Things We Don't Normally Do

NINE

It took them a few minutes to compose themselves; Alex from fits of laughter and Harry from wanting to crawl under a rock with embarrassment.

Alex got up first, taking her towel with her. She picked her clothes up from the bench where she had folded them right next to her backpack.

She disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the bathroom door opened just a crack. "I can't stay." she said through the door, "I work today."

"Oh." he said, "Can't you call in."

"Can't afford to." she answered, opening the door once she was fully dressed in yesterday's clothes--her black snow pants and a black under armour shirt. She lifted her arms to smell her armpits, "Would it be weird is I asked to borrow your deodorant?"

"Maybe." was all he said in reply before she heard the door adjoining the room to Cal and Harry's open, with Harry getting back as quickly as he had gone. He knocked against the bathroom door, pushing it open when he realized it wasn't even closed.

"I feel gross." Alex said mostly to herself.

Harry paid her a thoughtful look, "You look good."

"Shut up." she said, taking the travel-sized deodorant from his hands.

"Stay." he pouted, "Ditch work and play with me instead."

"Is that right?" she said, combing her long dark hair with her fingers. Between the sweat, the helmet, and leaving it up in a ponytail overnight, her hair was tangled to shit. But she was determined to get the major tangles out before putting it back up into a ponytail.

"Leave it down." he said when she started gathering it back up, "It's nice. It's pretty."

She dropped her hair, then pushed him out the door, "Don't be stupid."

"Can't help it mate." he smiled.

She shook her head but smiled, "You're ridiculous."

"Come on, we still need to get get you up on the strawberry express." he was still sticking his bottom lip out.

"I haven't even been able to go down without making myself fall over."

"Exactly! So you're staying then?"

Alex has put her hair back up and into a bun now. She smiled at him, "It's been fun, Harry. I'm glad I hit you on the head."

Alex left in a hurry, just barely passing through the restaurant to say bye to everyone. She told Stella to stay and continue hanging out with Ethan if she wanted to since she was working all day anyway.

Harry insisted on taking the gondola down with her. She declined the offer, but he kept insisting, carrying the both snowboards despite her protests.

"I am perfectly capable of carrying those!" she called out after him. But he was purposely walking too fast for her to make him turn back.

"I never said you couldn't," he said as he put the snowboards on the racks on either side of the gondola door, "but I don't know how else to impress you with my big, strong muscles."

Alex was taking the same shuttle home, but thankfully not with the same old driver who drove her and Stella over at an infuriatingly slow pace. Scheduled to leave at 10 AM, she had four hours to get home, shower and get to work.

She and Harry negotiated like idiots just so Harry would quit insisting on taking her home. In the end, they settled with exchanging contacts.

She fell asleep not even 15 minutes into the ride home. She lucked out and was one of only three people taking the shuttle—the other two being a young couple who were giggling and getting cozy in the back.