Boycotts and Barflies (33 page)

watching the weather updates and worrying.

“We’re fine, Mom, don’t worry. But the snow’s getting really bad. Michael and

Ryan think it might be dangerous to keep driving, so I think we’re going to stop

and spend the night.”

Michael raised his eyebrows, waiting for Susan’s reaction, while Meg giggled

from the backseat.

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“I think that’s a good idea. Things are getting really nasty from what the news  is saying. Oh, I’m so glad you girls aren’t by yourselves. Now, how can I help?”  Susan sounded genuinely relieved to hear they weren’t going to brave the  snow and dangerous highway much longer.

“Can you get on the computer and quickly find us a hotel and make a  reservation?” she asked, knowing Susan was a whiz with online shopping and  reservations. “Ryan thinks there might be some ski resorts in the area.”

Susan jotted down the exit number they’d just stopped at and began searching  for lodging in the area. “Give me a second. I’m searching hotels,”

Susan said as Grace heard her fingers pecking away at the keyboard.

The first place Susan cal ed was booked for the night. Because of the weather,  they even had people sleeping in the dining room of their restaurant as they  were booked to overcapacity. Grace passed the information on to the rest of  the group and watched their expressions grow more concerned. Michael  cursed and clutched the wheel tighter as the snowfall picked up in intensity. Reaching across the  car, Grace gently rubbed Michael’s back, trying to relieve  some of the building stress in his muscles. He glanced over at her and smiled  appreciatively.

“Grace, you’re on Route 12 outside of Yakima, right?” Susan’s voice crackled  through the phone.

“Yeah,  about five miles or so, why?” She pressed her finger in her other ear so  she could hear her mother better with the sketchy connection.

“I found a place—Crystal Mountain. It’s about twenty minutes off the highway  you’re on, but they have a few rooms left. How many am I booking?”

“Um, just get one if it has two beds. If not, I guess we need two rooms,”

Grace said to Susan as Meg nodded her head in agreement.

Susan managed to book a room with two queen sized beds in Michael’s name at the ski resort. Michael continued along the highway, wanting to be out of the mountains as soon as possible. The roads grew more treacherous the further they traveled. Their jovial mood from earlier was forgotten as Michael concentrated on the snow- covered road in front of him. Grace sighed in relief that he and Ryan were with them; otherwise, she would have been the one driving through this mess.

Shortly after three o’clock, they pulled up to the resort, and by then the snow was falling so hard they had trouble seeing the lights of the lodge in the distance. Grace was never so happy to see a hotel overhang as she was then.

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Michael parked the car and helped the girls dig through the trunk to find their bags. Unfortunately, everything was jammed in  so tightly they couldn’t really reach all the bags, so Grace ended up grabbing a random tote and headed into the hotel after Meg. She and Ryan were sitting on a brown leather couch in the lobby while Grace and Michael went to the front desk to get the room keys.

“We have a reservation under the name Andris,” Michael said smoothly to the woman behind the front desk. She was in her mid -thirties, if Grace had to guess, and she looked thrilled by his polite attention. She grinned and fumbled around with her computer for a second.

“Oh yes, here it is. One room with two beds. Let me see what we have available.” She continued talking to herself on and off as she pecked away at the buttons on the keyboard. Grace couldn’t help but look around the room and take in beauty of the hotel.

The lobby was filled with rich shades of brown and yellow painted on the walls with rustic details and trim throughout to give it that ambiance of a distinguished lodge feel. The wood floor was freshly polished and the deep brown of the lobby desk made the hotel feel very warm and inviting. Off in the corner, a large fire raged in the fireplace, throwing soft light and shadows throughout the lobby.

“I’m sorry. It seems that because of the storm and the driving conditions, the previous guest is refusing to vacate that room. All we have left are rooms with one king- sized bed. Would you like two of those instead?” she asked, her eyes glancing over to where Meg and Ryan were sitting.

