Learning to Fly - 14

Chapter 14 - Out of control...and I love it!

Jens was an home on the slopes. He strode with confidence to the lift, only pausing once to see if she followed. Once he'd reached the lift, he'd clipped into his skis and looked at her expectantly.

"What bit of complete novice don't you understand?" Her smile was more bravado than happiness as she laboured across the snow with all her equipment.

"You really have NEVER skied?"

She shook her head, "I don't even know how to put them on!"

He laughed, a real hearty laugh that shook his whole body, "I can't believe you're THAT much of a snow virgin!"

She blushed, "I told you I'd never skied!"

Nodding he kicked off his own skis and led her away from the lift towards the small undulating nursery slope. Despite it being barely an incline she felt a little apprehensive as she stood on the snow. Fear was not a pleasant emotion. Jens dropped to his knees and lifted a foot, talking her through the mechanism of the ski, how to put it on, how to get it off...quickly if she fell. Once she stood on the two pieces of highly polished wood...or was it fibreglass? She could feel the lack of friction, her feet would slip quite easily of she didn't fight to keep her legs still and together. 

Terrifying!

Jens stood in front of her in just his boots and called out instructions. 'Bend knees...weight onto toes...keep feet hip distance apart...push your heels apart...' There was so much to think about, but as she felt the skis move, she started to slide down the slight slope. Jens caught her after twenty metres and smiled. Gave her a few more tips, then made her re climb that slope and start again. After fifteen, or maybe twenty trips down an increasing length slope, she was shattered, collapsing onto the snow. 

"This is too hard!" she panted.

"No one said it was easy! But SO worthwhile. Imagine climbing to the top of that piste..." he pointed to a curving trail in the distance. "And whizzing down, wind in your face, no resistance with the ground. It's as close to flying as I've ever found!" He dropped to the snow next to her, relaxing back on his elbows turning his face up to the sun.

Carly struggled to catch her breath, despite the slope they were using being so small, it still seemed to have drawn every ounce of her energy.

"Tell me it gets easier!" she gasped looking at him.

Jens tilted his head to glance at her, "It does...you'll be so much better by this evening."

"Evening?" she sat up. "I'll never last that long, and may I remind you that there are twenty one children booked into the creche tomorrow. I need to be able to squat and bend, The way my quads feel already that's unlikely."

He laughed, "you do make me laugh! As you British say - in for a penny in for a pound. They'll hurt anyway, may as well do as much as you can manage!"

Carly leaned forward supporting her weight on her knees, glad her racing heart was starting to calm. It was such a beautiful location, pristine white snow, beautiful blue skies, and the lush green conifers, but she was too exhausted to truly appreciate it. 

"You're passionate about this aren't you? Skiing..."

Jens was watching her intently and there was an almost awkward silence before her offered, "skiing was, is everything I've always wanted to do..."

"More than run a hotel!" she laughed but suddenly saw the strange look in his eyes. "You'd really love to what? Ski all day? Wouldn't we all?"

Again Jens was studying her, almost as though he was contemplating what to say, eventually he replied, "I'm not stupid enough to think I could live as a skier, but I wanted to teach, then that'd leave me time to ski myself too. But..." he sighed, "that wasn't on Papa's agenda. So I'm here...working to the bone!"

Carly patted the snow with her gloved hand, "there are worse jobs than being the boss!"

"You're angry that I said that?" When she shrugged, he added, "all my life my father has been lining me up for this job. This was my obligation...not this resort obviously, but following in his footsteps, helping to run the company."

"And all you want to do is ski?" she finished for him a little too sarcastically.

Jens tried to reach for her hand, but she kept her head bowed, avoiding looking at him, "it's not like that Carly, really it isn't."

She laughed, "don't you feel like you owe him anything? Even if though it's not exactly what you want?"

"Do I owe him my life? My future?" he asked with wide eyes.

Carly shrugged, she'd already said more than she'd realised, but she'd started now, "you've had a good life, his hard work ensured that didn't it?"

Jens was bemused as he watched her, gesturing for her to carry on, "the opportunity to become a good skier was all because of your father's hard work and money. He created a situation that enabled you to experience so much, yet you resent the commitment he expects back. Where I stand a job like this, all these chances and opportunities sound anything but a chore."

Her comments were met by silence and when she finally looked up she saw Jens watching her a look of amusement on his face, "you've managed to sum up fourteen years of arguments with my father in two sentences!"

Carly was a little embarrassed she'd more than spoken out of turn, "I don't mean to sound judgemental..."

It was his turn to shrug, "would you do it? Give up want you want for what's right?"

Suddenly this wasn't about her, pulling herself to her feet she smiled down at him, "do you think it's normal for someone to start living at twenty-four? Life is a sacrifice! Now. Snow ploughing?"

And so it ended. Just like that. A couple of hours later, after a lunch break and several stops for water, she was ready for her first attempt at a small downhill. Jens led her to the lowest stop on the ski lift, and from there they came halfway back down the piste. 

"Right...remember everything I said. If you're scared or out of control bring in your snow plough, or turn and stop...stop being the operative word, I'm not pulling you out of the bushes. You ready?"

Carly looked up at him terrified, her heart was pounding like she couldn't believe her whole body thrummed with nervous tension...but with a smile she used her poles to push herself into the start of the descent...and then she was flying. Her skis whizzed over the snow, the wind almost took her breath away. Yes she wobbled, almost fell a couple of times, and yes, she only came down a hundred metres...but she LOVED it! 

