Chapter 23

Sean and Elizabeth were sitting on the bed discussing what Sean and Eric had in store for them when someone knocked on the door. Sean got up and went to the door, Elizabeth in tow. He opened the door and found a bellhop waiting outside with a cart sporting a bottle of Dom Pérignon in a silver bucket with ice.

"Compliments of the Harrah's, sir." Sean stepped aside and let the man in, Elizabeth charmed by the gesture. "Oh, and my manager said to give you this as well, sir." The bellhop handed him a note. He left his hand out after giving Sean the scrip of paper. Sean fished into his pocket and placed a twenty in the outstretched palm. The man smiled when he saw the bill and left.

Sean unfolded the small note and read it.

"What's it say?" Elizabeth asked, nosing her way over Sean's shoulder.

Sean reread the letter and smiled. "The hotel manager sent the bottle with his compliments. Apparently, what I did for Teresa hasn't been forgotten and the manager wanted to give us a kind welcome."

Elizabeth was saddened by the mention of the girl's name. "Let's do something nice for her; perhaps invite her over for dinner. I think she deserves a little compensation after the way I treated her."

Sean looked up and smiled at his girlfriend and reached an arm around her waist. "I was hoping that you would suggest making amends."

"Well, I'm glad I can live up to your expectations." Elizabeth gave him a peck on the cheek. "However, I'll be keeping a close eye on you two. Any funny business and you're sleeping in the hall."

Sean sighed in mock despair. "Women."

"You can say that again," barked Eric.

Sean and Elizabeth turned to find their friends standing in the doorway;

Vanessa had the look of eager impatience while Eric was obviously nervous, almost fearful.

"You two said that you would take us shopping for all of the items we didn't pack. Well, I'm ready to go shopping." The eager look on Vanessa's face nearly made Sean shudder.

"That's right," seconded Elizabeth. "We have some shopping ahead of us."

When Sean turned and assayed his girlfriend's bright and eager countenance, he shuddered noticeably.

There were several ski shops that dotted the base of the Heavenly ski resort so the women made their rounds hitting all of the stores looking for the appropriate ski attire. They were staying for a week so they decided to buy everything they needed instead of renting. The bill was astronomical with the women's clothing and the ski equipment. While the men could easily afford it, they enjoyed making a big production by complaining. Night had fallen and by the time they were done shopping, they were all tired. They were standing outside of the last shop with the men grumbling.

"I don't understand what you men are moaning about," stated Elizabeth matter-of-factly. "We were the ones trying things on."

"You two didn't have to try on everything," Sean commented with Eric nodding in agreement.

"Yes we did," Vanessa retorted without missing a beat.

"Tell me again why we brought those two with us?" Eric asked.

The two women looked at each other archly and strode up to their respective men challengingly and each planted a hot kiss while stroking their crotches. When they broke the kisses, the men stood dazed, bewildered, and rock hard.

"That was why," Sean finally managed to say. Eric only grunted in agreement.

The women laughed and shoved all their packages at the men. Vanessa snorted. "Men."

Elizabeth clucked in agreement. "Feed them and fuck them and they're as happy as can be."

"Hey, I represent... I mean, I resent, that remark," Sean stabbed.

"Speaking of feeding. When do we eat?" Eric asked.

"Quiet, Eric. You're not helping the situation much. "Elizabeth and Vanessa bawled out in laughter, earning Eric a sock in the arm from Sean.

"What?"

"Never mind, Eric," Sean grumbled. He turned up and headed for their car. "Harrah's got the best buffet around here. Let's eat there for dinner."

They piled into the SUV and headed back to Harrah's. The former bellhop was in the lobby so he took the initiative helping them with their things. Eric and Sean were grateful for the assistance and were able to make it to their rooms in one trip instead of two so they both tipped the bellhop. The men guided Elizabeth and Vanessa to the elevator after everything had been put away.

The four of them exited the elevator and found Teresa working the front desk. Sean and Elizabeth asked their friends to wait a moment and then they walked over to the brunette. Teresa was wearing a brave smile for appearances but he and Elizabeth could see the unease in her eyes.

"Hi," Teresa greeted.

"Hey," Sean replied. "Look about earlier..."

"Don't think anything of it. It's just been a while since anyone's asked about the assault."

"Yes, well..." began Elizabeth, "I just wanted to make it up to you for broaching the subject so rudely."

For the briefest of moments Teresa shot daggers at Elizabeth and Sean now understood what was going on. Teresa obviously was jealous of Elizabeth; it wasn't just his girlfriend's paranoia. Sean had to admit to himself that he initially believed that Elizabeth was falling back into old insecurities but now he saw things in a new light and felt a little ashamed that he doubted her. Sean's hand gently squeezed Elizabeth's in assurance and to convey some sense that he was beginning to understand.

Elizabeth squeezed back.

They asked her to join them for dinner and Teresa made a few attempts to decline, using the excuse that she was working. Sean just called up the hotel manager and Teresa was allowed a long and early break. The buffet at Harrah's was like anything you would expect at any other hotel casino, exquisite. Sean and Eric gorged themselves on the diverse choice meats; they had several servings of the filet mignon wrapped in bacon. The women had a light main course of pastas and salads but once they got to the desserts they lost all self-control and had a little bit of everything.

Conversation was light and entertaining; Sean and Vanessa had an interesting argument about which was the better sex. That had everyone in stitches.

"Who cares if men can piss standing up?" Elizabeth declared. "Women can have multiple orgasms!"

Sean shut up after that and contrived a sour disposition as he poked at his dessert. Vanessa and Elizabeth shared a high-five as the men quietly resumed their dinner in defeat. "She's got us there," Eric mumbled in agreement.

During the entire dinner, Teresa listened to the conversation but never added much to it. She knew when she was out of her league. Two years ago, when Sean had rescued her from Matt, Teresa knew that Sean was more mature than most men his age. But after seeing how he interacted with individuals ten years older than he, and how comfortably he did it, she realized that Sean would never be happy with someone his own age, someone like her. She put on a brave front as she realized that she needed to reorganize the priorities of her life.

Dinner was finished with much belly patting and clandestine belching on the men's part and small talk between the women. They decided that they had their fill after Eric snuck in a final bite of cheesecake. The women wrapped an arm around the appropriate boyfriend's proffered elbow and slowly made their way out. When they approached the elevators Teresa bid them a good night and made her way back to the front desk to continue her shift. On the way someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around to find Sean standing there. Her mind was a flurry of emotions; she didn't know what to say.

"Hey."

"Hi, Sean."

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Teresa thought of finding some way to tell him about how she felt about him. How she tried for the past two years to become the kind of girl that he would ask out on a date. But after tonight she knew that it just wouldn't work. They were too different. In his absence, Teresa had conjured up the image of Sean being the perfect man for her. In many ways he was. He had all the qualities that every girl would want; he was kind, funny, and dedicated. But in many ways he wasn't what she wanted. While he was fun, he wasn't her kind of fun. She knew the sort of things he enjoyed doing and Teresa had tried learning about them, but she could never get into them. They didn't have anything in common, really. When it came down to it, they weren't made for each other.

Sean watched the play of emotions in her eyes, the thoughts and ideas that clashed in her mind. But at the end he saw her piece things together, and a certain sparkle appeared in her eyes. Sean couldn't help himself as he leaned in and gave her a warm hug.