“That would be fine, as long as they’re close to each other, please.” Michael shamelessly flashed his dimples which made the woman blush. Grace

internally rolled her eyes at his flirtatious attempt to manipulate the poor

woman.

“The only two rooms I have are luckily across the hall from each other, but  they’re our deluxe rooms and are  more expensive,” she started to explain, but  Michael cut her off and slipped her his credit card.

“We’ll take them.” Grace’s eyes grew huge when she saw how much the rooms  would cost, but Michael turned to her with love in his eyes. “I’m not getting  back on that road, and an evening with you is worth every cent.” He kissed the  tip of her nose and signed his name across the piece of paper the woman  handed him.

“Here are your keys,” she said, extending one key to Michael and the other to

Grace. “And these are for your friends.” She handed a pair of keys in an 254

envelope to Michael and nodded in the direction of Meg and Ryan. “I’ll call

Mark to help you with your bags.”

Michael held up his key to Grace’s; both were for room 3 15. “Looks like we’re  roomies,” he said as he ran his fingers down her cheek and along her jaw line. The twinkle in his blue eyes was making her knees wobble and her stomach  flip, so she leaned back against one of the wooden columns in the lobby for  support.

Michael took step closer, nearly pinning Grace against the pole. “Maybe you can  help me get ready for bed.” Her face turned bright red because she had been  thinking the same thing, but she would never admit that to him. She turned her  head to the side and the next thing Grace knew, his mouth was right at her ear.  “Or I can help get you into bed, whichever you prefer.” His tongue gently ran  along her earlobe, making her shiver.

“Ryan,” Grace managed to croak out, completely distracted by Michael and his

attempt to seduce her, “take this before I do something I most certainly will not  regret.” She held her key out in her trembling hand and tossed it into his lap. Michael dramatically put his hand over his heart. “I’m hurt that you don’t want  to spend the night with me, Grace.”

“It’ll hurt more to be out six hundred bucks and a kick ass pair of shoes, Mr.  Andris. Trust me.”

Meg stifled a giggle and gave Ryan a playful nudge. “Go on, Ryan, help save  Grace from herself. You know how hard it is for a girl to resist the advances of a sexy man who is hell bent on trying to seduce her.”

Ryan laughed as he tucked the key into his pocket and helped Meg up off the couch. She went over to Grace and gave her one of the keys from her envelope to room 314, their new home for the evening.

“Can I help you with your bags?” a deep voice asked from behind them.

Grace turned to find an average looking guy who was about their age dressed in a maroon hotel uniform with black pants. He was much shorter than Michael and Ryan, but sto cky. His hair was on the longer side but gelled back to keep it off his face. There was a colorful tattoo peeking out from under the collar of his shirt.

“My name is Mark. What’s yours?” he asked as he held his hand out to Grace.

Innocently, she went to shake his hand and was disgusted when he kissed it

instead. That’s creepy, she thought to herself as she wiped it against her jeans.

“Um, I’m Grace.” She glanced over at Michael who had crossed his arms as he

stood scowling at Mark.

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“And you are?” he asked smoothly as he turned his attention to Meg, ignoring  the men completely.

“Hi. I’m Meg.” She gave him a small wave, which he returned with a wink. Ryan’s mouth fell open slightly at Mark’s apparent death wish. He and Michael  exchanged a look that asked “Can you believe this guy?”

Happy to know the girls’ names and paying no attention to Michael and Ryan,  Mark loaded the bags onto the cart and started walking down the hall.

“Follow me, ladies.”

Michael and Ryan eyed at him suspiciously. In a show of male possession,  Michael wrapped his arm around Grace’s shoulders while Ryan took Meg’s  hand and pulled her as far away from Mark as possible. Grudgingly, they  followed the smarmy hotel employee into  the elevator, off to find their rooms  for the night.

With five adults on the elevator, plus their bags, things were rather cramped  inside. Michael and Ryan both placed themselves between Mark and the girls. Grace’s back was pressed up against the chilly wall of the elevator as Michael’s  chest pressed against hers, the close proximity causing delicious friction  between their bodies.