Until she spotted an uneven section of the run, panicking she tried to avoid it, veer to one side, but she failed to remember Jens' words of relax and make subtle changes, insteadn she threw herself to one side and lost balance completely. Her outstretched body fit the snow face down, and it almost felt as though her legs were going to hit her head. The skis came loose and she tumbled very ungracefully the remaining twenty metres down the slope. 

As she finally slowed,  she saw Jens, or rather his feet, skid to a stop in front of her. kicking off his skis, he dropped down beside her limp body.

"Are you ok?"

She tried a smile despite her exhausted and battered body, "I take back everything I said earlier, screw the family and do this forever!"

"You liked?"

She rolled onto her back testing each of her legs as she went, "I loved...but it might actually kill me!"

Learning to Fly - 13

Chapter 13 - To ski or not to ski? That is the question!

The rawness of that argument lasted all through her lunch break and then the afternoon part of her shift as Carly helped in the restaurant. She'd genuinely hurt Lucas AGAIN, physically this time. She felt bad, but through all this, she remembered Camilla and how devastated she was when she thought she'd been pregnant...he'd not shared that load, in fact she'd barely seen him with Camilla since. Men seemed to waltz through life without taking responsibility for their actions, and that infuriated her beyond belief!

Still there was no excuse for her behaviour. She felt dreadful. First port of call after her lunch was back to reception. Lucas was helping an elderly gentleman at the desk, so she hung around for a moment, sorting out a few brochures in a stand.

"Can I help you?" Lucas' voice was clipped with restrained anger. 

"I wanted to apologise. I should never have hit you."

He shrugged, "whatever. I have no further interest in you or anything you have to say, but thanks for the apology. I'll take it at face value."

Then he turned away.

Carly was glad that it was busy, it gave her less time to think, contemplate what a mess everything was. The restaurant was full all evening and it was difficult not to be swept into the Christmas spirit. When she finally finished at eight pm after a twelve hour day, she was more than glad to return to her room, collapse on the bed only opening her eyes to Skype her parents.

The next morning there were only six children booke into the creche. She was doing the early half of the day, Marta was relieving her at lunchtime to finish the day. There was no sign of Lucas at bnreakfast or during the morning which meant Carly could limit just how guilty she was feeling. 

After finishing her shift, Carly changed into snow gear, it was starting to snow, though not heavily, then wandered down into the town. It was quiet, but then for non tourists Boxing Day was a family day, and of course the tourists were eating their fill at the variety of hotels that skirted the town. But quiet was good, Carly appreciated it. 

She had a lot of reflection to make on her behaviour. She was still mortified that she'd slapped Lucas, not that she felt any more amenable towards him. Now she also had to think about her 'date' with Jens. She wasn't lying when she talked about her clumsiness, and she was dreading the actual skiing part. But then...it was aeasier to worry abiout that than think about the man she was skiing with. He was a first class womaniser, a little rich boy who was used to having everything his own way. She had no intention of falling at his feet, she kept reassuring herself though she also knew that it seemed a weak defence even to her own ears. 

Carly ordered a coffee in one of the cafes then settled in the corner alone. Her whole negative outlook towards men was in no small part due to the witless boyfriends she'd had in the past. She'd never been swept of her feet. There had also been the rejection in her life.

Carly had only been fourteen when she'd met Max, his wealthy parents had bought a summer home in the hills near her village, and she'd first met him whilst walking her dog. They instantly become friends, and looking back Carly could see it was a mutually beneficial relationship. He'd got to know the area, she'd loved having an older experienced friend. 

She didn't believe that she'd fallen in love with him back then, but two summers later after the usual winter of text messages, and emails, Carly had decided that she had to tell him how she felt. He arrived as usual the first weekend in July and she'd rushed up to the croft that sat on the rugged hill.

Max had come rushing out to meet her with a beautiful perfect blonde. 

"Carly! It's so good to see you!" He hugged her in a way she'd began to think was more than friendly, but as soon as he pulled back and introduced her to Mia, the blonde, she spotted the closeness of the two.

Nursing her sorrow and embarrassment, she'd tried to keep her distance from him, or rather them all summer. But they seemed to be everywhere, every party, the cinema, it was a small town and it was almost immpossible to avoid them...It hadn't been until she heard Mia and her friend who visited talking about 'Max's desperately keen yokel' that she realised that the joke had been on her...the whole time.  

It had hurt, and Carly new her heart had been hardened then, and the next few men she'd agreed to date had never captivated her in the same way. She'd never been in love, she wasn't sure she'd even encounter lust! This was why her attraction to Jens, or rather her attraction to the flattery of Jens was so different to anything else. It scared her, yet excited her too. The unknown. But there were so many similarities between him and Max. 

Finishing her coffee, she wrapped herself back up in her layers, the snow was getting heavier and the last thing she needed was to get caught in a blizzard. The cleared paths were getting harder to pass, so she had to concentrate as she climbed slowly back up hill. 

As soon as she hit the grounds of the hotel, the maintenance men were out in force gritting, clearing and making things safe, Carly smiled at them as she passed them. She was almost upto the main hotel building when a car pulled level with her, and the window lowered.

"You look like a snowman!" 

She recognised Jens voice before she turned. He was leaning on the open window of the car, a smile on his face.

"Let me get you a hot chocolate, warm you up?" there was such innuendo in his voice that Carly gulped, for a moment speechless.

Whilst she'd walked she'd convinced herself that she would meet him to ski the following morning, but that was as far as it would go. She was resolved not to let it go any further, not that she was heeding warnings from Lucas or even Rochelle and Marta. This was her own analysis. Hot chocolate...somewhere...with him...was definitely against that. So she shook her head.

