I Woke Up in a Car

Once my flight was boarded and in the air, my mind was put a little more at ease. It was just another chapter, another adventure that I was sure would be just as fun as working with Eric. The flight was long, though most of it I napped and listened to music on my phone. The screaming infant on the flight aggravated everyone and we were all grateful to land in Denver hours later.

I headed out of the plane and down the concourse to baggage claim to pick up my things. I was glad to be out of the narrow tube they called an "airplane" more like "death trap". I had never really been a great flier to start with but the combination of being alone and with strangers nearly gave me a panic attack in the middle of the flight.

I grabbed my bag and looked around for someone, anyone. I bit my lip and dug around in my carry-on looking for the file folder. I pulled out the folder and looked up just in time to see a bald-headed man standing there holding a sign with my name on it. I meekly approached him, "I'm Ari Mitchell." I said, looking up at the man.

The man smiled and immediately stuck out his hand, "I'm Adam Moran. Welcome to Burton." He said, extending his hand to me, shaking my hand. He immediately reached down and took my bag as we walked out and toward the garage, "Long flight?" He asked.

I nodded, "I'm not a good flier to start with." I muttered, "So yeah, It was long." I said, rubbing my eyes a little as walked in to the garage to the waiting car. Adam put my bag in the back, I put my carry-on with it. "So, what is it you do for Burton?" I asked once we had started the drive.

Adam smiled, "I'm the Burton team manager, Basically I get to show you the ropes. We have individual rider managers, John Jackson has been assigned to you but I'm the overall team guy. Me and the other rider managers are going to get you started and sort of get you going and then we're going to cut you loose with John." Adam said with a smile.

I was terrified. I went from being a personal assistant to Eric to being a potential rider manager, "Oh, well, it sounds like a huge responsibility." I said, chewing on my lip as I looked around at all the snowy mountains surrounding us.

The rest of the drive was Adam talking about the responsibilities until we pulled up to a massive cabin. The front of the cabin was all glass, and smoke was billowing out the top, snow surrounding the driveway. I looked up to see a few people sitting inside. Was I nervous as hell? Of course I was. Adam had told me that I was the only female team manager and that frightened me.

Adam graciously carried my bag in to the house and showed me to my room. I was rooming with my rider, which meant rooming with John. I was honestly grateful we weren't sharing a bed, that would be awkward. I sighed, "Here goes nothing.' I said, setting my bag on the bed, preparing to un-pack it when John appeared in the doorway.

John was still dread-locked, standing there with his arms crossed, and a grin on his face, "Don't bother unpacking, we're only here for a few more days." John said, chuckling before he came over to give me a big hug. "I haven't seen my bestie in ages. Thought you were dead."

I hugged John back with a smile, pulling the 'RedBull' hat down over his eyes, "Yeah, well, that's what you get for not calling jerkface." I teased, looking up at him. "Besties call once in a while." John still looked the same. His dreads were just a little longer than I remembered and he had a beard, one that I was sure could rival Eric's if given the chance.

John pulled back and looked me over, almost as if he was assessing if I had changed any since the last time. "I see you've acquired some new jewlery." John said, reaching out to lift the pick-axe and hold it in his hand, "Eric never takes this off." John said, his voice quiet.

John smiled, though, he didn't say anything more, even though I think he wanted to. I guess it just showed me how serious Eric was that John paused and held his tongue when it came to the jewelry, "Y-Yeah. He gave it to me so that I had something of his while I was gone." I said, "I don't know when I'll be able to see him again since I'm on this assignment for Burton you know. Crazy busy schedule."

Somehow, I had this overwhelming sense of guilt for John. Like, in some odd way, he'd had his hopes up. After all, once upon a time, I had been attracted to him. I think that was one reason why Eric didn't want me to take this assignment. He was afraid I'd become attracted to John. Don't get me wrong, John was a nice person, but, Eric had been there for me through everything with my mom. I trusted him with Rachel (though trusting her was a different story), He trusted me with John. I trusted John not to take advantage of that trust.

It was a strange situation to be in but I was in it. I was here and I couldn't back out.