Chapter 4

I awoke the next morning, groggy and sore. The bed sheets were half on me, and the other half dropped down onto the floor on top of an empty orange pizza box. One of my legs stuck out in the air and dangled off the bed, while the other was trapped somewhere in the knot of sheets. I realized my body wasn’t even lined up with the bed, I was on a diagonal angle to the rest of the room. What a hell of a night, I thought to myself, as I looked down at the naked girl resting in my arms.

I tried to look at the time, but the side table had been knocked over at some point, and the clock was upside down on the floor. Judging from the sunlight that snuck out from behind the curtains, it was at least 8:00am. Callie looked so peaceful, I didn’t have the heart to wake her. Her head rested on the pillow beside me, her arms around my chest and one leg across mine. I would have stayed with her longer, but nature called, and a shower was in order as well.

I did my best to slowly roll out of her grasp without waking her. My feet touched the floor, and I had to carefully step around the devastation we caused the previous night. I was certain I’d have some extra charges on my bill when I checked out. It was worth it, though, since last night was the best night of my life. What’s a few extra canuck bucks to memories that will live in my head forever.

The water helped my aching body as muscles I didn’t even know I had were sore. Sure, my legs were in rough shape from skiing, but it was my arms, abdominals, and chest that were sore from the after-skiing activities. I’d forgotten how much more energy a teenager has over an old fart like me. I stood under the water and just let the heat soak into my skin. I gave my hair a quick wash too but didn’t put in a lot of effort. I needed a good soak in the hot tub today, that was for sure.

When I opened the bathroom door, I saw that Callie was awake and smiled at me. She’d fixed herself on the bed and had pulled the covers over herself, just above her delightful chest. Her hair was a mess; tangled and frizzy, but she still looked beautiful to me. She lifted the blankets, and I climbed onto the bed next to her.

“Good morning, lover. How’d you sleep?” I asked after she kissed me good morning.

“Mmmmm, very good,” she glanced around the room, “we may have gotten carried away last night.”

“You think?” I said with a laugh. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly, a little sore. I went from virgin to sex-fiend in a couple of days. My body isn’t used to it yet, but that’s what practice is for.”

“I’ve heard it does make perfect, but I think I need a break for a few more hours to recharge. I think I would be shooting powder right now.”

“Yeah, you poured a lot into me. My pussy is covered in dried cum. Speaking of, I think I’ll jump in the shower, then maybe we can get some brunch or something. I’m starved.”

I watched her get up and walk to the bathroom without a stitch of clothing covering herself. She seemed to have gained some confidence as she didn’t seem shy at all about her physical state. I could see a couple of small bruises on her back, likely from falling on the floor but nothing serious. I heard the water run and tried to tidy up a little bit. I didn’t want to get charged for anything that wasn’t broken after all.

When Callie and I had cleaned ourselves up enough, it was time to figure out where to eat. I had picked up a brochure from the floor while cleaning and thumbed through it a bit. I passed it to Callie, and she pointed to some place called the Banff Springs Hotel. It was another fancy old hotel that had natural hot springs and a fancy restaurant inside. It would get two birds with one stone, food and a hot bath. We packed a bag with our swimwear and headed out.

We arrived around lunch time and I couldn’t help but marvel at the majesty of the place. It was a large dark stone building surrounded by forests, with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. The springs were around back but we wanted to get some food first. We managed to get a table at The Vermillion Room, and I knew right away that this was going to cost me. I knew my credit card was going to get a workout with this place but why not treat yourself while on vacation?

Here I was in the heart of the Canadian Rockies at an upscale restaurant, and I was dining with a gorgeous girl. If I died tomorrow, this would be my heaven. We ordered some incredibly expensive lunches and enjoyed each other’s company; at least until the elephant made an appearance. We’d done so well avoiding it, but it was always in the room with us.

“Shane, what happens after my dad gets back and we go home?”

I paused, having done the best I could to ignore that damned enormous elephant in the room. I knew we’d gone beyond a tryst at some point over the last 24 hours. Our age difference was one thing, but we didn’t even live in the same state.

“I don’t know. I really don’t. What do you think we should do?”

“I hoped you’d know, being older and all,” she teased, but I could tell she was uncertain. “This could just be a fling, if you want it to be. I won’t be hurt if that’s all you want.”

I reached over the table and held her hands in my own, “It isn’t, but I don’t know what we can do right now. You’re still in high school and I live far away from you.”

“I’ll graduate in the spring though, then I’ll be off to college.”

“Exactly. You still have your whole life ahead of you. Do you really want some old geezer following you around while you try to experience life?” I was trying to be reasonable, but it hurt to say it.

“I might if it was you, but I get your point.”

“Should we stop then?” I asked, knowing what the answer could be, but she surprised me.

“No, we should enjoy the time we have together. Live in the moment.”

“That’s beautiful. You should write greeting cards for vacation-fling couples,” I replied as I tried to lighten the mood.

Callie laughed, “yeah right. I feel like that’s a niche market. Besides, it’s something my mom used to say.”