"Thanks Jens, but I really need to make some calls and stuff..." 

He shrugged, but there was a glint of humour in his eyes, he was enjoying this game, "eight am tomorrow? Dress for skiing, what you don't have get from the hotel hire...tell them I've ok'ed it. See you then!"

Jens immediately wound up the window and accelerated around the building and out of her view, leaving her there alone to contemplate the next day.

Carly ate her breakfast at six am, she'd hardly slept her mind was so active. A hearty breakfast would settle her churning stomach, that was her thought anyway. She didn't have any suitable ski attire, so she visited the hire store. Frank, the manager there raised an eyebrow as she explained Jens had wanted her to kitted out. After glancing at her for a moment more than was necessary, he pulled out trousers and a jacket, then goggles and boots. 

Grinning she lumbered out to the hallway, and there stood Jens, immaculate in black trousers and a vivid black and white jacket. She'd not be losing him in the snow!

"Ready?" he asked tossing his skis over his shoulder. She nodded struggling to carry her own in such a casual manner and followed him out into the unknown...a handsome rich boy, pristene white ski slopes...what could possibly go wrong? 

More readers needed!!!

Hi all

Thanks for the wonderful comments as usual. I do appreciate it. Though since January the number of readers of this blog has almost halved, so I've created a new account on Booksie. At the moment I'm just going to post He'll Come Through and see how that does. I'm not linking it to this blog yet, but hope to attract a few more readers. I'm still using this as my first and primary place, so you'll see chapters here first, my trusted readers. If any of you use booksie then your support there too would be a great help!!  

As for this story - 

Samaira T - some support for Lucas? Yay! Poor man ;). Though he's not without his own past. Jens is a complicated influence here. Hope that this plays out as I intend! There will be a little more drip feeding of character histories over the next few chapters, promise!

And thanks for the love! SO glad that the posting of the odd chapter lightens up so many days!

Annie - Dangerous? Hey? He does seem predatory, but can this leopard change his spots??? Carly is hard on Lucas, but she saw Camilla and how upset she's been, so doesn't he deserve it? And Paul? This may not be the last we hear of him...who knows!!!

alisonwonderland - oh yes yes yes yes!! :)

Carly may not be making rational decisions here, but she's going with her instincts, though are they misplaced??? :) Be interesting to see how these characters affect you in the next few chapters!!

nessa - Definitely Team Jens hey? Lucas definitely seems more involved than he's entitled to be you're right about that! We shall see how this plays out! :)

Thank you all once again!You make me day!!

MZ

Learning to Fly - 12

Chapter 12 - Making Sense of it all

What was wrong with her? She'd lay in bed for many hours pondering what had gone wrong that evening. Jens had seemed keen on her, after her initial surprise at that, Carly was sure of that, but after walking her back to her room, he'd run off without as much as a kiss. Had he changed his mind? Jens wasn't her type, he was too sophisticated, too experienced and far too much of a flirt for her, but the rejection hurt more than she was happy with. He'd left her with a real emotional hangover, and she didn't like it. After punching her pillow, tossing and turning, she had slept, but now as she headed for the restaurant with a sore ankle and a ridiculous level of fatigue, she rued the previous evening on so many levels. 

She had slept, but not well, and she'd been woken by her parents phoning both excited and sad that she wasn't there with them. With a video link via Skype, she opened the parcel that had arrived in the week, it was filled with her favourite toiletries, a huge jar of Marmite, and some beautiful jewellery. So thoughtful. She'd gushed as her parents had similarly opened their gifts. 

She'd sent them Cd's, trendy winter hats, and some luxury rich dark chocolate for her chocoholic father. Carly had had to rush off to work after that, but she promised to call them later that day, to see how their day had passed. 

Carly was nervous, after all whatever happened today, she'd be working outside her comfort zone. She'd worked bars and restaurants since she was fifteen, was confident she could do it in her sleep, but it didn't ease the apprehension of the unknown. For the first time in her life she worried that she was out of her depth, maybe the safety and security of home was her limit.

Carly shook her head, she didn't believe that for a minute, the last couple of months she'd felt like a butterfly, finally free of the restrictions of her chrysalis. She loved home, even more than she thought possible, but free of the restrictions, she finally felt free, alive. 

The restaurant was quiet, but it gave Carly chance to catch up. She was so glad to get to grips with this new role, failure was not an option, with anything the management threw at her, she had to prove she could do this to herself more than anyone else. When she'd left home after all those years, she'd known this was her one and only chance for the life SHE wanted.

There was a large formal restaurant that was open for set meal times and required booking. Then there was the more casual cafe that sat the opposite side of the foyer, it was busier, but still nowhere near busy enough to need her, so once she'd helped serve breakfasts, mid morning, she was asked to assist in reception. The one thing that she hadn't really fully anticipated was spending time under the jurisdiction of Lucas.

Taking a deep breath, Carly made for the office behind the large reception counter that took up one whole wall of the spacious foyer, a spare uniform had been left there for her by Danica. Changing quickly, she emerged behind the desk pasting on a smile. 

Lucas was the only other person working, and when she appeared, he was engrossed in a telephone call. The switchboard in front of him was blinking madly. He was talking in German, she realised, and his face was a beaming smile as he uttered a 'danke' before connecting to another call. 

Carly suddenly realised she could do nothing to help until  he'd talked her through the basics, so spotting papers spewing from the fax machine behind him, she moved towards it and started to try and sort through it. Several were messages for residents, the room number and id's clearly written on them. So finding envelopes, she started to fold the papers and slot them into envelopes, writing the name and room number on the front. She was placing them into the key slots for the corresponding rooms when Lucas hung up the call. 

