Ski Lodge

13// Hot Cocoa

Wednesday morning

Emmett

It's 2:30 am, and all I can think about is that she hugged me. This girl who once despised me so much she couldn't say my first name hugged me.

Trisha

It's 3 am, and I can't fall asleep. I hugged him. He pinned me down to a couch.

Emmett

It's 4 am. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me. Her hand was so soft against my torso.

Trisha

5 am. Did I remember to add a cleaning pod to the dishwasher?

I sat up. It's not like I was going to sleep anyway. I better check. I pulled myself out of bed and down the stairs to the kitchen. Imagine my surprise when I saw someone sitting at the table with a tea mug. It was Mr Greene.

"Hey, Mr Greene," I said.

"Hey, hun, why are you up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep, actually."

"There's some chamomile tea bags and hot water on the stove."

"Why are you up, Mr Greene?" I asked as I poured myself a mug.

"Weston couldn't sleep. He climbed into bed with us. I got kicked all night. No one tells you having kids will be so hard, but I just can't imagine my life without them. Weston and Laura are two of the best kids I know. I owe it all to their mama. Really truly. I'll never be as great a dad as your dad is haha. But then I guess he has the psychiatry training leg up."

"Nobody is perfect, Mr Greene."

"Nope. No, sir. But doesn't mean we can't try our hardest to be the best version of ourselves. I'm going to go climb back into bed. Don't forget we have skiing day two today."

"Yes, sir."

I make my tea and check the dishwasher. Yep, I put a cleaning pod in it. I empty the dishwasher and finish my tea, placing the mug back into the dishwasher. I have to pee.

I run upstairs and into the bathroom. I'm in one of the stalls when I hear someone else enter the bathroom. I pull my feet up and wait. I think it's Emmett. He uses the toilet and goes to wash his hands. I hear him mumble something under his breath, but I can't make out all the words.

Emmett

Why can't I work the courage up to just kiss her?

Trisha

I think I heard the word courage. Maybe he's afraid of the slopes. He leaves. I wait a few minutes before flushing the toilet and washing my hands. So as not to be suspicious.

A couple hours later, I'm still awake and Laura is jumping up and down at the foot of my bed.

"Get up, get up, get up! We gotta go skiing! We can't miss the shuttle," she squeaks.

"The shuttle comes every 30 minutes," I groan as I pull my knit blanket over my head.

"Trisha!" My mom tells from down stairs, "hurry up."

"I'm coming!" I sit up in bed, my head pounding from a lack of sleep. Laura runs over to me and gives me a giant hug before giggling and running over to my ski pants and jacket, moving them from a chair to my bed.

"I'll go get your eggs," she squeals as she runs downstairs.

I grab my long underwear and change in my parents' empty bedroom, then pull on the over clothes and my shoes. Laura hands me a plate of fluffy scrambled eggs and I ravage them.

The ten of us all run out of the townhouse and up to the place where the shuttle takes us. No one is really awake yet, so it's pretty silent. Emmett and I avoid eye contact; it's too early, and I'm too tired right now to think. But we seem to gravitate towards each other, and I grow warm everytime he gets near.

The shuttle comes to pick us up, though we aren't the first family in line. A group of 4 gets in before us, leaving only 6 seats available.

"Weston and Laura can sit on our laps. It's not a long ride," Dr Greene suggests.

"Emmett and Laura, would you two be okay waiting for the next one. I can wait instead," my mom says.

"No, no. It's fine! Go ahead," I push her towards the shuttle door.

The shuttle leaves, and Emmett and I now have 30 minutes standing in line before the next one comes.

Silence.

"Good morning," Emmett chuckles finally.

I look up at him quizzically. "Why are you laughing?"

"I always laugh when there's silence," his eyes are sparkling.

"I'm sorry. I'm tired," I respond, smiling.

"Me too. Didn't sleep well."

I look into his eyes and try to read his expression. "Me neither," I finally respond. "I was up all night."

"Me too..." he starts to say.

"Trisha, Emmett," a girl's voice calls from the back of the line.

"Can I join you up there?" Phoebe doesn't wait for an answer before she starts pushing through the crowd, "those are my friends." She points to us as if that's some excuse to skip the entire line.

Emmett leans down and whispers in my ear, "pretend we're dating."

I look at him, eyes wide open, "what?!"

"Please," he pleads, "she won't leave me alone."

"Ok," is all I have time to say before she reaches us.

"Emmett!" She squeals as she leans in for a hug.

Emmett steps behind me, using me like a human shield.

"Hello, there," I say to Phoebe giving her a little wave and a cheeky smile.

"Emmett," she looks behind me, "you and I should do the difficult runs together."

"No, thank you," Emmett replies, "I'm going to ski with Trisha." He reaches down from behind me and holds onto one of my hands. It fits so well, even in mittens.

Phoebe's eyes track this movement, "but Trisha doesn't look like she'd do the harder runs. Don't you want to learn from someone who practically lives on the slopes. I'll give you a free lesson, or at least the payment won't be money," she grins.

"No," Emmett says.

"Oh come on, I know you two aren't dating. Trisha couldn't stand you when you first entered the coffee shop."

Our cover might be blown. Emmett doesn't give up but instead says, "no, we aren't dating yet..." I snap my head up to look him in the eyes. Why is he abandoning the plan? "But I was going to ask her on a date today." Is this true? Or a part of the ruse?

"You were?" I ask searching for the truth in his eyes.

"I am," he responds with complete sincerity.

"I will say yes when you do," I test the words. Flirty. Hopefully, just the right amount in case this isn't real.

I forgot Phoebe was standing there until her little black boot dug into the ice. "Whatever," she said before sauntering back to her spot in line.