Modern Girl's Guide to Friends With Benefits (3 page)

"You guys are really going to take snowmobiles out into the backwoods? What are you? Stupid twenty-two-year-olds?"

"Oh, Kim, you have no idea," Peter said sincerely. "When we were stupid college kids this wouldn't have even registered as a blip on our scale of stupidity. Besides, it's not as dangerous as it sounds. I've hired a guide, and the backwoods"—he rolled his eyes at that—"are really professionally designed slopes. It's all very yuppie extreme. We're not kids anymore. There's adrenaline-pumping fun and then there's just risky."

Kim pulled her suitcase out of the trunk and shook her head. "Oh, poor guy. Forced to grow up. Matt and Simon are well on their way to adulthood—kids, stable relationships, and all. I'm waiting for the day you fall, too."

"Don't hold your breath. I don't have time to wipe my own ass, let alone date," he said, heading to the lobby. "Let's get checked in. If we hurry, I might actually get five hours of sleep."

But when they went to check in, there wasn't a room for Kim. The hotel was completely booked. At least his had been checked in and was waiting.

"Please don't make me get back in that car," Kim said, sounding a little desperate.

"You're not going anywhere. The cabins have two bedrooms. You can stay in the second bedroom in my cabin," Peter said after getting a key to his room. "We'll figure this out in the morning. Let's get some sleep."

"You did call and let them know I was coming, right?" Kim asked, following him to the shuttle. "I'd feel pretty weird just showing up at Megan's birthday trip uninvited."

"Of course, you were invited," Peter said. "We wanted it to be a surprise for Megan. She's missed hanging out with you since you moved to New York. It's going to be a great weekend. Trust me."

A shuttle took them to the cabin, but as they got closer, Peter noticed the lights were on and the fireplace lit.

"Are you sure this is my cabin?" he asked the bellman.

The young man checked his clipboard. "Peter Bradley, right?" Peter nodded and the guy dropped the bags in the entryway. "That's what's on the registration. The room was checked in earlier tonight. Maybe your friend set things up for you."

Peter took a quick look around and spotted a hot pink computer bag tossed on the sofa. He knew exactly who was there, but wasn't sure why.

He searched the cabin. But outside of finding Megan's luggage and an empty wine bottle, he couldn't find her. She could have been the one to check in his room and simply left her bag. She was constantly losing things. He really hoped she hadn't waited here all night for him to arrive.

"Hey, Peter," Kim yelled from one of the bedrooms. "I don't want to unpack since I'm only staying tonight. I'll just get what I need for tonight and leave my bags in the hall."

He heard a familiar string of swears coming from the porch and sighed. He'd know that foul mouth anywhere.

"Evening, Meg. What's going on?" he asked when he stepped onto the deck.

"Peter? What are you doing here?" Megan said. Instead of turning around, she sank down into the water of the hot tub. "Your flight was canceled."

"I caught one to Salt Lake and drove the rest of the way," he said. "You have to know a little snow wouldn't keep me away from your birthday weekend."

"I'm going to get a quick shower," Kim said from somewhere inside the cabin.

"Oh, my God, Peter. Really?" Megan hissed under her breath. She finally turned around. Just her head was visible from over the side of the tub, and he couldn't tell if her cheeks were pink from anger or the heat. "You're such a manwhore."

"It's not what you think," he said.

"You just got here and already have a girl in your room. Don't think I'm leaving because you have a hookup. Keep that shit in your own room."

"And here I was glad to see you," he said, annoyed by the turn of the conversation. "Why aren't you in your own cabin?"

"We're a couple now. Isn't that nice?" she said, frowning at him. "The better question is, where did you pick up a girl at one in the morning?" She waited for only a heartbeat before shaking her head. "You know what, I really don't care. Keep it down and I'll leave you two alone. I won't even make a joke about the walk of shame in the morning. Promise."

"What walk of shame?" Kim said, still behind him, "I just need a place to sleep tonight."

"Can you give us a second, Kim?" he said over his shoulder.

"Kim?" Megan nearly choked. "Please tell me you're not sleeping with Kim. Just because she lives in New York now doesn't mean we're not friends anymore. You promised that friends were off limits."

"Don't be a brat, Meg. I invited Kim as a surprise for your birthday."

"Really?" Meg turned to her friend and smiled. "I'm happy you came, Kim. But"—Meg turned back his direction—"I meant what I said. Since we're sharing a cabin, I don't want to deal with the slope bunnies or anyone else you decide to pick up this weekend."

"We've had a long trip," Peter said, rubbing his tired eyes. "I'm not in the mood for this conversation."

"Oh, not in the mood? Well, good. Then I won't have to break out my earplugs."

"I'm going to wait in the living room," Kim said, backing away from the door.

"Goddamn it, Megan. If I'd known you were going to be a bitch about it, I would have stayed in New York." Peter grabbed the glass that was sitting on the side of the hot tub and downed the rest of the wine. "Tell me what's going on. I thought you had your own room. Is there a problem?"

"Yes. There was a problem with the rooms. Julia gave me your cabin because you weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow. I didn't mean to cramp your style."

"I'm not here to sleep with Peter," Kim yelled from the other room. "And I'm not going to get in the middle of this. I'll go back to the lodge and call Simon. I can sleep on their sofa tonight."