When she had finally finished and turned around. Lucas was leaning against the desk ankles crossed, watching her. 

"Nice initiative!" he finally offered. "Unless you speak German or French there's no point you taking any of the calls here, I'll talk you through the computer and key system then you can take the in person requests?"

It was a question but didn't warrant an answer. Carly hadn't known how Lucas would treat her today, in the cold light of day she was embarrassed at the way she'd spoken to him, the previous evening. So she listened, took in his commands, it wasn't rocket science, but there was a lot to remember, and followed him around the desk.

He was drawn away from her induction by the incessant phone, apparently everyone wanted to speak to their relatives on Christmas Day.

Someone came to the desk complaining about a leak in their room, another wanted to know what time the ski lift opened that day, and soon she was in at the deep end, but coping.  The desk seemed to be busy in waves, before the end of the breakfast session, then before the ski lift opens. Once that happened, she leaned back and sighed in relief.

"Too much for you?" Lucas asked raising his eyebrow with a waggle.

She remembered their bet, that neither could cope with the others work place and grinned, "a complete doddle! I'll come and help you if it gets too busy downstairs anytime!" Giving him her greatest smile she turned to help a man who'd appeared at the desk to locate information on the Boxing Day Dinner. 

When she'd finished Carly looked around and finally saw Lucas sat on a chair at the back of the reception area, his legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankle.

"OK, so you're a natural when it comes to this, but I have to say that this is a particularly quiet day, all things considered!"

Carly rested her hip against the desk beside him, and presented her sweetest smile, "do you concede? Admit defeat?"

He shook his head, "no way, I'm looking forward to a day with half pint punters! I'm from a  large family...it's second nature to me!"

As he stood to answer yet more phone calls, Carly leaned back, it was her first chance to think about the previous night since she'd left her room that morning. Jens attention...she'd thought he was going to kiss her...she still didn't know how she felt about that, still wasn't sure how she felt about him. She'd acted so out of character the previous night, becoming the sort of gibbering wreck that she despised in a woman. She'd virtually thrown herself at him, and that wasn't how she was.

Groaning she remembered their skiing 'date' that they had planned for the next day, was it rude to pull out?

"Penny for your thoughts!" Lucas' voice disturbed her thought process, and she felt the telltale flush of embarrassment sweep over her face, the last thing she wanted was to discuss Jens with him, he'd made his feelings far too clear the previous night. It was hard enough to work out how to deal with Jens, what she wanted, without the toxic influence of Lucas.

"Not worth a penny!" she mumbled into her chest before turning away from him.

"I didn't mean to upset you last night." He offered and she cursed silently the fact that he bloody knew she was thinking about Jens. The man was an enigma! 

"Whatever..." she really didn't want to do this now. it had been an enjoyable morning working with him, and Carly knew that'd change if the name Jens cropped up in the conversation.

"Carly...we can't ignore things..."

She turned to him, "there's the option of us arguing, spending Christmas day at each others throats. Or we could pretend that we don't argue every time we speak and get on with things!"

His mouth was poised open as though he wanted to say something, but obviously the look in her eyes warned him off, clamping his lips closed he nodded, he could live with that. 

"Where are you from?" She asked when there was another break in the mania he controlled so well. She'd spent hours trying to place his accent, and was failing.

Lucas glanced up from the computer he was bowed over, his dark eyes were sparkling as he smiled, "born in London, but moved to Sydney, Australia, when I was nine. Think I have a blend of both accents, so I'm not easy to place."

"Ah." Was her only vocal response,  she turned back to the stack of rosters he'd asked her to sort through and digested that information. It didn't shed any further light on him, and she was still curious to know what really made him tick.

Hearing his chuckle she fumed, even asking that slight question had caused some sort of misplaced confidence in Lucas. She wasn't interested in him in anything other than knowing why he felt he had the right to talk down to her, why he thought he could tell her what to do with her life.

As lunchtime approached, there was a real buzz at reception, people asking all sorts of questions, and trying to confirm bookings for the various dinners, that were being held for the rest of the day. The staff lunch was being served in two sittings, Lucas was taking the first break, Carly was due for the second, then she was moving back into the restaurant to start the dinner preparations. It really was all go, and Carly barely had a moment to think about anything.

Lucas came back from lunch with a smile on his face, "Wow, that meal was awesome!" 

Carly smiled, "I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Thanks for today, you've really been a great help...a natural!" Lucas' smile was genuine as he beamed at her.

"I have actually enjoyed it...and it's nice to know you can be civil when pushed!"

He shook his head and she realised she'd just spoilt the moment, "God Carly, will you listen to yourself? Any warning I have given you is genuine, Jens Konig is not a good man...he's a womaniser and I'd hate to see him hurt you, use you..."

Carly shook her head in amazement, "he won't hurt me. And why wouldn't he like me? What are you suggesting?"

He groaned, "I'm not saying you're not fanciable, just that he's not the time to take anything seriously. He...he's not like us."

Carly laughed, "you keep saying we're similar, but I'm nothing like you! You warn me about Jens, yet you are the man jumping into bed with women regardless of circumstances. Get your own ship in shape Lucas before you dare to criticise me!"

There was an anger in Carly's eyes that Lucas realised was final, he had as much influence over her as Jens himself, and every word she spoke cut him to the core. "You're right, we're not alike, you are just like all the rest! I can't believe I thought you were different! I'm not the one bouncing from woman to woman, I'm not here on some ego massaging jolly. Just think about it! I work and board. That's it.  You believe that Jens is the answer, that he loves you, he WILL use you, he won't woo you, date you, take care of you..."

