Love Lessons (3 page)

He stepped toward her and met her in the hall.  “What is it about Paris that you love so much?”

She shrugged.  “It’s the city of love.  If only I had the money to fly there this week.  I could meet someone, fall in love, and then all my comic strip troubles would be behind me.”   She gave a happy sigh.  “Valentine’s in Paris.  How perfect would that be?”  When a car outside honked and pulled her thoughts back, she shook her head.  “Then again, what am I talking about?  Love could hit me over the head and I wouldn’t know it.”

With a half-cocked grin on his face, he said, “For a smart girl, you’re kind of dense like that.” 

“Hey,” she said, whacking him, and even though he was right, and she was smart about a lot of things, when it came to love, she was clueless. 

He feigned hurt, then grabbed her by the waist, pretending he was about to tackle her to the ground.  He played football in university and liked to pull his moves on her.  She’d just bet he’d learned all kinds of other moves at university.  If only he’d pull some of
them
on her.  

She grabbed his shoulders and yelled as he raced down the small hall. “Put me down.”

He carried her to her closet and dropped her by the door.  “Get your coat.” 

Grace pulled on her black parka as he shrugged in to his and tugged on his big, size twelve boots.  She looked at his feet and couldn’t help but think,
big in the shoes, big in the pants
.  Not that she was ever going to find out.   

“Hey, you ready?” he asked, dragging her thoughts back.  She grabbed her hat and gloves as he pulled open her apartment door.  They exited the building, and a frigid mountain breeze whipped over them. The sky was star-studded and so beautiful that she didn’t mind the cold.  If they were lucky enough, they might even see some northern lights tonight.     

They jumped into his truck, and a few minutes later, they walked into the main lodge at Stone Cliff.  The place was busy, ski vacationers milling about, talking excitedly about how many inches they were getting tonight.  Since Grace wouldn’t be getting any inches anytime soon—considering she hadn’t been on a date in ages—she was less excited than the masses.  Then again,
they
were talking about snow, and she was…well, she wasn’t. 

She waved to Jared, the concierge—a guy who knew everyone and everything and made things happen around the resort—and when she felt Nate’s hand on the small of her back as he guided her through the throng, she leaned in closer to him.  

Inside the restaurant, Jaelyn came to greet them.  Gracie liked Jaelyn, and had seen her at the Cave quite a few times.  The Cave was a place where locals and vacationers convened, drank beer around a bonfire, and hooked up at the end of the night. 

Jaelyn cast Nate a huge smile, and when he smiled back, the pretty, tall blonde looked like she was about to shimmy out of her panties and hand them over him.  “The perfect table just opened up,” she said. “Follow me.”

They trailed behind, and Grace couldn’t help but look at the girl’s perky ass.  God, what Grace would do to have a tight backside like that.  But no, she was gifted with a wide load that nearly registered on the Richter scale when she walked.  At least she didn’t beep when she backed up.

They followed Jaelyn through the dining room until she stopped at a table near the window overlooking the back courtyard, where several vacationers were taking advantage of the man-made ice rink.  After taking their drink order, Jaelyn disappeared, giving them a moment with the menu. 

“Can we do that instead of skiing,” Grace asked, pointing to the skaters.

“Not instead of, but another time, for sure.”  When she frowned, Nate said, “Come on Gracie, I know you’re going to love it when you get the hang of it.”

She fiddled with her menu.  “Then you don’t know me at all.”

He angled his head, his expression wounded.  “Sure I do.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. 

“Okay, tell me what you know then.”

His lips turned up at the corner.  “Well, you’re going to spend twenty minutes looking at the menu, debate over pasta and salmon, then decide on salmon because pasta sticks to your thighs and salmon doesn’t.  Then, when Jaelyn comes back, you’ll order the pasta anyway and love it.”

She folded her arms and glared at him.

He laughed.  “How am I doing so far?”

Lifting her nose in the air she said, “You’re completely wrong.”

He shrugged like it was nothing.  “Okay.  And just for the record, there isn’t a thing wrong with your thighs.”

She made a face to show she didn’t believe him then said, “Well fine.   I know you, too.  You’ll look over the menu forever then order the burger.”  She rolled her eyes and dragged out her next words, “Because everything has to come on a bun.”

