8. Juniper

Juniper

I clicked my suitcase closed, hoping I had everything I could need. If I didn't, I would be shocked.

The last two weeks went by mundanely, but somehow, also so out of my regular. Ellery coming into the shop hadn't stopped the way I hoped. Not only did he come in every day, but he always stopped to ask me questions.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked the first time after dinner.

"Turquoise," I said. "Why?"

"These are things people learn when they're dating," he said. "So I need to know."

I nodded. When I passed him his coffee, he said, "purple, by the way."

And every day went on like that. His favorite food was tiramisu, he broke his knee in soccer while he was in high school, and his coffee order was always a large black with a single sugar.

Though, I was sure he was just doing it as a courtesy. No way he would remember my favorite book, or that I had a pet turtle growing up. Which was fine. I was glad to have some of this knowledge. Though I wasn't particularly interested in his personal life, this job would land us the app. When I told Casey, she screamed so loud the neighbor came to check on us. I couldn’t let either one of us down.

Ellery stuck to his word, giving me the other half of the money, which I used to go shopping for a few things for the trip. I had a couple dresses, a nice down coat, and for some reason, a few sets of lingerie. I don't know why I bought them. When I was in the boutique, the woman asked what I was shopping for, and when I told her I was vacationing with my partner, she took me to the lingerie section.

I had no clue how to tell her I didn't actually need it, that we weren't really together. That this was all actually an overcomplicated ruse that would lead to me becoming much, much richer.

So I let her tell me all about some designs, and a few caught my eye. There was a red set, a white one, and finally, a deep royal purple.

When packing, I planned to leave it all behind, but in a moment of impulse, I shoved them all to the bottom of the bag.

Now my mother was here, helping me put the last of my things away. We had just come from her house, where I helped her pack.

"It's funny how we were just packing bikinis and sunscreen, and now we're packing you snow boots and coats," she said.

"Agreed."

I told her I was going on a trip with a friend from work. I couldn't lie to her about dating someone. Not only did I not want to, but I knew she would see through it easily. While this wasn't the truth, it wasn't as harsh of a lie. And I was going with a friend, technically. I got Rachel's number at the dinner, and we'd been talking all week.

She’d gone on and on about everything we were going to do during vacation, and I couldn’t lie, it made me excited for it.

"I am going to miss you, Juni," my mother said.

"I'll miss you too. But you and Aaron are going to have a blast."

Aaron was my mother's boyfriend. He was a nice guy, and took care of her, and this was their first big trip together. He was a contractor, and really only got the holidays off, so they had to go now, and I was happy for her.

"I think so too. I need to get going, make sure Aaron packed more than a single pair of pants," she said with an eye roll.

I laughed and walked her to the door. She gave me a big squeeze, the one that always comforted me, no matter what. And it felt extra good now. "Be sure to text me when you get there," she said.

"You'll be on your flight," I said. "You text me."

She kissed my temple. "We'll text each other."

"Deal."

She left and I was once again alone in my apartment. I had someone coming to water my plants, and everything was packed and ready to go. My nerves were still getting the better of me, but I knew there was nothing to worry about. His family was nice, and they totally believed we were a couple.

All that was left now was to get through this vacation.

A knock came to my door, the one I'd been waiting for all day. My place was more immaculately clean than it ever had been, since I'd been stress cleaning all day. I'd gone as far as to scrub the base of all my windows. I finally took a calming potion that made me relax a bit, and was able to sit and watch some TV before Ellery’s arrival.

I’d expected him to be late, so I was shocked when I noticed it was almost twenty minutes early. When I opened the door, there he was. I had seen him just a few days ago, but every time I saw him, it felt like I saw something new. He had a dark sweater on that fit to his body perfectly, and black slacks. He looked to have gotten a haircut. His sides were shorter and more clean, and his curls were even more styled than normal.

Just planning on traveling, I was in black leggings and a large sweater, and instantly felt underdressed.

"Hello," he greeted. "Are you ready?"

"I am," I said. At least as ready as I could be.

He grabbed my roller and headed towards his car. After I shut and locked my door, I realized he was headed towards a different car than he'd picked me up in a week ago. This was a large white Mercedes SUV. Of course he had more than one nice car.

He put my bag in the trunk and I handed him my duffle to add to it. His suitcases were already there, and I was sure he had more luggage than I did.

I hopped in the car and he followed. In the short week since dinner, the air had cooled substantially, so getting into the heated car was nice.

"How long is the drive?" I asked as he started driving.

"Four hours," he said. "We'll stop for food because we'll probably get there late."

"Sounds good."

We drove in silence. Quiet had never bothered me, so it was fairly comfortable. He played music and I scrolled through way too many videos.

About two hours in, we pulled off an exit and into a small diner parking lot. It looked old and run down, with metal outer walls and a sign that now only lit up to say D-ER.

"What's this?" I asked.

"I always stop here on my way to the lodge," he said. "They have the best french toast this side of the country."

I shrugged. I didn't peg Ellery as a french toast guy, but he did seem to have a bit of a sweet tooth.

