Total pages in book: 14
Estimated words: 12956 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 65(@200wpm)___ 52(@250wpm)___ 43(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 12956 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 65(@200wpm)___ 52(@250wpm)___ 43(@300wpm)
He nodded and took the pasta bowl I offered, inhaling the aroma appreciatively. “God, this looks amazing. You made this?”
“Yes, and I’m glad you’re here so I had an excuse to cook. I used to make this when I had friends over in Park City, but now that I’m in Aster Valley, I don’t have anyone to host for dinner.”
“What about Parker? You said you two are friends through skiing.”
I explained that Parker lived and worked on the slopes in Vail and was only here for a visit. “I didn’t even know he was here until I saw him out there today. He’s friends with my bosses at work.”
Tiller and Mikey had invited me to join their group of friends for dinner at their lodge, but I’d already declined before BJ’s injury. I’d accepted their invitations to meet for pizza and beer in the past, but I’d known meeting them for dinner would be more than I could face after a long day on the mountain. They were part of a group of established couples, and being around so many happily paired-off guys was hard when I wanted nothing more than a committed relationship for myself.
As we ate, BJ asked me about my move from the ski resort at Park City to the new operation here in Aster Valley. I explained that the Aster Valley opportunity was a chance for me to move closer to my family in Greeley and also be a bigger fish in a smaller pond at work.
BJ told me about how he’d only been in Jackson Hole a couple of years but that he liked living in a ski community.
“I grew up in Louisiana and then moved to Santa Fe when I turned twenty. There was a yoga instructor there I wanted to learn from, and she was incredibly generous in her teachings. She helped me get a placement at a resort teaching classes, and then a year later, the company moved me to their location in Jackson. And now… well, I guess I need to figure out where I’ll go next.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Yoga was the reason I was able to do what I loved for a living. “You teach yoga?”
BJ’s face lit up. “Yeah, have you tried it?”
I didn’t even know where to begin. “I-I… I love yoga. I practice it daily. Yoga has given me the flexibility and core strength to continue skiing. I was in an accident on the slopes in middle school and thought I’d never be able to ski again. My aunt made me try yoga when I couldn’t get my range of motion back all the way. It changed my life.”
We spent the next hour happily sharing stories about our love for yoga, the different types we’d tried, and our favorite positions. When I finally noticed the tightening around BJ’s eyes, I realized I’d forgotten to give him his pain pill.
“Oh fuck,” I blurted, jumping up to get the prescription from the kitchen. “I’m so sorry. Here, take this, and let me show you to the guest room.”
Cosi followed us as I helped BJ to the small guest room with my sister’s hand-me-down double bed covered in a heap of old homemade quilts.
I tried not to focus on how nice it felt to have him here, but I couldn’t help but feel a warmth in my chest when I saw him nestled down in my guest bed.
“Dallas?” he asked as I was turning off the bedside lamp.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t suppose you, um, wax. Do you?”
Did I wax? I blinked. The pain pill must’ve been hitting him hard already, poor guy. “Nope. My chest is pretty smooth already, and my skin’s kinda sensitive, so…”
“Right. Right.” He reached out and grabbed my hand. “Thank you for bringing me here. If I’d gone back to the rental alone, I would have ended up feeling pretty sorry for myself.”
I squeezed his hand, wishing I could hold on to it a little longer. “Thank you for letting me. If I’d come back here alone, I would have ended up feeling sorry for myself, too.”
We looked into each other’s eyes for a few more beats before I lifted up his hand and pressed a kiss to it. It maybe should have felt awkward, but it didn’t. In fact, it had been a long time since something had felt so right. “Shout if you need anything. Anything at all.”
The soft smile on his face as I left the room stayed with me for a long time.
3
BJ
I expected Dallas to take me home the next morning, but he surprised me.
“Would it be okay if you stayed here an extra day?” he asked while keeping himself busy cracking eggs into a bowl. He wore nothing but pajama pants, because he really did “run hot,” and the way my eyes kept straying to his muscular naked chest was making me run hot, too. “Only, I have the day off, and I thought… we could hang out.”