The Hazards of Mistletoe (Hazards #4)(9)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

Planned activities? That wasn’t something we ever did.

“Oh, great. I’m excited. This is my first time out in Vail,” Dalton chatted away.

“It’s probably too late to head out tonight, but tomorrow morning the weather’s supposed to be great.”

“Great. I can’t wait.” I couldn’t. Despite my dislike of the cold, I did love snowboarding when I was wearing the right gear. I’d stuffed my ski jacket into my carry on. That was a lucky break.

“How are the rooms going to work?” Dalton asked.

“That depends.”

“On?” I asked quickly. This had better not be when my dad told me I’d be sleeping on the pull out couch.

“Your mom and I thought it might be nice to let the girls have the third bedroom together if you’d be ok with the couch, Dalton.”

“That’s fine with me. Sharing a room with Laney isn’t exactly my favorite thing.”

“Great, glad that’s settled.” Dad smiled. “And Savy, you and Laney will be fine. I bet it’s going to be a blast. No keeping everyone up with your giggling and girl talk.”

I put my head in the palm of my hand. “I wouldn’t worry about that. We’re not twelve.”

Dalton laughed. I got the sense he wasn’t laughing at me so it didn’t bother me.

The drive from Denver to Vail was pretty typical. The roads were clear, and despite the extra holiday traffic it didn’t take more than two and a half hours. Even so, I had to go to the bathroom so bad by the time we reached our exit that I wasn’t sure I was going to make it.

I couldn’t wait until we got up to our room. I ran into the lobby bathroom. Feeling much better, I took a minute to look at my reflection in the mirror. I ran my fingers through my hair to straighten it out, but there was nothing I could do about the dark circles under my eyes. A night of fitful sleep and a day of airports had left their mark.

I walked out into the lobby where my Dad and Dalton were waiting. “Feeling better?” Dad smiled.

“Much.” Lost baggage was one thing, but lost baggage and a bursting bladder was another.

We walked into the elevator, and I tried to ignore the memories that flooded me. The last time I’d gone up in that elevator had been during that night with Glen. Stop I told myself. There is nothing good that could come from going down memory lane.

We’d barely made it a few steps down the hall when a door flung open.

“Dalton!” A girl with her long brown hair tied into a side ponytail ran out and hugged Dalton around the waist. “You’re finally here!”

He laughed. “Hey, Laney.”

“Hey, you must be Savannah.” She grinned and held out a hand. “I’m Laney.”

“Hi Laney. Nice to meet you.”

“Dalton?” A dark haired woman walked out into the hall. She grinned when she saw him and pulled him into a hug. Then she turned her attention to me. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Savannah.”

I smiled politely and held out a hand. I knew better than to worry too much. I’d tried so hard with Mac, and he’d never warmed up to me. I figured Gina wouldn’t be any different. “Great to meet you.”

We walked inside and Dad hugged Gina. Hadn’t they just seen each other hours before? I refused to dwell on it. If he was happy, who was I to get in the way?

“How did the pick-up go?” Gina asked him.

“Good, except for Savannah’s bag doing the disappearing act.”

“Oh no. I hate when that happens.” Gina seemed legitimately distressed for me. “Did you fill out the form?”

“Yeah, hopefully it just missed the Atlanta flight.”

“If there’s anything you need while you wait I’m sure between Laney and me we’ll have you covered. And if it doesn’t show by tomorrow we’ll just have to shop.” She grinned. “Wouldn’t that be too bad?”

“I brought so much more stuff than I actually need,” Laney added. “I’m sure my stuff will fit you.”

“Thanks.” There were definitely some benefits to having other girls around.

“Where’s Grandma and Grandpa?” I was surprised they hadn’t been waiting at the door.

“They’re having dinner with the Maxtons tonight. They were going to wait, but then your flight was delayed.”

The Maxtons. My stomach churned. That was Glen’s family. I grabbed the bag I did have and followed Laney into the room we’d be sharing. It was the smallest of the rooms, and it had two twin sized beds inside. “I took this one. Hope you don’t mind.” She sat down on the one closest to the window.

“It’s totally fine.” I dropped my stuff and looked around.

“You’ve been here a ton, right?”

“Yeah. We’ve been coming here for years.”

“Is there anything to do at night?”

“Underage? Not much. We usually hang out in the hot tubs and in the lobby and stuff. There’s ice skating and restaurants downstairs, but it gets pretty crowded.”

“Cool. Hopefully we’ll find some cute guys.”

I smiled. “Maybe you will.”

“Are you not into guys? Or do you a boyfriend?”

“No boyfriend, but I’m definitely into guys. I’m just not looking for any here.”

“Oh. Ok. I guess I look for guys everywhere. Maybe that changes in college.”

I laughed. “It doesn’t really change. It’s just different.”

“You’re a Delta Mu at Harrison, right?” She pointed at my sweatshirt. My sorority affiliation was a really popular topic of conversation.

“Yup.”

“If I get into Harrison that’s the house I want to pledge.”

“Your brother said that. When do you find out?”

“Any day now. Otherwise I’ll just have to wait until the regular decision window in the spring.”

“I applied early decision too, but they let us know before Thanksgiving last year.”

“Lucky.”

I smiled. At the time I’d been waiting on pins and needles so I could definitely relate to how Laney felt. “I guess I was.”

“Are you tired, or would you want to walk around? We just got here a few hours ago, and I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Sure. Want to get some coffee or something? There’s a great café we can check out.”

“That sounds great!” Laney was so enthusiastic about everything. I really hoped it rubbed off on me.