Sealed Like Envelopes Ch. 03

The sun was shining through gaps in the puffy snow clouds, throwing the white world into a swirl of white and gray, speckled with the green of mountain pine. Adele puffed her breath and giggled when it condensed into a small cloud in front of her face. It was the day after the diner fiasco and Travis had driven Adele to the park where they used to do their homework together after school. The park was small and secluded within a residential neighborhood. There were two swings, a slide, a rainbow-painted jungle-gym, and a hill honeycombed with concrete tunnels for children and their parents to crawl through.

After standing for several moments, both recalling memories of their favorite place together, Adele broke the silence. "Wow, I didn't realize how much I missed this place."

"Really brings back memories, huh? We came to this park almost every day together. I can't believe I haven't been back since." Travis stood restlessly, hands in the pockets of his ski coat. It was too cold to be standing around exposed to the elements, but he was enjoying watching Adele.

"Yeah, me neither. And there's still no one else here. I wonder why that is..." Adele's speech drifted of as her eyes alighted on her favorite part of the park—the tunnels.

Travis was looking up at the mountain peaks as he responded, "That's because it's our secret place." When he didn't hear any response from Adele, he turned to look at her but instead found her jogging over to the tunnels. He loped after her and crawled into the nearest tunnel opening.

Adele, from up ahead, called back to him: "Hey, do you remember the day we found these tunnels and carved our names inside? Let's see if they're still there!"

"I see it! 'Adele (the birthday girl) and Travis (her chauffer), Oct. 2003.' Yep, that's us."

"Huh. I forgot that it was on my birthday. That was the best birthday ever." Adele looked wistfully at the carving.

"It should be your best birthday ever. I spent so long planning that day for you."

"You were so sweet. Thinking back, I think last year was the best year ever. We hadn't all graduated and split up yet. And I was so happy, we were so happy. Last year was wonderful."

Travis leaned back against the tunnel's wall. "Sometimes I wish time hadn't progressed past last year. Like that movie 'Groundhog Day,' except for a year instead of just a day."

"Me too," Adele turned to look at Travis. She suddenly realized their close proximity in the small tunnel. And she noticed the way Travis's clothes smelled like the fabric softener his mother used. He also smelled like snow and earth: smells she wouldn't normally notice. She knew he noticed as well. And when his head tilted slightly to the left, she mirrored his motion with her own. He brought his lips down to hers and kissed her lightly. She reciprocated and softly parted her lips to allow him entry. When Adele moaned at their contact, Travis shifted and brought his hands to her hips, pulling her gently to him.

Adele moved herself onto his lap, straddling his thighs. Her heart began thudding in her chest as Travis slowly moved his hands beneath her shirt and crept up her body. His fingertips had just reached the front clasp of her bra when a phone ringing broke the fevered silence. Knowing that 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' was Travis' ring-tone, she pulled back from him and shook her head 'no.' Travis smiled and pulled her face back down to his. His hands coaxed her bra open and gently massaged and twisted her nipples. Adele moaned into his mouth and began grinding herself against him, almost unconsciously.

Suddenly, the phone rang again. This time Travis pulled away from Adele. "They've called twice," he said huskily, "I should get this. It's probably important." He disentangled himself from Adele and crawled out into the snow.

Adele pulled her clothes back into some semblance of order and followed Travis out of the tunnel.

When she exited, Travis turned to look at her. "It's Mary. She had a flat tire and needs me to come help out. I'm sorry, but I really need to go. Should I drop you by yourself, or do you want to walk...?"

"I'll walk. I like the cold air right now. It feels good."

"Okay," said Travis, "but I'll see you soon. Before you leave." He bent over and kissed her cheek before walking away.

Adele watched Travis as he turned and walked to his car. As she slowly began her walk home, she berated herself for her weak emotions. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought. He's dating someone and you're still supposed to hate him. What were you thinking? She resolved herself to find someone else to lust over—and fast.

#

The next day Adele went skiing to clear her mind. Normally she didn't like to ski by herself, but today was different. She had called Travis but he hadn't answered. Figures, she thought. Of course he'd be with Mary. His girlfriend. Adele didn't know where these jealous and possessive feelings came from—and she didn't like it.

