Unproven Chapter Fifty Nine "Mystery Destination"

The next couple of days were excruciating. Sonya didn't show up to school and every time she saw Andie her former friend looked away. But not before she caught a look of disgust on her face.

As for Dori, she understood what had set her off and didn't blame her. Apparently her most recent stepfather had been hitting on her, trying to coerce her with money and gifts and she’d had enough, and it had come out in the form of her shouting match with The Dude because he reminded her of the man who was tormenting her. She was extremely sorry of course, and Ary forgave her, also of course, but that didn't change the fact that Ary had betrayed Sonya and was now paying for it big-time.

It was currently Thursday morning and she was in her room packing a few things for her long weekend getaway with Grayson. She didn’t need much because he had insisted on supplying the majority of her wardrobe to keep her in the dark about their destination, so while she selected a few items she made a conscious effort to shake her current bleakness. She couldn't afford to ruin the last few days she had with Gray before he left for a full month.

"I made a mistake," she said aloud, "it's not the end of the world. Sonya will forgive me, she's not one to hold a grudge." She repeated the sentiment internally until she decided she believed it and began to feel better. Gray was constantly telling her she shouldn't take things so seriously, that time had a way of working things out, and he was right. After all she'd survived the death of her family; a couple of disagreements with her friends paled in comparison. They would get through it. She would get through it.

She took a deep breath and let it out, imagining all the crappy things in her life leaving with it and smiled. She turned to the mirror on her vanity and caught the reflection of that smile, forcing it wider until she looked like a clown. She held it until it made her laugh, and just like that she felt worlds better. Just in time as it turned out.

Grayson strode into her room while she was still grinning and stopped, blinking in surprise before grinning back. "Hey, feeling better I see!" He exclaimed, his eyes dancing.

She laughed, "Hell yes! I'm going away with the most amazing guy on the face of the planet, I'd be a fool not to feel fantastic!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard.

"Mm," he murmured, pulling back only a fraction of an inch. His gaze slid to her bed and he raised a brow slightly, his eyes growing hooded.

"Do we have time?" She asked, bemused by how quickly he could become aroused.

His hands dropped to her butt and he squeezed gently, back-walking her until her thighs touched the bed. He captured her mouth in a deep kiss and she could taste the testosterone in his saliva. She wondered if he would ever stop wanting her as often as he did now and had a moment to hope the answer was no before he picked her up and crashed them down on the mattress.

Ary didn't know how long they were on the jet before they reached their destination since she'd fallen asleep an hour into the trip, but when she woke they were landing and it was still light out, so she had to assume they were still in the states.

"Hey sleepyhead," Grayson teased, "you ready?"

She smiled, yawned then stretched, turning to look out the window and getting a glimpse of blinding white before he yanked her to her feet.

She followed him to the exit, her spirits soaring. It had been years since she'd seen snow, and it seemed the dry spell had ended.

They walked out of the plane and onto a platform inside a small terminal and were immediately greeted by a man whom she gathered would be their driver for their stay. He already had their suitcases and Grayson pulled two coats from them, helping her into one then shrugging into the other. They followed the driver outside, huddling under their hoods as they were pelted with snow and climbed into the back seat of an Expedition.

"Where are we?" Ary demanded happily as Grayson brushed the snow off of her.

"Cortland, New York," he told her, flashing a smile. "It was my first choice of places to take you, but it hinged on whether the weather decided to cooperate. If there hadn't been snow we would've went further north."

New York. She'd never been to the East Coast. "Why here? I'm not complaining," she added quickly, "just curious."

"Well, you're going to be skiing for an entire month, but since you've never done it before I wanted to be the one to teach you. Cortland happens to have a resort that’s perfect for beginners while still being a lot of fun for the more experienced," he pulled her into his side and she accepted his kiss with an excited grin. Snow. Skiing. She couldn't think of anything she'd rather be doing.

