My Life Exposed

The Aspen Trip

"Only two more weeks," I tell myself when I wake up Monday morning. I haven't really put too much thought into my plans for winter break. I hope that something fun comes up. I get ready for school and head down to get my morning breakfast. Tracy and Jade are sitting at the table, talking amongst themselves as usual, but I pay them no mind, grab a muffin, and walk out the door. Jace's car is sitting right out front. "Oh look, a friendly ride to school again," I say as I walk up to give him a hug. "Yes, a friendly ride to school. Let's catch up." He tells me all about his trip and how much he wishes I could have been there. He grabs my hand and say, "Come with me to Aspen over winter break. My parents have a house out there and they said I could bring you to stay. I want to teach you to ski and snowboard and climb mountains-" I cut him off, "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, me with your parents and with Jade lurking." "My parents will love you and don't worry about Jade. I just want to show you some fun." "Well," I said, "I guess it would be nice to get out of town for a while. I just need to make sure that it's okay with my father first, but I'm sure it will." We both smiled. I'm excited about spending my entire winter break with Jace, getting to know him better and meet his parents. When I get home, I find my father, Tracy, and Jade in the kitchen talking about their winter break plans. Jade is asking if she can go some place with her friends. Before she can finish, I jump in and say, "Dad, speaking of winter break, Jace invited me to go to Aspen to his family's house. Would it be okay if I went?" He steals a look at Tracy and says "I don't see why not. It'll be good for you to get out of the city and have some fun. Jace's parents are very kind people. We can have Christmas with you when you get back from Aspen." Jade looks at me, "Jace invited you to Aspen? To his parents' house?" "Yes, Jade, he did." I could see the anger in her eyes. I head upstairs to start a little packing. I know it's early, but I'm just so excited. The next two weeks of school fly by. It's the last day before school lets out for the next two weeks. I'm counting down the seconds until that last bell rings. I have my bags all packed and waiting at home. I haven't seen Jace most of the day and he's not in our last class. I'm starting to get a little worried. The bell rings and I rush to my locker to put my away my things. I walk outside and I'm surprised to see Jace standing out front next to a limo. "Really," I said, "coming to pick me up in a limo at school? Seems a little like something a boyfriend would do." He laughs and says "Don't worry, Anderson, just a friendly gesture." We pick up my bags and begin driving to the airport. We miss the exit with the sign that clearly says "Airport". I look at him and say, "Jace, I think we missed our exit." "We didn't. This is the way to our private airport. My parents are there waiting for us." When we arrive, his parents are there waiting to greet us. "Mila, this is my mom, Veronica, and my father, Travis Henderson." "Wow, it's very nice to meet you both. I was not expecting this; I was expecting to be flying coach." They laughed and welcomed me to their private airstrip. His mother says, "We are so excited to have you come along." "This is amazing! Thank you so much for having me. I don't mind paying for the plane ride and for my food or anything else I get. I do not expect anyone to pay my way." They look at me and his father says, "That's very noble of you, Mila, but we invited you and we do not mind at all. Never did we think that you were after his money or were using Jace." A relief comes over me. As we begin to take off, we spend our time getting to know each other. His parents are not what I expected. Like my father said, they are sweet and kind. We finally begin to land. I look outside and it is gorgeous; Aspen is beautiful. We get off the plane and a limo is waiting to take us to the vacation home. I turn to Jace and say, "This place is the most amazing place I have ever been." He says, "You haven't seen anything yet." We get in the limo and his father opens a bottle of champaign. He pours us all a glass and we cheers to a great winter break. It's a long drive, but we finally arrive at the house. It's a beautiful mansion. We make our way inside and everything feels so warm and cozy. We settle in our separate rooms, which I respect. His mother comes to tell us to get ready because they are taking us to dinner tonight. Jace comes into my room and hands me a bag from Saks. "What is that?" I ask him. He tells me it's just a little gift. I open it up and I see the most beautiful cocktail dress. "Jace, wow this is amazing! Thank you so much." He gives me a small hug and says, "Now we better get ready." I calm myself and start to prepare for dinner. I've never been to a high-class restaurant before so I'm extremely excited to go and spend time with Jace and his parents. I get dressed and go downstairs to meet everyone. As I walk down the stairs, I see Jace staring at me. I smile at him and he says, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met in my entire life." My heart literally skips a beat. "I tell him how handsome he looks. His parents finally come downstairs and we go to the limo and make our way to the restaurant. It's very fancy and elegant. I'm not used to this kind of place but I'm loving every minute of it. The host greets us and walks us to our table. We sit and order our drinks and the waiter hands us our menus. I ask Jace what's good here and he replies, "Everything." "Well you're not much help!" That makes him chuckle. I don't see any prices; I realize when they don't put prices that means it's probably expensive. His parents ordered champagne for the table and of course I don't turn it down. I drink a little; it's so smooth and delicious. The waiter comes back and asks if we are ready to order. I decide to order Pasta alla Norma. I don't know what most of this is, but you can't go wrong with pasta. Jace can tell I'm a little nervous, so he reaches under the table and grabs my hand. He looks at me with the softest eyes to reassure me that everything is okay. Our food arrives and