She turned down her favorite run, Ruthie's Park, and cruised through the powder dusting left from the night before. She loved it when she got up to the mountain early. She could make fresh tracks from top to bottom. The air was crisp and clear: it freed her mind from thoughts of Travis, allowing her to focus on her surroundings and the epic snow conditions. I should be a therapist, thought Adele. I could charge big bucks and tell people to go out and ski all the time. The ski company should hire me—I'd make them millions.

Adele skied for hours, stopping only when her hunger overcame her desire for more runs. She skied down to the lodge, popped off her skis and clunked inside, her boot buckles clacking and clattering together, creating cacophonous echoes throughout the entry way. Once inside the warmth of the lodge, Adele began stripping off layers of clothing as she made her way to the cafeteria. First her mittens were pulled off, then helmet and goggles, followed by her scarf. She had just reached an empty table in the restaurant when she unzipped her ski coat and pulled it off, leaving it to dangle damply on the back of a chair. Everything else was unceremoniously dumped on the table as she hungrily made her way to the serving line.

Just as she was picking up her baked potato, she heard someone call her name. Despite knowing that her name was slightly more than unusual, she ignored the caller and continued moving down the serving line. She heard the sound again, this time accompanied by a tap on her back. She whirled around to face the caller. Her eyes went wide at the sight.

"Jake!" Jake from that party. Wow, she thought to herself. He looks even better in daylight. And what a perfect way to forget that jerk Travis. Hunky lover, here I come!

"Hey Adele, I thought it was you." Jake reached over and hugged Adele. "How are you? And what are you doing out here? Does your family vacation in the mountains too?"

Adele looked up at Jake and shook her head in humor. "I'm good. Great, in fact. Doing well. And I'm not visiting here with family. I live here. This is home. I don't suppose we ever got that far with personal introductions and history." She blushed and looked down at her feet. This was going to take a little more work and finesse to pull off.

"Yeah, I guess not. But that's all behind us now," he tilted her face up to look at him. The power of his eyes was demanding, but unsure at the same time. He wanted her, that was for sure—but did she want him back? "I come here every year with my parents. We have a house up on the slopes, near the bottom of the East Bowls. It's beautiful. You have to come see it at least once before school starts."

"Sure, that sounds nice. But I don't want to intrude on your family's time." But please, please insist I come! her mind screamed.

"No, I'm serious. It'll be fun. And besides, I've thought a lot about you since that night. I know it wasn't romantic or deep and thoughtful or anything, but you're just so beautiful, and..." Jake broke off, gesturing with his hands in an attempt to finish his intangible thought. And it was true, he had thought about Adele a lot. While she had been sleeping, he had taken a picture of her, curled beneath his sheets, golden tresses almost artfully arranged on the pillow. He had the picture hanging above his desk, though whenever anyone mentioned it, he said it was a postcard from a friend: it wouldn't do to let anyone in on his borderline obsession.

Adele smiled up at him. "I'll come see the house. I think I'm done for the day anyway. I got here just as the lifts opened and I'm beat."

"Wow you're tough," said Jake, pretending to squeeze her biceps. "I can only ski for a few hours before my legs turn to jelly. But I suppose living up here you've been skiing since you could walk."

"Or a little before. Around here skiing is life. Both my aunt and uncle are ski instructors. The mountain is both a job and a hobby for most people out here. I know I want to work with the kids ski camps at least one season, maybe before grad school. I think it runs in my blood." She shrugged lightly.

"You should come over and eat with us, tell all your heroic mountain stories. We have a table over by the window," Jake gestured to a four-top to the distant right. Adele couldn't make out the features of the other people at the table.

"Us?" she questioned.

"Yeah, my parents and I. They'll be excited to meet you. I haven't introduced them to a girl in I don't know how long—my mom's starting to think I might be gay. She keeps saying things like 'I hope you find someone nice at school', rather than, 'If you meet a nice girl, bring her home for a weekend'."

Adele giggled as she paid for her lunch and followed behind Jake as he led the way to the far table. How weird is it that I'm meeting his parents? Adele wondered. We've slept together once, and aside from the ride he gave me back to my dorm, we haven't had any conversation. And now I'm meeting his parents.

#

"It's so nice to finally meet you. Jake told us he met a nice girl back around Thanksgiving, but I figured he was just making it up to make me feel better. To tell you the truth, I thought he'd never meet a nice girl. I'm Kathy and this is Joseph."

