Love 'Em or Leave 'Em (8 page)

Luke smiled at her excitement. He was having a good time.

Slowing the pace, he surveyed the group of six remaining. He studied each face.

Ashley wanted desperately to look away, as she'd done in school when she hadn't wanted to get called on. Instead, she stood still, eyes focused down, and tried to appear pleasant but uninterested. Inside, her stomach churned. Her mind raced, thinking, Pass me by, pass me by. Behind her back, she anxiously picked at her fingernails, wishing the whole ordeal was over. The bright lights of the cameras beat down on her.

Clay stepped forward. He looked somberly at the remaining women and then at Luke. "This is the final rose"

Moron.

Luke picked up the final rose. He focused on Lindsey, then shifted his gaze to Ashley. He looked away, as though deep in thought, then smiled and said, "Ashley"

Teeth clenched, Ashley pasted a pleasant expression on her face and stepped forward to accept the rose.

As she attempted to take the rose, Luke held it fast and raised an eyebrow at her in challenge. She could almost hear him say, "Not your type? We'll see about that" He leaned forward to give her a kiss on the cheek and instead whispered in her ear, "Nice burn"

He released the rose. She stepped away to join the "winners" Clay immediately stepped forward to thank the other girls for participating and offered them a brief chance to say good-bye to Luke.

Ashley was stunned and disappointed. She had looked forward to getting back to reality. The longer she stayed on the show, the more employment opportunities she lost out on.

Rachel rushed over to congratulate her.

"Can you believe it? He picked you"

"Yeah, isn't that great?" Ashley gave her a weak smile, wondering why she was so surprised. "But I feel kind of like a reject getting picked after the crier."

"No way," Rachel said brightly. "He saved the best for last!"

Liz joined them and watched the losers say their clingy good-byes. "You have nothing to feel bad about. Look at who didn't get picked. Lindsey was only after his money and he knew it. The others were either too annoying or too desperate" She gestured toward the departing group. "He was weeding out the riffraff. You have just as much a chance as anyone else here"

"Great," Ashley said. Not what she wanted to hear. No matter how she looked at it, she was stuck here for a while longer.

The taping always lasted late into the night, and after all the hoopla and good-byes were finally over, the remaining women sat up with Luke celebrating the next leg of the contest. They sat around the great room to get better acquainted. Jenny the snuggler sat on the floor next to Luke, poised for any attention he might throw her way. Everyone else sat on furniture to digest the evening's events and revel in the knowledge that they were still in the game.

Ashley definitely wanted out and back to the true reality of her life, but she did feel a little bit special to have been selected. After all the recent rejections from her cheating boyfriend and her job at the insurance company, it was nice to be wanted. As long as Luke didn't want her for much longer. She did have a life to rebuild, one that didn't involve cameras, lighting, or a hunky football player.

The next day turned out to be low-key. Luke took Jenny and Gwen to the famous San Diego Museum of Art. Ashley didn't see Luke as much of an arts man, but perhaps he was more than what he seemed.

Liz, Rachel, and Ashley were hanging out on the back deck overlooking the sandy beach and distant waves when Kate, a gorgeous law student, popped her head out a window to announce the arrival of more date mail. They followed her in to get the skinny. Kate hopped up on the kitchen counter facing the rest of the group, her lean athletic legs swinging to and fro. She matter-of-factly ripped open the envelope and began to read:

A quick smile came over Kate's face. "All right! We're going skiing."

Torn between convincing herself that she didn't want to go and feeling excited that she was actually going on a date, Ashley glanced at Liz, who was also getting her first date, and Ashley saw her look of panic.

"What's wrong?" Ashley whispered.

Looking around desperately, Liz replied. "I can't go. I'm terrified of skiing."

The excitement and anticipation of leaving the heat of southern California and experiencing the cool temps and white powder of Vail made the morning pass quickly. Ashley could see Liz's nervousness. Her new friend had been involved in a minor skiing accident during high school, and now she avoided the sport. Though Liz really wanted to be on the date, she kept trying to find ways out of the skiing. Twice she approached the producers about staying in the lodge, but no go. Most likely, they intended to add more drama by showcasing her fear.

"Don't worry. I have a plan guaranteed to help you relax today" Ashley smiled as she patted her carry-on bag.

"What's that? Crashing the plane?" Liz hugged herself.

"Trust me."

The limo pulled onto the tarmac where a private plane was parked with the door open. A pilot and flight attendant awaited their arrival.

"Wow, this feels like the movies when the tycoon takes his new girlfriend to lunch in some exotic place" Megan boarded the plane eagerly. Ashley followed.

Everything was leather or gold. Huge leather seats. Beautiful wall sconces every four feet. Leather couches and loveseats were set close to the front of the plane with small oak tables next to them for beverages and snacks. The smell of freshly brewed coffee welcomed the group, along with the sweet aroma of baked cinnamon rolls and croissants.

Ashley directed Liz to a pair of seats two rows behind Luke and Kate. This way he couldn't easily see her when he looked or spoke to the other women, and Ashley could sit near the window tucked out of sight from him. Her plan was to have a good time while allowing the other vultures plenty of room to circle their prey.

The turbulent flight kept everyone from moving to the luxurious leather couches. Despite the upheaval, the flight attendant served freshly squeezed orange juice in crystal and delicious breakfast fare on china. Ashley wondered how much the flight cost the network. Then again, the plane probably belonged to the network, so maybe it wasn't much of an investment after all.

