Twenty-One
Melanie
I ended up telling Shane about the introduction with Miranda at the premiere and he was happy to hear that she was doing so well. All soon after, the workload came pouring in. Both Logan, his wife, and even Miranda sung our praises at the fundraiser for our firm so we have been riddled with new client meetings.
I've come to a point where if someone doesn't get me out of New York City for a few days, I might explode from sleep deprivation.
My parents took me wherever they could growing up. Living in Vermont was a tourist land on its own during the fall and winter, but we craved to see new places. With my mom, Sarah, as a middle school teacher, her schedule was pretty set in stone so I had plenty of awesome summer vacations. Skiing at the local club was my favorite winter break past-time so I never regretted us not taking winter breaks down south. The feel of the cold air on my face as I fly down a mountain is the best relaxation I could have ever asked for in between semesters.
Whenever I was sad from a grade I didn't like or a boy called me a study geek, I came out to the mountain to let the air calm me down. I let the air calm me down and I would breath in the pine scent from the surrounding trees, letting all of my troubles go away.
I never quite understood where my thirst for the law came from. My mom loved academics, but also shaping the young minds of the youth. My father, Darren, being the town's pharmacist, he had no comparison with the law and no one in our family is a lawyer that I've ever met. I guess the times I watched my Aunt Patrice, who had dreams of being a Broadway actress found herself quite disappointed when she lost out on some royalties of a good show or needed her performances contracts worked out. It wasn't until high school when I was talking to a career counselor about the directions I could take to learn the ins and outs of the business without being an actress myself.
When I got to college and eventually, law school, I took the necessary breaks to see my family or free my brain of stress. From NYC to Vermont is a travel from the incessant numbers and press release mock ups for classes. After a few missed calls and sporadic texts with my parents, they demanded I put in for a few days of time off and bring Shane with me. As a senior partner, he can easily approve any vacation time for either of us.
I've never brought a guy home, ever, so this entire experience is completely new to me.
I love that Shane loves to travel. He's never been to Vermont and I wanted to show him my little slice of heaven. I've taken him skiing half a dozen times already and watched as his sexy body glided down the mountain. The cold air emanating from the snow cannot stop the heat I'm feeling in my entire body at how turned on I am.
I'm at the bottom of the mountain adjusting the strap on my boot when I'm tackled into the frosty ground. I flip myself under the crazy person who had the gall to fall on me and not apologize when I come face to face with Shane.
I grab onto his jacket. "We have a real penchant for running into each other don't we?"
"I'd run into you any time my love." He nips at my bottom lip and his deep growl ignores a heat in the freezing snow. I shift my hips up into his, but my attempt to grind into him fails with all of layers in between us.
As Shane starts to unzip my jacket, the sound of laughter echoes down the mountain. His hands still and he pushes his head into the nook of my shoulder.
"Can't catching a fucking break on this trip can I? Between your parents house and the snow crowd, I haven't had you naked in days."
I distract him with laughing at his pain while I attempt to grab a handful of snow. I toss the chunk against his head and scramble away. "If you can run into me again, I'll stay naked for several days."
He catches up to me and we roll a little bit down the mountain, our skis and poles falling behind us too. After another bruising kiss, Shane helps me up and we make our way to the car. When we get back to my parents, Shane's still shaking some snow out of hair, and getting the melted ice all over my face,
I shriek at the contact. "Oh my god Shane! That's freezing, stop shaking your hair like a puppy and let's warm up inside!"
We run into the house, laughing like a bunch of teenagers, as we take off our wet and snow covered clothes in my parents mudroom. As we shed the rest of our ski gear, I'm pushed up against the wall, and Shane's lips are immediately on my own. We get all hot and heavy for a few minutes until timers from the kitchen blare into the mudroom.
We laugh all the way into the house acting like two teenagers who got caught making out on the front porch. We both go upstairs to shower and change back into some warm clothes. I don't think I've stopped smiling this entire day and when we make our way into the kitchen, Shane ditches me to help my father with some firewood and I hang out with my mom.
Her first words match how I feel, "Honey, it's been so wonderful seeing you so open and carefree."
I grab a mug from the shelf and fill it with hot chocolate, "Mom, I've always been open and carefree. He just lets me feel light and appreciated and cared for."
She hands me a cinnamon stick to stir with and then says, "You have the same glow about you that your Aunt Patrice carried with her whenever she was on the stage."
I let the warm liquid fall down my throat and reply, "Its probably the same look I get whenever I land a new client or I see an eye catching pair of shoes or I watch a really good movie."
"Well, the shoe addiction you get from your Aunt Patrice. The movie loving, you get from me."
I grab my mom's hand, "Every Sunday is my time to catch up on it. Its like having you there with me."
When the men walk back in from cutting all of the extra fire wood, we make a quick dinner of homemade pizza and sit around the fire.
Shane is the first to speak up, "So I want to know some fun pre-lawyer days with Melanie. I know she was studious, but she never rebelled once?"
I only shrug, knowing that I don't have a wild and torrid past. "If I wanted to, I could have. It worked to my advantage when I was younger trying to get older kids to take me seriously and I haven't changed much since, at first. I hated it because I thought I'd only look older as time went by, but with the not changing much over the years, helped me grow into my looks. I have looked twenty-eight since I was nineteen. Getting a fake ID would have been an easy task for me and I had a believable face. I just never utilized my looks for much of anything. I just hope I can stay this youthful way until I'm fifty. Doubt it, but I beg to age gracefully."
Shane snuggles me into his arms and my parents both smile at us. My mom only looks to be in her early-forties despite being fifty-five and I know I was graced with great genes. We throw back joke after joke and Shane tells my parents some of the weirdest stuff he's seen on movie sets and stories from his family's farm.
This is the dream that I had wanted when I had thought of the love I wanted to have in my life. This the trouble I welcomed to make my life complete.
Twenty-One Part 2
Melanie