Adele blushed. Jake's mother clearly didn't realize how not nice she really was. Oh well, she thought, no reason to disabuse her of the notion.

"It's very nice to meet you. Have you been in town long?" Adele put on her 'talking to grown-ups' face and acted very interested in the conversation.

"These past two weeks. In fact, today is the last day," said Joseph. "Kathy and I are flying out tonight. But Jake's staying on for a few days, until he has to go back to school."

"Then we'll have to hang out while you're here," said Adele, looking at Jake. "What day do you fly out?"

"Sunday around noon."

"Sweet. We should be on the same flight, especially since only one airline comes out here to the middle of nowhere." Adele smiled warmly. "This'll be great. I have three days to show you all the best stuff around here. I'll introduce you to all my friends and show you around. It'll be a blast," Adele visibly lit up as she laid her plans.

"Sounds great. And I'll pay you back this evening. You have to come up and see the house and then we'll go out to dinner anywhere you choose. This'll be the beginning of the tour."

"You have a house up here?" Adele was surprised, why hadn't she seen him around before?

"We bought it last year, but this is the first time I've seen it. It's slope side, below the West Lift."

Adele looked thoughtful for a minute. "You mean the log cabin with the bronze roof? All surrounded by pines?"

"That's the one," said Kathy. "Well, it looks like you have plenty to talk about and I know we need to get packing, so we'll be taking off. Nice meeting you, Adele."

"Nice meeting you as well," said Adele, standing and extending her hand to both Kathy and Joseph. "Hopefully I'll see you again at your next visit."

#

"Wow. Your house is lovely on the inside. I've always skied by it and wondered what it looked like inside; it's even better than I imagined. You're so lucky that your aunt is on the board of the Guggenheim. You get the best artwork." Adele turned around to gaze at the house once more, walking backwards to the car. The pair had parted after lunch to change and shower and then Jake had picked her up at her parents' house for dinner. But first, Adele had pleaded for a tour of his home.

"Thanks," said Jake, opening the car door for her. "My mom loves decorating. It's her secret passion. Where to for dinner?"

Letting her think about dinner plans, he walked around the car and slid into the driver's seat. "I think we should go to Marguerite's. It sounds fancy, but it has the best home cooked food around. I always get the chicken fried steak."

"You? Chicken fried steak? But you're so skinny," laughed Jake.

"Blame it on good genes and an addiction to running. I eat way more than it looks."

A moment of awkward silence ensued. Both had been pretending all evening that they were friendly acquaintances, ignoring the semi-embarrassing beginning of their relationship. Jake broke the silence, sighing and heaving his shoulders. "I hate this. Let's just get it out in the air. We had sex. Once. And now we're going on our first date. And we don't know anything about each other yet. But that's okay because we're going to play Twenty Questions right now. You start."

Adele was relieved that Jake had brought up their problem first—she was too embarrassed. But she wasn't too embarrassed to play Twenty Questions with him. "Okay, I'll play. But only on one condition. If you ask a question, you have to answer it as well."

"Sure, I can agree to that."

"Here's question number one: when's your birthday and what was your favorite birthday party?"

"Hey, that's two questions," he mock scowled at her. "But I'll answer anyway. My birthday is November 16, conveniently the date of our first night together, by the way. And I'd have to say that was my favorite birthday—even if it wasn't a true party."

"Wow. I had no idea. Happy belated birthday."

"Life's unexpected, isn't it? Now you answer."

#

The game continued through the duration of the car ride and into the restaurant. The pair was long past question twenty, but no one was counting. A bottle of red wine added to the uninhibited atmosphere and the questions starting turning sexual.

"So, my turn," said Jake. "When was your first and who was it with?"

"I was eighteen, and it was last summer..."

Jake interrupted. "You're nineteen? I had no idea. That makes you a freshman?"

"Yep. How old did you think I was?"

"Same as me, twenty-one. This is unexpected. I never thought I'd date anyone younger than me. Let alone a... never mind. You should have told me; here I am providing wine to someone underage. Look at me, societal slacker."

