Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

PETE

The pancakes on Pete’s plate looked like a perfectly good pillow, and she considered resting her head right on their fluffy, buttery, syrupy top.

Maggie was grinning into her coffee, Kiera was seemingly entranced by the diner’s tabletop, and Izzy was happily sorting through Pete’s vegan bacon, trading her crispy pieces for the floppy pieces that Pete hated.

Pete yawned and Danica glanced her way, trying to hide a smile. They’d gotten very, very little sleep the night before, and she was sure that it was obvious why, given Pete’s inability to keep her hands to herself this morning. Even now, her arm was slung over the back of the booth behind Danica, her fingers idly playing with a few strands of Danica’s hair that peeked out from her beanie.

It was their last full day of the trip, and everyone seemed rather exhausted and resistant to heading out to ski this morning.

“Can I just say that I’ve really missed you guys? And that we shouldn’t wait fifteen years to all hang out again?” Maggie said, smearing apple butter on her English muffin.

“Agreed,” Danica said with a smile. “Maybe we could make this a yearly thing. Kiera, do you think Aunt Jade would let us have a week at the condo next year, too?”

Kiera shrugged, glancing at her phone instead of looking at anyone. “Maybe.”

Danica angled her head, watching Kiera, and Pete could see the crinkle between her eyebrows, her studying gaze. Danica had always been sensitive to others’ feelings, always the first to notice if someone seemed off. It was one thing she had always loved about Danica — how concerned she was for everyone else’s happiness. Pete also struggled with Danica prioritizing others' happiness over her own.

Maggie slurped her coffee, precariously balanced in one hand while she twisted her shoulder to adjusted her other arm in the sling. “Even if it’s not in the mountains, we should definitely get together more often. Let's put this on the calendar every year.”

Izzy shrugged. “As long as you give me enough time to save money for a ticket, I’m in,” she said in between a bite of bacon. Izzy’s casual tone tugged at something in Pete’s chest. Izzy was the only reason Pete had come in the first place. She was concerned that a fifteen-year absence, due to her travels, had irreparably damaged her friendships. Izzy and Maggie had remained good friends, and Izzy had spent a bit of time visiting Maggie in the fall, but when it had come time to buy her tickets, she’d told Pete she might not attend because she couldn’t afford it. Pete had instantly bought Izzy a plane ticket, much to Izzy’s annoyance. What good was having money if you didn’t spend it on the people you loved? Then, upon hearing Danica would definitely be coming, she bought her own ticket.

Although she’d tucked away most of her money in the foundation and investments, she was comfortable. Financially comfortable, at least, for maybe the first time in her life. Her childhood and early adult years had been spent in constant upheaval and change, so she was used to it. Now, she craved that comfort and stability in all aspects of her life. She loved traveling, of course, but it just didn't feel as magical when she didn't have somewhere she loved to come home to.

She glanced sideways at Danica, watching the way Danica’s chestnut hair curled around her own finger, feeling the softness of Danica’s sweater under her palm, the warmth of their legs touching. Her daydreams of seeing Danica again paled in comparison to the reality of reconnecting with her. Every moment spent adventuring, talking, joking, undressing… She wanted more. Needed more. An emotional lump lodged in her throat as she realized anywhere could be home, as long as Danica was there.

It was embarrassing to admit, even to herself, how she wanted that to be true so, so badly.

Pete tapped the toe of her Doc Martens on the floor, suddenly feeling anxious about where things stood. The sex had been phenomenal, but it always had been. And somehow the intimacy was on a whole new level now. It was the knowing of a person, past tense, and the finding out of a person, present tense. Danica was the same, and yet a completely different person now. Loving Danica again was like rediscovering a beloved book — every chapter held newfound significance, resonating with her heart in ways she hadn't perceived before.

She choked on her coffee as the thought flitted through her mind. Whoa, where had that intrusive love thought come from? Love? Did she love Danica?

“You okay?” Danica asked, gently touching Pete’s knee as she coughed.

Pete nodded. “Sorry, just... wrong pipe.”

As Pete regained her composure, sipping a bit of coffee, the group finished up with their meal. Kiera was being weird and mopey, but Maggie tossed down her napkin with a comfortable sigh. Maggie glanced toward Izzy. “Eager to return to the mountain?”

Izzy leaned back in the booth, fidgeting with the zipper of her fleece jacket. “I was kind of thinking we could all try something else.”

Danica clutched the inflated snow tube to her chest as they stood on the top of Firecracker Hill, watching families sled down with shouts and laughter. Izzy had found a nearby shop that rented sledding tubes, and the group had enthusiastically agreed. Well, all except Danica, who looked like she might throw up in a nearby plant, should one be available.

“What could go wrong?” Maggie remarked, dragging her tube by one handle behind her. “At least falling will be easier than on a snowboard.”

“It’s a long hill,” Danica said.

“It’s barely a hill,” Pete teased. “It’s a stretch to call it a slight incline. After Allais Alley, this is nothing.”

