I came to the bottom of the mountain and skied over to the picnic tables outside the lodge, then sat down without taking my skis off. Breathing hard, I pulled my goggles off and blinked against the sudden whiteness of the snow. I was exhausted but exhilarated. A couple of girlfriends and I had decided to take a week off work and go free ourselves of stress on the slopes of Aspen. We were determined to do nothing but enjoy the slopes, the fancy hotels, the expensive restaurants and the posh little boutiques, and leave worries of money, work, and family behind.
I loved to ski, but this was my first trip to the Rockies and these slopes were far different than the slopes I'd learned on in Arizona. They were groomed differently and they tended to be longer and steeper. Some of the blue runs even had moguls on them. I wasn't used to that at all, and I'd avoided them by going down some of the black slopes instead. Steep or moguls...steep was slightly easier and I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
I leaned back against the table and pulled my goggles back on; the sun really did make the snow too bright for me. I couldn't see either Jill or Janine coming down the slopes so I decided to take my skis off and look for them inside the lodge, and maybe grab a bite to eat too. I put my skis in the rack and climbed laboriously up the red brick steps since my ski boots made it impossible to walk normally. I pulled open the heavy glass door and was rewarded by a blast of warm air, which I absorbed before stepping in. I glanced around the front lobby but didn't see them there either. I shrugged and headed into the cafeteria to get some lunch.
The food selection here was incredible. Sunrise was no small resort but they didn't have food like this. Of course, it was all buffet, but it had roast beef, roast chicken, grilled chicken, beef stew, spaghetti, manicotti, pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, cold sandwiches of every variety, enough salad fixings to make a full meal out of, and a whole lot else. I was amazed and had trouble deciding what I wanted to eat. I stood there like a dope, tray in hand, trying to figure out what would be best for me when I was startled by an unfamiliar voice in my ear.
"I'd try the pizza. It's better than anything I've ever had anywhere."
I whirled around and looked up into the impossibly blue eyes of Jake Gyllenhaal. He was grinning, apparently amused by my reaction. I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't form words. Why would he be talking to me? I was nobody, just a contract auditor from Minneapolis. Certainly not anybody he would deign to talk to...and yet, he had.
His grin got bigger and he said, "I get that a lot. C'mon, I'll get you some of the pizza and you'll see what I mean."
I laughed nervously and nodded, still unable to speak. He walked me over to the pizza bar and grabbed a plate, put a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza on it, and then led me to the soda fountain where he got me a glass of Coke. Then we headed over to a small table next to the giant picture windows facing the slopes, where he pulled a chair out for me. I sat down gingerly, as though I was afraid the chair would break underneath me. Or maybe I was afraid this was a dream and as soon as I sat down I'd wake up. Hell, I didn't know what I was afraid of. I glanced nervously toward the door, suddenly dreading the appearance of my friends. I wanted this to last, dream or not.
"What's your name?" Jake asked me.
"Huh?" I hadn't quite heard him.
He chuckled. "I said, what's your name?"
"My name?" I laughed again, still nervous as all hell. "Oh, it's Lynne."
"Lynne. That's a pretty name," he said. "I'm-"
"I know," I interrupted shyly. He looked at me and smiled, his blue eyes dancing.
"Yeah, I guess everyone does," he answered.
"Nobody really seems to mind though," I observed, glancing around casually.
He shrugged. "Lots of celebrities and rich people here. I guess most of us don't really notice each other."
I nodded, and took a bite of my pizza. I swallowed it, amazed. "You're right! I've never had pizza this good, not even in the nicest pizza joints in Minneapolis!"
"I told you," he laughed. "So that's where you're from? Minneapolis?"
I took another huge bite. "Uh huh," I replied through my food, and then giggled. I swallowed and added a sheepish, "Sorry."
"Nah, it's okay," he said, his eyes holding mine for a moment.
I took a swallow of my Coke and finished the first slice of pizza. I was acutely aware of his eyes on me the whole time, and I wondered again what it was he saw that made him want to talk to me. Or eat with me. What else was he going to want to do this afternoon? I drank down more Coke and picked up my second slice, my gaze moving between him, the table, and the window, and I ate quietly, pondering this interesting turn of events.
He let me finish my food and then we sat together for a couple of hours, just chatting away. Obliquely I wondered where Jill and Janine had gotten off to, but I didn't really care. Maybe they'd seen who I was with and decided to leave me alone. Then I dismissed that notion. If they saw me with Jake Gyllenhaal, they'd have come running over, squealing like little fourteen year-old fan girls, and fawned over the two of us until he left and I barfed. It didn't matter anyway; it was more likely that they'd both found dates of their own. But I doubted they were as lucky as I was. I smiled to myself.
We left the lodge together and headed toward the ski rack. I pulled my skis out, let them drop to the ground and began to step into the bindings when he put a hand on my shoulder and asked if I really wanted to go back up the mountain and ski some more.
"Well, I am pretty tired. Been skiing all day," I said.
"So...let's go back to my place."
