Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 75720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
We got out of the car and grabbed the two small suitcases from the trunk, rolling them over the crunchy stone and gravel, reaching the door just as another car pulled up.
“Sup, studs!” Tia shouted as she leaned out the window, waving. Jessica jumped out of the passenger side, and Yvette hopped out of the back. They helped Tia with their bags before coming up onto the porch with us, all of them gawking at the cabin that towered above me.
“This is where we’re staying?” Yvette asked in disbelief. “I might need to be dragged out of here.”
“They can’t drag all of us out, right? Let’s just become a commune of mountain squatters,” Tia suggested, an arm thrown around her girlfriend’s shoulders.
Jess looked at her, brow arched, the silver ring that looped through it sparkling in the afternoon sunlight. “Let’s not and say we did.”
Tia shrugged. “We’ll see.” She leaned in and gave Jess a kiss, which seemed to brighten her face up by about a thousand watts.
“There’s Eric and Tristan,” I said, pointing to the truck that drove up toward us. “The gang’s all here.”
The boys climbed out of the truck and grabbed their luggage, both of them bringing only a book bag strapped on their shoulders. “That’s all you guys brought?” Yvette asked.
“We’re only here for the weekend. What else do I need?” Eric said. “I’ve got three pairs of underwear and three shirts rolled up in here. Plus my book and my notebook. I’m ready.”
“Bathing suit?” Yvette asked.
“That too,” he said, his lips quirking to the side as the doubt played off his face, his beard unable to hide it.
“Yeah, he forgot that,” Tristan said, smacking him on his chest and bringing out a laugh from the group. “Come on, let’s check this place out.”
I turned to the keypad on the door and typed in the numbers Robby gave me. For a second, I was scared we had all been pranked, the door taking a short moment to react to the password. Thankfully, the red light turned green, and two heavy locks slid open, and the door slightly pushed forward.
We stepped in and were as equally blown away by the inside as the outside. It was like walking into a movie set, everything laid out with an intention to please the eye and get the most flawless, Oscar-winning shot without putting in any effort. Sunlight poured in through all the windows, making the polished dark wooden floors shine as if they were made of glass. Exposed beams on the vaulted ceilings flowed downward, leading the gaze to the beautiful fireplace that was the star of the show. It was made of white and black stone with a thin border of black tiles surrounding it and was large enough to keep the entire cabin warm if the logs were lit.
“Oh, we’re so having our book club around this fireplace,” Yvette said, running her hand over the fluffy white love seat that was tilted toward the center table made from driftwood, the table’s shape something only Mother Nature could sculpt.
“What about the rooms?” Eric asked.
“Three upstairs and two downstairs. None assigned, so it’s a free-for-all,” I said, realizing my mistake way too late.
The scramble was immediate, Tia and Jess bolting up the stairs, followed by Tristan on their heels, giggling like a bunch of schoolkids on a race around the yard. Eric took another strategy, running directly ahead and down a hall, opening the first door he found and diving in. Yvette, Jake, and I were left in the living room, looking at each other, slightly dumbfounded.
“I’ll take the one that’s leftover upstairs?” Yvette asked.
“And we’ll grab the one down here,” Jake answered, clapping his hands together. Yvette gave a nod and a chuckle as she grabbed her neon pink suitcase and brought it upstairs, the sounds of Tristan and Tia rock-paper-scissoring for the room with the nicest view drifting down to us.
“That was easy,” I said as I followed Jake down the hall, trying hard to not stare at the way his ass ate up those gray sweatpants.
Tried and failed. Miserably.
“Let’s see what we just signed up for.” Jake stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall, a large framed photo of Robby and his parents hanging on the wall. I had to remember to get them a good thank-you gift for letting us stay free of charge in this mountain wonderland.
Jake opened the door, and my jaw dropped. We might have lucked out with the nicest room in the cabin. It was a corner bedroom that somehow managed to be circular, the window wrapping around the entire wall and giving us the most stunning view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, covered in emerald-green trees that climbed up its various peaks and down its dipping valleys. The bed looked like a cloud, the thick white comforter folded with a few chocolates waiting on a small rainbow pillow.