We walked down the hall in relative silence. The weirdness was starting to dissipate since we didn't have to look at each other. I was happy to ignore everything that had happened between us if he was, after all nothing really happened.

When we stepped into the elevator a girl dressed in ski clothes leaning on the glass wall looked up, "Hi Mason what are you all dressed up for," she said eyeing my dress.

"Hi Nicole, just a family thing."

"A family thing huh,"she said looking back and forth between us, aren't you going to introduce us," she remarked curiously.

Mason looked at me apologetically. "Nicole Badica this is Paris. Her parents are friends with mine so yes it's a family thing," he said losing patience.

"Do you go to school together?" I wondered looking at Nicole.

"We do but we haven't actually had a class together in years," she announced proudly. Her face flashed dark when something occurred to her "You aren't going to Princess Jill's mixer tonight are you?"

"Pleasure to meet you Nicole," I answered avoiding her question as the doors opened to our floor.

Mason led the way into a part of the lodge that I hadn't been in yet. It really was a good thing he was here because I had no idea where we were going. "Friend of yours?" I added casually.

"Not really, more a friend of a friend," Mason brushed off, "Nicole does a good job of being in everyone's business. That's probably why she knew about the mixer to begin with."

When we arrived at the entrance of the dinning room I looked up at Mason meeting his eyes for the first time since we left my room. "Thanks Mason really I would have been totally lost without you. I don't seem to have the best sense of direction." I didn't wait for a response I just opened the heavy door and said a little prayer this meal would be better than the first.

I was shocked at how many people were gathered in the room. Even with the small room almost full of people I could hear the loud voice of one of my favorite people, Abe. In a sea of boring clothes you couldn't mistake the old man's purple and orange suit. I always enjoyed seeing what kind of combinations he would come up with and despite his strange ensemble, Abe was the most welcome sight I had since we arrived.

"Paris," he said so loudly it startled me. Abe threw open his arms. "I thought you might make me wait till the sun was up."

I leaned into his hug laying my head in the crook of his arm and sighed in relief. Seeing him stole all the built up stress I was fighting hard to hide. "I can't believe you are really here," I almost sobbed.

"Did you really think I would let you face that awful woman for the first time without me?" he winked at me. "Plus someone has to keep an eye on you with all these boys lurking around. Right Mason?"

Releasing me he gave Mason his own quick hug. "I see you finally met our sweet Paris. I have been hoping for years to get you two in the same room. Have you met Alex yet?" Abe motioned to another tall boy who looked to be a few years younger than me.

"No but I've heard great things about him. Pleasure to meet you Alex," I said nodding my head in his direction.

Alex had brown eyes like his brother but they were a couple of shades lighter. He had a sort of the boy next door looks and a friendly smile. "Hi Paris," Alex remarked star struck, "I'm so excited to meet you."

Abe smiled, "You look so grown up Paris. Your dress is very elegant."

"Thanks," I responded with a devious smile, "Mason helped me pick out my whole ensemble. He has a real eye for woman's fashion don't you think?"

Alex and Abe let out an unexpected laugh. "Your kidding right," Alex joked.

"Nope he even helped me decide on my shoes," I pointed at my heals and tried to keep a straight face.

"Well, he is my Grandson it really should be surprising to anyone that he has great taste in clothes," Abe smirked.

Mason looked unimpressed by our commentary. I knew he wanted to deny my accusation but instead excused himself to get a drink.

"I'm so glad to see you smile Paris. I knew seeing Abe was just what you needed," Dad said joining our group. He handed me a glass of orange juice in a champagne glass with a wink. "I think that Jill's guest list may have been compromised. The whole lodge is trying to squeeze in here." Dad put his arm around me and said quietly,"I found your Mom last night and told her we were all settled. She wanted me to tell you to make sure you had some fun."

This news from my Mom combined with Abe's arrival put me in a great mood. I was really enjoying chatting with Alex and Abe but the smell of food was starting to distract me. The room was set up in small food stations where you could help yourself and a few servers where trying unsuccessfully to move through the crowed room with food on trays. I excused myself from the animated group to attempt to get some food. I made my way to one of the stations and carefully arranged a plate of small bites for myself. On my back to the group I was stopped by another new face.

"Excuse me, Paris right? "My name is Mathew Zeklos, I think you met my mother yesterday," he said with an amused grin.

I was really concerned at this point. If this guy was anything like his mother I was in trouble. "Yes, I did. Everywhere I go here I seem to be meeting new people," I said cautiously. Mathew was a very attractive guy. He looked neat and stylish in a grey designer suit. His pale blue eyes and sandy blonde hair were a very handsome package.

"Well, Mom mentioned to me that you don't know too many people here and I might be able to help you meet some people and have a little fun," he smiled.

"That's very considerate of you Mathew but I have a few obligation friends already and I would hate to intrude on your vacation," I tried to come off joking but I was serious.

Mathew got an amused smile on his face and asked,"What's and obligation friend?"

"O' you know when your parents make you play nice with people just because they know or want to impress your relatives."

"I think maybe a better term in my case would be a bribed friend," he said honestly.

"Really what did you get." I was intrigued to know how far Christiana would go in this charade, "Anything good?"

"Not too much right now. My parents did get me my own room this year which means we can have better parties. Ultimately I am hoping I can persuade her to let me learn how to drive. As a rule in our house it's always a good idea to stay on my Mom's good side. You never know what things it will bring in the future. Would it make you feel better to know that there was a relatively good chance I would have come over to talk to you anyway just because of how pretty you look tonight?"

"I don't know. What do you think the odds where?" I said enjoying Mathews sense of humor.

