“Where are the waves? The half-naked chiseled men showing off their torsos? The frozen margaritas and the sunscreen lotion? This is for middle-aged people, Erin!” Alicia drained her own hot chocolate into her mouth and sighed. Erin couldn’t help but smile, her best friend had always had a knack for drama.
“You haven’t even given it a chance yet, Alicia. We’ve been here exactly what? Ten hours? And you’re making it sound like we’ve been stuck here forever. Besides, I’m nursing a broken heart and should be made to feel warm and comforted.” Erin pouted her lips. If Alicia knew how to exaggerate her misery, Erin had a few of her own tricks up her sleeves. Alicia sprang up from her chair and lunged towards Erin to give her a tight hug.
“I’m sorry, cutie. Forget I said anything. You’re right, we need to concentrate on you.” She had crouched down beside Erin now and the two girls exchanged smiles.
“I hope you haven’t been going through the messages again, Erin?” Alicia straightened her back, stood up and tightened her wrap around her shoulders. Erin sighed and shook her head.
“No, I haven’t been doing that. I’ve taken the battery out of my phone and hidden it at the bottom of my suitcase.” She watched Alicia make her way back to her rocking chair and settle down.
“How does that help? You’ve not exactly hidden it from yourself if you know where it is.” Alicia reached for Erin’s mug of hot chocolate.
“No, but in my moment of weakness, having to take all my clothes and stuff out of the suitcase to reach the battery will give me enough time to calm myself and change my mind.” Erin allowed the mug to slip out of her hands and rubbed her palms together. If the temperature dropped any further, the caretaker of the lodge promised that the lake would freeze over. Erin secretly wished that would happen. She wanted the lake to freeze, for translucent icicles to drop down and then freeze mid-way from the pine tree leaves around them. She was hoping that the bitter cold would numb her heart and muscles and stop herself from physically aching.
She hadn’t realized when Alicia had reached out and was gently rubbing the side of her arm. She threw her friend a gentle thankful look.
“Thanks for coming, Alicia. I really do appreciate it.” Her voice squeaked as she spoke and she saw how Alicia flinched. Neither of them was accustomed to Erin being the one in need of support and comfort. They had been friends since Kindergarten and Alicia had always been the one to throw a fit, cry over the men in her life. Erin was the stoic one.
“I really hate him. I hate Steve. If I see him I’d ̶ ” Alicia was spitting the words out and Erin interrupted her.
“Forget it. Let’s just not talk about it.”
“But we need to talk about it, Erin. The guy cheated on you, had been cheating on you for several months. You can’t just pretend that you’ll be able to distract yourself from it for the rest of your life.” Alicia was still drinking Erin’s hot chocolate.
“I just don’t want to talk about it now, that’s all.” Erin couldn’t keep the annoyance out of her voice. She knew Alicia was trying to help, was trying to be a friend but she didn’t want to turn into a cranky cry baby.
“This is exactly the reason why you end up going through old messages and emails. Because you’re not venting.” Alicia handed the half empty mug of hot chocolate back to Erin and stood up from her chair.
“Where are you going?” Erin was predicting a dramatic quarrel between the two of them. A day would never be complete if they didn’t go through one of these.
“I’m going to have a long hot bath, drink some wine and then try and persuade Ms. Carter to light the fire. I’m freezing out here.” Alicia was already halfway back into the cabin. She held the door open with her other hand fixed on her hip.
“You coming in?” she asked Erin, but only got a shake of the head in response.
“Just don’t stay out here too long. Come find me soon?” She sighed as she went inside and Erin grinned and drank some of the remaining bits in her mug. Despite their differences and their quarrels, there was nobody else she was more comfortable with than Alicia. In fact, Erin had always believed that if they hadn’t met in Kindergarten and she hadn’t punched a boy in the face when they were six because he was teasing Alicia, they might have never become friends. They were the opposites in school and everybody around them wondered what kept them together. The skinny blonde Cheerleader and the geeky nerd with the braces who always aced every exam, including the surprise ones.
