Race to the Top

Chapter 24

-Jackson-
I wake up with my arm draped around Ginger. Her naked body is half covered by the sheet on our bed, her creamy white skin is so soft and I can't help but press my lips to her shoulder and neck. She stirs and a small "mmmm" emanates from her throat.
She turns over with a smile on her face, her eyes are barely open and her hair falls all over her face and pillow. I kiss her lips and slide my arms around her, holding her body closer to mine. Suddenly, I'm super hard just from having her naked and pressed against me.
"Can we stay here all day?" She asks.
"Absolutely," I say.
There's a knock at the door and we both groan. I get up and go to the door of our hotel room and I open it but no one is there. Then I hear a knock again.
I snap awake, there's knocking on the door of my lodge room. I am hard as a rock and look at my phone, the alarm has been going off but the volume was turned down so it didn't wake me.
"Fuck."
"Jackson? You okay?" I hear the voice from the other side of the door.
Oh fuck, it's Ginger, and I have a raging hard on from dreaming about fucking her. Shit.
"Hey, I overslept, I'll be downstairs in 30 ok?"
"Uh, okay, I'll order for you," she says through the door and I hear her leave.
I roll out of bed and instantly step into a cold shower, desperately trying not to think about Ginger's naked body.
30 minutes later, I'm striding into the restaurant, Ginger has her laptop open in front of her with papers draped across it. There's a cup of coffee and a carafe on the table in front of her.
"Sorry, I slept through my alarm," I say as I sit down. She folds her laptop closed and lifts her mug to her lips to blow on it. I pour myself a cup and I'm desperately trying to look anywhere but at her mouth.
"Are you okay?"
"Huh? Uh yeah, of course, I, uh, just hate being late. How are you? You sleep okay?" I just want the earth to open and swallow me up so I will stop talking.
"I'm fine," her voice is dripping in skepticism but she doesn't pursue it. "I got you a breakfast sandwich with bacon, is that okay?"
"Yep, yeah that sounds good, uh, thanks," I say. Fuck, what is the matter with me? I pull out my phone and pretend to be engrossed in my email.
"Jackson, are you sure you're okay?" She says slowly. I look her in the eyes for the first time. My stomach tightens at seeing her face. I swallow.
"Yes, of course," I offer her a smile but I have no idea if it's convincing. I have got to get it the fuck together and fast.
Our breakfast sandwiches come and we start to settle into chatting about our shots and what our plan for the day is. My heart is still racing but I've composed myself enough to fake it...at least I hope I have.
Before we set out, we put our things in the car and check out as we'll be heading straight to the house near Zion National Park after the shoot tonight.
On the road I'm thankful to be driving, we don't have far to go but Ginger seems enthralled by the view and I'm attempting to shove my feelings back into whatever bottle they came out of. I glance at Ginger. Her eyes are focused on the layered cliffs of reds and oranges. She's holding her chin in her petite hand. She seems so at peace and I realize how much I want that for her, for all of her troubles to melt away.
When we stop at our first stop, the Desert View Watchtower, my stomach starts to twist slightly but I ignore it. We step out and immediately see Tom, Katherine, Anne, Bella, and our two new models: Amelia and Jamal. Amelia, a tall woman with almond-shaped eyes and olive skin is sipping a Starbucks drink and looking at her phone. Jamal, a broad shouldered man with high cheekbones and dark, bronze skin is standing close to her. He puts his arm around her shoulders and holds his phone up to take a selfie with her.
"Ginger! Jackson! You made it!" Katherine shouts and waves. We approach the group as everyone gathers around to make new introductions and greetings.
We meet the new models in person and say hello to everyone else. We have at least three locations to get to today so we instantly go into set up mode. Ginger begins running through the shot list with the models and Anne while Bella and I help Katherine and Tom lug camera equipment and product boxes around. The morning sun is already starting to blare down on us when we're finally positioned for our first shot.
The Desert View Watchtower is a four-story tower constructed to look like an Ancestral Puebloan watchtower so it's made up of thick stone bricks and looks out over the canyon from the east. We set up our shots from further back so we can catch it in the distance and avoid people as much as possible.
After capturing multiple shots with both Jamal and Amelia, we move on to our second location, Pipe Creek Vista. We set up and get a few shots completed before we break for lunch. Anne brought a cooler with various snacks and sandwiches for everyone and we all pull out camping chairs or sit on the back of cars and eat.