"Are you happy now?" Peter said, crossing his arms. "Do you have any idea how fucked up my day has been?"

"I'm sorry that my being here has ruined your night, but I didn't have a choice. And you're not the only one who's had a crappy day. Fuck, my week has been one disaster after another," she said, her voice cracking, and turned her back to him.

"Meg," he said, softening his tone. He shouldn't have taken his frustrations out on her. This is not how he wanted their reunion to go. "I'm sorry, babe. Why don't you get out and tell me what's bothering you?"

Without turning around, Meg said, "Peter, I love you, but I don't want to talk about it. I promise I'll be better by morning and we can have a nice weekend with our friends. Right now, I just want to enjoy the hot tub. You should go get some sleep."

He might have been exhausted, but he could tell there was something really bothering her and he wasn't going to be put off by her pouting. "Don't sit there and sulk. I'll order another bottle of wine, maybe even some cake." He tried tempting her. "Just get out of the hot tub so we can talk. Really talk. I know you want to."

"Weren't you listening? I said I don't want to talk. Leave me alone to sulk in peace."

"Meg, you're being childish. Come on. Get out."

"Oh. My. God. You are like a dog with a bone." She dipped her head under the water for a second and when she came up, she turned to look at him with a determined set to her jaw. "You want me to get out of the hot tub? Fine." Meg grabbed the edge of the hot tub and stood up. "Happy now?"

Even in the low light coming from the open door of the cabin, Peter could see every inch of her nude body. Steam rose from her skin as she crawled over the side of the hot tub and reached for a folded towel. It wasn't the first time he'd seen her naked, but it had never been deliberate on her part. And definitely never this erotic. A stream of water spilled down her shoulder, over the swell of her breast, and dripped off the tip of her erect nipple. He watched the progress, his mouth going dry, hoping she'd cover up before he did something stupid like trace the wet path with his tongue. But instead of covering herself, she wrapped the towel around her hair.

"I told you I wasn't in the mood to talk. And now I'll have to figure out some other way to relax in my room. See you in the morning," she said as she walked past. As she went through the door, she stopped and shook her toweled head. Without turning around, she said, "Stop staring at my ass."

And with that, she headed back into the cabin, leaving him speechless. He hated when she wielded her sexuality like a blunt weapon. They were friends and they kept a bright line on that distinction. But he was still a man, after all.

Peter was up early the next morning, not that he slept much. Megan's little display had led to a very restless night. Every time he closed his eyes the only thing he could see was the vision of her rising from the hot tub, water cascading down her creamy skin, the steam misting around her like a diaphanous shroud. That image was going to forever be burned into his brain.

He was going to hell. Megan was like his sister. No, she was more than that. She was his best friend. And the last thing he should be doing was imagining himself buried deep inside those luscious curves.

He spent the morning trying to think of anything but last night. He'd just poured his fourth cup of coffee when Megan strolled into the kitchen.

"Morning," Megan called from the hall as if nothing had happened last night. "Sleep well?"

The click of her high heels echoed around the small kitchen. Peter looked up and all the tension he'd worked so hard to get rid of came flooding back.
She has to be fucking kidding.
Megan was dressed in a skintight black skirt and red, button-up shirt that was dangerously close to spilling out her breasts. All it would take was a deep breath. Her hair was piled into an artfully messy bun and to top it off, she was wearing those cute glasses he loved. The ensemble looked like it could have graced the cover of Naughty Librarian Weekly.

She leaned over the counter to grab his cup of coffee, drawing his attention to the low cut of her top. Black lace peeked from the deep vee and he looked away.
Fuck. She's killing me.

Still leaning over the counter, Megan added sugar to his coffee. "No creamer?"

He gritted his teeth and stared at the floor, thinking of sales reports and pivot tables. Anything but Meg's perfect breasts. It was their standard modus operandi. He'd get mad; she'd say or do something outrageous. Then they'd pretend nothing happened. But this time was different. He couldn't get the image of her naked body out of his mind. Well, the problem was more that he couldn't stop thinking about all the things he wanted to do with her naked body.

"Fine, you're still mad," she said, interrupting his thoughts before they turned X-rated. She grabbed the little carton of milk room service had sent over, added a splash to the cup and took a sip. "Hmm." She pushed the mug back across the table and smiled warily. "I'm sorry. I was in a mood last night. Don't worry, I'm going to apologize to Kim." Without missing a beat, she reached across and took a big bite of his oatmeal. Wagging the spoon in the air, she went on. "I know there's nothing going on between you two. You might be a bit of a playboy, but you keep things professional at the office. And even if there was something going on, that's none of my business."

He slid the oatmeal over to her, desperate for her to stop leaning over the counter.

"That's yours," she said, protesting.

"I ordered one for you," he said, finally finding his voice. "And I have an Earl Grey."

"See. This is why you're my best friend. No one else gets me the way you do," she said with a hint of sadness in her voice. But before he could question her about it, she put on a smile and kissed his cheek. "Be careful out there today. I'm meeting Julia and the girls at the spa, so I'll see you guys tonight."

She grabbed her long wool jacket that was tossed over the back off the sofa and wrapped it around her ridiculous outfit. And just as fast as the winter squall last night, she was gone, leaving him off balance and questioning his resolve.

Chapter Three