9. Ellery

Ellery

The next morning I stretched my arms over my head, sprawling out. The beds here were always so comfortable. I sat up, looking around. The blanket and pillow were both folded on the couch neatly and Juniper was nowhere to be seen.

I didn't think about the fact that my usual suite only had a single bed. I normally only come by myself, so I wasn't thinking about requesting a full suite. While I could ask to be moved, my family would probably find it suspicious that we moved to a room with more than one bed.

I also would have offered to have us sleep together. We were adults who could share a bed, but by the time I was done showering, she was fast asleep on the couch.

I wondered where she was now. She couldn't have run off too far. Standing, I found a coffee cart pushed into the room. I hadn't requested one yet, but I usually did. The resort likely had my preferences on file.

After securing a cup, I moved to go to the balcony. All of them were encased in glass, keeping it comfortable in the freezing weather. This resort had beautiful views of the mountains and the small town below that always took my breath away when we came.

I reached the sliding door and realized Juniper was there. She had her feet tucked up in front of her and her hair up in a bun, sipping her steaming cup. Though she wasn't my normal type at all, seeing her like this made my cock throb slightly. Not that it mattered. She wanted nothing to do with me, and though a single night would be fun, we had to survive the coming weeks together.

I slid the door open quietly so as not to spook her. She turned, her hazel eyes cutting to mine. "Good morning," she said over her cup.

"Morning." I sat down in the lounger next to her, stretching out across it.

"This is beautiful," she said, gesturing to the mountains beyond.

"It really is," I agreed. "Nothing you can see in the city."

We sat in silence, enjoying the coffee and the view.

"What do you normally do on weekends?" I asked, continuing our ritual of coffee and questions.

I wasn't sure why I started doing it. The next time I saw her, I wanted to know a bit about her. I knew it would be good for our ruse, but deeper than that, I also just wanted to know.

"I see we're back to the questions," she said, but doesn't sound truly annoyed. "Depends. Usually it's when Casey and I can work on the app. Sometimes I work, but that's only if I pick up someone's shift. Otherwise, I meet with my mom or my friends. What about you?"

I thought on it. Did I want to admit I usually spent it out, drinking with people I hardly knew and hooking up with random people? Usually I didn't mind saying it, but something about admitting it to her made me stop in my tracks.

"It varies. Usually I do social things."

She snorted. "Social, right."

I shrugged. It seemed with my life being blasted around online, it was obvious what I was up to.

"So," she said, changing the subject. "What's the plan today?"

"Normally we meet for brunch downstairs, then do some walking around the town. It's good to go early, sometimes the snow can make it hard to get down the path."

"Sounds good."

After, we both went inside to get dressed. I chose a simple grey sweater and jeans, and Juniper wore a bright orange sweater tucked into her jeans. The color made her look a bit like a traffic cone, but it suited her still. The bracelet I gave her still glittered around her wrist. I'd seen her wear it when she was at the coffee shop too, and it made a deep part of me–a possessive part rear its ugly head in satisfaction.

So much so, I ended up getting her a pair of earrings. It matched the set, and looked like moons dripping in diamonds.

When she came around the corner, I held the box out to her. She took it, eyes still wide with surprise. That was another thing so different about her. I'd gotten girls gifts before, never quite like this, but nice things all the same. Yet when I gave them those things, they smiled, but it was expected. Nice gifts were always expected.

Juniper didn't ever expect these things, so each time I gave them to her, her reaction did something to me.

She gasped as she opened the box to reveal the earrings. "These are beautiful," she said. Her eyes shone as she looked at me, making my chest flutter in a strange way I didn’t recall ever feeling. Maybe I was sick. Maybe I needed to get checked out.

"I'm glad you like them," I said.

She turned and moved to the bathroom, and a few minutes later she came back with the earrings dangling from her ears. That possessive part of me was satisfied seeing her wear the things I bought for her. But something else in me warmed when I watched her look at them in every reflective surface we passed on the way downstairs.

When we arrived at brunch, most people already seemed to be there. Though everyone in the family attended these trips, and always essentially rented out the entire place, this first brunch has always been immediate family only.

"Good morning," Rachel said. "I was hoping you guys would be awake enough to join us," she said with a wink.

