Embracing Ellie: Chapter 16

There were two women waiting for them in the cabin.

The place was small, but was cozy perfection, complete with stone and log walls, a quaint little kitchenette and some comfortable furniture. The view out the far side of the house showed the foothills and another rising mountain. Someone had prepared a fire for their arrival, and it crackled quietly while it warmed the room with a welcoming charm.

She stopped short, seeing the women and not Danny, and Hemi crowded behind her.

Hemi said hello to them. The women were polite, all smiles, but not fluent English speakers. They were Southeast Asian, middle-aged, and clad in white cotton. Even their little snow boots and snow coats were white, hanging in the small mudroom-foyer off the porch.

Ellie said hello to them as well, and they repeated their kind, smiling bows. It was obvious who they were now—employees of the company who owned this little mountain cabin and perhaps a few more like it around here. Ellie stepped past them, nodding and smiling in return, and entered into the main room. She called out for Danny, but there was no reply.

Hemi asked the women, “Is there anyone else here? A fella?” He held up a hand indicating Danny’s height (tall at six feet, but shorter than Hemi).

The women looked at each other and spoke quietly, confirming with each other what it was these skiers were wondering. One of them said, “No, just us. We come and set up.”

Hemi raised his eyebrows and left the nice women for a second, coming up behind Ellie. “Danny’s not here,” he said.

Ellie said, “Yeah, I know. Well, he’s going to be here soon.” She gestured at the two waist-high tables lined up together on the far side of the room where the view of the mountains began.

Hemi said, “Looks like he’s booked you two a relaxing massage. Just what you needed, eh? After your tumble.”

She said, “Yeah, you got that right.” But she couldn’t shake a nervous and awkward sort of feeling. Danny not being here wasn’t some function of mismanaged timing. She was beginning to believe Danny wasn’t here on purpose.

She said, “Let me unpack my phone and I’ll give him a call, see where he’s at.”

Hemi was looking down at his own phone, typing away. He said, “Yeah, alright, you go do that. See what’s up.”

She asked one of the women which way was the bedroom, but the woman didn’t understand and shrugged. Ellie smiled and said, “Thanks. I’ve got it.” There were only two doors, and it wouldn’t take her long to figure it out.

She opened the bedroom door (right door on the first try!) to find it all made up like a luxury spot, despite the narrow confines; big plush mattress and fat pillows clad in crisp white. The view out the window was of the same mountainscape. Truly beautiful. On the bed were gift-wrapped boxes. She lifted a tag to see it addressed to her, “Love from Danny.”

“You son of a bitch,” she whispered and threw her skiing backpack at the foot of the bed. Behind her, Hemi appeared, saying, “I got a hold of Danny here. He said he’s running late.”

She turned to see Hemi eyeing the room over, impressed by the view and the cozy atmosphere. She said, “Well, how long is he going to be?”

Hemi seemed flummoxed. He said, “Danny says he’s about an hour off. He’s run into some car trouble. Fucking Land Rovers. Anyway, he said I should . . . uh, he said for me—”

She said, “I know what he told you.”

“You do?”

She said, “Yeah. I bet Danny said for you to take the massage in his place.”

#

They were going to have to get naked, weren’t they?

That was the whole point of this.

And these two women really didn’t understand the things they were seeing and would suspect that she and Hemi were a couple. At least that way these nice women might not be bothered by the scandalous situation.

Hemi had left her alone in the bedroom and she heard him talk to the ladies for a moment before returning to outside her door. He was getting ready for his impromptu massage orchestrated by one devious Daniel Torrance.

“Danny, Danny,” she said in a long, heavy sigh full of condemnation. She found her phone in the bag and brought it out. It was dead. He’d packed it and he’d packed it dead. On purpose. “You son of a bitch,” she said again.

I can’t believe you, Danny. What the hell are you doing to me? This is so unfair.

She tossed the phone to the bed and balled her fists up and pressed them into her stomach. So what was she going to do? What was she going to wear to get a rub down side-by-side with Hemi Armstrong, rugged adventurer, the man with the kind auntie who’d made special fare just for Hemi’s charge. And that’s all she was, a charge, someone who’d hired him for travel guidance. Danny had now roped this guy, this nice guy, innocent guy, into participating in some sexual fantasy. But what was she going to do? What was she going to say to Hemi? Was she going to ask Hemi for his phone so she could text Danny to say she didn’t want to take part in this stupid game? And for him to knock it off? Because Hemi would be able to read that now, wouldn’t he?

That made her smile now. Apparently, Danny had thought of everything.

Everything except what, Ellie?

She knew.

Danny had thought of everything except his sweet and timid Ellie going along with everything. Everything except Ellie Torres getting right into it.

How would you like that, Danny? You remember that picture you took of me and you said you’d send it to Hemi? How would you feel if I had Hemi take one of me and send it to you? Would you like that? I bet you wouldn’t.

