Page 36 of The Quit List
This makes me laugh. She’s cute and definitely funny, which makes her a pretty great catch. If I didn’t know she was looking for a long-term, husband-material type of commitment, I’d totally ask her out.
“Before we dive into my sad excuse for a dating life, I have to know… why on earth do you need a booking system? I was up half the night tossing and turning, wondering about it.”
Flashes of Holly in bed at night dance through my mind, unbidden, but I quickly file them away. Give her a cheeky smile instead. “Piqued your interest, did it?”
“Absolutely. You don’t strike me as the type to play mother hen and open your own B&B, or to host people in an Airbnb, so I can’t imagine what you’re up to.” She shakes her head. “Or am I just to live in the dark and continue to assume it’s something sordid?”
I have to laugh, but she has a point. I can’t continue being so cagey with my plans, especially as she can probably help. There might also be a part of me that weirdly almost… wants her to know this dream of mine. For no real reason at all. “You know last night when I said I was leaving soon to go to the mountains?”
She nods. “I remember admiring this adventurous quality of yours, yes.”
“Well, it’s for my new job. Business, actually.” I toss my fingers through my hair, almost nervous. “I’m starting a wilderness guiding outfit. I have a cabin a few hours northwest of here in the mountains and am renovating it to use it as a base for expeditions.”
“Wow. That’s awesome!” Her brown eyes sparkle with what looks to be genuine enthusiasm and excitement. “Are you going to offer, like, wilderness survival courses? Guided hikes? Oooh, team building exercises?! Have you seen Pitch Perfect 2, where Rebel Wilson gets stuck in the big cargo net?”
I have, actually. Maddie made me watch the first one while she was holed up on my couch last year, post-breakup with her ex-boyfriend and pre-Seb coming on the scene. I may or may not have watched the second one after she moved out.
And the third one.
“I’m thinking mostly guided hikes, to begin with,” I tell her, stepping around her final question. “But the cabin has a big room that I’ve converted into a twelve-bed dorm so I have the space to eventually host bigger groups, too.”
“This is so cool. I’d love to see it sometime. Or, at least, see pictures of it. Live vicariously through you and all your exciting adventures.”
Her reaction to my news makes me feel strangely buoyant. It hasn’t come very naturally—telling people about my business venture. But the more I do it, the more I believe in what I’m doing.
And for some reason, Holly’s reaction seems to affect me more than most. Hearing that she thinks it’s a good idea makes me feel more self-assured than I have in a while.
“Well, I hope the guests who eventually stay there will be as enthusiastic as you are.”
“Let’s get you some guests, then.”
Holly proceeds to ask for my number so she can send me links to dynamic booking platforms that I can apparently set up myself and integrate with my website. A friend of a friend who specializes in web design is currently working on that for me as we speak.
These links, alone, would’ve been help enough, but Holly’s not done yet.
As my phone pings with her texts, she rambles on, “You could also put it on vacation rental websites like Airbnb and VRBO and sync those calendars so you don’t get double bookings. And you can offer the cabin as an ‘experience’—that would be a great way to get some indirect business. I think there might even be a site dedicated to glamping. A cabin in the backcountry would totally count, I think.”
I watch her excited expression and dancing eyes as she rattles off a ton of on-the-spot, stream-of-consciousness ideas. I can barely keep up. She’s clearly very smart and knowledgeable, but it’s her passion for the subject matter that seems so remarkable.
“How do you know all this stuff?” I ask when she finally tires herself out.
She shrugs, her lips in a lopsided grin. “Hospitality degree followed by years of work at the Pinnacle. I love coming up with ideas on how to fill rooms.” Her bright and bubbly expression dims a little and she examines the half-eaten taco in her hand as she adds, “But I’m not an expert or anything.”
“You sure sound like one to me,” I tell her honestly. “That’s already so helpful. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Sure you can. You’re gonna help me stop going on dates with walking red flags.”
“I’ll do everything in my power,” I say solemnly, crossing my heart, which makes her snort. I make a gimme motion. “No time like the present to get started. You got that hit list with you?”
She blinks at me, her deep brown eyes full of confusion. “My what list?”
“Hit list. The list you made last night with all the things you want in a man,” I explain. “The one we never got around to talking about.”
“Oh! That’s a good name for it.” She almost looks shy as she fishes the piece of paper out of her bag and hands it over to me. “Here it is. Everything I want in my ideal man.”
14
HOLLY