rushed to her and wrapped her in his arms.
“Way to go!” Dean said.
“Wow! That felt so great. I can’t believe I’ve stayed away from it for so long,” Jess said.
“That’s what being a workaholic does to you,” Dean said. “You have to take a few minutes out to enjoy life sometimes.”
Jess was starting to agree with him. She wondered about all of the other things that she was missing out on.
As they walked over to get on the lift Dean grabbed her hand in his, even through the ski gloves it was nice, even if it was a bit weird. But that was Dean; he was not afraid to do awkward or insane things to have fun. She loved that about him.
They sat down on the lift and enjoyed the ride back up the mountain. Jess had forgotten what this view was like and how it felt to ride so high up above everything. It really put the scope of the world into focus. The world was so beautiful and Jess was so glad she had accepted Dean’s invitation.
They hopped off the lift, and once again Jess was impressed with her own ability to stay on her feet, and then she prepared for another run. This time they decided they were going to go together. It would be more fun that way. Jess was determined to beat Dean down the mountain. He was going to eat her dust. And maybe later he will eat something else of mine, she thought. She was surprised at how extreme and exhilarating things always turned her on. It was weird, but she was happy to embrace her weirdness sometimes.
“Hey, you got room for one more?”
Jess couldn’t believe it.
Alex Mathers came up behind them right then. She had to do a double take. It was so surreal that he was there right then and there.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Dean asked through gritted teeth.
“Good to see you too, buddy,” Alex said.
Dean, realizing that he had allowed his anger to shine through turned on a charming smile and tried to recant. “This is a hell of a surprise, man.”
“I know, right?”
Jess wanted to hug him, but she did her best to restrain herself from mauling the man. She looked between him and Dean. It was so odd that both of them were here right now and she wondered how this was going to go down. She was Dean’s date for the weekend. Had Alex come up here to interfere? Did he just want to spy on them and make himself an awkward third wheel?
“You just happened to be in the neighborhood?” Jess asked.
Alex laughed. “No, I heard you guys were coming up here, and it sounded like a great plan. I haven’t been up here for a few months. It’s been too long. I was starting to go a little stir crazy back home.”
“You just came up here by yourself on a whim?” Dean asked, trying to hide his condescending manner. Jess noticed he wasn’t doing a good job of that. She had to laugh at it.
“No, I brought a date. She was right behind me,” Alex said.
“You lost her already? Guess you need a tighter leash,” Dean said.
“Now boys, play nice,” Jess said, goading the situation. She knew it was wrong to pour gas on an open flame, but she was finding the whole thing hard to resist. It was so hot having two sexy men fighting over her. She wanted to see this date of Alex’s. It was cute how he was trying to make her jealous and ruin her date with Dean all at the same time. It was like something she would see on a soap opera, only with better dialogue.
“I may have,” Alex replied.
A few seconds later a woman appeared in the distance behind him, moving across the snow. She was pretty and Jess immediately felt a twinge of jealousy as the woman grabbed hold of Alex’s waist and leaned in close to him. Chelsea had long blonde hair, and curves for days. She reminded Jess of a younger and sexier version of Pam Anderson. Even in a ski suit the woman looked stunning. Jess instantly hated her and it made her intensely angry to see the woman pawing at Alex that way. She wanted
to rip the bitch’s hair out, but she held it together. If Alex wanted to play that way, then that was fine with her.
Alex introduced Chelsea to Dean and Jess. Jess did her best polite “nice to meet you” smile, and Chelsea did the same. Both women secretly glared at each other. The animosity was not hard to feel, but Jess wondered why Chelsea felt animosity towards her. It was unlikely that Alex had told Chelsea that he was also dating Jess. Was it just something the other woman felt intuitively? Jess herself had always had that ability, but she had not known it to be a common thing for all women to have. Chelsea was probably just a typical stuck up princess who secretly hated all women, and was intimidated by any attractive woman being near her man. Jess was used to the syndrome. If the bitch so much as looked at her cross eyed she was going to take her down a peg.
But if she did that she would be playing right into Alex’s game. He wanted to make her jealous and make her realize that she could easily lose him, or worse yet, that she did not have any real designs on him to begin with. That wasn’t news to Jess; she and Alex had not made any commitments to each other.
“Well, let’s get this party started,” Alex said.
“Ready when you are,” Dean replied.
“I agree,” Jess chimed in.
Chelsea didn’t say anything, but she got her game face on anyway. They all got settled in and then without a hitch they were off, racing down the mountain. Jess found that the second run was even easier for her than the first. She wasn’t sure if it was just practice and everything coming back to her, or if it was the thrill of the competition.
Dean and Alex were off to a strong start in front of Jess and Chelsea. Jess expected this and she wasn’t even trying to race either one of them, but she wanted to beat Chelsea. There was an unspoken feud between them. Even though a simple ski race meant nothing in the long run, it was somehow becoming a symbol in Jess’ mind. Alex and Dean both wanted to be with a winner, and if she didn’t win this ski race then she was going to lose points in both of their eyes. She knew it somehow, although the whole thing sounded ridiculous.
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