“Is that what you wanted? Would you have even spoken with her?” Levi asks.
He’s right. I’d have probably sent her away, but she didn’t even try to come and visit me. “I might have,” I say.
“Bullshit. You would have sent her home, and I know girls like Cali. They can’t afford to fly last minute, especially when they were just fired from their previous place of employment.”
“Fuck,” I growl, hating that Levi is right.
“You have two options. Treat her like a professional and let her live her life the way she wants or step up your game and offer to be there for her, no strings attached. She may surprise you.”
That’s the problem. Cali always has a way of surprising me, and it usually leaves me feeling breathless and ill at ease. “You’re suggesting I be a daddy to her kid?” I can’t believe Levi. He’s suddenly fallen into the role of being a father and taking it quite seriously.
“No, just be supportive. If the father doesn’t step up and come into the picture, she’s going to need help. Especially if she stays in Breckenridge. She doesn’t know anyone, right?”
I groan under my breath. “I’m forty-three, Levi. I’m done with diapers and sleepless nights from newborns. I went through all that already when I had Julianna.”
“No one is saying that you have to play daddy to the kid. But Cali might need a friend, and I know you still have feelings for her.”
Why does he think that he knows me so well? “I don’t.” It’s a lie. I don’t want to have feelings for Cali, but they don’t seem to just disappear because I want them to go away.
Why is that?
Why has she managed to irritate me to no end and make me crave her body like it belongs to me? I’ve never felt that way about anyone before, not even my ex-wife, Jess.
“Keep telling yourself that,” Levi says. “Clare and I didn’t always have a perfect relationship. We had our own issues to overcome. Just think of this as a test. If you both survive and don’t kill each other, maybe you’ll grow stronger together.”
I grumble under my breath. “I didn’t call looking for love advice. And I’m sure that we’ll murder each other long before we can ever fall in love.”
“That sounds like one hell of a tragedy,” Levi says. “You really should get out more. Get laid. If Cali isn’t the girl, find someone who is and just keep things professional with her. Listen, I have to go. Amelia found me and is climbing me like a jungle gym and Clare seems to have disappeared.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Keep me updated,” Levi says.
I hang up the call and glance back at the happy table of customers in the lounge. What started out as chit chat has turned to a friendly game of cards.
I walk past the older gentleman, probably in his mid-sixties, who gestures toward me. “Do you want to join us?” he offers.
“No, but thank you.” I contemplate sitting down with the table, asking them what they like and don’t like with the resort for some honest and genuine feedback. But I don’t think I could stomach any more bad news.
Cali being pregnant is enough to make me want to slam my head into a wall. I head up a flight of stairs for the fitness room.
I need to let off steam and a run a few miles on the treadmill. It’s a better option than jogging outside where it’s freezing, and the forecast is calling for snow overnight.
But the entire time I’m running, all I can think about is Cali. Her smile. Her laugh. That nose twitch when she gets upset with me before lashing out.
I run faster and harder, but she’s still in my head, and when I’m done working out, I head upstairs for a cold shower. The icy cold water is cruel and only makes my body ache further. I turn the water hot, imagining Cali’s mouth kissing a path down to my cock.
I don’t want to fantasize about her, but I can’t stop myself from thinking about what it would be like to plow into her sassy little mouth. I stroke my shaft, wishing it was her lips and tongue on me, taking every inch as I silence her and make her obey.
The longer I last, the more I wish I had her here in the shower, pinned between me and the wall. After she takes me in her mouth, I’d take her in the shower, pressed against the cold tile, and watch her nipples harden. I’d suck each mound while fucking her until she screams my name. And only then, would I let her come.
But that’s all I get from Cali, a fantasy that I dream up.
I finish off in the shower, dry off, and change into a pair of cargos and a T-shirt. I can’t be wandering around the lodge in my boxers, and I’m too tired to bother with putting on anything more professional. Besides, this is a ski lodge. We’re not a palace.
Stepping out of the bedroom, I see Cali is on my sofa, her feet tucked up beneath her. “How’d you get in?” I ask, surprised to see her.
“Jules let me inside. I told her I needed to talk with you. I was kind of surprised that she didn’t tell me to go to hell.”