Erin was smiling to herself as she thought about their friendship through the years, subconsciously grateful that she had something else to think about rather than Steve.
“Sorry, is someone sitting here?” Erin was jolted out of her thoughts by the voice of a man she had not noticed had now joined her in the balcony. She looked up to find him hovering over the chair that Alicia had been sitting on, her discarded wrap was still lying on the seat of the chair.
“No, please go ahead. My friend was but she’s gone in now.” Erin spoke too quickly, slightly embarrassed to be caught in the middle of deep thoughts. How long had he been there? Had she been smiling and rocking herself like a fool this whole time?
She watched as he picked up the edge of the wrap with one hooked finger, like it was something that could infect him with a fatal viral disease. He held it away from his body as he walked the short distance with it over to Erin’s side and then gently flung it over the back of her own chair. She wanted to laugh, just the sight of him made her want to burst out laughing.
He was incredibly tall, for starters. Erin wasn’t the tallest girl she knew, but she was certain that this person was at least half a foot taller than Alicia…who was the tallest girl she knew. The lower half of his face was covered in a rough salt-pepper beard and his dark hair was scruffy and brushed back, away from his forehead. Only his temples betrayed a slight smattering of grey. She watched as he quietly settled into the rocking chair, a leather-bound book in his hands. She couldn’t quite tell his age, although he was most certainly older than her. He was in a warm plaid shirt and baggy jeans. If he wasn’t a fellow guest at the cabin, he most definitely was a local carpenter or lumberjack. Her eyes fell on his thick wrists and the way the muscles on his shoulders tensed as he started flipping through the pages of his book. She wondered if he had single- handedly built the cabin himself.
“Are you a guest here?” she asked, interrupting his flipping and he looked up at her with slanted eyes. His dark green eyes contained a flicker of annoyance which silenced her, she immediately decided she would leave him alone.
“Yes,” he replied and went back to reading his book. Erin looked away from him and out towards the lake. She didn’t want to worry about how rude and unfriendly the man was being, she had her own worries to keep at bay. They should have been taking up all her energy.
“How long are you staying here?” his voice was deep and thick. It was almost like his voice boomed as it bounced off the walls of the mountains that surrounded them. She cleared her throat before she spoke. He was glaring at her, although the question from anybody else would have been a friendly innocent one. Coming from him, it made her slightly nervous. She wanted to give him the right answer, although what would be the right answer to bring a smile on his face?
“A fortnight,” she said and only now realized that she had been nervously cracking her fingers. His gaze had fallen on her hands and she stopped doing it. In her mind, she thought that he took awfully long to respond and allowed too much silence to ensue between them.
After a few seconds, he grunted and Erin wasn’t sure what kind of a response that was.
“And yourself?” she asked him but he had gone back to reading his book again.
“A month, maybe longer. I’m undecided,” he said, without looking up at her again. Erin sat back in her chair and began rocking herself gently, for the lack of anything else to do. When the chair creaked after a few minutes of silence, he looked up sharply, as if angered by the sound. Erin stopped rocking. For a second, sh
e felt guilty for disturbing his reading and an instant later she was furious. Why would he make her feel guilty? She was as much a guest at the cabin as he was.
“Ms. Carter must have lit the fire inside by now. It might suit your reading needs better,” she snapped at him and he looked up, their eyes met. She held his gaze, even though her heart continued to pound and she wanted to look away embarrassed. He had a knowing look on his face, she was certain that he knew she was trying to make a jab at his impolite reactions to her presence.
She was surprised when he suddenly smiled. Unrealistically white teeth peeped out from between his thin red lips and the surrounding dark beard.
“I apologize for being this wound up. It’s not easy to force yourself to relax,” he said and shut the book in his hands. He leaned back in his chair and started rocking himself. Erin smiled too. She could feel her cheeks burning up.
“I know what you mean. I’m simply trying to blank out my brain,” she said and looked away. They were both looking towards the lake now in silence.
