One More Time (Bremmy 1)

Chapterish 47

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| VAIL |

ARRIVAL

New Years in Vail.

Vail with 5+ of my high school friend group. I didn't need much convincing. I'm committed to it. Embracing it.

Brooks will be there.

Don't judge. Snowboarding. Drinking. Making out in hot tubs surrounded by snow-capped mountains? You wouldn't need convincing either.

I connect in Denver. The short pause on the ground is enough for messages to flood my phone. Off with airplane mode and on with the texts. Trix. Brooks. Trix. Meg. Mom.

Can't WAIT!

I want you.

U bring ur furry boots? U kno the ones.

Trix needs furry boots.

Stay safe in Vail! luv from Prague.

Prague. I missed fucking Prague this year. God damnit the hot tub make-out sessions better be worth it.

It's a quick flight from Denver to Vail. Still called for three splits of champagne though ('tis the Holiday). Somewhere between two and three, my mind succumbs to champagne fueled daydreams. Brooks and his stupid lips. What he does with them to mine. Both of mine.

I'm flying too high right now. Boujee in my winter boots and oversized fur coat, and a fluffy king-size blanket masquerading as a fashion scarf. Hair freshly trimmed and colored, lashes done, fake face applied, and nails painted snow bunny pink.

I'm already feeling fine. The champagne is just helping.

Helping me remember the last time Brooks and I spent a NYE weekend together. It was... the last turn of the decade. Ten years ago. When '09 became '10. The New Years before we graduated. Before we left our childhood behind. Before we left us behind.

We spent a weekend in the Poconos. Rented a house with the usual suspects. Trix and Travis, Meg, Nate, Alex and his old girlfriend Rachel. Johnny and some others too. Big group. We did the skiing and the boozy bonfire thing, but we toasted marshmallows like good high school kids. So it all evened out. Brooks and I snuck around the house, stealing kisses when we thought no one else was looking. We cuddled up by the fire, playing footsies with fuzzy socks. Drank, are you ready, BOXED WINE. That's how you know it was 100% high school.

Then one thing led to another and we got in a fight on New Years Eve. Out of character for us, I know. Didn't last too long. We were kissing again by the countdown, ready to usher in the new year together. Ready to usher in a lot together.

I blink and it feels like yesterday. I can almost smell the inside of that rented cabin. I can hear the nostalgic '09 music playing on the speakers downstairs. I can taste the chlorine of the hot tub on my lips now. HOW has it been a mf decade?

It's been one week since I last saw Brooks. Since we were basking in the morning-after glory of romping in my hotel room. Since we danced in the snow-dusted garden. Since my parents knew we had a slumber party on the second floor of the B&B. I can't help but think maybe our secret's out.

I drag my rolly through baggage claim. People are judging my fur coat. Relax, snobs. It's faux. The only downfall of being the last one to arrive is having no one to ride with to the resort. Luckily, plenty of other people are scampering off to the shuttle line, so I have plenty of company.

My fur boots hit the ground as the cute bellhop takes my bag from the shuttle. The place looks exactly like the brochure, right down to the freaking charm. It's a cluster of resorts –different hotel high-rises and lodges and chalets all centered around a sort of town-square. The center village has a corner bar with a moose head hanging over the entrance.

A real moose head.

The lobby is breathtaking. Gold lanterns and cowhides and dried flowers and ranch oil paintings. Looks like chic and rustic had a baby. It smells like an outdoor garden spa in the basement of a leather shop. Smells like if being rich had a smell.

I'm first to the desk and my nerves are starting to get the better of me.

He's here somewhere. In twenty short minutes I'll be hugging him. Though a hug is not really what I want.

"Enjoy your stay." The concierge smiles.

"Thanks," I mumble, taking my key from the desk and walking down the hallway.

I pass more animal hides, a glass jar filled with raw cotton, and dark leather couches. My room is on the far side, the mountainside, the ski-in ski-out side. I push my bag into the room and the first thing I see is the sliding glass door taking up the entire back wall. It leads to a small patio with two chairs and a rack for skis/boards. The gas fireplace is on low. And the bed.

Oh god the bed.

White and fluffy and giant: A cloud.

I check out the bathroom to brush my teeth. Plane coffee is still strong on my breath. Can't have that. Not much of a bathroom. The tub sort of opens up to the lounge area in front of the sliding doors. It's one of those old claw-foot tubs, the kind only seen in movies.

I throw my coat over the chair and slip my phone from my pocket to connect to the guest Wi-Fi.

ROOM 302 when u get here :)

Here yet?

Where did u put the key again love

Bikini ON

Trix, Brooks, Zoë, Trix. The usual. Oh, here's another one.

We left -meet us at hot tub.

Meg.

Nothing like a hot tub to wash away plane juju. I answer Zoë. The key is on her clip, exactly where I put it. Then I text Meg back.

Way to wait. Coming in 5.

I unzip the suitcase and my plane book falls out. The cover is folded over since I shoved it in when we were debarking. I dig for my bikini, my fingers searching for the plush neoprene. I'm getting used to living out of a bag –makeup, clothes, life. All out of a bag.

I change into my jeans and pull on my Henley. I flip my hair up in a clip. Yes, a CLIP. A claw clip. Can't let this beautifully dry hair get ruined already.

It's not hard to find the pool/hot tub/spa area. There's only one deck that goes outside. The cold air bites my face and I think my eyeballs might freeze open. I see them as soon as I step outside. A group of twenty-something hoodlums that could only belong to me.

I walk the perimeter of the pool, which is shaped like a sprawling amoeba. One half of it disappears behind a steamy glass wall. Indoor-outdoor pool.

There are at least three separate hot tub areas. One is connected to the pool, separated from the pool by only a low ledge. Another is a standalone tub that's against a railing overlooking the village (didn't realize I walked so high to the lodge). The last hot tub and where my hoodlums are currently gathered is another rectangular standalone. It's sort of raised on a platform too. It overlooks the mountainside but has a wall behind it that's covered with green pine branches and giant bulbous lights.

Seriously with the white lights.

This place is like an influencer's backdrop begging to be posted all over the media.