We hopped out and my boots crunched through what looked like freshly fallen snow. I didn't notice any coming down on the drive, but everything seemed to have a fresh dusting.

The diner was as rundown inside as it was out. The tiles were sticky and all the pleather of the booths had rips.

A waitress took us to one of the tables, leaving us with cloudy, plastic covered menus.

Ellery seemed to be right about one thing. After I ordered a lemonade and Ellery ordered his coffee, I checked out the menu. They advertised the french toast right on the cover, and had a list of flavors. I decided on some with strawberries on it before setting it aside.

We ordered, me the strawberry and Ellery the banana and nutella, before the waitress swept away with the promise of food soon.

"So, what does this family vacation entail?" I asked.

He shrugged. "The normal. Some skiing, dinners, spending time together."

"Sounds like it will be nice."

"What about you?" he asked. "What are your vacations like?"

"Nothing special," I said. "It was really just my mom and I. My grandmother couldn't come because of her health, though she did come to the lake once before she passed. But we mostly did weekend trips to the beach." Though my mom had always kept us comfortable, we didn't have a ton extra for extended vacations.

Ellery scrunched his nose. "I don't really like the beach. I much prefer a ski trip."

I furrowed my brows. "Who doesn't like the beach?"

"Not only is it always hot," he began, ticking on his fingers, "but it's boring, and not to mention, sandy. Sand gets everywhere. And you can never get rid of it. I swear I shook out a sandal the other day with sand in it from my trip three summers ago."

"Sounds like you have a sand ghost," I said, wiggling my fingers.

"It feels like that. Do you believe in ghosts?”

“Yes,” I said.

I was a witch, I’d met enough mediums to know ghosts were real. But that wasn’t any kind of give away, really. Lots of people believed in ghosts, even people who couldn’t talk to them.

“That’s interesting.”

I shrugged. “I mean, why not, right? I don’t think they’re around every corner ready to get you, but I think some people can get stuck.” Ghosts were truly docile. Slips of spirits that couldn’t muster up the power to do much more than communicate through a conduit.

“I don’t know if I believe it,” he said. “Like you said, what’s the harm? But do I want to believe in the idea a dead person could be watching me at any time? What if I’m changing?” He shivered dramatically.

“You think someone who stuck around for their afterlife would do so just to see you naked?” I asked.

He folded his arms in mock offense. “I don’t see why not. I’m very nice to look at naked.”

Heat ran across my face as I recalled exactly what he looked like naked, and though an arrogant thing to say, he wasn’t wrong.

Our food came out right after and he was right, this was excellent french toast. It was made from Chalah bread, which made it thick enough that it didn't get all soggy. And the macerated strawberries on top were the perfect add on.

When we were done, I got a hot apple cider to go and we were back on the road. Snow had started to come down, but lightly, making the road in front of us look like we were in hyperdrive through space.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next time I opened my eyes, we were in front of a giant lodge. It had floor to ceiling windows everywhere and stone steps leading to a giant beamed entrance. With all the snow around it looked like a winter wonderland.

"We're here," Ellery said.

I nodded, stretching before hopping out of the car. I moved around, but Ellery shook his head. "The bell hop will bring them up," he said.

I wasn't sure why we couldn't carry our luggage, but was too tired to argue. I followed up the steps into the lobby. It felt like a warm hug. It was all dark woods, with a fireplace crackling to the side and leather furniture all about the space. The smell of burning wood and warm vanilla filled the air.

"Good evening," the desk attendant said. "Ellery Scott, welcome back," she greeted. "Holiday vacation?"

"Like every year," he affirmed. "Just checking in."

The woman clicked her nails across the keys, before reaching behind her and grabbing a card. "You'll have your usual," she said, sliding the card across the desk. "Your luggage should be on the way as we speak. Please feel free to use any of the amenities.” The way she said ‘amenities’ was a bit strange. “And if you need ski lessons, just let us know and we can schedule that."

"Thanks," he said.

We turned away, hand in hand as he led me to the elevators. Having his hand in mine was strange, but not unpleasant.

We reached the top floor and walked a few steps down the hall, where he swiped the key card and opened the door. The room was beautiful. It was the same dark wood theme as downstairs, with a small living area and a bed off to the back. I peaked into the bathroom, where I noticed not only a rainfall shower, but also a large tub I planned to use frequently during our stay.

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door and our belongings arrived. Ellery tipped the man and brought our stuff in.

"Would you like to shower?" he asked.

"Yeah, I should." I felt a bit gross after being in the car for so long. I got out some pajamas and my face wash before going into the bathroom.

Once I felt more myself, I slipped into the silk top and shorts I got and went out to the room.

He switched with me quietly, looking me up and down once before going in.

I tried not to think on it too much as I put my things back in my suitcase. I should probably unpack since we were staying for so long, but that was a problem for tomorrow.

As I gave the room another glance over, something else occurred to me.

There was only a single bed.

I assumed we'd be in some kind of suite, but it seemed to be more like a studio apartment. It didn't matter, though, the couch looked large and comfortable, I could easily sleep there.

I grabbed the throw from the back of the couch and a pillow from the bed before slinking down onto the couch and finding sleep quickly.