Danica winced, looking at Kiera who was fixing her gloves as they watched a family of five slide down the hill in a clump of interconnected tubes.

“We should try that,” Maggie said, pointing toward the family with her elbow in her sling.

“And accidentally catch one of Pete’s Docs to the face? No thanks,” Kiera said.

Pete shoved down her initial response that Kiera catching a foot to the face would be no accident, but she decided she’d keep the peace for Danica’s sake. Kiera had been acting so strange today, staring at her phone, and watching Pete with a pointed expression. It’s not like she and Danica were hiding, not holding back from a hand on an arm, a playful bump of a hip. Kiera should be used to it — it was the way they’d always acted.

“Come on, Kier, I’ll put myself between you and Pete’s boots,” Izzy offered, and Pete watched suspiciously as they seemed to exchange a long, knowing look. She made a mental note to ask Izzy about it later.

After placing their five tubes together, Pete helped Maggie and Danica get settled in. Danica’s wide eyes, sparkling with excitement despite her otherwise serious face, made her adorable. Pete waited until Kiera and Izzy were situated before taking hold of her own tube, running a few steps, and throwing herself stomach-down onto her tube, reaching to take Danica’s hand as she passed.

In Kiera’s defense, this was a terrible idea. The tubes and their riders began to fly in all different directions, creating a screaming horde of adult women flying down the hill at speeds none of them expected. Although Danica held onto Pete’s hand tightly, a larger bump launched Maggie, Kiera, and Izzy in different directions. Kiera and Izzy flew from their tubes, continuing to roll downhill in the snow with shrieks. Maggie had tucked herself into a small ball, clearly afraid of further injuring her wrist after what Kiera and Izzy had just gone through.

Pete heard screaming, and it took a moment to realize that it was coming from Danica. After a brief pang of fear, she realized that Danica was yelling with... joy. She was laughing, her head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut. As they soared past their fallen friends, her hair whipped out around her coat hood, her wide mouth parted in happy squealing.

Pete wanted to memorize that sound, this feeling, the entire moment, and keep it forever. She let out an excited whoop, still laughing even as they careened from the path and tumbled from their tubes. A jolt of panic flashed through Pete’s body as she saw that Danica was lying face down in the snow, limbs askew.

She scrambled on her knees over to where Danica lay, rolling her over to find that Danica was still laughing, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Are you okay?” she asked breathlessly. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine, I’m fine,” Danica said, brushing at her face with her bare hands.

“You’re sure?” Pete asked, her heart pounding frantically in her chest. Danica grabbed the front of Pete’s jacket and pulled her down, pressing a warm kiss to Pete’s frozen lips.

“I’m fine,” Danica emphasized, and Pete brushed some of the hair from Danica’s face. “Anyone ever tell you that you worry too much?”

“No one has ever told me that, oddly enough,” Pete joked, helping Danica to stand as they wiped the snow from their clothes.

“We should rescue Maggie. She looks like a stuck turtle,” Danica said, nodding her chin toward where Maggie was still tucked into a tiny ball, safely ensconced in her tube towards the bottom of the hill. Higher up the hill, Kiera and Izzy were talking with their heads close together, but Danica didn’t seem to notice. They grabbed their tubes by the handles and helped Maggie, who was also fine, stand up. The three of them nearly fell over with giggles as they slipped and slid, trying to help one another regain their balance.

Pete walked back up the hill to where Izzy and Kiera were still talking, catching the tail end of a phrase from Izzy that sounded an awful lot like, “a terrible fucking idea and you know it.”

“You guys alive and in one piece?” Pete announced loudly, and both women spun toward her, looking surprised. Kiera’s cheeks were flushed, and Izzy was scowling.

“Should we go again?” Danica asked from behind her, dragging both her and Maggie’s snow tubes.

“Definitely,” Izzy said a little too quickly.

They spent the better part of the morning on the sledding hill, racing and trying to fly high on their tubes over the tiny ledge that could make them airborne. Pete’s tension about Kiera and Izzy seemed to unwind with each smile on Danica’s face, and when Maggie suggested lunch, Pete cleared her throat and announced that she and Danica would meet them after.

Her plan was two-fold. First, and most importantly, she wanted to steal Danica away for any alone time they could get out of their last full day. Second, if anyone could glean information about Izzy and Kiera’s talk, it was Maggie, who could read people unlike any other. Or, perhaps Maggie was just the friend group’s nosiest member, and therefore held more secrets than anyone else.

The second the condo door closed behind them, they were flinging boots and jackets and scarves off, already greedy with their kisses, desperate for one another.

“My bed, this time,” Danica whispered against her mouth as they pressed against a wall, Pete’s mouth already sliding over the soft skin of Danica’s throat.

“Who said anything about a bed?” Pete teased, her knee pushing between Danica’s thighs.

Danica was shameless as she moved her hips against Pete, urgent and needy. “You’d rather just fuck me against this wall?” She had a wicked smile on her face to match her sultry tone. Pete nipped at her lower lip, her hands sliding under Danica’s sweater, feeling her cold sweat-slicked skin.

