Page 100 of Teach Me How
Hearing our arrival, she steps in from the balcony. I wanted to see her, but I’m not prepared for the throb of emotion when I finally see her again. It’s only been a few weeks, but I feel like I’ve crawled through a desert. She’s the oasis.
She’s wearing an oversized, fuzzy white sweater and yoga pants. Her cheeks are rosy from being out in the cold and her hair spills down her shoulders. My fingers itch to run through that hair, to curl around her waist. But the look she’s giving me could be best described ascomplicated. And not in a good way.
In a way that makes my stomach sink.
She’s angry at me and I’m not sure why, but it doesn’t seem like the most important thing at the moment.
The most important thing is to get her alone so I can make sure she’s okay.
Cody and Bo join Mitch at the counter, helping themselves to the beer, and I beeline around the couch. Snagging Reese’s sleeve, I tug her behind me and step back out onto the deck.
I stop, momentarily distracted by the view. “Wow.”
Chilly air sweeps around me, tussling my hair.
She stops just behind me. “Beautiful, right?”
The resort is in a natural valley, surrounded by steep slopes and snow-capped mountain ridges. I tear my eyes away from the ski lifts and look at her. She pulls her hands into her sleeves, shivering when a breeze stirs her hair.
I swallow hard. “How are you?”
“Good.” But her tone is hard.
I tilt my head, wondering if she’s homesick. Wondering if she’s having a hard time with her breakup. “Are you sure?”
She frowns, angry. “Yes.”
“You seem…”
“I’m fine. I’m good.”
I want to take her in my arms and pull her hard against my body. I want to press my face into her hair and breathe deep. It’s an effort to hold back, to control myself. Words slip off my tongue before I can filter them. “I miss you.”
Her laugh is bitter. “Not that much, apparently.”
Not that much? Try too much. Try an obsessive, all-consuming amount.
She lets out a shaky breath. “I heard you brought a girlfriend home to meet your parents.”
My ears heat up. “That was a work thing.”
“Yeah, right.”
“It was.”
Sort of.
“Bullshit, Skyler.”
“We were just in the area for work, so I stopped by.” But that’s not the whole story. The rest of the story is a bit embarrassing. The mighty conqueror laid low by this five-foot-two force of nature. I couldn’t get over Reese, and Terry sensed that. She asked if there was something holding me back and I told her the truth, effectively ending the short and uneventful relationship between us.
I’m struggling to stay on my toes with Reese. I thought I would be dealing with a heartbroken damsel in distress, but find myself staring down a dragoness instead. She’s pissed. At me. And it’s leaving me a bit flummoxed.
Rolling her eyes, she sighs. “Let’s just try to act normal, okay? Just a fun weekend getaway with old friends. We can do that, right?”
Can we?
I’d put my money on no.