“So you’re hiding too?” he spoke after a few minutes. Erin thought about how the silence between them had been comfortable, but she welcomed the question, this question in particular from a stranger.
“Not hiding as much as escaping,” she said. She wasn’t looking at him when she answered but she could sense that he was nodding his head.
“What’s the difference though?” he asked and they looked at each other again. Erin was the one to smile and he gave a small laugh.
“You may be right,” she said, “whatever I’m doing, I plan on going back home as a new person after this.” She was still smiling.
“Good luck with that. Believe me, I’ve tried,” he said and to her dismay, opened up his book again and started to read. Erin allowed herself to continue to look at him for a few seconds longer before she forced herself to look away. When she did, from the corner of her eye, she could sense that he had raised his head to look at her. Only for a few seconds.
Chapter 2
“That’s what I’ve always said. Beaches are just too bright and everybody is always happy. Only till the end of the vacation of course. Whereas in a place like this, one gets a chance to reflect and arrange one’s thoughts.” Erin was leaning forward, excited to finally meet somebody who agreed with her choice of a vacation spot. Xavier was laughing at her explanation. She didn’t know much about him, except that his name was Xavier, even though they had spent the past hour talking. He had drifted in and out of reading his book while Erin kept interrupting him with general questions. He didn’t seem to mind much anymore.
As Xavier laughed, Alicia opened the door to the balcony and stepped out.
“Are you seriously still sitting here? It’s freezing,” she said.
“It’s all right. I’ve had company,” Erin said with a smile and directed Alicia’s gaze to Xavier who she had only just noticed.
“Alicia, this is Xavier. Xavier, this is my best friend Alicia, whose seat you have stolen.” Erin introduced them and Xavier stood up from the chair and stepped aside. Alicia, who initially had plastered her usual pleasing smile on her face when the introductions were being made, now stood still staring at Xavier.
Erin felt a sudden pang, of a feeling she couldn’t quite identify. Judging by the look on Alicia’s face, and the fact that they had known each other for more than a decade now, Erin could tell that her friend was floored. And what Alicia wanted, she always got.
Xavier stretched out his hand towards Alicia after they had stood in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds.
“Hello,” he said, in his deep thundering voice. Alicia, who usually was great around people, always captivating everyone with her sparkling smile and cheerful personality, shook his hand in silence.
“Please, have a seat. I’m heading in for a quick shower anyway,” Xavier said and started walking towards the door. Erin could feel her heart deaden at the sight of him leaving.
“We should all have dinner together,” Erin found herself saying, suddenly and without warning. He stopped in his tracks and turned slightly to look at her. He threw Alicia a nervous quick look and smiled.
“Maybe,” he said and opened the door and slipped back into the cabin. Erin’s brows furrowed. The air between them had changed suddenly and she had no idea what had just happened to cause it. Did Alicia and Xavier know each other? The thoughts were racing through Erin’s mind and she turned to look at her friend, who was still standing.
“You’ve been sitting here, chatting with him?” Alicia asked. Erin could see that she was trying to keep her voice low, but struggling to not sound too excited or screech.
“What do you mean? Do you know each other?” Erin breathed in deeply, bracing herself to be shot at with a long winded story about how Alicia and Xavier had once dated but it went sour after she dumped in. She could feel her fingers shaking a little. The thought of the two of them together produced an actual physical reaction in her.
“I wish.” Alicia rolled her eyes and slumped into the empty rocking chair. Erin threw her another confused look, increasingly angered by the slowness of information being given to her.
“Erin! Are you serious? You don’t know who that is?” Alicia was speaking through gritted teeth. Apparently, her friend was as annoyed with her as she was with Alicia. Erin shook her head.
“Should I?”
“That’s Xavier Cowen. Umm, the Xavier Cowen.” Alicia leaned in and spoke in a near-whisper. Erin still had no idea what to make of the revelation.
“Who is he?” she asked and watched as Alicia threw up her hands, in mock surrender.