Yeah, like that would happen. She didn’t even have a swimsuit to try on for him. She eyed the robe hanging on the back of the door. Did people have massages with their dirty underwear on? That would be kind of offensive, probably.

She heard the water turn on in the bathroom next door, Hemi getting a spritz, rinsing off adrenaline and sweat and pure masculine charm. Hemi would have no difficulty, she was sure, disrobing and getting on the massage table. Gentleman that he was, she was sure, he would hide himself from her and respect her privacy and make sure he averted his eyes when it was her turn to lay down naked.

It was funny because Danny had booked this for them. But, she also knew he’d booked it knowing he wouldn’t even be there. It was truly next-level stuff. Real Machiavellian. Danny, a real student of the Mirror.

So, she disrobed and quickly re-robed, donning the extra-plush and soap-smelling robe. Pure bliss after the hike. The shower sound had stopped, and when she stepped out of the bedroom into the narrow alcove before the living area, Hemi opened the bathroom door a foot away from her—standing there in his white robe. But he looked as awkward and sheepish as she imagined she did.

Hemi thumbed behind him, saying, “Just getting a rinse off there, eh.”

And she said, “I should do the same,” staring at the V of his bare chest in the open lapel of his tied robe. She’d seen more of him naked than this, but under these circumstances, it seemed more lubricious than ever before. One pull on that belt around his waist and she would see it all. Find out if he had abs. Find out if his ding-dong was as big as a wine bottle.

Hemi scratched a hand through his damp hair. He said, “You probably don’t need it, Ellie. A lady like you wouldn’t work up like I did, down that mountain and hiking and all that.”

 She said, “Well, thanks, but just the same…”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, “no worries. Just, you know, go ahead there and have at her.” He shuffled sidestep out of her way, then backed out of the alcove into the living area.

She stepped into the small bathroom space and closed the door behind her. High-end appliances plugged into an 8x6 rectangle, all steamy with Hemi’s shower heat.

Oh God, was she really going to climb into the same shower Hemi had been in?

Like if they had been at home in San Diego and one of their friends had used their shower, she’d want to clean it before she got into it. And that was one of her own friends. Was gonna get in after Hemi?

Yeah, she supposed she was.

What was she gonna do, ask one of those nice ladies for the Clorox or something? Get down on her hands and knees with a brillo pad? Scrub away all the Hemi while Hemi wondered what made her think he was so gross? He wasn’t gross at all. He was quite the opposite.

She pulled off the robe, avoiding her reflection in the mirror, and stepped into the warm shower.

#

Once clean, she put on the robe again and went out to the living area. And lo and behold, she saw Hemi’s backside, fully bare ass naked. Literally bare ass. Now only for a second because she’d come into the room as one of the nice women was putting a towel over his bottom half. She saw it only for a second—but she saw it. She stopped and thought about packing everything up and leaving. Just telling these nice people and Hemi that she was stepping out for some fresh air, jump on that snow machine and vroom-vroom all the way back to Lake Wakatipu—and Danny so she could yell at him.

Damn it, if only her phone had juice she could have taken a picture of Hemi and sent it to Danny and told him how well things are going. Take that, Danny.

She asked Hemi, “Do you have your phone? I wanted to talk to Danny.”

Hemi looked up now, unaware that she’d come in, planting his chin on the massage table’s cushion and looking up at her. It was an incredibly sexy position. The muscles on his back were just bulges and humps all over the place; wide at the shoulders and the back and then a narrow waist—and that round rump? Holy cow! She’d seen it unclothed. Oh my god, this was too much.

Hemi said, “Yeah, it’s in my bag, but uh…”

He didn’t know what else to say and she firmly asked him what Danny said.

Hemi looked up and away. “Danny said not to let you.”

“Danny said . . . Danny said what?—why would he say that? I just want to ask him something.”

“Uh, he said that it was . . . I don’t know, he said it was . . . well, he said if you start texting with him, you’re not gonna have any fun, and he said I’m supposed to make sure you have fun.”

“I don’t want to text him about anything bad. He’s having car trouble, just let him sort it out. He really said that? He said not to give you the phone?”

Hemi winked. “Well, it’s my phone, Ellie.”

And for the first time there was a foreign feeling of angst. A little twist in her guts.

Hemi was in on it.

I mean, knew exactly what his role was here.

Danny had roped this guy in on his scheme. We’re gonna run a little game on her, Hemi.

Well, what would Hemi think? What was the end result? Hemie couldn’t possibly think she was going to do anything with him. Oh man…

Oh no. Oh no, did Danny tell Hemi she had a crush on him?

Like what would get Hemi to play along? This was so out of control…

And that was the point.

It was out of her control. Danny had control.

So, with her heart racing, pounding away like a jackhammer, she bit her lower lip, frowning with fright, thinking hard of Danny and what Danny’s next step would be. . . . And what would he least expect?

She untied the robes belt, still biting her lip, Hemi still looking up at her, handsome face and tousled hair, brows arched. The untied belt fell loose and her robe opened.

And she was wearing not a single thing underneath.