Her eyes blazed. “You don’t know that.”
“I do know that, and it has nothing to do with how I feel about you. How I feel about you still. How I spend every day trying to figure out a way to make this work, even if that means we live in total secrecy, because that’s our only option, isn’t it? Pretending nothing happened between us? You don’t deserve that. You deserve to be happy for once, Whitney.”
She swallowed, clutching her ski poles. “What do you want me to do, Rhys?” Her voice wavered on the words.
“I don’t want you to do anything—”
“Then why did you say all of that on the chairlift? Just to get a rise out of me?”
“No—”
“Well, you got one.”
“Whitney!”
She turned from me and flew out in a spray of snow, coating me from my hat to my boots. I cursed, throwing my hands in the air as I yelled, “I just needed you to know how I felt!”
She was gone, nothing left but the imprint of her body in the snow.
I turned and hiked back up to where I’d left my board and clipped into it, wondering if I was better off launching myself over a cliff than seeing her again today.
***
IDIDN’T COME OFF THEmountain until almost ten o’clock at night when night skiing ended and the mountain closed. Drenched in sweat and soaked to the bone from snow and cold, I caught the shuttle back to the rental lodge and immediately went to my room to shower. I could hear a party taking place below as I dressed, pulling on a crewneck sweater and a pair of jeans. I had it in mind to just go to the bar, but I knew if I stepped outside of the lobby when I made it downstairs, I’d be sucked into conversation with the students carrying on in the common room, where Cassandra had ordered a buffet-style catered dinner.
Knowing Cassandra, she’d probably ordered kegs, too, which made my stomach twist with unease. She was really getting out of control, but apparently the administration had either signed off on this or didn’t care enough to step in.
Regardless, I felt like tonight might get out of control, and Cassandra would only add to the chaos sure to ensue.
Or she’d be the chaos.
It was yet to be seen.
As it was, I left my room and headed down to the lobby to catch the shuttle back to the lodge and the bar inside of it, and ran into Dan. He was just coming inside, still dressed in his outerwear. “Oh, hey. Did you not night ski?”
“I did. I got back about an hour ago,” I replied, glancing over my shoulder at the entrance to the common room.
“Are you staying for the dinner tonight?”
“Is it a dinner, or a party?”
Dan shrugged, unzipping his jacket. “I had a conversation with a few of the other professors today about Cassandra’s plans. We’re all wondering how she ended up being an advisor to the graduate students instead of the undergrads.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, she ordered kegs for tonight, for one.”
I knew it. I smiled despite myself.
“I’m not sure what she’s trying to do here, maybe fit in with the students, but they’re all working their asses off right now, and this is just a break to relax and unwind before diving back into their studies before some of them graduate with their masters or doctorates. I know a few brought their laptops with them and planned to work on their theses this weekend, not drink themselves into a stupor.” He took a few steps toward me, giving me a shielded look. “Does Cassandra bother you?”
“Is that a serious question?” I laughed. “Yes, she does, but it’s fine, I guess. She’s harmless.”
“She’s very vocal about you and tried to tell some of us that the two of you went on a date back on campus.”
“A date?”
“Apparently you walked around downtown Gatlington arm in arm, and then you got shy when you spotted other students at the gallery.”