“Yup, you’re right.”  He closed his menu.  “Burger it is.”

Jaelyn brought their drinks, placing a white wine in front of Grace and a local beer on tap next to Nate, then grabbed her notepad.  “All ready to order?” she asked, her gaze focused entirely on Nate.

He held his hand out to Grace.  “What will you have, Gracie?” he asked.

“Pasta,” she mumbled under her breath, twirling her wine glass in her hands so she didn’t have to see that sexy smirk on his face.  After he ordered his burger and Jaelyn left, she turned things back to business. 

“Okay, so I’m ready for my first lesson.”  She rested her forearms on the table and leaned toward him, wanting to keep their conversation private.  “Teach me everything you know about love.”

Nate’s hands brushed up against hers as he looked around the busy restaurant.  He gave a slight nod with his head.  “See that couple over there?”  Before she could turn, he whispered, “Look, but don’t be conspicuous.”

She casually angled her head to see some guy texting, paying zero attention to his girl as she sat there with a frown on her face.  “Yeah, what about them?”

“What do you see?”

“Some jerk who’s paying more attention to his phone than his date.”   She arched a brow and looked pointedly at Nate.  “Don’t tell me you see love in that.”

He laughed. “No, you’re right.  The guy’s a jerk.  I’d never text when on a date.” 

“Any guy who is more interested in his phone then his date is definitely not the guy for me.  I mean, for Kate.”

“What about that couple?” he said, gesturing with his head. 

“You mean the guy pouring wine for his wife?”

“Yeah. What do you see?”

“I see an accident waiting to happen.”

He shook his head.  “You’re always looking for the worst case scenario.  It’s like you’re programmed to find flaws.” 

“My job, remember?”  She held her arms up in defeat.  “What can I say, I write about dating foibles.” 

“Yeah, but now you have to start writing about love, so you have to start looking at things differently.”  He paused for a moment and stole another glance around the restaurant.  “What about that couple?  What do you see?”

She turned to see a guy shucking his girlfriend’s oysters.  “I see that someone is about to put an eye out.”

This time, he laughed out loud, and his hand closed over hers. He gave a gentle squeeze that she felt all the way to her thighs.  “What am I going to do with you?”

Oh, I can think of a few things…

“Tell me what you see then?” she asked, needing to get her mind back on her job.

“I see a guy who is kind and thoughtful.  She’s having a hard time shucking it, so he’s helping her.  I’ve seen my dad do that for my mom many times.” He looked at the couple again and went quiet, contemplative.  “I mean, she’s capable, but he does it because he puts her needs first.”  He turned back to Grace.  “That’s why my dad always pumps mom’s gas.  She can do it, but he doesn’t want her to get cold or dirty.” 

“So you’re saying love is about kind gestures?”

He lifted his hands, and his eyes widened like she just had an epiphany.  “Yes, and knowing what the other wants and needs.”

“No guy has ever shucked my oyster.”  As soon as the words left her mouth, she cringed.  “Wait, I think that might have come out wrong.”

Nate laughed.  “And that’s because you’ve been going out with the wrong guys.”

“I’m kind of a jerk magnet.”

“Well yeah, the guys you date are jerks, but it’s not your fault.  You just don’t know how to pick them or what to look for.  But that’s all going to change.”

“You think?”

“Sure, you just need to start paying attention to the way the good guys treat their girls.” 

As she thought about that, Jaelyn came with their food.  Grace grabbed her fork and dug in to her creamy pasta. 

“Mmm, delicious,” she said. 

“I take it you’re glad you went for the pasta?” he asked, a sexy grin on his mouth.

“Smart-ass,” she returned, then nodded to his food.  “How’s the burger?”

“Good.  I mean how can it not be?”  He grinned.  “It came on a bun.”

They chatted quietly as they ate, and once they finished, Nate grabbed the dessert menu.  Honest to God, Nate was always pushing her to eat sweets, even going so far as to stock his fridge with her favorite treats on movie night.  He didn’t care that she was plump, because he obviously never saw her as anything more than a buddy—to him, she was just one of the guys.    