Grace couldn’t help but wonder as Michael’s hand settled low on her back and the sexual attraction between them increased if, by morning, the whole boycott could be over and someone might be crowned the winner. But who would it

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be? As Michael’s fingers mischievously toyed with the neckline of her T-shirt, it

was anybody’s guess.

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Chapter 20

T he ride to the third floor was the  most uncomfortable two minutes of Grace’s

life. Mark continued to make small talk with her and Meg, leaving the guys  fuming. They, in return, spent the entire time giving him the dirtiest looks the  girls had ever seen on their faces. Michael’s hands fisted at his sides every time  Mark would try and “accidentally” brush his shoulder against Grace. In a  completely twisted way, Grace found Michael’s jealous streak incredibly sexy. Finally the doors to the elevator opened and they poured out of the cramped

space onto the third floor. Mark led them to the left down a long carpeted cor- ridor. About halfway down the hall, he stopped and pointed to a door. “Room  315, gentlemen.” Swiftly he dropped their bags on the floor beside the door  then turned his attention back to the girls.

“May I?” he asked, brazenly reaching for the room key in Meg’s hand.

She was so stunned all she could do was watch as he snatched the tiny piece of  plastic from her grasp. He slid the key into the lock, waited for the green light,  and then  turned the handle. “Come in, ladies. I’ll give you a tour of your room  and show you where everything is.”

Not knowing what to do or how to escape when he extended his arm and  ushered the girls into the room, they warily followed. Grace glanced over her  shoulder to find a furious Michael standing in the hallway with his hands

firmly planted on his hips, and Ryan looked no better. She tried to give them a  reassuring smile, but it didn’t seem to help.

“So, ladies,” Mark said as  he let the door fall shut behind them, stopping the

cart near the closet to unload the bags. “Welcome to Crystal Mountain.

You have a beautiful view of the slopes.” He pulled the curtains open to reveal  the snow- covered landscape outside. It was a spectacular view of the area, with  the dark lines of the ski lift marking the route the skiers followed on the  mountain.

“Here’s your television,” he waved his hand at the armoire, and then sat on the  bed and reached into the drawer of the nightstand, “and your re mote.” He ran  his hand across the comforter and purred, “And your bed …”

The two women gave each other a shocked look. “Um … thanks. I think we’ve  got it from here,” Grace muttered, trying to cut the show short and get him to  leave.

He winked but refused to be dismissed so easily. “Wait! I didn’t show you the best part of this room yet.” He leaped off the bed and walked into the bathroom.

Willing to do anything to make him go away, they both followed, figuring the sooner he finished his little tour, the sooner he’d leave.

“The shower has a rainfall feature and six body jets, three on each side. The shower stall itself is also extra large. There’s room for two … or even three,” he said with his eyebrows raised as he again eyed Meg.

He pointed to the counter.  “You also have all kinds of shampoos, soaps, and lotions at your disposal. And here is my favorite part,” he said as he turned to the oversized tub in the corner, “the Jacuzzi.” He ran his hand slowly and seductively across the smooth marble surface.

A loud thumping on the door interrupted them from the creepiest room tour of their lives. “Grace! Open up. Is that little twerp gone yet?” Michael yelled from the other side of the door. He was still smirking when she opened the door and mouthed “Thank you!” to him. His smile faded when he saw Mark over her shoulder. “Oh, I guess he’s still here, isn’t he?” Michael said without missing a beat. He strode into the room and protectively grabbed Grace’s hand, pulling her to his side. “Thank you, but this tour is officially over. They can figure things out on their own; they’re quite intelligent women.” He didn’t even try to hide the hostility in his voice.

Mark gave Michael a dirty look for interrupting, but refused to be distracted from his agenda. “Ladies, if you need anything, please call me. I would be happy to take care of you.”

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Ryan walked into the room just then to hear the end of what Mark was saying.  He held his hand up to the shorter man, doing his best to look ominous.

