My Favorite Souvenir(16)

I barely got a glimpse of his impressive bulge before he immersed himself in the water next to me.





Chapter 5




* * *



Matteo



I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of this sooner. Boxer briefs weren’t all that different from swim trunks.

I took a swig of my beer and breathed in the hot steam. “This is the life, huh?”

Maddie closed her eyes. “Sure is. I’m really glad you convinced me to stay today. Thank you again for taking me out on the slopes.”

“It was my pleasure. It had been a really long time since I was out there. It was much needed.”

Now wasn’t the time to bring up the reason why I hadn’t skied in so long. Although a part of me wanted to open up to her, I didn’t think it was a good idea to darken the mood tonight. We were buzzed and half naked in a hot tub. I needed to enjoy that fact and not bring real life into the fantasy we’d been enjoying for two days. You’re Milo, not Matteo, right now. Remember that.

She chuckled. “The only bad thing about you joining me in here is that we no longer have anyone suitably dressed to fetch us more drinks.”

“I’ll dry off and put my clothes on if I have to. Then come back in,” I said.

“You’re such a good sport.”

“Well, you don’t seem to mind watching me dress and undress, right?”

Her face turned beet red. Shit. I might have pushed it too far with that one.

“I’m just kidding, Maddie.”

She blew out a frustrated breath. “You know what? The old me would have denied that I ogled you this morning. But given that I’m supposed to be carefree on this trip, I will say yes, I do admire your physique. But it ends there. I’m not looking for anything, certainly not sex with a virtual stranger. Or my brother. I hope you know that.”

Ouch. Virtual stranger. I thought we were a bit beyond that.

Things went silent.

Well, this was a downer.

I hadn’t meant to make her uncomfortable or defensive. I was a little drunk and loose with my words.

“I apologize for making you uncomfortable. I was just joking with you.”

“Okay. Well, I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m just coming off a bad breakup, and maybe a part of me is a little lonely and vulnerable, but not enough to lose my inhibitions with you, in case I insinuated anything.”

Man, she was tense all of a sudden. It sort of made me want to kiss her, take her upstairs, and help her properly unwind. But I knew none of that would be happening. Number one, she’d just closed the door. Number two, what would be the point in making a move when we were leaving each other tomorrow? Number three, she kind of hated me right now.

Maddie was clearly not the type of girl you messed around with, despite her alleged desire to be more impulsive. Women give off signals, and from the very beginning, I knew she wasn’t the type you have a one-night stand with. She was far too complex. And far too...special. I really did hope she didn’t take the asshole back who’d hurt her.

I felt like I was eating crow. “Okay, now that we’ve clarified that there are no expectations, can we try to relax a little before we have to leave in the morning? Can I go get us another round?”

“I’d like that.” She offered a slight smile that didn’t quite fix the mess I’d made.

? ? ?

After we returned to our rooms, I had a hard time getting to sleep.

And the following morning, I woke up feeling the same way: like shit.

I’d pushed it, embarrassed her. Instead of teasing her, I should’ve told her the fucking truth: that I’d felt more alive with her on the slopes yesterday than I had in years.

Later that morning, we met for a quiet breakfast downstairs.

The ride to the airport was even quieter.

When we got there, we found that both of our flights were delayed about an hour, but we were still scheduled to take off today. I was thankful for a little extra time to spend with her before we had to say goodbye.

The mood was still somber. We were standing in front of a bookstand when I said, “We’re early. Do you feel like grabbing a coffee and sitting down somewhere together?”

She nodded. “I’d love that.”

We stood in line at Starbucks and fought over who would pay on our respective phone apps. I ended up winning and footing the bill.

We then took a seat in one of the waiting areas.

I nudged my head toward an old man sitting across from us. He wore a tweed jacket and was munching on what looked like a head of raw cabbage stuffed inside a Ziploc bag.

“What’s his deal?” I said to her.

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s play a game. Tell me who you think he is and where he’s going.”

She pursed her lips, pondering. “I think his wife just died, and he doesn’t know how to cook for himself, so he stuffs roughage into plastic bags and snacks on it for sustenance.”

“Interesting theory. I’ll finish the story.”

“Okay.” She laughed.

“Archibald…” I turned to her. “That’s his name…had been struggling after his wife’s death—until he came across Irina in a mail-order-bride catalog. He’s currently on his way to Moscow to meet her.” I nodded, prompting Maddie to continue the story.