That was the first time Callie had mentioned her mother at all. Her dad acted weird when he talked about her the other day. In truth, I hadn’t really thought about her family situation beyond Reg and Theresa. I had assumed they’d just gotten divorced or something, but something seemed to have happened.

“Callie, what happened to your mom? Is she ok?”

Callie’s expression froze and she pulled her hands away from mine. I suddenly had the feeling I shouldn’t have asked that question.

“I ... not now, please. I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“Ok, no problem. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“It’s ok, maybe later. I think we should go check out the springs, don’t you think?”

“Sure, absolutely.” I flagged down a waiter and paid our bill. I didn’t even look at the total, I was more concerned about Callie at that moment. We headed to the change rooms and separated, to meet each other at the doors outside. Outside the smell of sulfur was strong from the naturally heated waters. We found an empty spot in the large outdoor pool and just sat together, looking off into the horizon.

Neither one of us spoke for a while but Callie did have her arm around my back, and I had mine around hers. I felt her hair touch my shoulder as she leaned to rest her head against me. I wasn’t sure what to say and thought it would be best to wait for her to speak first. I felt bad though, like I’d ruined what likely was our last full day together.

“She died,” Callie’s voice brought me out of my self-pity party. “ ... my mom. She died when I was ten.”

“Callie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean...” I tried to apologize but she put up her finger to stop me.

“I know, please let me finish, ok?” she said with a tremble in her voice. I simply nodded, knowing this seemed like it would be difficult for her to dredge up.

“Dad wasn’t always like he is now. He was a great father, very warm and caring. We’d sneak out and get ice cream on hot summer days while mom was working from home. She was a senior insurance actuary at United Insurance, and she worked a lot when she had to. I have a lot of memories sitting on my mom’s lap while she poured over numbers and spreadsheets. With both salaries, we never wanted for anything, and we laughed a lot.

One day I said we should sneak out and get some ice cream, and dad agreed. Mom was working on some big file, and I think he wanted to give her a little quiet time to focus. Now that I’m older, I think that’s always why we did it. Anyway, we picked up a cone for her too and drove home. We were as happy as we could be! I even stole a few extra licks from mom’s cone.

Dad told me to bring mom her ice cream, but I should knock on her office door first. I did, but she didn’t say anything. I knocked again and nothing. Being a kid, I didn’t really think and just opened the door. There she was, my mom, laying on the floor with her eyes staring at me. I thought it was a game, so I tried to get her up, but nothing worked. I didn’t understand why she didn’t want her ice cream.

Dad finally came in wondering where everyone was and called 911. He cradled her in his arms, crying and calling her name, until the paramedics arrived. Doctors said she had a brain aneurysm, and she likely died instantly, but that doesn’t really comfort a ten-year-old. Years of therapy, and I can still see my mom’s face when I close my eyes.

Mom had a lot of life insurance, being in the industry and all, so we got a big payout due to early age and her supposed good health checkups beforehand. I have a half million-dollar trust for college when I go, despite the bullshit Theresa says. That, or I get access to it when I turn 25. The truth is, I’d give all that money back for one more day with my mom.”

I could see the tears run down her face as she spoke, although it was partially hidden by the steam from the water as it hit the cold air. I didn’t have words at that moment. How do you even say anything after a story like that? I just held her close while she cried in my arms.

“Dad broke that day too,” she did her best to continue. “He became sullen and colder to everyone until a few years ago when he met Theresa. She brought him out of his depression but tapped into some of his worst impulses. She has him wrapped around her finger now, but there’s not much I can do about it. I’ve felt so alone since I was that little girl with an ice cream cone.”

“You’re ok, Callie. You aren’t alone.” I kissed her softly on the forehead, and she gave me a gentle but sad smile.

“I will be once we leave here. We both know this ends soon.”

“I’m just a phone call away. Trust me, even if we’re just friends, you’ll never be alone again.”

We stayed in the springs for a little while longer as Callie did her best to compose herself. Once she was comfortable, we got out and headed back to the change rooms. When we met together in the lobby, she had returned to her usual self. We boarded a bus back and headed for our hotel.

It was around 4:00 when we returned to the room. We both needed a shower as the sulfur water made us stink like rotten eggs, which wasn’t a fetish I had. I suggested we jump in the shower together, but Callie had a different idea.

“Since it’s our last night alone together, we should go on a date. A real date.”

I was intrigued by the proposition and asked for elaboration. Her idea was, we’d go to our own rooms and get cleaned up, and I’d pick her up at 5:30 for dinner. We would go to a nice restaurant and make it a special evening. One we could hold on to and cherish in the bad times. I agreed, and she departed after a kiss goodbye.

I jumped into the shower and made sure to fully scrub myself down with soap and shampoo to rid myself of that stink. I shaved my face and made sure to keep my nose clean. As I got ready, I grew more excited by her plan. It did seem like the perfect way to end our affair, although when I went to get dressed, I remembered I didn’t pack any nice clothes.