"We do have a date planned, I'm not some loose floozy who's about to throw themselves at the boss. You know nothing about me..."

He laughed an ugly sound, "he's done this to so many Carly, and he will ruin you...If this job is important don't jeopardise it by trying to sleep your way to the top."

The crack of her hand connecting with his cheek rang like a gunshot across the thankfully quiet reception.

Learning to Fly - 11

Chapter 11 - The Seduction King

Jens was a cool dancer, he had loads of confidence, and no real inhibitions, so he moved as he liked. Whereas anyone else may have gotten laughed at for any lack of finesse, whatever Jens did, everyone else seemed to follow. So the lounge that had been deemed the dance floor was rammed. At least ten women were gyrating, trying to catch his attention, but unbelievably to Carly, he only had eyes for her, pulling her into his arms on so many occasions, twirling her, leaning down to pass on an observation over the din of the music. He was so attentive, and Carly had never felt so special, never had a man go out of his way to make her feel good. But with that came her own doubts. 

Glancing around the room she took in the lithe, svelte women who both worked and played hard at the resort, they were all perfect, well groomed, attractive. She, Carly caught her reflection in the darkened window, yep, she needed to run flat out at least four times a week to even keep anywhere near passable. She had always felt that she was out of proportion. Hour glass her mother described her as, but she hated it, especially as all the 'in' girls at school had been tiny, slim...

Carly shook her head, too often she found herself back in the past, the last place she wanted to be. Jens was still dancing, but she tapped his arm, leaned close to his ear.

"I need to go to the bathroom!"

He nodded and smiled as she squeezed through the crowds moving away from him. In the hallway Carly paused to take a breath, then made for the stairs to find a bathroom.

There was no one around, so she walked along the hallway, surely there was a 'convenience' somewhere? A door opened and she looked up and groaned, Lucas was emerging from the bathroom and his presence outweighed the relief of finally locating somewhere to relieve her complaining bladder. She'd thought she'd seen him earlier, but then he'd disappeared and she'd forgotten about him.

"Carly!" He nodded in recognition. "Ankle better then?" He asked as his eyes travelled down to the heels that finished off her outfit.  

Carly nodded "getting there, the heels and the dancing weren't the best combination though."

Raising an eyebrow, he warned her, "let's hope that it doesn't affect your work tomorrow!"

Carly snapped, glaring at him her nostrils flared, "I worked every hour when this foot was the size of your average thigh, so don't you dare hint that I'd slack off!"

Closing his eyes for a second he groaned, "reel in those claws Carly! I was just about to remind you that if the bar is under control you'll be helping me out on reception. And i understood there was a challenge on..." Shaking his head with a sadness that caused Carly to flinch, he added, "you really do need to stop jumping down my throat."

"And you need to stop criticising me!" Carly knew it was a defensive jibe, but she felt awful. The second man she'd offended in the same evening, what was it about him that made her see red?

Lucas leaned forward, "I have never criticised you, you just perceive things differently. But I will say one thing. It may be all cosy with the big boss man, but he's dangerous, he eats women like you for breakfast."

Carly reared up, "what the fuck?! With one hand you apologise, with the other you insult?"

"I never apologised Carly, I was just trying to give you advice, one friend to another." 

His expression was genuine, but Carly was feeling too fraught from the whole evening to acknowledge that, "we're not friends!"

With that she barged past him into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.  

She'd hung on for so long that once she opened her bladder, she could barely stop, and it felt as though hours had passed, but it was less than a few minutes when she'd freshened up and finally re-emerged.

Jens was lounging in the hallway talking to yet more people. He had this natural confidence, content in his own skin, that he had the ability to lounge so simply, so relaxed and casual,  yet still be fully in control and powerful. It was no mean feat,  and Carly was fascinated by him.

"Hey Carly. You ok?" Jens watched her descend the last few steps with intent and it almost unbalanced her.

Safe at the bottom and glad that neither her ankle nor her shoes had let her down on the steps, she smiled at the four men stood with Jens, "fine thanks, but I'm thinking I may leave now. I've got an early start. Thanks for the company! It's been a great evening."

Turning for the door, she was struggling to find her coat when a pair of hands pulled her physically back and Jens' voice was near her ear, "I'll walk you down." He reached to the back of the closet and retrieved her coat.

"You don't have...." She tried to protest, but he silenced her with a raised hand.

"It's icy, cold, you're wearing ridiculous heels and already have an injured leg...If you fall...Well I'll be looking for replacement staff on Christmas Day! Come on, give me a break!"

Carly chuckled, "OK, when you put it like that, your escort would be welcome." She feigned fanning herself like some prim Victorian lady.

Laughing, he swept his arm into a bow, "a pleasure m'lady!" And he offered his arm.

The walk was more treacherous than she'd imagined, and the comment had obviously been a decoy from Jens, judging by the way he reprimanded the maintenance staff for the poor surface once they drew level with their office. The men scurried off to lay down more grit and salt, tails definitely between their legs.  

"Sometimes you just can't get the staff! Can you imagine how much we'd get sued for if someone fell?" He shook his head, tucking her closer to him. "Jeez, I was using a little poetic licence when I suggested it might be dangerous!"

Carly stopped and looked at him with a questioning lift of an eyebrow. Sensing her stop Jens slowed too, then turned to her, "what?"

She laughed, "so the ice was an excuse? You just wanted to get me alone?"