"Could you have the driver find a radio station playing Christmas music?" She asked.

He called out her request and seconds later they were treated to the old-fashioned sounds of Bing Crosby singing about a winter wonderland.

The following morning they woke bright and early, and after a breakfast consisting of pancakes and copious amounts of bacon, they dressed for a day at the slopes and stepped outside the cabin, pausing to take in the scenery. It was a beautiful day despite the temperature being twenty-eight degrees. Living near the balmy California coast she hadn't seen her breath pluming out of her mouth in as many years as it had been since she'd seen snow.

Unlike the previous day, the sky was blue and the sun was out in full force, transforming the snow into a fluffy white diamond covered blanket. It was exhilarating, and Ary found herself thinking she might want to relocate after graduation. She glanced at Grayson and the expression on his face mirrored her own, though for him relocating was a certainty since he would be attending Harvard in Boston. She usually shied away from projecting their relationship that far into the future, particularly since he rarely brought it up, but she allowed herself to briefly wonder whether she'd be seeing snow again a year from now.

"You ready?" He asked, breaking up the moment with a grin.

She grinned back, "Hell yeah I am!"

They walked down to their waiting car and slid in. It was a fifteen-minute drive from the cabin to Greek Peak and Gray passed the time by telling her about his first attempt on skis and how he'd spent the majority of it on his ass.

"The secret is to take it slow," he instructed, "no one is an expert their first time out. Most likely we'll be spending the entire day on the bunny hill so you can learn the basics. That's why I wanted to be the one to teach you, the thought of you not knowing what you're doing and cracking your head open is an image that haunts me." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her tight against his side, kissing her head affectionately.

Ary smiled and turned her face up, accepting a peck on her lips. "Aww, you really do care," she teased.

His own smile faded a fraction, "Yeah I do. Too much," he murmured.

A half hour later they were standing in line for the lift, and even though all they'd done so far is put on the ski boots, affix them to the skis, and cross-country shimmy on the snow about twenty yards, Ary was already in love.

When it was their turn Gray grabbed her hand. "The chair is going to bump us in the legs, when it does just drop down on it."

She nodded with a grin and did as he said, beaming in exhilaration as they swung out and up.

Gray pulled the bar down in front of them, "You did great!" He praised, "You'd be surprised how many people have trouble with that."

"I was born for this," she told him.

"Oh yeah?"

"I'm going to be a natural, I can feel it."

He laughed, "Okay Miss Natural, the harder part is getting off the chair and it's coming up. Point your skis straight out and hold your poles out and away from you so they don't get caught. At my word, lean forward and drop onto the platform and just let the skis take you down the little slope. It's wide enough that you don't have to worry about where you're steering." He pushed the bar back up.

Again she did as he said, and when she slid to a stop without falling she shook her poles in the air in a victory dance. "See? I'm a natural!" She exclaimed.

He laughed again, "Don't get cocky yet. Come on."

She followed him, using the poles to pull her forward, sliding out one foot then the other. A few seconds later they were poised at the top of a hill that would have been perfect for sledding.

"Okay, first time down I just want you to get a feel for it, so pick up your poles and tuck them under your arms, then crouch slightly...Yeah like that, good. When you're ready put the poles down but just to push yourself off, then tuck them back under. When you get near the bottom turn the tips of your skis toward one another, but don't cross them. It's called a snowplow and it's the beginner's way to stop. Perfectly acceptable on a hill like this, deadly dangerous on a steeper one, but that's nothing for you to worry about now. Okay, ready?"

Ary nodded and dug the poles into the snow, launching herself forward. She tucked them behind her, and within seconds she felt like she was flying toward the bottom. When she got close she turned her toes inward and watched as the snow plumed up in front of her. She came to a stop and was almost disappointed that it had gone so fast, the feeling of the cold wind cutting across her face was unlike anything she'd ever experienced.

She was already trucking toward the line for the lift when Grayson slid up next to her.

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