All It Took

2.Jeff

King of Pain // The Police

"We have arrived." Micah sweeps his hand dramatically as the cabin comes into view.

Alison's friend, Misty, pulls her car up to the sidewalk, after diligently following Micah's directions from the venue. He and I had walked over to the festival from the cabin, so Misty offered to drive us back rather than try to remember the directions Micah rattled off. Some of the roads directly through the resort don't show up on a map so Google wasn't going to help the girl out.

"Are you kidding me?" Misty says, taking in the accommodations with wide eyes. "I thought, cabin; rustic and dirty, maybe an outhouse. I don't know. But this is like a luxury vacay hot spot."

The cabin porch is lit up, too bright for my liking, and showing off the fact that this is no sloppy backwoods lean-to. Most of the surroundings out here are pitch dark, so the buildings on site tend to have harsh exterior lights. Micah's uncle must have been sued or something. Why else would he ruin the sense of nature with these blinding spotlights? I bet someone with an axe to grind, or who needed a cash payoff, tripped on a step in the dark and sued the pants off of Micah's uncle.

Or I have trust issues and an active imagination. Both are possibilities.

"It's huge!" Misty is still gaping as we climb out of her car. There are several multi-level cabins in this section, all private and separated by a bunch of trees for a feeling of seclusion. Each of them have sitting porches, fully functional chef's kitchens and up to six bedrooms. There are private spas in the back and trails that lead right to the creek. The three bathrooms, each with multi-spray showerheads and jacuzzi tubs, are a far cry from a dirty outhouse. Much more than a group of college students here for one night could possibly need, but Micah's motto is, go big or go home.

"Where's Charlie?" I ask, wondering if he'll ever go big with her. It's obvious he's got a boner for the girl but the guy refuses to admit a thing. She didn't follow behind us to the cabin. Now that I think back on it, she jumped in her car and took off the second Micah claimed shotgun in Misty's car. Alison and I took up the backseat. I can still feel the heat on my arm from when I had it slung across her shoulder.

"She had to check on her sister and thought she'd run home to grab some spare clothes for our tag-alongs."

I punch him in the arm. "Be nice."

"Trust me I am. I kept my mouth shut the entire drive here, man. I could have back seat shamed you...but I didn't. Don't think I didn't see the moves you were making." He doesn't give me a chance to set him straight before he turns to Misty and Alison who are both staring at the cabin. "Let's get this afterparty started." Micah rubs his hands together, a wicked glint sparkling in his eye.

Maybe this was a crap idea after all.

Alison slides up next to me as we ascend the few steps to the door. "After party? I thought we'd all just crash."

"You can if you want. No pressure. I'm kind of amped so I'll probably be up for a while. I'm not sure Micah ever sleeps, to be honest."

"How long have you known him?" she asks as we step through the front door. The girl stops in her tracks to check out the interior of the cabin.

"Holy crap."

Alison is as struck by the inside as she was the front porch. I've been coming here so long, been living the so-called luxury life since I was born so this is nothing out of the ordinary. I take a look around and try to see it from her perspective. Micah's already got a fire in the fireplace, just a switch for the gas to pop on. The living area blends in with the kitchen and dining rooms, the open space filled with upscale furniture. Everything is luxury. Floor to ceiling picture windows in the back of the main room overlook an amazing view of the mountains, even better in the winter when the snow covers the entire scene. Overstuffed couches and loungers surround the sitting area. The kitchen is packed with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. I doubt any of it will be put to use before we have to book it home.