Tugging her arm he led her further along the path, "I'm a gentleman, OK? I see lone women home, I rescue kittens from trees, and I help old ladies cross the road!"

Laughing she allowed him to lead her further towards the main building. Earlier in the evening she'd felt intimidated by Jens, but now, she didn't think of him as a boss, as someone socially far above her, she thought of him as a friend. 

At the hotel, he called the staff lift, and waited with her as it churned down the shaft to them. Carly expected him to leave her there, and was surprised when he stepped into the enclosed space with her.

"I've had a fun evening Carly, and I rarely admit that I was wrong, but I was...or rather they were all right!" 

"What? Who?" She looked up at him.

He was an imposing man, and he chose now in the seclusion of the lift carriage to lean close to her, invade her personal space a little, "all I've been hearing for the last few weeks is what a great asset you are...I'm just sorry I needed to be told by others before I realised it myself."

Carly leaned against the wall, trying desperately to to shrug away from the limelight of his attention, brush away the tension, but he was so close, her mouth was dry, her heart seemed to be beating in a ridiculously erratic pattern, half of her screamed 'get away', the other half highlighting that if she turned her head less than forty degrees to the right, her lips would be a breath away from his. She'd bet money he was an earth shattering kisser, but she didn't want to find that out. 

Leaping away from the wall she crossed the small width of the lift car as the doors parted to reveal the staff corridor and sighed. She felt like an injured Thompson's gazelle being stalked by the sharpest most aggressive lion in the pack. Completely out of her depth. And unlikely to survive. 

Was her demise as inevitable? 

Jens stalked across the lift, joining her as she stepped free of the carriage, lifting his arm to wrap around her body, gently but possessively. She still wasn't sure whether he evoked desire in her or fear, but he was evoking something she could barely concentrate on moving one foot in front of the other. 

At her door she stopped and managed to shrug Jens arm from her shoulder without being too obvious. Turning she smiled up at him, "thanks for walking me home."

Jens placed a hand against the door frame, propping himself up, towering over her.

"My pleasure. I hear you don't ski."

As she digested that comment Carly's breath all but left her lungs in a whoosh as his thumb stretched out, reaching from the door frame to touch her ear lobe. It didn't do much more than move a fraction over her very sensitive skin, but her knees felt like jelly. 

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she nodded, "it's not my thing..." she offered with a croak.

"Ah." He lifted his head a fraction in a half nod, "yet you're in one of the greatest ski resorts in Europe and the snow is..." Leaning a little closer he added, "perfect. You really are missing out."

Carly could feel the warmth of his face so close to her own, since leaving the party he'd overwhelmed every one of her senses. She was so tempted to lean in to him, end all this teasing, but she was also fighting against that thought, such was her mental anguish. 

Biting her lip, she watched his mouth, as he talked, wondering how he'd taste.

"When is your next day off?"

His question caused her to shake her head, come out of her day dream. He smiled at her confusion, the way she struggled to focus on the conversation, knowing that he was the cause for her lack of clarity. 

"The twenty seventh, I'm not working all day." 

Jens nodded knowingly, "then I'm taking you skiing. No excuse, you're here in a ski paradise, you have to try it. OK?"

She nodded, avoiding meeting his eyes, still watching those full lips as he formed words.

"Hey?" 

His question forced the inevitable, she had no choice but to look up at him, and it was the undoing she expected. His eyes glittered icy blue as he studied hers, flashes of desire behind the humour. Then his head swooped slowly down, his lips heading for hers. 

Her heart raced and she closed her eyes, but at the last second he tilted to the right. A hair's breadth from her ear, he murmured, "I'll see you then...it's a date." 

The warmth of his breath, the intimacy of the moment, made every hair on her body stand on end, she fought the desperation, the need to lean into him, fought the craving for his mouth on her...anywhere. 

Pulling back he looked down at her, and she knew he saw her as some sort of naive, under-sexed probably desperate hussy, she could only imagine how frazzled she looked. She'd wanted him to kiss her more than anything, despite how much she'd regret it later, but she knew he realised how much she desired him. She dropped her head, disgusted at herself, a man shows you some attention and you act like this? She chastised herself.

Jens chuckled softly, lifting her chin. "You're fun...I look forward to it!"

Then he walked away.

Learning to Fly - 10

Chapter 10 - Christmas Eve Presumption!

Christmas came far too quickly, and the whole of the resort, the town, even the country were preparing well. Everywhere Carly went there were candles, gingerbread and decorations. She'd always loved Christmas, but as it got closer Carly started to feel more and more sad, this was the first time she'd not been in the heart of her family for the holiday. Camilla was travelling to Paris with a school friend, so much for trying to live frugally, Rochelle was going to her family, Marta was the only friend staying in the hotel, but she was newly and besottedly in love, so that was a no go for her too.

But it was all about growing up and evolving, Carly was convinced she'd learn from this experience. Two days before Christmas she was called to Danica's office.

"Hi Carly! I'm going to our sister resort in Germany later, they've been struck by a terrible stomach virus, there are hardly any staff there so I'm hoping to calm things down. The creche is closed for the next three days. So..." She rifled through papers on her desk, "I've made you a schedule. We're short of staff on reception most of all, but then the restaurant on Christmas Day. Will you be happy to slot in?"

Carly nodded, "I can do that." Browsing the paper in front of her she smiled at Danica, "in fact it'll be good to get to grips with how everywhere else works!"

Danica nodded in a pleased fashion, "great! Thanks Carly.I'm glad I can rely on you!"