“No need to worry about them,” he paused to read his name tag for effect, “Mark.” He spat the name like it was a curse. “My friend and I will take care of anything these ladies may need.” He snaked his arms around Meg’s waist and kissed her neck. “And I me an anything they may need.” Meg giggled as Ryan continued to kiss her in front of their audience.

With one arm, Michael held open the door to the girl’s room and waited for

Mark to take the hint. When he finally gave up and walked past Grace, his hand brushed against hers and she felt him slip a small piece of paper into it.

Once Mark was safely in the hall, Michael slammed the door shut. “What the hell was that all about?”

Grace opened her hand and showed Michael the piece of paper Mark had given her. Meg started laughing. “He did not just give you his phone number.” Without even looking at it, Michael shredded the paper into pieces, swearing under his breath.

“Looks like you might have a little competition there for Grace’s affections,

Michael,” Meg teased.

“Oh, I don’t know about that, Meg. You’re the one he was looking at when he

was talking about how many people could fit into the shower,” Grace shot back.

Ryan just shook his head back and forth. “Neither of you is to go anywhere in

this place alone. Do you understand me?” He pointed to both of them. “If you

leave this room, one of us needs to be with you.” He looked over at Michael,

who was nodding his head in agreement.

Grace went over and kissed Michael’s cheek. “You can be my personal

bodyguard, how does that sound?” She tried to defuse the tense situation with

a little humor and put his mind at ease.

He looked at her seriously for a second and then a smile appeared on his face.

“I would love to guard your body tonight, Grace. What a great suggestion.”

He smirked as he raised her hand, kissing the top of it, while never taking his

eyes off of her.  “Now, why don’t you ladies unpack, get settled, and we’ll meet

up in a while and check this place out.” He paused before he opened the door.

“And please keep this double -locked.”

Meg saluted them, and as soon as they closed the door, she fumbled loudly

with the locks and hollered, “We’re all locked in!” Grace could hear them

chuckling until they disappeared inside their room.

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Sifting through the closet, Grace handed Meg her black suitcase with the hot pink polka dots, and tossed her own blue and green plain bag onto the bed to sort through it and see what she had to wear. As she unzipped the lid, she paused in confusion. “Meg? Why are your clothes in my suitcase?”

From across the room, Meg was grinning sheepishly. “Well, you remember all that stuff I bought on our shopping trip? Funny thing, I didn’t have enough room in my suitcases for it, so I kind of repacked your bags for you.”

“What did you do to my clothes?” Grace shrieked, digging to the bottom of the bag, only to find it completely filled with Meg’s size zero purchases.

“I needed more room so I consolidated your three bags into two and used the extra one for my stuff.” Meg continued to look wide-eyed and innocent at  Grace.

“And you didn’t think it was important to tell me that when we were picking  what bags to grab out of the car?” Grace continued looking through the bag,  hoping that one piece of her clothing had made it into the hotel. The thought of  wearing the same jeans and T- shirt all night was not a pleasant one.

“But I have no pajamas, nothing to sleep in tonight, just my jeans … unless I  want to try and squeeze my butt into these.” In her hand, she twirled a pair of  extra small red silk boy shorts of Meg’s she had found in the suitcase with a  matching silk camisole. “If I don’t move or breathe all night, I should be fine,” Grace said sarcastically.

“Sorry,” Meg offered. “In my defense, I had no idea we’d be stranded in a hotel.  You’ll have to blame the weather.” She was digging through her bag to see if  anything of hers might fit Grace.

“My bra is in the car,” Grace groaned. Meg cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. “You know I hate wearing one on long car rides.”

“I was gonna say, I know I dozed off, but it wasn’t for that long. Michael better  not have helped you out  of it, either, because that would definitely be against  one of our crazy rules.” Meg shook her head and laughed.

“Have I told you lately that you’re insane?” The snow continued to plummet  from the sky with stunning intensity. The snow drifts looked at least two feet  taller than they had been when they pulled into the parking lot. “I better go get  it.” Grabbing her jacket, Grace headed for the door when Meg stopped her.

