Hollywood Harlot

Chapter 14

Snow began softly falling to the ground as Jake and Bella walked hand in hand to the lodge. They quickly crossed the massive lobby, which still took Bella’s breath away, no matter how many times she had seen it, and to the back exit onto the base of the mountain. There, Jake led Bella into a large pro shop.

“Molly, can you please get equipment from The Heart Shed for my girlfriend to use?” Jake asked a pretty girl with double pigtails.

Hearing him call her his girlfriend made her heart leap, even if it was just pretend.

“The Heart Shed?” Bella asked, curious.

“It’s an organization the lodge sponsors that allows at risk youth to come participate in winter sports at no cost. My parents donate the facility, but all of the equipment is either donated from customers who no longer need it or through fundraising efforts. We always have a wide stock of gear available for anyone who needs to use it, at no cost to them. Since you’re just here for a few days, it makes the most sense for you to just borrow whatever you need.”

“Of course,” Bella said as Molly motioned for her to follow.

Jake smiled, “She’ll take excellent care of you. I’m going to go grab my own stuff from the lockers and I’ll meet you right outside, okay?”

Jake took a step toward Bella and she happily met him in the middle. He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead, then put one hand loosely around her waist and kissed her passionately on the lips. Her lips and her belly began burning at the same time and she leaned up into him, eager for more.

He pulled back and looked down at her, obvious desire lighting his eyes.

“I’ll see you soon,” he whispered in her ear before turning away and walking out toward the hills.

Bella sighed contentedly, following Molly with a big, goofy smile on her face. The equipment manager took her to a rack along the back wall and turned to Bella to smile.

“Have you skied before?” Molly asked.

“Literally never,” Bella laughed nervously.

Molly smiled. “That’s not a problem. Jake’s a great teacher. And I can see you mean a lot to him.”

A blush crept up Bella’s face and she motioned to the hundreds of pairs of skis on the wall to distract herself.

“These are all part of the community outreach program?”

Molly nodded. “Yep. And Jake would probably never tell you on his own, but the whole thing was his idea.”

Bella nodded. “I’m not surprised to hear that actually.”

“Have you know each other a long time?” Molly asked curiously.

“Not that long, but I feel like I’ve gotten to know him pretty well,” Bella answered slowly. “Have you?”

“Kinda,” Molly answered as she reached for a pair of skis and grabbed a set of poles to match. “I mean, it’s obviously a small town, so everybody knows of everybody. But he was several years older than I was, so our paths didn’t cross a whole lot.”

Molly motioned for Bella to have a seat on a rustic wooden bench in the middle of the Heart Shed.

“What size shoe?” she asked Bella, but Molly was already bringing over a pair of boots for her. “I guessed 8.”

“You guessed right!” Bella exclaimed. “I’m impressed.”

The younger girl chuckled. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”

Bella took her shoes off and replaced them with the pink ski boots Molly had brought her. She stood up and jumped up and down a few times.

Molly laughed again. “You’re going to have a blast out there. Everybody is glad Jake is back, even if it is just for a few days. The entire family means a lot to this town.”

Looking past Molly to the outside of the Heart Shed, Bella could see Jake standing there, waiting for her. He was all geared up in his own equipment, looking up the mountain, occasionally smiling or waving at someone as they went by. His chiseled features looked even more manly in the sparkling light of the sun bouncing off the snow, and Bella felt her breath catch in her throat. He really was a beautiful man, apparently inside as well as out.

She nodded and smiled warmly at Molly. “Thank you so much for everything, I hope to see you around again soon.”

Molly smiled and waved goodbye as Bella walked out to meet up with Jake.

**********

Half an hour later, Bella stared down the hill to the lodge, which seemed very far away.

“I’m not so sure about this…” she turned to Jake and grimaced.

He adjusted her snow goggles for her and checked to make sure her pole straps were securely tied around her wrists.

