Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 24334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
“Oh, I don’t know,” I say as I grip the handle on my door when we go up a steep incline. “A little hiking, swimming, I don’t know.”
I know what I want, but I’m not about to tell him that. The warm, inviting, wholesome Mitch would probably have a heart attack if he knew what dark desires were stirring in my belly.
I want this to be a vacation that changes everything. That rocks my life so hard that I can’t go back to the hell I was living back home.
I sigh as I see a squirrel jump from one tree to another.
I’ll probably just end up eating a lot of meals alone and reading on my balcony all night. The hotel is probably going to be full of families and couples. I doubt there will be a lot of hot single men wandering around.
Oh well, I’ll just have to make the best of it.
“That’s the lodge?” I say, staring in shock when the most stunning building I’ve ever seen comes into view. It’s breathtaking.
I read an article about it in The Luxury Traveller Magazine, but the pictures did not do it justice. This is unreal.
The luxurious stone and log building sprawls along the base of a spectacular mountain and there’s a beautiful lake within walking distance. This is mountain living! This is fit for a king and queen.
“That’s it,” Mitch says with a chuckle. “Everyone has that reaction. She’s a beauty isn’t she?”
A beauty? She’s hot as fuck is what she is.
I’m still staring in awe as he drives up to the front door and stops the van. I get out and inhale the fresh mountain air as the friendly doorman gets my bags from the trunk.
“You have yourself a great vacation,” Mitch says with an enthusiastic shake of my hand. “I’ll be around if you need anything.”
“Oh, let me get…” I say as I reach into my bag for a tip.
“No, no, no,” he says with a warm smile. “That’s not necessary. It was my pleasure.”
He hops into the van and drives away, leaving me standing here stunned. What is happening? What is this place?
I’m trying not to shake as I walk into the spectacular lobby with the giant stone fireplace. I imagine walking in here after a day on the slopes, chilled to the bone, and sitting in front of the roaring fire. I have to come back here in the winter…
There are identical twins at the reception desk. They both have the same round black-rimmed glasses and the same straight black hair cut into a bob. I glance at their nametags as they stare at their computers—Tina and Tiffany.
They don’t look up. Now, this is more like the kind of service I’m used to.
“Excuse me.”
Tina looks up at me with raised eyebrows. “Yeah?”
“Can I check in?”
You’d swear I asked her to help me move apartments with the way she sighs. “Name.”
I give her my name and reservation number and she pulls out my keycard.
“Are there any good hiking trails around here?” I ask, excited to explore that spectacular mountain outside.
“There’s a movie theater in town,” Tiffany says. “Have you ever been?”
“To the movies?” I say, staring at her in confusion. “Yeah. Um. Why?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m just trying to understand why someone would want to go hiking.”
“You can go shopping,” Tina says.
“Or eat at a restaurant,” Tiffany not-so-helpfully points out.
“Thanks,” I say with a curt smile. “But I want to go hiking.”
“There’s bears.”
“And mosquitos.”
“And it’s mostly on an incline, so you’ll get all sweaty and gross.”
“Yeah, but she’s already all sweaty and gross from the train ride.”
“That’s true.”
“Excuse me,” I say, staring at them in disbelief. “I’m not all sweaty and gross.”
They both crinkle their noses up in the exact same way as they look at my armpits. I self-consciously tuck my arms in.
“Why don’t you have a massage at the spa?” Tina says.
“Or a nap,” Tiffany adds. “Naps are amazing.”
“Thanks, but I’d like to go on a hike.”
I grab my keycard and step away. I think I’ve had enough of these two.
After dropping off my bags in my amazing room with the amazing mountain view, I throw some yoga pants, a tank top, and some running shoes on, and head outside.
All the stress and disappointment I’ve been feeling just melt away once I get onto a trail and into nature. I look up and smile at the huge Ponderosa pine, wondering how long it’s been here and how long it will remain towering over the earth after I’m gone. How many birds have built nests in its huge branches, trusting it to keep their precious eggs safe? How many squirrels have darted up the trunk as they scurried away from hungry predators hoping to make them their lunch? How many bears have used it as a back scratcher?