We just gave a small smile, neither of us admitting that nothing like that was going on between us.

"How was the drive up?" Juniper asked as we sat at the table.

"Fine. Samuel only got lost once."

The man in question scoffed next to her. "I didn't get lost. I just took a wrong turn."

"And then another?" she teased, though there was no malice in her words. Only snarky adoration.

"Whatever," he said, bumping her playfully. "What about you? How was your trip?"

"Fine," I said. "Uneventful."

Juniper nodded and we all perused the menus.

Brunch passed normally, and soon everyone was ready to get down to the town. The drive was scenic. The trees were coated with heavy drifts of snow, weighing them down slightly, though the branches were still holding firm.

I parked on the street as we arrived at the small town of Castbur. This town had been the same since we started coming here when I was a child. All the buildings were short and perfectly side by side. During the holidays, wreaths hung on every utility pole, poinsettia baskets were set out in front of each building, and lights shone atop every building. It created a pretty atmosphere at night. I wondered briefly if Juniper would like it.

"I need to stop at the coffee place first," Rachel proclaimed as we got out of the car. "I require a walking drink."

We all went in, ordering various drinks to carry with us. Juniper opted for a hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick inside and I had my normal coffee with one sugar.

"Why don't we go to that craftsman store down the road?" my mother asked as she sipped her own drink. She was in a fur coat that almost swallowed her whole, and a matching hat.

My father agreed and our party started heading that direction. He used to skip out on most of the trip for work, then even when he was there, he was knee deep in it the whole time so we rarely saw him.

Now he was passing that responsibility to Arthur, the roles were reversed, and my father joined us with Arthur constantly stepping out to check emails or take calls. I never envied the responsibility, but seeing him transform so seamlessly into our father made me a bit sad for him. I would discuss it with him, but the single time I tried, he shut me down quickly. So, everyone just sort of let it happen.

The craftsman store had lots of things from small artists in the area, namely dish sets, jewelry, and handcrafted candles. They always loved to see my family coming, mostly because everyone knew how to spend money.

"This is nice," Juniper said to Rachel, stopping me in my tracks. The store had rows upon rows of ceiling high shelves, and I was on the other side of one, out of their view.

"That is nice," Rachel agreed. They seemed to be looking at candles from the small gaps I could see. "You should get it."

"I don't think so," she said, placing it down. "It's a bit out of budget."

"We could totally get that if you wanted. Trust me, Ellery can afford it. For as little work he does, he gets paid well."

I sniffed at the way Juniper laughed at that. "I appreciate it, but I don't think we're at that stage yet."

"Girl, he bought you the jewelry sets. Trust me, as weird as it is, that's serious in this family."

Juniper didn't say any more, but I partially wished she had. At least it seemed like our ruse was believable.

Once they were far I wrapped around the corner towards where they were stood. I perused the shelve until something caught my eye. It was a turquoise clay jar with a small turtle on top. I remembered what she had told me at the coffee shop and knew this had to be the right one. When I opened the lid it smelled like vanilla and sea salt, nice but not too overpowering.

For some reason, I snuck to the counter and bought it before we continued on.

There were a few more shops we always stopped in before we had lunch, then headed back for the lodge. When we arrived, everyone broke off into their separate groups, leaving Juniper and I to go back to the room.

"That was fun," she said as we rode the elevator up.

"Yes. It seems you and Rachel are really hitting it off."

"She's great," Juniper said.

"Well we have free time until dinner, is there anything you want to do?"

She shrugged. "Not really. Is there anything fun to do?"

"There's a few things. We could—"

I was cut off as the elevator shook slightly then abruptly stopped.

"Huh, that's weird," I said. I tried the button again, but we weren't moving. I clicked it a few more times for good measure before the whole thing suddenly shut off.

"That's not good," Juniper said. Her voice sounded a bit shaky, but I couldn't see her.

"It's fine," I said, trying to be reassuring. "I'll just text my parents to have them tell the desk."

When I checked my phone, however, there was no service. I asked Juniper if she did, but she also didn't have any bars. I pressed the call button, but didn't hear anything.

I supposed that meant we were stuck until someone found us. In the dim light of our phones I caught a glimpse of her and realized something was wrong.