As Carly left the office and strolled through the management suite, she almost walked into the wall of muscle that was Jens. Taking a step back and steadying herself with a hand against the wall she looked up to find him laughing.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going!"

The look he returned was both filled with humour and something else, interest? She shook the idea straight out of her head.

"Oh don't apologise, it's not every day a beautiful woman runs into me...literally!" His eyes had a laziness to them as he slowly ran them over her.

Carly was blushing crazily, but she knew that Jens was just playing with her, he'd laugh at this later, her almost virginal response to a compliment, "thank you Mr..." she saw his warning glance and smiled, "Jens."

With that she ducked out of the room and away from the heated exchange with her handsome boss.

Christmas Eve saw her saying good bye to the people who'd so quickly become her friends, by the evening she was technically alone. As she closed the creche that afternoon, knowing she was working in the restaurant the following day she heard footsteps coming to join her, it was one of the chefs from the staff canteen.

"You know there's a staff party? Chalet 56...that's the one at the top of the hill! Eight o'clock."

No she definitely did not! With a smile she thanked him as he rushed past her.

Carly deliberated for ages about the party. Did she go or not that was the big question? The options were a Skype call to her parents, who'd treated themselves to a laptop as an early Christmas present, and an early night...or go out alone to see how the staff partied. She'd heard from other people at dinner that the hotel put on the party, so there'd be drinks, entertainment, and as it was held in the most isolated chalet in the complex, she knew it'd be wild. But she deserved fun, didn't she?

Knowing that Camilla wouldn't mind, she searched her room-mates wardrobe for something to wear. Finding a short red dress that had a black bow tied beneath the breasts, yet wide billowy sleeves, she slipped it on and LOVED it. With thick black tights and a tentative first trip into black heels, she left the sanctity of her room for the unknown events of the party.

It was a precarious journey up to the chalet, the path was cleared, but any snow that had melted through the day was freezing into ice as the temperature plummeted. The chalet was a typical Alpine creation, a huge A-line roof framed many shuttered windows and flanked the veranda that opened from the Master bedroom on the first floor. It was like a Christmas card scene...except for the disco lights flashing from the ground floor windows and the line of empty beer bottles already building on the entry veranda.

Pushing open the door she paused, it was a whole different World. There was a lot of dancing going on in one room, and in the other downstairs room was a huge unmanned bar, bottles of anything and everything that you could care to mention were lined up on the bar, as well as large coolers filled with ice cold beer.

She took a bottle, shaking the water off it, and was searching for a bottle opener when a voice caused her to jump.

"Need help with that bottle top?"

Carly turned around  far quicker than was healthy, to see Jens lounging against the doorway, a bottle opener dangling between his fingers. He had the air of authority that only a man in his position could have, and suddenly the air in the room changed, Carly found it difficult to raise a breath.

She stepped nervously towards him holding out the bottle.Trying to break a smile she added, "does this make you a knight in shining armour?"

Jens burst into laughter, and the tension of the moment lifted as he removed the bottle top. "I'm a lot of things, but never a knight!"

Carly gave him her best smile, before sliding past him out into the party. As she entered the other room, the one almost filled with dancing people, she heard a squeal and looked up with immense relief to see Marta and Bernard were performing their own version of dirty dancing. Never had Carly felt more out of her depth than here.

Laughing, Marta immediately untangled herself from Bernard and rushed over. "I didn't know about tonight until after I'd left work! I tried calling your mobile but it was off...I'm SO glad you made it!"

Carly accepted the hug, wrapping her arms around her friend, "I'm so glad there's a friendly face here, it was all a bit daunting!"

Within moments she was absorbed into the dancing and shenanigans of the party, and the time ticked by as she finished another couple of beers.

Marta had insisted they dance to the Macarena, whereas Carly was unable to believe that she was dancing along to that tune in 2010. It was popular though, and it never failed to amaze Carly how the cheesiest tunes saw the dance floors filled in this town. Wild! But she threw her arms in the air and gave into the vibes.

Half an hour later Marta pulled her close, "so what have you done to be the focus of our darling boss' attention?"

Carly felt a shiver travel up her spine, she'd tried to ignore the sensation of someone watching her all evening, but now that Marta had identified it too, she couldn't deny it any longer. Turning slowly she took in Jens, in his familiar confident way lounging against the doorway to the room, he raised an eyebrow then his eyes moved slowly down the length of her body, it was several seconds before his eyes returned to hers. Several other staff members passed, high-fiving or patting his back. He was both popular and charming, the world seemed to love him. But Carly was unsure. If something seemed to be too good to be true, then inevitably it was. And his sudden attention in her wouldn't come without a price, and she was in no rush to experience either side of that deal.

Giving a magnanimous smile, she shrugged, "no idea, but he's barking at the wrong tree!"

Marta nodded, "that's sensible, he's...how can I put it...popular with the ladies?"

Carly had already heard that from several sources, but he'd been nothing but charming to her, she had no intention of being schmoozed by him, to become another notch on a very worn bedpost.

Ignoring everything she threw herself head long aback into the music.

An hour later Marta found her, she was chatting to a few of the barmen that she was working with the next day.

"Carly. We're leaving. We've got a long day tomorrow. Do you want us to walk you back first?"

Carly was having a great time, meeting more people, laughing. A few hours earlier she'd been nervous at the room of virtual strangers, but now she was happy, relaxed and content to stay.

"Go! I'm OK. I'll see you soon, what time you working tomorrow?" Marta was working the evening, so they'd overlap by an hour or so before Carly finished.

Grabbing a beer from the one of the rapidly emptying ice buckets, she once again searched for an opener.