"Oh shut up," said Adele, playfully punching Jake in the shoulder from across the table. "Like it really makes that much of a difference. You've seen me drink before, so it's no big deal. Besides, I've only had a glass. It's not like I'm drunk or anything. In fact, I think you're further gone than I am."

"I guess you're right. Continue with your question."

"My first, right? Okay, I was eighteen and it was my then-boyfriend Travis."

"So that's why you called me Travis all evening. I thought you really believed my name was Travis."

"I'm so sorry. It's just... we'd just broken up. Well, scratch that, we broke up in August and I didn't meet you until November. But we were together a long time... sort of."

"How long?" Jake was interested. It sounded like Travis was a little more important than Adele was letting on and Jake wanted to know if he had any competition.

"Only a year, I think. We didn't officially start dating until the summer. But we were really close for a long time. Like friends with benefits, except not manipulative."

"Oh, okay." Jake wasn't about to let on that he was jealous. "Your turn to ask a question."

"Hmm...let me see. Oh! I've got one—" All of the sudden her eyes glazed over as she froze in mid-sentence. Travis was directly across the room and staring at her intently, as if he had overheard their conversation. Oh shit, thought Adele.

"Is everything okay?" Jake asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah, sure," said Adele distractedly. Travis was getting up from his table and gesturing to Mary, whom Adele had just noticed, that they should get up and say hi to Adele. Adele unconsciously scooted back and slumped into her seat. Jake looked at her with questioning concern.

"In about thirty seconds you'll see," said Adele in a half-whisper.

As Travis and Mary approached the table Jake quickly put two and two together. Oh shit, he thought, mimicking Adele's earlier thoughts.

"Hey Adele, how are you?" asked Mary, draping herself over Travis, who clearly did not wish to show his affection for her right now.

"Fine, thanks," said Adele, hoping that terse answers would drive Travis and Mary away faster. She hoped that Jake couldn't see how anxious and upset she was.

"Why don't you introduce us?" queried Travis in an almost frighteningly icy and calm voice.

"Oh, silly me," began Adele, attempting to right herself, "Jake this is Travis Wheatly and Mary Gardener. Travis and Mary, this is Jake Bennington. Jake and I go to school together and he and his family have a house up here. I'm giving him a tour of the town tonight."

"And does that include a tour of your bedroom?" asked Travis in that cold voice.

"Travis!" exclaimed both Mary and Adele. Mary gave Adele a fleeting apologetic glance and dragged Travis out of the restaurant.

"Well, if that wasn't awkward," said Jake. "I'll leave it to you to fill me in later. Seems like you missed a few details in your story earlier. But we've got time. Let's order dessert to fill that bottomless stomach of yours."

#

On the way back to Travis' house, Adele got to drive his car. "Wow, this thing handles amazing. Thank goodness I learned to drive a stick last summer."

"Glad you like it. It was my Christmas gift this year. I have another car at school, but this is my new favorite."

"Wait," interrupted Adele, perplexed. "You have two cars?"

"Three, actually," said Jake. "I have one at school, the Audi you saw back in November, then I have this baby, and then I have a Mercedes back at home in Connecticut."

"You sure are lucky. I just have my little Beetle, and it stays here while I'm at school. Too long of a drive—upwards of 30 hours, in fact."

"No wonder you leave it here. But your little Bug is nothing to be ashamed of. I looked in the engine earlier—"

"You what? When?"

"When you forgot your purse inside. Anyway, that is an amazing engine. You should be racing that puppy."

"I wanted the fastest thing they had. But the way, how fast does this one go?" Adele shoved her foot down on the accelerator and raced up the mountain. Luckily she had the advantage of learning to drive on the tricky switchbacks surrounding the mountains and had full control of the car. "This is amazing!" she cried as they whipped up another turn to reach his driveway. "Promise I can drive it again later?"

"I'll do one better. If you stay the night, I'll let you keep it for the rest of the week."

"I think I should feel a little objectified by that statement, strangely I don't care. You're on. I can't wait to see you driving my car all week. Can you even fit?" she giggled as she pulled the car into the garage.

Adele followed Jake into the kitchen. "More food?" she asked. "I don't think my stomach could fit anymore."

"I was thinking of something a little more exciting than a second dessert. What if I told you I had a bottle of champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries and a tub of whipped cream in here? Do you think we could find some thing interesting to do?"