It started as a joke. Jack was sitting across the table from Kelly, a lovely redhead he met playing coed soccer. The team went out for drinks after the first game, and they hit it off. Three weeks later, they were having dinner, laughing and talking about beer. Kelly was a fan of sours.
"Well if you want a sour, you have to go to the mountains," Jack was saying over his glass of wine as the waiter removed their empty plates from the table.
"Oh yeah, why's that?" Kelly smiled back at him, finishing her glass.
"Mountain water?" Jack laughed, "I don't know, but three of the best sours I've ever had come from this small shop tucked in the back of this tiny mountain town. A few miles from the ski resort, it's beautiful and delicious. I'll take you sometime."
"Oh yeah, long weekend coming up," Kelly said. "I don't have plans, do you?"
She grinned at him as he finished his wine. He couldn't read her yet, especially after two bottles of wine, but she almost seemed serious.
"Actually, no plans at all. I'll look into it later and text you."
She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Should we walk home?"
It was an effortless walk, Jack learned more about Kelly's brother, who she adored and couldn't wait to introduce him. Jack wasn't so sure, he had mixed experiences meeting his dates' brothers. He talked about his job for a while and she pretended to be interested in how backup power for servers worked well enough. They were holding hands when they reached her apartment.
"I had a great time tonight," Kelly whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Me too, already looking forward to the next one," Jack said as she stepped back, both of her hands still holding onto his.
"Deal," Kelly said, then she pulled herself back to him, stood on her tiptoes, and let her lips find his. It was a deep, long kiss. Kelly's hands made their way up his back and into his hair. Jack found his hands on her hips, moving slowly down toward her ass
They broke apart and Kelly stared at him for a moment, grinning. She kissed him again, gently this time, then started toward her apartment.
"Have a great night, Jack. Let me know about that trip to the mountains."
She winked at him, then disappeared into the building..
--
So that's how, just a few weeks later, Jack found himself hand in hand with Kelly walking through an idyllic small mountain town. Leaving the date, he had not been confident that she was being serious. Still, he looked into it and found a reasonably priced hotel. Then as soccer wrapped up the next weekend, he made his move.
"So. Mountains? Leave Friday, home Sunday?" He asked as they were walking back to her car. "If your plans are still clear."
She looked at him excitedly pulling her phone from a pocket on her bag.
"Really? I wasn't sure if that was real," Kelly said. "Let me double check... yes, I think that's okay. We get Monday, but I don't have anything. Let's do it!"
She pecked him on the cheek.
"See you this weekend!"
--
The drive was easier than he anticipated. Jack was worried they'd run out of things to talk about before they left the city, but they quickly fell into a rhythm, and found themselves laughing the whole way.
They were too early to check into the hotel, so they went straight to the brewery. The beer was as good as Jack remembered, but what Kelly fell for was the view. They were in a large, modern taproom with floor to ceiling windows that looked out into a valley, and then on to the mountain ranges beyond. Kelly had been telling a story about almost hitting a duck with her car as they walked in, and the view stopped her dead in her tracks.
"It's amazing," she breathed.
"Yeah, it's beautiful. Glad I have the chance to share it with you," Jack said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
They spent the afternoon in the bar, enjoying tasting flights and a game of rummy that ended when they realized there were only 49 cards. They stayed until the first red stripes of the sunset streaked across the sky.
On the walk home, Jack opened his trusty food app and looked for places to eat. He found a nice restaurant just down the street from the hotel that even took reservations, a rarity in these small mountain towns.
"Earliest they have is 2 hours from now," Jack said as they walked back into the hotel.
"That works for me, we've been walking so much, it'd be good to rinse off before anyway," Kelly answered.
"Booked."
--
The room was nice enough, a straightforward double queen with a mini fridge to store the extra beers they brought back and a small desk in the corner. Jack walked in and immediately flipped on ESPN, a habit he had anytime he entered a room with a TV.
"Let me know if they go through the World Cup qualifier," Kelly said, "I'd like to see a replay."
"Sure thing. You want me to shower first?"
"Nah, it'll take me longer anyway, I'm sure."
Kelly grabbed a small bag from her suitcase and walked into the bathroom, kicking the door so it was half closed. After a few minutes, Jack heard the shower running. After watching highlights from a couple of games he didn't care about, the grabbed a small bag from his suitcase too and leaned his head into the bathroom.
"Do you mind if I shave in here while you shower?" he called.
"Sure, go for it!"
He stepped into the small bathroom. He couldn't stop himself from glancing at the gap in the shower curtain, where he could see one long leg propped on the edge of the tub, a rasor running along her shin. He shook the mental image rising and went about lathering his face, shaving, and toweling off.
"Damn it," Kelly cursed under her breath. "I forgot a washcloth, can you throw one over for me?"
He grabbed a washcloth and passed it around the curtain. She took it from him and squeezed his hand gently.
"Thank you!" she called.
Jack walked out of the bathroom just as the anchor was doing the lead-in for the World Cup highlights.
"World cup highlights!" he shouted as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"What! OK."
Jack heard the shower slide across the rod and Kelly came poking her head around the corner. She didn't even try to dry off. In fact, there was still soap clinging to her shoulders and legs. She pulled a towel up to her neck, allowing it to drape over her front so that she was covered, but Jack could still trace a leg up to her hip. She was tan everywhere he could see, it almost glowed off of her fair skin. He gaped at her as she sat next to him, entranced by the television as he watched her wrap the towel more securely around her body.
"Did we win? I forgot to even look," Kelly asked.
"Yeah," Jack cleared his throat. "Yeah, I think they did."
They did win. Kelly cheered and gave Jack a side hug when they showed the replay of the final goal. "I love this team," she said as she got up and headed back to the shower. "How're we doing on time?"
"Don't worry about it, we have plenty of time, it doesn't take me long to shower," Jack said.
"I'm almost done anyway," she called over her shoulder. "If you need to save time, just jump in when you're ready."