“To put it simply, he’s a movie star,” Alicia said, not happy that her best friend couldn’t share in her absolute shock and excitement. Erin was confused, then surprised and then she broke into a fit of giggles. She couldn’t help herself. The thought of Xavier, the man she had been sitting and having a heart-to-heart with for the past hour, was a movie star? It was too unbelievable, too hilarious. She nearly didn’t buy it. She couldn’t believe that he had that frivolous a profession. She hadn’t asked, but she imagined him to be a Philosophy professor or perhaps a mad scientist.
“You’re certain of it?” Erin managed to ask, through her laughs. Alicia was sitting on the chair but had her hands on her hips now, furious at Erin’s reaction.
“I wasn’t sure initially, because of the beard. But yes, now I’m certain Erin.” She had her eyes narrowed. “Stop laughing. What’s so funny?”
“I just can’t believe it. What kind of movies does he do?” Erin asked, biting down on her lips to stop herself from laughing anymore.
“He used to be the heartthrob of the rom-coms about a decade ago, but then he had a series of Superhero films that he did. I don’t think he’s been in a movie in the past few years though.” Alicia was thinking, looking away from her and her brows were crinkled. She was in deep thought, trying to mentally trace out Xavier Cowen’s Hollywood career.
Erin couldn’t believe it, Rom-Coms, Superhero flicks? She sat back in her chair and folded her arms in front of her.
“This is crazy,” she said, almost to herself, but Alicia had heard.
“Yeah, I know. I can’t believe I just met Xavier Cowen,” Alicia replied, but she was speaking to herself as well.
“I could have sworn he was a teacher or something,” Erin said and the two girls exchanged looks.
“He does look quite different than he used to, on-screen at least. But he’s still gorgeous, isn’t he?” Alicia asked and Erin absent-mindedly nodded. He most definitely was, gorgeous. The fact that she was, even remotely, attracted to a movie star was a crazy prank the Universe had played on her. Her first boyfriend, Lawrence, who she dated towards the end of college was now an award winning sculptor and Steve, her second and last boyfriend was a Physicist. She had rarely been attracted to other men and the ones she had been, were the same league. A movie star? Erin burst into another fit of laughter.
Ms. Carter
interrupted them at that moment.
“I’ve served dinner at the dining table, ladies,” she said and then slipped back into the cabin.
“I’m starving,” Erin said, and stood up, stretching her arms behind her. Alicia remained sitting, still deep in thought.
“Alicia. Food!” Erin shouted a little, trying to snap her friend out of her thoughts. Alicia looked up at her, still slightly confused and dazed.
“I don’t believe it,” she said and shook her head.
“I don’t believe it either. Snap out of it Alicia. Let’s go get dinner.” Erin started walking towards the door.
“Do you think he’ll really join us?” Alicia finally stood up and Erin shrugged.
“If he’s anything like any other superstar, he won’t. Right? Do we really care?” Erin opened the door.
“You might not. But I definitely do. I’m not leaving here without a photo with him and an autograph.” Alicia had her smile back on her face as she walked through the door.
“Leave him be Alicia. He’s probably come here to escape crazy fans like you.” Erin shut the door behind her and spoke to her friend in a whisper. Alicia whipped around to face her and smiled, her eyes were glittering mischievously, which almost always, Erin knew, meant trouble.
“It’s the price he has to pay for being a movie star and being so damn hot!” Alicia winked at Erin and strutted over to the dining room. Erin breathed in deeply and tightened the cardigan around her. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be in the cabin anymore. This wasn’t an escape, this wasn’t the vacation she wanted. This was a trap, a confusion.
Through the open door of the dining room, she saw Xavier sitting at the dining table, with Ms. Carter fussing over serving him food. She heard Alicia’s high pitched laugh as Erin waited where she was, for a few more minutes. She wished she hadn’t invited him to join them for dinner.
When Erin walked in, she noticed that Ms. Carter had already served the roast to her. She took her seat, across Xavier, while Alicia sat next to him at the table. Ms. Carter soon excused herself and took a plate of her dinner out, to her own room.
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