“Well, the idea behind my piece of instillation art was that I wanted NotCat to leave his ass prints all over her yard. That way she could kiss his ass because she hit him like a heartless wench,” Cal said to the laughter of all our friends. “But it was freezing so its not like I was going to dip poor little NotCat’s ass in the snow. Besides, I wanted something better.” Cal lit up with a mischievous grin.

“It’s a good thing that wasn’t the only plan,” Hunter joked.

“I’m always a prepared man,” Cal said.

“I can’t believe you put that much time into it,” Alice laughed as she playfully squeezed Cal’s hand.

“Well, I had to do it right. It was the principle of the thing. You know she’d be less than pleased to walk out to her beautiful yard to find it littered with sculptures of dog asses.”

“How did you even make those,” Hunter shook his head.

“A lot of time and money. When you were having your budding romance with Cassie, your ‘barista girl’, I was busy doing real work, revenge!” Cal’s face contorted into a grin like he was an epic villain from a comic book, “But that’s beside the point. There may have been some surprises littered and buried here and there too.”

“I’m glad you have your priorities straight.” Hunter laughed.

“Oh my gosh,” Alice laughed with tears in her eyes.

“I have to say, her reaction was fucking priceless and there was no way for her to prove it was me so,” Cal shrugged, devious grin on his lips.

“That’s some dedication,” I said.

I spent the evening laughing with the group as Cal recounted the events of that night. I finally learned to take the comedy of his prank and ignore all my thoughts of how childish it was. After all, it didn’t even hold a candle to what Mrs. Christianson did. 

Several years had passed since that night and even if everything felt familiar on this beautiful night in Vail, things were completely different. For one, Alice was no longer making snarky comments about her boyfriend Cal. For another, I was well on my way to applying to med school in Denver. Hunter and I moved to Denver so I could focus on school, but we still loved coming to Vail every chance we got. Cal and Alice were staying at the big log house now. Hunter still playfully gives me shit for making him leave his precious wine tower behind. But he never forgets to remind me that it’s worth it.

My mom and dad love Hunter. I wasn’t sure what they’d think about him before they flew out to Vail to meet him. But Hunter struck the perfect balance of being a free spirit with my mom, and being a serious business man with my dad. My dad and him actually ended up building the constellation app together. It’s amazing how much my life changed. Hunter and I made lots of new friends in Denver. We invited them out to Vail any chance we could.

“It’s great to get away to a place like Vail,” our friend Lana said after the laughter of Cal’s story died down.

“It’s great to be here,” I smiled, looking at Alice.

“He’s only here on business, don’t fool yourselves,” Cal warned, but his smile gave him away. “And it’s a damn good thing, I’m getting tired of picking up all the slack for him. Would you believe he has me running ragged?”

“Yeah right,” Alice snorted.

I cracked up, “It’s not business. It’s just because I dragged him here since I’m on winter break. Don’t let him trick you, Cal.”

“Hey, whose side are you on?” Hunter cried, pretending to be offended.

“You know she’s all about honesty and rules,” Alice chimed in.

“Some things never change,” Lana’s boyfriend Maurice said with a chuckle.

“It’s all right. We’ve got to have someone to keep us in check,” Hunter defended.

I rolled my eyes, “I’m not that bad!”

“That’s true. You were so much worse a few years ago,” Alice grinned.

“I guess Hunter really knew how to work that out of you,” Cal said deviously.

“Cal! Let’s not do this,” I stopped him from saying anything else.

“So how are your classes?” Lana asked, coming to my rescue.

“They’re great! Studying is amazing and I understand why my father is just so passionate about science now. Granted, we come from two totally different fields. I am in love. But I also found another passion so I’m pursuing that as well now.”

“So that’s why you’re busier than ever,” Maurice interjected.

I smiled sheepishly, “I’m actually minoring in Greek Mythology.”

“Like your mom?” Alice poked fun of me.

“Yeah,” I smiled, “Some things do change, after all. She’s thrilled that I’ve finally loosened up a bit. She likes to say Hunter helps me find the perfect balance in life.”

“Yeah, her mom’s so in love with me,” Hunter said smugly.

I smacked him on the arm, “Oh, you shut it. You can’t get enough of her fawning over you.” I leaned in and, before placing a sweet peck on his cheek, whispered, “But that’s okay because I can’t get enough of you either.”