Part I

"You could be good for me -
I've had a taste for the danger...
Heaven forbid,
I take a chance on a beautiful stranger..."

On the plane I was lucky enough to be sitting next to a little old woman who couldn't be any younger than eighty. As we prepared to take off she smiled at me.

"Is this your first time to Vermont?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No, I've been there before. Never really got to see much though," I responded. "I hope to this time."

"It's beautiful," she told me.

"You've been there before?"

She let out a small laugh. "Oh heaven's yes. I grew up there. My sister still lives there, so I go out and visit when I can."

I smiled. "That's nice."

"We should introduce ourselves. I always make it a habit of getting to know my seatmate. My name is Minietta, but you can call me Minnie," she introduced.

I decided now was a good time to start practicing my acting skills. "I'm Ben," I said, taking her hand.

"I have a son named Ben," she said. "His youngest son, my grandson Tim, is about your age too. Are you in college?"

"Yes ma'am, I'm studying Shakespearean literature."

"Oh my, well that's wonderful, dear. Why are you flying to Vermont?"

My mind spun - why was I flying to Vermont? "To visit my girlfriend," I answered.

Minnie patted my arm. "Aren't you sweet, flying all the way across the country to see your girlfriend."

"I try. She came out to visit me at Christmas. I wanted to come for Valentine's Day but this was the only weekend I could get away." I was amazed at how easily a story came once I stopped trying.

"Valentine's Day is any day you treat the one you love specially," Minnie said with a smile. She and I talked on and on, and I discovered I was an even better liar than I thought I was. The flight passed quickly, and sooner than I expected the pilot was welcoming us to Vermont. Minnie and I walked together to get our luggage. After she retrieved hers and spotted her sister she smiled at me.

"You have a lovely weekend, Ben," she said.

"Have a good time with your sister," I said in return. She made a face and pulled my arm gently so I'd bend down.

"We fight like cats and dogs, but as soon as I leave she starts begging me to come back. She's getting senile, the old bat," she whispered, then winked at me. I laughed loudly and waved as she walked away. After she was gone I stood holding my bags, feeling a little stupid - now what? I wandered over to the rent-a-car counter.

"Can I help you?" the balding clerk asked listlessly.

"Yeah, actutally. Could you recommend a place to stay?"

"You wanna be near good slopes?"

"Excuse me?" I said.

The man rolled his eyes and sighed. "Do you ski? Do you want a place near good ski slopes?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah, sure."

He eyed me. "Is that a yes or a no?" he pressed. Suddenly a small, middle-aged woman joined him behind the counter, smacking him on the arm.

"Give the kid a break, Marv," she chastised, then smiled at me. "You want a good place to stay, sweetheart?"

"Yeah. Nothing fancy, just..." I shrugged and grinned. "Just cozy," I finished.

"Typical tourist," Marv grumbled.

The woman's smile widened. "I got just the place for you. Are you renting a car?"

"Uh, actually I was just gonna take a taxi."

Marv groaned and walked away. "All this work and he doesn't even wanna rent a car," he muttered. The woman shook her head at him and wrote for a minute. When she finished she handed me the paper.

"You just give that to your driver, if they're any good they'll get you there no problem."

"Thanks a lot," I said to her. As I walked away I read what she had written. It was only directions - no name or anything. Oh well, this was all part of going with the flow - what did I have to lose?

When the taxi pulled to a stop it was like the woman had read my mind. The place was small and quaint; exactly what someone would picture when they'd think of a cozy ski lodge in the mountains. I quickly reserved a room for two nights and went to check it out.

It was small but not too small. There was a king-size bed, two arm chairs, a table, a night stand and a small TV. On the walls were paintings of the lodge from different years and angles, and on the bed was a handmade quilt. In short, it was perfect.

I fell onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. I had really done it, I was here. Away from everything. For a whole weekend I was free of fans, reporters, photographers, family, the guys, Julia - everyone who expected something from me. I could sit in this room and for three straight days do nothing but eat, sleep, watch porn and drink myself into a stupor if I wanted. But I was way too outgoing for that. What I did instead was head downstairs to the bar for a drink.

The place was near empty when I arrived. My guess was that it was still early so most people were probably still skiing. I ordered a beer and looked around. There were a few people scattered at tables. The person that caught and held my attention was the only other one at the bar.

I'd always been known for being dramatic - the guys constantly harped on me for exaggerating and stretching the truth. So, maybe it would have been just another example of my dramatic flair if I was to say it was love at first sight. Maybe it was just attraction or curiosity. But I doubted it.

She was dressed simply, just in jeans and a bulky sweater. Her long blonde hair was swept over one shoulder, and (this was the kicker), she was reading a book - who read a book in a bar? And it wasn't one of those Danielle Steele numbers, it looked like heavy-duty literature. She was engrossed in her reading - occasionally a smile would flicker across her face. She took a sip of whatever it was she was drinking and looked at me.

'You are just here to have fun,' I tried to remind myself as I stared into her eyes, my heart pounding, 'and you love Julia very, very much!'

'If you love Julia so much, why are you here staring at me?' her eyes asked before she returned to reading. I shook my head quickly - freedom was going to my brain. I couldn't get carried away.

'But it would be rude now after staring at her to not at least say hello,' I thought. Besides, she was alone, I was alone. Maybe she was lonely. Somehow, though, she didn't strike me at all as the type of girl who was ever really lonely. She probably loved being by herself. I could understand that. I should probably just leave her alone.

'It's already too late for that. Looking at her sucked you in, it's just a matter or time now,' a voice said from the darkest corner of my mind. Almost as if she read my thoughts again she looked up at me.

"When are you planning on coming over here so we can start this?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Start what?" I questioned.

She smiled. "Start seducing me," she said. I smiled back and approached her slowly.

"What makes you think I want to seduce you?"

"If you hadn't you never would have come in here," she responded.

I laughed. "You think I knew you were in here?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Maybe not consciously. Either way, you're over here now, aren't you?"

"You certainly are sure of yourself," I commented.

"No, I'm just sure of you."

"Is that right? Well, what do you think I'm planning on doing now?" I quizzed her.

"Hopefully sitting down and introducing yourself," she answered.

"Hopefully? Why, do you have money riding on it?"

"No, just a lot of personal interest," she responded with a grin. I smiled too. She played the game as well as I did and she had gotten to me. Feeling as if I was throwing the pebble down the mountain that started an avalanche, I sat down and held out my hand.

"You win," I told her. Her grin widened.

"I usually do."