“Are you crazy? The snow is three feet deep. Leave it alone, you’ll be fine.

I think you’ll cause far more of a ruckus if you go down to the valet stand, in a  snowstorm—braless—and ask them to retrieve the car so you can grab your

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undergarments off the front seat. Plus, Michael will kill you if you leave this  room without him.”

Not in the mood to trudge through waist deep snow, Grace zipped up her  useless suitcase and stomped across the room, putting it into the closet before  hurling herself onto the bed. Unfortunately there was nothing good to watch

on television to help pass the time. Most of the local channels were all trying to  outdo one another with their coverage of the storm.

“I’m going to try out the Jacuzzi!” Meg squealed when she finished unpacking  her bag. She rounded up her iPod and a change of clothes before she dashed off  into the bathroom. There was a loud rush of water as the tub began to fill.

Bored, Grace looked around the room for something to amuse her. On the dresser was a tall pink ice bucket. She grabbed it and decided to go for a quick walk and get some ice.

As she passed the bathroom, the water shut off and the low hum of the Jacuzzi jets came from inside. Meg must have had her iPod on because when Grace tapped on the door there was no answer but she could hear her singing.

“I’m going to get ice,” Grace said loudly to the closed door.

“What?” Meg yelled.

Grace stuck her head in the door and pointed to her ear buds, signaling for her to take them out. “I’m going  to get ice.”

“Call Michael,” Meg said sternly.

“I’m perfectly capable of getting ice on my own, thank you.”

“Grace!” Meg bellowed. “You get on the phone and call Michael right now.

If you step foot outside this room  ”—

“Fine, I’ll call. Just stop yelling.”  Her fingers pecked away at the buttons on the phone as she dialed nine, then their room number.

On the second ring, Ryan answered. “Hello?”

“It’s Grace. Your lunatic girlfriend won’t let me get ice alone. Apparently, I need a police escort. Are you or Michael available to make sure I’m not murdered and stuffed into the ice machine?”

Ryan chuckled. “I’ll meet you in the hallway.”

“I’m going to get ice with Ryan … alone, and we may just be in love by the time we get back!” Grace snarled into the bathroom door, hoping to annoy Meg.

“Have fun.” She dismissed Grace with a giggle and a wave and went back to singing at the top of her lungs.

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When she opened the door to their room, Grace found Ryan leaning against the wall in the hallway. “What in the world are you two watching in there?”

Ryan asked just as Meg tried to hit a high note that sounded more like a dying cat. Grace smiled and headed down the hallway in search of ice.

“That, Ryan, is the woman you love. She loves to sing, but doesn’t do it well. She wants to try out for one of those reality singing shows someday. See?

You had no idea what you were getting yourself into, did you?” They turned the corner into the tiny alcove that housed the ice, vending, and soda machines.

“I wonder where the ax murderers are hiding,” Grace said sarcastically as she

glanced over her shoulder while Ryan filled the buckets with ice.

“Very funny. I know it sounds overly protective, but too bad. We’re not about to

let anything happen to the two o f you on our watch, and that guy was weird.

Humor us, OK?” He put his hands on her shoulders and marched her back

down the hall.

“So what’s Michael doing? Why did he make you come down here with me?” She tried to keep her tone casual as she chomped on a piece of ice from her  bucket.

Of course, Ryan wasn’t fooled. He smirked and pointed at his door. “His back was bothering him from the driving so he’s in the Jacuzzi.” His eyes glanced over toward the girl’s door. “What’s Meg up to?”

“She’s in the tub too.” A sinister grin spread across Ryan’s face as he looked intently at the door to Grace’s room. Having the same thought, she handed him the ice bucket and punched him in the shoulder. “If you sneak up on  her, you better plug your ears because I promise you, she’s a screamer.” Grace crept across the hall and quietly opened the door to the guys’ room.