Back on the plane heading to the resort. I’ll call when I am at the hotel.
I took a selfie with Shandra and sent it.
Having pizza rolls for dinner on the flight. I miss you so very much. I’ll be home soon.
I thoughtabout Liam and Connor. At least I didn’t have to be gone for weeks at a time. I could manage two days. The flight to the airport near the resort was uneventful. We landed a bit earlier than expected. I put Charlie in his harness and headed to Bear Mountain, where I would spend the next two nights before heading home on Thursday morning. The weather report said we would get some snow, but we should still leave on time Thursday.
I was exhausted when I got to my room. I had some of Charlie's dehydrated meat, so I prepared him some snacks since a dragon can’t live on pizza rolls alone. “Don’t tell your other daddy. He’ll say it will make you fat.” I petted Charlie while he enjoyed his beef. I took a pillowcase and made him a pouch to sleep in. Then I put on pajama pants and crawled into bed.
I rested my iPad on my knees and called Aaron. “Hi you.”
“Hi, you,” I said in return. Relief flooded me just seeing my boyfriend. I felt on edge all day, but when I saw him, it helped to ground me. We just stared at each other for a bit. I wondered if he was in the same weird headspace I was in. I felt incomplete somehow. Like I forgot something important. Honestly, it was disconcerting.
“You, okay?” He looked at me and cocked his head slightly.
I rubbed my face. “I am fine. I miss you, and it’s a new feeling for me to want to be somewhere else while also wanting to do my job well. Now I just want to get back home.”
“I understand how you are feeling. We will settle into a pattern where we get used to it. We might not like it, but at least we will get used to it.” I agreed. I then told him my idea about the promotional commercial for the winery and vineyard. He liked the idea of us collaborating with the queer community to get the wine noticed more. It also stated what type of company we were, so there was no confusion.
I realized I wassaying ‘we’ about Sun Harvest. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean to imply I am part of your company.”
“I invited you to be part of it with me, so using we is appropriate.” I just fell for him harder. I didn’t want to hang up, but I was exhausted. Charlie was out cold next to me. I showed Aaron. He teased me about spoiling him. I shrugged my shoulders in response.
“I should probably let you go to bed. I miss you, Aaron. I can’t wait to get home.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and then looked up at me. I couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were glassy like he was trying not to cry. “I miss you too. Sleep well, sweetheart.”
“You, too. Night, night.” I hung up. A couple of fat tears rolled down my cheeks. No wonder I avoided having emotional connections with someone all these years. Feelings were hard.
When I got up the following day and looked out the window, I found several inches of snow, and it was still coming down. Room service brought fresh fruit for Charlie. I would leave him in the room for at least part of the day. I worried he didn’t have Daisy, so I turned on the TV and put some nature channel on. I changed it to a channel with a bunch of reality shows that seemed more like his personality.
I sat down on the couch and started a FaceTime call with Aaron. Logically, I told myself it was ridiculous that I spoke with him just before I went to bed. Now, I was calling him first thing in the morning. My heart doesn’t give a crap about logic, however.
He answered almost at once. “Hi you.”
“Hi, you!” He seemed happy to talk to me. I could tell he was at the table drinking coffee. “I was hoping you would call before I left. How did you sleep?”
“I slept well enough. I will gladly be back in bed with someone to cuddle with.” I told him.
“How’s Charlie doing?”
“He was so good on the plane, Aaron. He went into the travel box without any fuss. So far, he has been a perfect travel companion.” I didn’t have much to compare it with, but I wasn’t having any problems. I yawned. I didn’t get a great night’s sleep but would manage for the next twenty-four hours. Then, I would be back on the plane headed back to Aaron.
I promised to text throughout the day, and we hung up. This morning, I would tour the facility and then have a tasting menu of the food. I had a few hours in the afternoon to do my own thing. I had rented a conference room where I would meet with other companies looking for athletes to help sell their products.
At 6:30 p.m., I had a meeting with the manager, owner, and PR director at dinner. They told me the type of campaign they were running and the types of athletes they wanted to highlight. Bear Mountain isn’t well known in this area. With the right spokespeople, they could bring in more business.
Everything went according to plan. I had ideas about who might work for them. They wanted this to be a place for adults to come and get away from it all. Bear Mountain could be a destination location with luxury rooms and packages that include everything. I should bring Aaron up here for a vacation. I told them I would talk to my clients and then get back to them with my suggestions for their campaign.
I headed back to my room. I took a shower, climbed into bed, and called Aaron. “Hi you.” He said when answering the phone.
“Hi you.” I had a massive lump in my throat. I didn’t even understand why talking to him choked me up. It had been an exceptionally long day. I was tired. I missed him, and seeing his face filled me with complete relief.
“Oh baby, it’s okay,” he said calmly.
His response made my chest tighten and my eyes well up even more. Here we go again with the crying. Not once was it because of something terrible. My emotions were right on the surface all the time. “I’m sorry I choked out. I want to be wrapped up in your arms instead of alone here.”
“I can understand that. You’ll be here tomorrow evening. I’m going to make sure to be home when you get here. We’ll get you showered, then in your jammie jams, and I’ll make sure to have something ready for dinner. How does that sound?”