“It looks steeper than it really is,” he reassured her. “Remember what I taught you. Knees together and slightly bent. Just ride it out down the hill. You’ve got this.”

A blast of wind whipped across Bella’s face and she shivered. Still uncertain, she took a deep breath.

“I’ll be right there the whole time,” Jake said calmly. “We can do this together.”

Bella nodded and tentatively pushed off with her poles. She began moving slowly down the slope and focused entirely on the space in front of her, as if she was driving. As she moved downward, she began to pick up a little momentum. The wind rushed past her and she maintained control, knees bent and together, skis pointed forward. She reached the bottom of the little incline all too quickly and stood up tall when she did.

Jake pulled up next to her seconds later.

“What did you think?” he asked, pulling his goggles up on top of his head.

Bella mimicked his motion, moving her own goggles. She burst out in a beaming smile.

“That was awesome!” she cried out, spontaneously reaching up toward him for a big kiss. The second her lips connected to his, she felt that familiar burst of joy and excitement radiating from her core. Combined with the exhilaration of her first time skiing, she felt pretty incredible.

“You’re gorgeous,” he said, staring at her slightly in awe.

She giggled and lightly punched him on the arm.

“Let’s go again!” She called out to him, already moving toward the conveyor belt for the beginner hill. “One more time down here and I’ll be ready for the next mountain!”

Jake laughed as he skied up to her. “I’m glad you’re having fun. Let’s take it one run at a time.”

“Last one to the top is a rotten egg,” she sang. She felt so good, so relaxed, and carefree in a way she hadn’t felt for months, maybe even years.

“Oh, you’re on,” he said as he casually yet efficiently sprinted past her to the base of the belt. He stopped and turned back to face her, smiling.

The sun shone brightly behind him, illuminating him in an almost halo effect. She stopped in her tracks to admire him for one moment. Standing there above her, neatly trimmed out in form-fitting winter gear, the sun and wind making his face rosy and bright, he looked almost too good to be true. Every fiber of her being wanted to rip both of their clothes off right then and there.

Her face must have given away her thoughts because his eyes darkened with desire. “Soon enough,” he said simply, and her skin tingled in anticipation of what she knew would come.

He reached out to her and she took his hand, allowing him to assist her onto the belt.

“Thank you.”

He patted her on the back and nodded, looking up the mountain, and she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on behind those sexy eyes of his.

****

An hour and a half, and countless runs down the little hill, later, Bella skied over to a bench and sat down with a thud.

“That was so fun! But exhausting!”

Jake joined her. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the slopes. It felt good to get out there again.”

“I’m sorry you had to babysit me the whole time. Why don’t you go do a few runs of your own on the big boy mountain?” Bella asked laughing.

“There’s literally nowhere else I’d rather be right now, than sitting here with you. Getting to show you how to ski was the highlight of my month, actually.”

“The highlight? Really? You can’t think of anything more enjoyable you’ve done?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

His eyes went immediately to her lips and he leaned in to claim her with his mouth. As he intensified the pressure of the kiss, she reached her hand behind his neck and pulled him closer to her.

“Nothing more enjoyable at all?” She murmured, slipping her tongue in and out of his mouth.

He grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her roughly, groaning.

“I lied! I lied!” he insisted, and she broke away from the kiss, slightly breathless, and laughing.

“That’s what I thought!” she pretend pouted.

“Let’s get changed out of this gear before we head to lunch,” he said, standing up and reaching a hand out to her.

“When’s lunch?”

Jake glanced at his watch under his winter coat. “In about 45 minutes.”

Her heart leapt in anticipation. “45 minutes gives us a little free time…”

He leaned down and unsnapped her boots from her skis and grabbed all of her gear before she even realized what was happening, dragging her into the Heart Shed so she could replace the borrowed ski boots with her own new pair from the resort gift shop. In a whirlwind, he grabbed her hand and begun pulling her toward their cabin, and she laughed in pure joy and delight on the way.