"Damsel in distress again?" Jens looked at her in that lazy yet languorous way as she held out her bottle, a silent request for him to open it.

"Thought you were anything but a knight?"

He laughed and tension sizzled between them as he cracked off the bottle top, "if you keep painting me that way I may have to revise my opinion of myself! Though I do love to help a beautiful lady...and tonight you look exceptionally that!"

She punched his arm playfully, the only way she knew to hide her embarrassment, or stop herself reading too much into his words, then she suddenly gasped at her presumptuousness, realising what she'd just done.

It was strange because for as good looking, successful and almost aloof Jens appeared, she wasn't intimidated by him, not on a social level anyway. Her mother had always instilled in her that she was as good as anyone else in the World and she truly believed that. She may not have had the opportunities of others, but she was no dunce and she knew that if she'd gone off to university the world would have been her oyster. But if he gave her another of those hot seductive looks then that was a different matter.

She waited for his response to her punch. He, however, laughed elbowing the man stood next to him, "this is what I like, a woman with a bit of spark." The man laughed, but Jens' eyes never left Carly.

"Do you want a dance?"

She shook her head, "don't think me rude, but I hurt my ankle a week ago, and it's letting me know I've either done to much, or not anaesthetised it enough!"

She groaned before his eyes widened, and he snapped a quick retort, "in that case, let's get mojitos!" The rest of the party guests seemed to know what a mojito from Jens entailed, as there were whoops and shouts from around the room.

Taking Carly's wrist, wrapping his long fingers around it, he led her into the kitchen, a dozen or more following in their wake.

Perching her on a stool near where he stood, Jens became a mixologist extraordinaire, tossing bottles, catching ice, and of course crushing the mint leaves before tipping the shaken cocktail into the glass. The room dissolved into oohs and aahs. But with only two complete drinks in his hand, he left any further drink making to his mates. Taking her hand in his, yet managing to balance the two high ball glasses in his other hand, he led her out of the kitchen door to the veranda that flanked three sides of the chalet.

The corner was deserted, and a wall mounted heater made it a secluded yet toasty warm spot. Somewhere in the last half an hour the mood had changed. Jens was being charismatic and more than charming. His eyes had rarely left hers since starting making the drinks.

Carly leaned against the railings of the veranda and studied her glass, she was suddenly a little out of her depth.

"How's the mojito?" Jens asked propping himself opposite her.

She smiled, meeting his eyes briefly, "lovely...but I still rather beer!"

Jens laughed, "me too! All a bit pretentious this cocktail lark, but I have to say that the tourists seem to love it."

Her eyes flashed up to him, "so you make them and drink them just to attract the ladies?"

Jens eyes widened at her insinuation, "I see the grapevine has been providing you with information!"

Carly watched him intently, those beautiful blue eyes seemed to penetrate her soul, he wasn't someone who backed away and he brazened out her stare before finally easing into a smile. She hadn't realised she was holding her breath until it escaped in a long exhale, "not really, if you aren't like that, it seems you're alone in that."

Jens nodded, "there is a lot of love in the skiing season, but not everyone is as promiscuous. What about you?"

Carly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, what about her? There was so little to reveal about her. Sometimes she wondered why she was even here, she was so different from these people, privileged bordering on spoilt. She'd worked for everything in life, and looking at Jens as he stood near her, watching her, she knew that if he wanted something he got it, probably with little effort. She had no intention of becoming his latest achievement.

"I'm just Carly, here to work, do well...this is important to me."

He digested that for a moment, then smiled, "you presume again that this isn't important to me?"

She shrugged, "I think that people seem to like the partying more than the job...that's not how I work."

Nodding towards the picnic bench to their left he lowered him self on one side, she sat opposite. then he drained his drink before responding, "this place means everything to me, yes my father runs this company, but I've battled to make this resort one of the most profitable. We've got gold standard rating from TripAdvisor, three ski magazines recommend us as their star resort all year around, and next month we're hosting the biggest amature downhill event in Europe. I coudl've stopped pushing months ago, but I can't. I want people like you to realise that I'm not advantaged...I work for everything!"

Carly immediately felt awful, "I wasn't..."

He placed a finger over her lips to silence her, and any attention to speak dissolved with the sensation of his warm slightly rough skin on her soft, delicate lips. She attempted to swallow, but her suddenly mouth suddenly made her splutter.

"You ok?" Carly nodded, so he added, "let me get you a drink."

Carly was surprised that she'd upset Jens so easily, he seemed to ooze self confidence and more than that, he was so comfortable here, such an integral part of the social scene that she was amazed that he was also so driven. Prejudging! She chastised herself. It was her own pet hate, and she'd been so defensive of people making snap opinions of her since she'd been in Austria, that she'd not realised that she was guilty of it herself.

Jens appeared with a couple of beers a few seconds later and she smiled at him, "I didn't mean to insult you! Earlier..." She sipped the beer before adding, "I don't know, it's just taken a long time for me to break away from teh restrictions of home, family...I hate seeing people taking freedom and opportunity for granted.

He lowered himself next to her, and she instantly felt a predatory threat, so she slid the five inches along the bench until she clung to the edge rather inelegantly. If Jens noticed her discomfort, her reluctance, he didn't reveal it.

"Suitably anaethetised? Fancy a dance?" Jens leaned in close, his breath warm on her cheek. He chuckled as he saw her visibly shake, not knowing it was fear or excitement, "I don't bite...promise."

As he stood and offered his hand, she slid her fingers into the warm strong grasp and followed him into the loud, busy chalet.