“If I must.” Pete let out a husky laugh, her thigh rising as Danica’s hips ground against her.

An hour later, Danica lay sprawled over her, Pete’s breath finally slowing after drawing out Danica’s first orgasm in the hallway, fully clothed like horny teenagers, then dragging her to bed as they took turns satisfying what felt like a nearly infinite need.

“I can’t believe we ever left my bed after doing this last night,” Pete mumbled from where her face was still pressed into Danica’s hair, breathing in the rosemary and mint of her shampoo. “I don’t intend to make the same mistake again.”

“You think the others would ever forgive us for just spending the next 24 hours right here?” Danica joked, her fingertips trailing over the bare skin of Pete’s upper back.

“Oh? Just the next 24? I say we buy Aunt Jade’s condo and never leave,” Pete said, pushing up onto her elbow to get a better look at Danica.

Danica grinned. “I don’t know if even your crypto-bro money could afford this place.”

“The really sad part is that I bet she bought it in the 80s for a nickel and a handshake,” Pete said, glancing around the room. It was far too modern to be built in the 80s, but she couldn’t imagine what a giant ski in/ski out condo in Telluride would actually cost.

Danica’s smile was infectious as she gazed up at Pete, a playful glint in her eyes. “That lucky bitch.”

“What about you? Do you own a house?” Pete asked. “In Denver?”

“I have a condo,” Danica said, shrugging. “Eddie owned a house but I kept my place and rented to travel nurses until last month, when I moved back in.” She grimaced and added, “Sorry, I bet it’s weird to hear about him.”

Pete shook her head. “No, he’s a part of your past.” She watched Danica’s expression turn to one of contemplation, her mouth turning into a small frown. “What is it?”

“I’d have said the same thing about you just last week,” Danica whispered.

Pete’s stomach flipped in a bout of nerves. “Oh yeah?” Her voice softened. “And what do you say now?”

Danica studied her face for a moment, reaching up to trace a thumb over Pete’s cheekbone. She spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. “I’d say this trip has been a fun surprise.”

Hope bloomed inside of Pete. “It has,” she agreed, pressing a kiss to Danica’s nose. “And... tomorrow?”

“What about tomorrow?” Danica asked, her eyes searching Pete’s.

Pete’s voice was strained as she uttered, “We’re leaving,” the statement a battleground of emotions: one impulse pushing her to steer clear of the scary discussion and distract Danica, the other yearning to bravely explore the possibility of a future with her.

Danica’s forehead furrowed. “We are,” she said slowly, drawing out the words. “And you’ll go back to Seattle and I’ll go back to Denver.”

Pete plastered a smile on her face and nodded. She instinctively wanted to cradle her feelings like a wounded limb. “We will.” She matched Danica’s slow, reveal-nothing tone.

They stayed in silence for a few more moments, looking at one another, nearly daring the other to continue down that path. Danica broke the spell first, the picture of unbothered nonchalance as she turned away. “We should shower.”

“Aren’t we just going to work up a sweat again?” Pete asked.

Danica sat on the edge of the bed, glancing down at the place where she’d just been lying beside Pete. “Oh?” She sounded intrigued.

“You know, skiing.”

Danica shook her head, her chestnut hair falling around her shoulders. “You can think about skiing today? My shins would revolt.”

“Come on, Wendell. It could be one of our last runs together. We can take Galloping Goose and just enjoy it,” Pete suggested, knowing that Galloping Goose was a long, long run, out on the far boundary of the resort that could easily take up the rest of the afternoon.

Danica pursed her lips, considering it. “One last run?”

Pete emphatically shook her head no, her tousled curls bouncing around her head. “You can’t say that.”

Danica angled her head. “Why?”

“It’s a superstition. If you call it your last run, you will always make a dumb mistake and get injured. You have to say that you’ll take two more runs but then actually skip the last one, or say that you’ll see how you feel at the bottom.”

Danica squinted at Pete. “You really believe that?”

“Absolutely.”

A grin tugged at the edge of Danica’s mouth. “That’s adorable.”

“Do you tell actors they’re adorable for saying break a leg instead of good luck?” Pete crossed her arms with mock-affront.

Danica laughed, reaching to place a hand on her shoulder. “Okay, okay. Don’t go all ‘shred some gnar’ on me. I believe you. No last runs.”

“It’s shred the gnar, but… sure. Wanna go on a few more runs with me?” Pete asked, biting her lower lip as her mouth pulled into a smile.

Danica’s ocean blue eyes stayed on her. “Fine. We can do Galloping Goose and see how we feel at the bottom. But we’d better invite Kiera and Izzy or else I think they might riot.”

Pete pretended to pout. “Fine.”

“And I’m showering first,” Danica added.

Pete grinned. “Can I join?”

Danica glanced at her watch, pretending to consider the offer. “If you must,” she said with a long sigh, but Pete could tell she was teasing. Pete pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around Danica’s middle, dragging her off in a fit of laughter and protest.