A tear escaped her eye before she could stop it. She wiped it away and quietly made her way to her bedroom. She cried herself to sleep, wondering how she was going to get through the next couple of days.
Chapter Seven
Max walked into the bedroom and sat on his bed. He was filled with a mixture of emotions. He’d never felt anything like that before with any woman he’d been with. She was sensual, funny, and full of life. The sex had been fantastic. Never had he left a woman’s bed without saying something first. He wasn’t known for his after sex bedroom talk, but he still felt horrible for slinking away when she went to the bathroom.
He laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to justify his actions to himself. After an hour passed he had to fight not to go to her. He couldn’t turn it into something emotional. They were both consenting adults. They’d had sex - it was nothing more than that. Finally, he managed to fall into a restless sleep as dawn approached.
Max woke, surprised to see his clock read eleven. He’d never slept past seven. He figured he could give himself a break, considering he hadn’t gotten to sleep until at least six. He stumbled to the kitchen, immediately heading for the coffee pot. He prepared the coffee and watched the machine drip. There was no sign of Cassie. He was getting ready to approach her door, when he heard the familiar creek of the hinges. He breathed a sigh of relief. He tensed, waiting for her to step in the kitchen. She went straight to the bathroom, and he heard the tale-tell latch of the lock.
He grabbed his coffee and waited, leaning on the counter. He heard the shower start and smiled. She took her time and he waited, though grew impatient as the shower seemed to never end. He had their business meeting in a couple hours and he wanted to try to get some items straightened out before they left.
Finally, the door opened and she made her way toward the table, this time fully dressed in a silky looking blouse and slacks. She was avoiding eye contact. He never took his eyes off her, enjoying the sight and smell of her as she passed him and reached into the cupboard for her own cup. He noticed the slight shake in her hand as she set the cup on the counter and lifted the coffee pot.
“We need to talk,” he finally said, causing her to jump.
“Really? What about?” she asked as casually as she could manage. Max felt like throwing something. So, maybe it hadn’t been the best idea he’d ever had to walk away without saying a word.
“Look, Cassie, I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t know what to say. I don’t normally sleep with employees. I just…” he trailed off.
“I’m not your employee, Max. Secondly, I’m a big girl and make my own decisions. You didn’t force me into anything. It was fun, but it’s done with. Let’s not act like little girls and chat about our feelings, okay?” she told him. He knew she was putting up a wall, but her cavalier attitude got under his skin.
“Whatever the lady wants,” he sarcastically replied. He was going on a walk. He threw on his coat and marched to the front door. He got a very unwanted surprise when he opened it. There was no opening where it should be. In front of him was nothing but a solid wall of white. “What the hell?” he muttered, shocked out of his anger.
He poked his finger at the snow and found it wouldn’t budge. Attempting to dig at it, he found it didn’t even make a dent in the solid wall. When he figured out he was getting nowhere, he shut the door and walked to the living room window and pushed the curtains aside. How had he not noticed there wasn’t any natural light coming into the cabin? Probably because he was used to waking before dawn, so a dark room seemed like the beginning of his daily routine.
“What’s going on?” Cassie asked, staring at the white nothingness out the window. Max immediately went to his phone, flipping it open. He then tossed it on the couch and spoke a few choice words.
“No service. I have no idea what’s going on, and it looks like we’re trapped, at least for the moment,” Max said, running his hands through his hair.
“What do you mean we’re trapped?” she almost shrieked. Cassie was starting to panic as she realized her situation. She was stuck in a cabin, behind a wall of snow, who knows how high, with a man she’d just slept with, who regretted it. Just her luck, she thought as her lips twitched.
When she looked at Max’s incredulous expression, she lost it. Cassie doubled over as she began laughing so hard she could barely breathe. She couldn’t stop, though her stomach and sides were killing her. It was just such a typically awkward situation for her and she should’ve seen it coming the moment they hopped on the jet for Alaska. Heck, she was surprised the dang thing didn’t land in the middle of a snow covered mountain, leaving them stranded for weeks.
“What’s so damn funny?” Max demanded through gritted teeth. His hands on his hips and the tone of his voice sent her into another round of giggles. She dropped to the floor, her sides hurting so bad she couldn’t stand up any longer.
“Pl…please…d…don’t…say…anything…for…a…a…moment,” she managed to get out between fits of laughter. He made some kind of grunting sound, before turning away and stomping into his room. She managed to calm down after about ten minutes, and pulled herself together. She had tears streaming down her cheeks.
She knew the situation was anything but funny, but there was nothing they could do about it, so why not just let go and laugh? It could be worse. They could be stranded with zero food and no shelter. She finally realized there was a humming noise, and that’s why they still had power. There must’ve been a generator hooked up that automatically turned on when the power went out. It must be something that occurred regularly in the area. At least they had hot coffee. She didn’t know how long it would last so she had no choice but to talk to Max.
She sat on the couch and waited for him to come out. What seemed like forever, in actuality, only took a few minutes.
“Have you finished?” Max asked in a deadly serious tone, which almost made her lose it again. When her lips twitched he glared, effectively cutting her off.
“I’m sorry, I know none of this is amusing, but I…this is just so…I don’t know what else to do,” she finally finished.
“I have enough to deal with, without having to deal with a hysterical woman, too,” he said in his most authoritative tone. His words angered her enough to stop any thought of laughter from erupting again.