I threw my boot toward the bathroom door. Miles was laughing as he easily caught the boot and tossed it back to me. But it wasn’t until he was safely tucked away into the bathroom that I let out an embarrassed huff of laughter.
Thankfully, he chose the board shorts. He had a t-shirt on over his muscles, and I couldn’t decide whether I should feel grateful or disappointed.
“Is that all you’re wearing to walk over there?” I asked incredulously.
“Not all of us are wimps.”
“We’ll see how you feel on the walk back.”
“I’ll have my girlfriend to keep me warm.”
“If that’s your plan, I suggest you find a new girlfriend.”
“But I’m having so much fun with this one.”
We grabbed towels and fell into step together on the pathway leading toward the lodge, me stuffed inside my oversized parka and Miles dressed for a quick summer dip.
I paused when the pond first came into sight. It was probably about the size of half of a football field. It looked completely frozen over, save for a small dark hole in the ice next to the dock that two people could fit through.
“Looks like we aren’t the first to do this,” I said.
“We probably are. My dad keeps this section broken so people can jump in.”
“Of course he does.”
We rounded the corner of the lodge, and both of us stopped in our tracks. Through the steam and fog of the frigid night, the hot tub was already occupied—by one Glenn Foster. I froze, not sure what to do. Why Glenn? And why was he by himself? Next to me, Miles didn’t seem to know what to do either, but before we could retreat, Glenn looked up and saw us both. Thanks to Miles refusing to wear anything resembling winter wear, we couldn’t pass our appearance off on just going for a walk. We were clearly there for the hot tub.
At least, Miles was.
I began backing away. “He doesn’t know I’m here to swim, so…” I whispered frantically.
A warm body stopped my backward movement and began propelling me forward again. “The towel on your shoulders is a dead giveaway. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“I didn’t realize tonight was the special night,” Glenn called out.
Well, with a patronizing invitation like that, how could we refuse? Actually, let me be clear. I could refuse perfectly fine, but the arm that somehow found its way around my waist would have none of that.
Glenn watched us approach in silence. Miles smiled and leaned across the hot tub, holding out his hand.
“How are you, man?”
After the briefest of pauses, Glenn leaned forward and shook his hand. “Good. You?”
Miles flung his towel down on a chair next to the tub, kicked off his boots, and began peeling off his white t-shirt. Though his motions were hurried (it was literally five degrees out), he seemed to move in slow motion to me. I bit my lip as I stared at him shamelessly. So, Miles did have some muscles underneath the shirt. He was lean and lanky, so it wasn’t like he was suddenly The Rock under there, but he had lines and definition and would definitely be able to unscrew pickle lids or lift a couch or something. The important stuff in day-to-day life would be more than covered by his assets.
Assets.
Yuck.
For a second, I had forgotten just who I was thinking of. It was strange being in a different place together. We were out of the normal, and suddenly, this all felt wrong. I mean…even more wrong. He was a coworker. He pushed all my buttons and annoyed me daily, and I’d do well to remember that. I didn’t need to see his muscles. It only messed with my head.
He turned just before entering and met my gaze. I wasn’t sure what he saw there, but it was enough that laughter sprang into his eyes. He motioned to a spot on the side of his lip and mouthed, “Little drool.”
Hey, look, I’m cured.
After all, one time I had thought Glenn attractive, and now I could hardly stand the sight of him. Clearly, I couldn’t be trusted. My five-second ogling didn’t mean anything. I glowered at him until he turned away, stepping into the tub and settling in across from Glenn.
Both men turned to look at me expectantly, which made sense as I was the one person connecting us all and I hadn’t said a word. But I was currently still dressed for a night in an igloo. If they thought I was going to strip down to a bathing suit while they both watched, they had another thing coming.
As if Miles understood my dilemma, he turned back to Glenn and engaged him in conversation, forcing Glenn to focus on him. I breathed a bit easier and began pulling off my boots and unzipping my coat. I stripped down to the red-and-white-striped one-piece while Miles learned that Glenn’s job as an acquisition manager was really just a glorified assistant to the actual manager. He also learned that he was from my same hometown and that we went to college together at the University of New Hampshire. Glenn had finished his degree but had been working and still hanging out in the college scene when we reconnected. Typical Glenn to carry on talking about himself without asking Miles anything in return. It was hard to squeeze anybody else in when his favorite topic was himself.
I climbed up the rickety steps and eased into the hot tub, causing enough disturbance in the water that both men looked at me. Glenn’s eyes immediately inched down my body and back. And honestly…I sit a lot. I do try to get some light walking in three or four times a week, but I’m definitely not any sort of athlete or gym rat. My skin crawled at his approving gaze.
Miles held out a hand to me, and before I could think, I took it and allowed him to lead me into the water. His brown eyes held mine before I glanced away, fearful that the heat now setting my entire body to flames would show. I blamed it on the hot tub even though I was confused by the soft looks he was giving me. He settled me next to him and scooted in close, plopping his hand on my knee.
Oh. That’s right. We were onstage. The touching made sense.
I could breathe easier now.
“I’m excited I get to witness the famous polar plunge,” Glenn said, eyebrows raised.
“Yup.” Miles readjusted his position, and his arm moved to settle around my waist, his fingers brushing at the side of my stomach. I stiffened at the familiar touch. I didn’t know what to do with my hands, so I folded them awkwardly across my stomach.
“Relax,” Miles breathed in my ear.
Reluctantly, I moved both hands underneath the water. If he was a normal boyfriend, I probably would have let my hand rest on his knee–but he wasn’t a normal boyfriend. He was a guy I didn’t like, who I worked with, who was now playing the part of my fake boyfriend because he had so rudely and unexpectedly crashed my anti-Christmas vacation. It had been a complicated couple of days. I settled on resting my hands on the hot tub seat between our legs. Miles nudged my hand with his thigh, holding himself tight like he was trying not to laugh.
“It’s funny. I would have bet big money against Olive ever jumping in that lake with you,” Glenn baited.
We both turned back to Glenn who was peering at us with a knowing smile on his face.
“She’s not exactly the daredevil type, if you haven’t noticed,” he added, folding his arms.