everything smells amazing. I made the right choice; my pasta turns out to be so delicious. Jace's parents ask me about my future and what my goals are. Jace looks at his mom and says, "Really, mom?" "It's okay," I say, "I don't mind. Well, I'm taking four AP classes, I'm on the swim and track team. I'm working on my early acceptance for Yale University." She has such a smile on her face. She says, "Wow, honey, that is amazing. I'm actually friends with the dean at Yale University. I can write you a great recommendation letter. You seem like a bright young woman and nothing would make me happier than to help you achieve your goal." I smile at this and said thank you. I'm not used to having this kind of support from people. I was basically on my own most of my life. She says she heard about my mother and was so sorry to hear about everything I had been through. "I just want you to know that no matter what has happened in your past we would never judge you for that." "I really appreciate that. You don't know how much that means to me. I just want you to know my past does not reflect who I am today." She smiles and says, "I'm so happy Jace has found a friend with such ambitious goals. You are a remarkable woman that has had a tough life growing up and you have pushed yourself to became someone amazing and I have no doubt in my mind that you will excel." Jace's parents have made me feel so welcome and they're so charming. I'm so happy that I'm having this opportunity to get to know them. As dinner comes to an end, his parents say they are heading back to the house and Jace should show me around the town for a bit. He agrees and calls us a car so we can have a night out. He grabs my hand and says, "Are you ready to have some fun?" "More than ready!" I tell him. The car gets here and he takes me to a nice cocktail bar called The Wine Bar. We enter and it's just as gorgeous as the restaurant was. We take a seat at the bar and Jace orders us two martinis. I've never had one before, but I enjoy it. After a moment, Jace looks to me and says, "Now this can't be a coincidence." I turn around to see where he's looking and see Jade and her friends taking a seat at the table in the back. "Why am I not surprised. She was so pissed that you invited me." He apologizes and I say, "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault that she is stalking us." He laughs and says, "Let's get out of here. I want to show you something." We leave the bar and I don't care where we go because I am with Jace. The car comes to a stop next to what looks like a giant hill. Jace grabs my hand when we get out of the vehicle and walks me over to the edge of the hill overlooking the most beautiful view I have ever seen. I just grab the railing and take it all in. Jace wraps his arms around me. "What are you doing?" I ask. "Just enjoy the moment, Mila." he says. So I stand there and let him hold me and keep me warm. "Mila, I need to tell you something." "Jace you shouldn't-" I start to say. He stops me and says "Please just listen. I have never met anyone like you and I don't know how to navigate through this situation without you getting hurt. It's hurting me to be around you all the time not being able to tell you how I really feel. I care about you. I have feelings for you and I can't keep walking around acting like I don't feel these things. I constantly think about you from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed. I don't know what to do. I want to kiss you and hold your your hand, I want to show you the affection I have for you in public. But I cant do that because Jade has these horrible secrets about you that I could never let her tell anyone. I have to protect you the best way I can, so I am your friend. I'm trying to be your friend the best way I know how. It's just becoming so hard to just be just friends." Jace turns me around and looks into my eyes and says, "Mila, I have to do this now before we go home and I wont get the chance again." He leans in and gives me the softest and sweetest kiss I have ever experienced. I can't help but kiss him back. I don't want to stop kissing him, but he finally pulls away and says, "I just had to do that once and I'm glad that I did because that was the best kiss I have ever had." I pull him in and squeeze him as tight as I can and tell him I never want him to let go. He kisses me on the head and says, "We'll figure this out. Now that I've kissed you I don't want it to be the only kiss we ever have." We get back home and he walks me to my room and tells me, "I promise you that one day we will be together." The next morning when I go down for breakfast, Veronica asks me if it's okay if she steals Jace for the morning for a mother and son day. "Oh, of course! I hope you both have an amazing time." So, I have the morning to myself with my reading and homework. I sit at the kitchen table catching up on assignments and Jace's father walks in and asks if I would like some coffee or tea. I choose coffee. He glances over at all my books and says, "Aren't you supposed to be on vacation?" "Yes, but it never hurts to get ahead." He says, "You know your focus and dedication reminds me of me when I was your age. I was so focused on becoming this great power figure that I feel I have not lived up to that." I tell him, "Of course you have! Jace looks up to you." "I know he does, but I know that I've done some things I'm not proud of. Your father is one of the most honorable and powerful men in the city and I just always wanted him as an ally, so I pushed Jace into going out with Jade. It made sense at the time. I didn't see it at first, but I started to notice that he was not happy with her. I let my ego get in the way and continued to push it. Mila, since my son has met you, I have never seen him so happy. I can tell that my son is very fond of you and I can see that you are fond of him too. I promise you that even if you weren't Phillip's daughter, I would still approve of you. You have made my son smile more in three months than he has in three years. Nothing is more important than my son's happiness and you are a great big part of that. Thank you for coming into my son's life and letting us get to know you. You are an amazing woman and you are perfect for him."