Zoe paused in the foyer to shake the snow off of her boots before opening the inner doors to the lodge. She always did this, even though she couldn't care less about tracking snow inside. This was a mountain resort built for snow sports, for the love of…snow should be expected in entryways. Besides, the steps leading into the lounge area were skid proof, so she needn't feel guilty about creating an accident-waiting-to-ambush. All the same, this was her little ritual when coming in. A pause to switch gears, she decided; a moment to contain the adrenaline, the mountain rush, before heading indoors.
The sparsely decorated foyer was small enough to feel cozy, big enough to avoid feeling claustrophobic, meant for no other purpose than to provide an extra air cushion between the indoors and the subzero weather outside. Brodi would probably say something about the in-between spaces being sacred or something equally spiritual. For Moby it was little more than something for him to rush through on his way in or out. To each his, or her, own, she thought wryly as she gave her hair a final shake and pushed her way through the inner doors.
The warm air hit her like a blanket, and she could see to her right that the fireplace was roaring as usual. No one sitting on the chairs or sofa in front of it, though. In fact, the lodge was pretty much deserted. Everyone at a late breakfast, or still out on the slopes, she figured. Whatever. She was going to take the rest of the day off, maybe take a nap, then try to meet up with Moby a little later. THAT nut was probably still out on the slopes, tearing up the mountain with his usual excess vigor.
She had to chuckle to herself when she thought about the two men she was closest to on this mountain. They couldn't possibly be more different; but then, she did get bored easily and worked hard to create variety in her life. Her big brother and her lover.
Her attraction to Moby was easy to figure out. He was hot. He was fun. He was high on life, always looking for the next adrenaline rush. He could be very sweet, though he would probably never forgive her if she ever let anyone know that. And best of all, he could take her to dinner, keep her out dancing half the night, keep her up with other things for the rest of the night, then go out and try to kick her ass on the slopes without thinking twice about it.
Her feelings for Brodi, however, were harder to figure out. When she had first come to the circuit, he had been the only male there to NOT hit on her. While under ordinary circumstances she really didn't notice what other people thought of her, he became a puzzle for her to figure out. He was attractive, she had to admit, but he wasn't really her type. Tall, blond, wholesome; really the exact opposite of what she normally went for. So of course she had to put herself in his way every chance she got. Her first strategy was to test his Zen, to see if she could make him angry, trying to knock him down on the slopes every chance she got. It never really worked; he just laughed and muttered something about realigning his chakras. Her next strategy was to try to get him to go clubbing with her and some friends. He didn't drink, so he rarely went with her. That, she thought as she swiped her key card in her door, she marked as marginally successful. The real event that cemented their friendship was the day he actually flat out refused her. It was with these thoughts on her mind that she lay down and prepared to nap.