After the short flight, a shuttle bus delivered them promptly to Vail Village. Snow dusted the rooftops and window sills, but the sidewalks and streets were clear. There was a festive feel to the air as people milled around, window shopping in the exclusive stores or enjoying a late breakfast in one of the enticing little chalets.

The producer directed them into a trendy ski shop on Bridge Street, where a staff waited to outfit each of them with the latest in ski-bunny fashions. There were sporty one-piece ski outfits, stylish jackets, fur pieces and more than Ashley could imagine people would want to wear skiing.

After being shooed into a dressing room with a pile of clothing, she stepped out with a grimace.

"I can't wear this," Ashley said.

"You look fabulous," replied the sales clerk.

"You don't understand. Where I come from, skiing means you put on as many layers of clothing as possible. I wear padded ski pants and a long down-filled jacket that covers my rear end"

"No, no, no. If you're going to ski Vail, you must dress Vail," the clerk said in her singsong voice.

"On top of that is a gator, sort of like a triple-wide headband. You pull it down over your head to keep your neck warm and it doubles as a face mask"

The woman continued to peruse Ashley, brushing imaginary lint off her lycra-covered bottom.

"Of course"-Ashley went on talking, mostly to herself-"an actual headband keeps your hair back and warms your forehead. If done correctly, no one recognizes you. Looking cute plays absolutely no role in Wisconsin skiing."

Here, under the tutelage of the ski shop style masters, she realized she wasn't in Wisconsin anymore. Ashley found herself dressed in skintight black Lycra ski bibs cut out tightly below her small bosom, which pleasantly made it appear much larger but unfortunately drew the eye there as well. The rich persimmoncolored turtleneck hugged her body as well, and set off the highlights in her hair. Then she donned a formfitting jacket that ended just below her waist and was accented with a small bit of black fur around the neck. The jacket zipped only a third of the way up, which further showed off her curves. She felt naked! "Really, don't you think I'd look much better in something from Lands' End? How 'bout Eddie Bauer? I don't do designer very well"

The woman stood back, admiring her creation.

Pleading further, Ashley asked, "How about one of those big, bulky, long wool sweaters? I get really cold and I need a lot more insulation."

The savvy saleswoman wouldn't budge. "It's a beautiful day. In this outfit, you won't be cold-you'll be melting the snow."

They had designer duds to push and Ashley was just another body to exploit. Someone, please save me.

As Ashley stood in front of the three-way mirror, mournful over her sex-kitten look, Liz popped into view glowing over her sassy white ski outfit. She wore the cutest hat, with white fur around the edge and matching fur on her collar and cuffs. Poor dead bunny. Her long dark hair hung like silk down her back, framing her lovely face and accentuating her big brown eyes and pouty red mouth.

"This is so not fair!" Ashley turned to get a full view of her. "You look like an A-list movie star. I look like a D list nobody, as in `Vicky Takes Vail!'"

"Isn't it gorgeous?" Liz beamed, catching her reflection in the mirror. "I've never felt more stunning. It even makes me less worried about the ski hill."

"Look at me!" complained Ashley. "It shows everything!" She kicked herself for not losing those extra few pounds.

"Oh relax. You look sexy, babe," Liz cajoled.

"I don't want to look sexy. I want to crawl under a rock, or better yet a horse blanket. Look, your ski jacket even covers your bum" Liz's coat went down slightly past her hips and flared out, so there was only a hint of her bottom showing beneath. Liz turned from side to side, peering over her shoulders to admire herself.

Each of the other women seemed quite comfortable in their various levels of overpriced designer ski duds. Ashley felt they carried it off with much more panache and style than she. She, on the other hand, couldn't walk comfortably with her pants riding up. It made her feel oddly aware of herself and a little bit naughty.

Standing in the back of the group to hide her overexposed body, she saw Luke saunter around the clothes racks from the men's side of the shop.

Wow! Maybe tight ski pants aren't such a bad thing.

He wore formfitting bibs with a charcoal black turtleneck. His jacket flashed electric blue with accents of black throughout, emphasizing his tan sculpted face. So maybe hanging out around Luke all day, looking like he did, might not be bad at all. Nope, not at all.

Everyone prepared to hit the slopes. When no one was looking, Ashley grabbed her flask from her bag and put the leather strap over her head, then tucked it into the crook of her jacket.

Ashley watched puffy clouds drift in stunning blue skies over the inviting snow-covered slopes. The temperatures were a mild thirty degrees. Cricket, Ashley, and Kate had skied enough growing up to be totally comfortable. Luke confessed he preferred a golf course to a ski hill any day.

At the chairlift Luke and Kate went first, Cricket and Megan followed, and Liz and Ashley brought up the rear. The camera crews waited, one at the base of the hill and one at the top. Ashley hoped they knew how to ski.

As they waited for their turn at the lift, Liz's nerves escalated.

"I can't do this."

"Sure you can. I'll help you," Ashley reassured her. "Just take a deep breath and relax. It's like riding a bike."

"It took me a whole summer to learn to ride a bike."

"See them?" Ashley pointed to the couple next in line. "As soon as the chair passes, they just glide into place with one push of the poles. Nice and smooth. You can do this." Ashley talked to her slowly and reas suringly, as if Liz was a child who needed coaxing to try something new.