Page 14 of One Last Run

Danica responded with a slightly-teasing, “Get lost,” as she rolled her eyes and headed in the direction of Woozley’s Way. She thought she heard Pete laughing in response behind her, but she stifled the grin on her own face, not ready to outwardly admit she enjoyed their banter.

Fifteen years later, and Pete fucking Pancott still got under her skin like no other.

CHAPTER 6

PETE

Pete slid openthe patio door, the cold hitting her with force as she stepped over the threshold in her swimsuit, a beanie pulled low over her ears. Everyone had gone to bed early after homemade pizza night, but she needed a moment of quiet relaxation before being able to fall asleep. After a long two days of snowboarding, the hot tub was the only cure for her aching body. She hated admitting that she wasn’t 22 anymore, that two days of snowboarding could make her feel so exhausted and sore. Her knees burned, her back was stiff, and even her arms felt heavy.

She flipped open the cover of the hot tub, sliding it to the side, and then turned on the jets, adjusting the temperature resembling molten lava. She kept the lights off, preferring the ambiance of the darkness. A‌ moan nearly escaped her lips as she slid into the water, letting the water rise to just over her shoulders. Pete took off her beanie, feeling warm already.

Her eyes closed and she let her head fall back against the cushioned headrest, letting the jets massage her shoulders.

Pete heard the patio door slide open and opened her eyes to see Danica standing in the doorway in a bikini.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were using it,” Danica said quickly, reaching to shut the door.

“You’re fine, there’s enough room,” Pete said, trying to keep a casual note to her voice. She didn’t want to scare Danica away, but that woman acted like Pete was a bomb with a lit fuse. Pete had felt a bit guilty after picking a fight with Danica earlier, but it had been an easy way to get Danica’s mind off of the fact that the lift was stuck for a few minutes. She’d done the first thing she could think of, which was to take Danica’s focus and direct it elsewhere, if only for a moment.

It had absolutely nothing to do with Pete wanting the answers to those questions and not knowing how else to ask. Nothing.

“Are you sure?” Danica asked, holding her towel in front of her protectively. Neither one had mentioned the lift conversation during dinner, like Danica would rather pretend the conversation hadn’t happened. “You’re just sitting out here in the dark?”

“Yeah, quit being weird, Wendell,” Pete said, closing her eyes again, but the image of Danica in a bikini was burned into the back of her eyelids. It wasn’t the least amount of clothing she’d ever seen Danica wear, but she hadn’t expected the sight to affect her so much. Danica had always been soft, but her curves had only gotten sexier and fuller. She casually opened one eye to watch Danica climb over the side of the hot tub, pausing to tie her hair into a bun on top of her head. Pete’s own swimsuit was more of a sports bra and boy shorts style, but Danica’s bikini had minimal coverage. She could make out Danica’s ample cleavage and the pale skin of an ass cheek. She wouldn’t object to Danica’s exposed body, but maintaining eye contact with Danica’s face required effort.

“I can’t believe how sore I am,” Danica said, sliding her body into the water.

Pete’s mouth had gone dry and she struggled to pull her focus — both her eyes and brain, honestly — to anywhere but Danica’s breasts. “Yeah.”

Danica let out a long exhale, relaxing back against the wall of the tub. Pete squinted, focusing on how the white snow striped the mountain behind Danica, illuminating the runs. She could see the lights of a snowcat grooming the slopes. Even after 10 p.m., Mountain Village was still lit up like some kind of Rich People beacon to space, but she could still see a handful of constellations and a few planets despite the lights. Mars glowed brightly in the East, right between Gemini and Cancer. Sirius and Rigel were always easy to pick out, and she kept her eyes on them and not Danica’s... well, every inch of Danica that would cause her to lose the filter between her mouth and brain and say something she might regret.

They sat in silence, the only sound the jets of the tub and the occasional swish of water as one of them shifted or moved their arms.

The conversation they’d had on the chairlift hung heavy between them, and suddenly being three feet apart felt more like an ocean stretched between them. Pete glanced toward Danica, surprised to find the woman’s piercing eyes watching her, her face in shadow.

Pete’s heart ached to realize just how beautiful Danica was after all these years. She looked away before Danica could see those feelings written all over her face.

“Thanks for earlier,” Danica said in a casual, if not slightly forced, way.

A nervous laugh escaped Pete’s lips as she shrugged. She was worried about revealing her rekindled attraction, afraid of saying something she hadn’t thought through fully, afraid ofruining the moment with her vulnerability. “I don’t know what you mean.” She heard Danica sniffle in the cold air and reached for her discarded beanie. “Want this?”

Danica hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take the knit hat, pulling it down over her ears to ward off the chill. “Thank you.”

“Bikini and a beanie. Quite a look.”

Danica smiled, swirling her arms in the water. “So, where do you live now?”

“Seattle,” Pete said.

“What do you do in Seattle?” Danica asked.

Pete pursed her lips, trying to find the right answer. “Not much. I haven’t been there very long, and I don’t know if I’ll stay.”

“Still a rolling stone?”

Pete held up her arms. “No moss yet.”

“What have you been doing for the last decade and a half, then?” Danica said, her gaze inquisitive.

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