One Christmas, Two Keys

Freezing

Ethan

“Yeah. You’ll have the couch,” She crossed her arms in front of her chest as she stood beside the couch.

I pursed my lips.

“I know? Unless you were expecting me in your bed,” I smirked and she just c****d her head to the side, brown eyes perusing me. Really brown eyes.

I took a step further into the room, since I’ve been left standing by the door for a couple of minutes now.

“Okay. I think we started out on the wrong foot, I’m not a ‘despicable’ person as you claim I am,” I muttered. Yeah, the last thing I wanted was for a stranger to brand me as inhumane.

It shouldn’t matter. But it did.

“I don’t need you explaining whatever, Mr. Hale.” she bit out. “We’ll be going our separate ways afterall,”

My lips twitched. Just as I expected, she was f*****g fiesty. With those dark wavy curls and brown skin.

There was a little accent to her tone and I knew she wasn’t from here, neither did she look…american. Maybe a little, but mostly mixed. And she was pretty. f*****g pretty.

Too bad, she had an attitude bigger than her.

“Sure,”

I walked to the couch, settling on it as she took a couple of steps backwards.

She eyed me.

“Do you have any weapon with you? I need to be sure I’m safe,” she said and I stared at her in disbelief.

“What?”

“Do you have a weapon with you? Pocket knife? Pistol? Even a shotgun,” she repeated like I hadn’t heard her the first time.

“I do not. Do I look like a killer?” I huffed.

“Psycopaths do look normal,” she stated flatly and I blinked. Oh wow.

“Well, I do not have a gun or a knife and even if I did, I wouldn’t use it on you. Jesus,” I mumbled and she stayed around for a minute or two before mumbling something under her breath and retreating into her room, shutting the door.

And a click. she locked it.

I scratched my hair. Well, I wouldn’t trust a random stranger anyway so she was right in locking her door - not like I had any intention of doing anything with her.

I loosened my tie, draping it over the couch and did the same with my shoes. I definitely wasn’t gonna take a nap with shoes on.

I shrugged out of my suit, leaving it on top of my suitcase and unbottoning the first buttons of my blazer. A sigh escaped me.

This was f*****g uncomfortable. Yeah, just when I decided to check in, did the left wing suddenly developed a fault with a storm rolling in soon, that’s if it hasn’t started already.

I laid on the couch, eyes roaming the ceiling. Hopefully, this would be resorted by morning and with the storm over, I can meet with the owner of this place.

Actually, I already had renovating ideas in mind. Build wooden cottages instead of the resort. It’d be better and everyone would have their space and privacy.

Perfect for family vacations.

Well, we could only see how tomorrow would turn out.

***

It was f*****g cold. No, I was freezing.

The storm had started three hours ago and I was f*****g wrong to think I could just lie through it without some sort of blanket. And the lady? She hasn’t stepped out ever since she went in - not even once.

And it had me wondering if she was alive in there.

“f**k,” I mumbled under my breath as I swung my legs off the couch, sitting up. I stared at her door long and hard.

It wouldn’t hurt to ask for a spare blanket or anything…would it?

I got up and walked towards her door. I hesitated for a second before I knocked.

Once. Twice. No response.

I grew a little anxious. Okay, so it’s actually very possible for a person to die while being locked up in a room.

I don’t know. She looked healthy to me. But anything can happen. She might be an epilepsy and asthmatic patient for all I care and maybe while I was asleep, she might have called for help.

My knocks got a little harder. My mum was in a situation like this and she…she died.

“Miss. Rivers?” I called, listening for any movement or sound whatever.

“Miss -”

The door pulled open and I would have fallen in, if hadn’t braced myself last minute.

I took a step back as relief coursed through me.

She scowled at me and I pinched the bridge of my nose. She was fine. Absolutely.

I pulled myself together and stared at her. She’d put her hair up in a bun and was in a —robe?

“Well, for a second there I thought you had died,” I mumbled and she blinked at me.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” she asked, cutting straight to the point.

“Actually, yeah. Um, do you have a spare blanket maybe? It’s really cold out here,” I muttered and she glanced around the sitting room before returning her eyes to me.

“Did you turn on the heater?” she asked and I blinked. There was a heater in here?

From the expression on my face, she figured it out and she scoffed.

“You did not.” she said dryly before brushing past me and towards the counter. She picked the little white remote sitting pretty on it and turned to me.

She turned the heater up some degrees and the room felt…warmer. And no, I’ve never felt this stupid in my life.

I should have checked for it.

Apparently, this woman had thrown me off my game more than once and it’s not even up to twenty four hours since we met.

How fascinating.

She gave me a flat look.

“So were you really knocking for a blanket or something else?” she asked and I shrugged.

“A blanket. I could still use one,” I mumbled and she narrowed her eyes at me before walking back into her room. She emerged a few seconds later with a blanket in hand, tossing it at me.

“There. That’s the only spare one I could find,” she muttered and I nodded.

“Thank you,”

She hummed before shutting her door. Well, that was….

I stared at the blanket as a small smile formed on my lips. Why do I have a feeling that I’d enjoy this rather immensely?

It was new.