“What are you having?” he asked. “The chocolate mousse looks good.”

She held her hands up, and even though Tess, the lodge’s baker, made the best sweets, she said, “No way.  I’m so full if I eat any dessert, I’ll be rolling down the ski hill.”

“Oh, and you think passing up dessert is going to change that outcome?” he teased playfully.

“Hey,” she said, pinching her lips as she glared at him.

He grinned.  “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Jaelyn came with the bill, and they both reached for their wallets. 

“I got it,” he said.

Grace crinkled her nose.  “We should split, it’s not like this was a date.”

Something strange moved over his face, a look she couldn’t identify, then he said, “No I got it.  Tonight was my night to cook, anyway.”

She folded her arms and leaned back in her chair.  “Okay, fine, but don’t think paying for dinner is going to get you into my pants,” she teased. 

Nate put his hand to his mouth and coughed.  Hard. 

She eyed him carefully.  He was either getting sick, or something else was going on with him.

“It’s the bunny hill,” Nate said.  “There is nothing to be afraid of.  Just do it exactly like I showed you, and you won’t have any problems.”

With her poles at her sides, Grace widened her legs, creating a wedge with her skis, and slowly started down the hill.  Nate skied backward in front of her, giving instructions as she started picking up speed.

“Okay, widen the wedge,” he said. “But keep your knees apart, like you have something between your thighs.”  A sound lodged in his throat, and he coughed to cover it as he envisioned himself between those long, luscious legs of hers, his mouth tasting, teasing, bringing her to orgasm over and over again.   

“I think I got it,” she said, pulling his thoughts back.   They traveled down the hill a little farther, small kids whizzing past them, and her teeth flashed in a smile.  “I guess this is kind of fun once you get the hang of it.”

“See, I told you.  You just needed the right person giving instructions, that’s all.”

Her wool hat started to slide forward, and she pushed it back.  “You’re a pretty good teacher.”

“I’ve been giving lessons in the winter here for years.  I even taught my brothers to ski.”  He watched her for a minute longer, and once she had the hang of it, he asked, “Okay, you ready to try a turn?”  She nodded.  “Remember what I said, tuck your right knee in, and we’ll turn left.  Watch.”  He flipped around and showed her, then started skiing backward again to guide her.

“Got it,” she said, and he loved the excited smile on her face.

Nate kept a close eye on the way she put her weight on her left foot, her right knee turning in.  Only problem was her hat fell over her eyes again, throwing her off.  She pushed it up, but the movement tilted her off balance and she ended up crossing her skies. 

He glanced at her face in time to see the panic in her eyes.  “Oh, shit,” he said, reaching out to help her. 

“Nate,” she yelled, but before he could grab her, she toppled right into him.  Nate lost his balance, and they both went down, his body breaking her fall as their skis flipped off.   

They landed with a
thud
, the momentum propelling them down the hill.  He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight to his body until they stopped sliding. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, lifting his head to see her.  

“Do I look okay?” she shot back, but he caught the quirk in her lips.  She rolled her eyes, her mouth so close to his that all he had to do was lift an inch to kiss her if he wanted to.  And yeah, he wanted to. 

“I should have just had the damn dessert,” she mumbled. 

Nate laughed as her body pressed against his.  An instructor stopped to see if they were okay, and after Nate assured him they were, he turned his attention back to Gracie, who was wiggling like she had an itch that needed to be scratched.  Christ, if she didn’t soon stop moving, she was going to realize just how much he liked having her on top of him.  Just how much he wanted her. But he was pretty certain it was far too soon for that.       

“We should probably get up,” he said, but neither of them moved.

“Can’t we just slide the rest of the way down like this?”

“Don’t think so.  And besides, you were enjoying it for a minute there.”

She frowned and exhaled slowly.  “Yeah.  But this damn hat.”  She pulled at it.  “I think you stretched it.”

“Me?”

She crinkled her nose at him. “You borrowed it that time, remember?  When you had to clear the snow off your car and couldn’t find yours.  I think you stretched it.”

Taking offense, he shot back, “So you’re saying I have a big head.”

Her expression gave way to mock exasperation.  “Well, you can’t fight the evidence, Nate.”