Lynne

Chapter 23

 Our hotel room was nicer than our house. I had never seen a doorbell in a hotel before, but Len and I's room had one. Not only was it nicer, but it was larger, too. We had separate rooms. He had insisted that I take the master suite, with one wall made entirely of glass overlooking the foothills and lake below us. The entire scene was covered in a layer of snow. The trees held flakes within their branches, employees with shovels littered the quickly disappearing sidewalks, and smiling people bundled up in their winter-best were skating across the lake with the elegance of Olympic performers.

"You been here before?" Len appeared in the doorway.

"Never," I responded, watching a group of kids slip, fall, and laugh with each other. "That's the lake, right?"

He came to my side, looking down at the scene with me. "Yup." The lake was huge, separating the West Wing where we were staying from the East Wing, which held all of the restaurants, a huge swimming pool, and, apparently, a bowling alley. A sidewalk wrapped around the entire lake, extending to the bridge that stood over the middle of the oval-shaped ice rink. There were stringed lights entangled in the intricate pattern of the railing leading along the arched bridge. They weren't lit quite yet. The sun had yet to set.

"This is crazy," I told him.

"Wait until you see the ballroom. It's like a castle."

"You dressing all fancy for me?" I teased.

He huffed. "Yeah. Unfortunately."

"Tuxes not your thing?"

"Hell no."

"That's okay." I put a hand against the window, looking straight down. A couple strolled by on the sidewalk, arm in arm. "Dresses aren't my thing, either."

He stared down at the ice skaters.

"What time is does it start?" I asked.

"Not until eight, I think."

I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Why?" His eyes flashed between me and the rink below us. "You wanna go?"

"Hah. I, um, I dunno. I've never done it before."

"No?"

"No. I've roller skated before, but I know it's entirely different."

He shrugged. "Not really."

"What, are you, like, secretly a professional figure skater or something?"

He grinned. "How'd you know?"

I shook my head at his joke.

"We can go if you want."

The skaters continued their graceful dances across the ice. I watched them longingly. "Where do you even get skates?"

He grinned, clearly pleased with my decision. He grabbed my hand. "Come on."

"What? Now?"

"We'll come get ready after. We have time."

My bags sat unpacked on my bed. "The others have my dress."

"Tell them to wait for you." An excited sparkle flashed in his eyes.

"Um, okay."

"Come on."

He pulled me down the stairs. The two of us had just arrived, and were still in our winter clothes, so there was no need to wait to change. As soon as Len assured himself that he had our keycard in his pocket, we were gone.