He flashed me his best grin and proudly stated,"I would have said at least 60 - 40 but now up close I'm thinking more like 80 - 60."

The way Mathew was smiling at me I could tell that I entertaining him. He was enjoying the challenge. "Well, those are decent odds I think I can consider it. What did you have in mind?" I was impressed with his honestly and I was really enjoying our banter.

"I'm having a few people over in my room after this shindig. Mostly just some people I know from school and whoever they bring along. We are just going to hang out, play music and possibly play cards. Nothing too fancy. I think it's going to be fun thought. Just think it's a chance to meet some people that don't have any kind of agendas for your friendship."

Mathew didn't make me uncomfortable like Mason. I could handle him. There wasn't a feeling of being out of control and everything didn't feel so serious. It all felt very comfortable. I agreed to consider his offer and we exchanged cell numbers. I had to excuse myself to get more to eat. These small bites of cheese and meat we just not cutting it. What I really needed us a huge cup of coffee.

I spent the next few hours with my Dad and Abe. They both introduced me to a bunch or people who's names I would probably not remember. Everyone that approached us seemed to be trying to squeeze information out of us. I suppose that our sudden appearance in their society was making for good gossip. Dad and I were very vague on the details of our lives but Jill came to our rescue repeatedly.

The mixer turned out to be much more fun that I had originally anticipated. I had a great time getting to know and mostly joking around with Alex. He turned out to be much more outgoing then his brother. Even Rose was in a relaxed mood and seemed genuinely excited to see her father. Dimitri had a totally new attitude about our arrival and even helped to buffer me from several nosey older woman as I tried unsuccessfully to get more to drink. There were no more Mason sightings and I figured he had probably left for the night.

Around seven am Jill made an announcement to thank everyone for coming and attempted to wrap up the event. I was ready to go. With all the extra people in the room the temperature was stifling. I was also still exhausted from all of my broken sleep. Dad mentioned that he needed a feeding before he finally got some sleep. Going back to a nocturnal schedule seemed to be much easier concept for him. Alex kindly offered to escort me back to my room, mostly so that I didn't get hopelessly lost, but I somehow got separated from him. After thoroughly searching the party room I walked out and down the hall to what looked to be an empty sitting room.

Turning around to exit the empty room I felt a tug on my left hand. Looking up I could see a very tense looking Mason. Putting my right hand over my mouth I was able to stifle the scream building up in my throat.

"Geez Mason you almost gave me a heart attack! I didn't hear you behind me. Next time give me a little warning."

Mason shrugged but didn't apologize. "What are you doing in here? Looking for someone?"

"Yeah I was looking for your brother he promised walk me back to my room." Looking down I noticed he still had a grip on my hand.

"Why were talking to Mathew Zeklos? Was he bothering you?" Mason said quietly almost menacingly. He didn't let go of my hand though, it seemed like he thought I might take off running at any moment.

"No nothing like that. Mathew's mother wants him to be my vacation friend to score points with my grandmother. Sound familiar," I shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on Mason we both know why you asked me to go skiing tomorrow. Can you honestly tell me your mom didn't put you up to it?"

"Why do you think so little of yourself that I couldn't want to just spend time with you." He started out quietly but was slowly getting louder. "Maybe I wanted to hear about our parents. Someone needs to keep all the slimy guys that have been watching you all night away from you."

"Mason don't be ridiculous. No one remotely slimy has even talked to me tonight."

Still holding on to my wrist he turned his hand so that our fingers where now woven. Mason held them up so that they were in front of us. My eyes were now fixed on our fingers and I was avoiding his eyes.

"Don't be naive Paris," Mason sighed, "every guy in there, including your Dad and Abe, has had one eye on you all night."

His comment surprised me. I tried not to show how much he was rattling me but my voice was shaking a little. "Did that include you Mason?" I asked and kept a straight face. I was trying to bluff but the idea of being rejected scared me.

Mason didn't respond he just slowly nodded his head.

"What time am I meeting you tomorrow?"

The change in direction didn't rattle him. "Meeting you for," his words kind of hung there.

"Skiing, family stories, and keeping slimy guys away from me." I smiled feeling proud of myself for not skipping a beat. The foggy feeling that I had around him was starting to clear.

Mason gave me his first real genuine smile. I could tell because there were small dimples on his face I had never seen before. They were adorable and it was a very unexpected look for him.

I didn't notice when the door opened but Mason did. He dropped my hand so abruptly it knocked the smile off my face.

"Hey there you are Paris I was looking all over for you. What's up Mason where have you been all night?" Alex asked innocently.

"I have been in the same room as you. Where do you think Alex?"

"What are you two doing in here? You giving her more fashion advice?" Alex laughed loudly at his own joke. I couldn't help it I let out a stangled giggle.

Mason shot us another annoyed look.

"Don't get mad at him Mason it was my fault. I was just teasing you. Just think we're even now," I pleated with Mason. I touched his arm and looked up at him.

Mason let out a chuckle and the tension seeped out of the room. "3:30 by the coffee shop."

"3:30," I repeated.

"Hmm, okay you ready to get out of here Paris? I was going to head out," Alex spoke cautiously.

Alex and I walked back toward our rooms uneventfully. He didn't ask me what was at 3:30 so I didn't have to explain myself to him. I sincerely liked Alex. He was an amusing guy who seemed to look up to his brother.

When I walked back into my room it was almost seven thirty. The idea of going back to sleep was tempting. I really wanted to talk to my mom and I knew she would be up by eight.

I felt a buzzing in my hand and looked down. Mathew texted me "What are you doing? Coming to the Party?"

As always thanks for reading and for your comments. More soon I promise!