Breathe In (Just Breathe, #1)(25)
“Oh, yes!” Maggie replies. “There’s skiing and tubing. The San Bernardino mountains aren’t too far either. We’ll all have to go next year!”
She’s clearly testing the waters on her own now.
“There are snowy mountains near here?” Henry asks with a little disbelief.
“Yeah. They’re only about two hours east on Route Two-Ten. You’ve heard of Big Bear, haven’t you?” Maggie offers.
She appears to be too excited to finish the last few bites on her plate.
“I didn’t realize Big Bear is that close. I just figured that the skiing areas would be more in Northern California. Yes, we’ll definitely have to go next year!” Henry mentions with eagerness.
Maggie beams at his promise of future activities.
“Next year, then,” Joe adds as he stares right at me, taking another bit of his food.
Is he looking for me to agree?
The rest of the meal I refrain from any further prying, deciding to put the rest of my testing on hold for Saturday. I don’t want to scare Henry off too much, but I also want to throw him and Joe off the scent of my plans. I ask one or two little questions or add commentary, but I leave Maggie and Henry to their own devices of fervent talking for the majority of the time. On occasion, Joe adds a comment as well, but his behavior mostly models mine.
Before leaving to head back to their offices, Henry and Joe inquire about the check for lunch because one never came to the table. Maggie explains that it has already been taking care of, which is met with objections from both of them. They insist that they pay and Maggie refuses. Henry quickly insists that he gets our meal on Saturday when we are all scheduled to play volleyball and Maggie agrees.
I mention that I need to get back to Sadie and they all offer to walk me to the train station. Appreciative that they weren’t offended by my fun during our lunch, I respectfully decline. However, I do offer my hand to Henry when we officially say farewell to head in our separate directions. This peace offering gets a temporarily startled responses from the guys and an instantaneous sunny response from Maggie. I offer my hand to Joe last, who instead of shaking it, raises it and kisses the tips of my knuckles. I’ve never had a man do this before. Joe’s supple lips send electric sparks instantaneously to my sex, turning my body temperature up a few degrees. I’ve never had this intense of a reaction to a man’s touch and I’m conflicted by how much I like it.
Returning home from the engaging morning for both business and pleasure, I decide to take Sadie out for an early afternoon romp. I’ve got the local taxi company on speed dial for when I do need to take a car when my friends aren’t around. After changing into a sports bra, light blue colored, organic cotton v-neck shirt that doesn’t entirely hug my torso, black yoga capris that form to my entire body, and a my black moisture wick running jacket that has pockets perfect for jogging that hold keys and other little necessities, I then pack a small bag with three thermoses filled with filtered water, a pack of trail mix, a few doggy treats and a small folding bowl to pour water into for Sadie. After putting on my sneakers, Sadie and I head down to the cab and are off to one of the local hiking trails that are a few miles away up on the edge of the Altadena mountains, Eaton Canyon.
I hate cars — correction, I loath them after loosing my parents — but, sometimes they are necessary for getting around California. As much as I try to prep myself mentally, the experience is always the same, no matter who is driving. My heart races, my body temperature increases, usually causing me to perspire a little and one or both of my knees rapidly shake. Sometimes I’m able to minimize the stress and anxiety by distracting myself with my phone, but motion sickness can set in if I’m on it for too long. When I’m with Maggie, Jared and Nathan, one of them always holds my hand which helps and they talk to me the entire time to keep my focus off of the ride. If Sadie is with me, I usually pay lots of attention to her, however, she picks up on my nervousness which just heightens mine.
The afternoon drive in the cab goes quickly and there aren’t too many red lights before getting to the park entrance. Since I started using the cab company, I always request to have Charles. He has a nice, non-aggressive driving habit that I appreciate, and we get along well. Instead of heading back down the mountain, Charles sits and waits for me. Knowing my routine at the mountain, Charles always turns off the meter. He gets a quiet break and nap while I’m out as well as an additional forty dollar tip for waiting. We have a mutually beneficial relationship that we’ve established over the past two years that has turned into a nice friendship. We chat on the drive as he updates me on how his children and wife are doing as well as thanking me again for my generous Christmas gifts I gave him and the family. A while ago, he had mentioned that he and his wife wanted to take a week’s vacation with the kids to Disneyland, so I arranged for them to spend a week at Disney World. They are scheduled to go during his children’s spring break from school this year. I covered their flights, hotel stay and park passes. Every kid needs to visit Disney World at least once in their life — that is one of my fondest memories of my parents when I was little.
It takes a moment for me to adjust to the higher altitude. The air is thinner and takes a moment to get used to even for a physically fit person. Getting out of the taxi, I add my keys and phone into a zipper compartment on the inside of my jacket. My phone won’t be of any real use here because we are in the middle of several small mountains, but I bring it none the less — maybe I’ll listen to some music. I keep my jacket half zipped and toss the bag on my back.