"So you two are heading to Zion tonight?" Anne asks Ginger.
"Yes, we have tomorrow off so we want to get settled into the house and have a proper day of no travel," Ginger responded.  "Are you all joining us there?"
"Actually, Amelia and Jamal wanted to camp here tonight so we're going to stay one more night with them but we'll be at the house tomorrow evening for dinner if that's okay," Anne says.
As the photo shoot stylist, Anne tasked her and Bella with shuttling and traveling with all the models. My heart swells with nerves and excitement at the idea of having more time alone with Ginger.
I hadn't thought about what our first day off in a week would consist of before now but as long as I was with her, it would be great.
"Jackson?" I snap out of it and look at Ginger. "Any thoughts on dinner tomorrow? You're the chef after all." She smirks at me and I resist the urge to grab her chin.
"Oh um, we could make a big taco bar? That way folks can customize if there's certain dietary preferences?" I suggest.
"Oh my god, yes, that sounds amazing," Amelia says. Everyone else agrees.
The rest of the day goes relatively smoothly and when we wrap around 5:30pm, we say goodbye to everyone and start heading north into Utah. It's only a few hours to our cabin in Duck Creek Village, a resort town in between Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. Because the cabin is large enough for all of us, and it's in between Zion and Bryce, we'll be spending the next four nights there.
But tonight is the only night where Ginger and I will be alone.
I've felt a mixture of excitement and nerves all day. My attraction to Ginger was instant, my care for her has grown but something else is spreading through my head and chest for her. I wonder for the umpteenth time if she feels the same way. She must, right? Otherwise she would've asked why the fuck I was kissing her.
"What are you feeling for food tonight?" She asks.
"Honestly? I'm down to just get a slice of pizza or something while on the road, I'm looking forward to getting there and taking advantage of the down time," I say.
"I know, it's been fun, and gorgeous but I'm exhausted," she says. "What do you want to do tomorrow?"
I glance at her, she is looking at me with a small smile on her face.
"Um, I hadn't really thought about it, sleep in for sure, what about you?"
She shrugs.
"I dunno, honestly if I had some sunshine, a hot tub, or a good book, I'd be happy," she says.
I nod.
"Did you bring a swim suit?" I ask before I can stop myself.
"Erm, no. But I could buy one?"
"Oooooor..."
Ginger playfully smacks me on the arm.
"The only way I would go skinny dipping is if you did it first," she says.
"That is a deal I can get on board with," I reply. I look over and think I see her cheeks turn the faintest color of pink which makes me smirk to myself.
When we roll up to the cabin, it's starting to get dark. We stopped at the store for groceries and a bottle of bourbon which we quickly put away.
I change into sweats again and go outside to start up a fire pit before plopping down in an Adirondack chair. Ginger steps out from the house with the bourbon and two glasses. She's in yoga pants and a thick sweater, her curls are pulled into a bun. I can't help but smile at the sight of her.
She doesn't even ask before pouring us both a glass and handing me one. Then she wraps herself in a blanket before taking her own seat.
We're slow to chat but eventually start talking about anything and everything again.
"I can't believe you broke up with a girl for wearing a sweatshirt with a horse on it!" Ginger shouts in disbelief.
"Hey, nobody ever claimed high school boys made the best decisions," I laugh. "Are you actually going to tell me you've never broken somebody's heart?"
She tilts her head to the side while she thinks.
"Erm, no," she says.
"Oh come on, that's bullshit and you know it," I egg her on.
"Alright fine, I dated a guy in college for about six months. He was super sweet and frankly just treated me like gold," she said.
"Buuuuuut?"
"Honestly? He came from a family of politicians."
"And?"
"And I just didn't want to be in the spotlight like that," Ginger is staring at the flames in the fire pit. Finally her eyes flash to mine. I'm quiet, waiting for her to continue. She sighs.
"I kept thinking that if I really went down that path, I'd eventually see photos of my dead family or details of my brother's drug abuse splashed on the paper and I didn't think I could handle that."
"Fuck, I didn't think about that, I'm sorry," I say, feeling like an asshole.
"No, it's okay. I...know that you mean well. Anyway, he was super busted up about it but then he ended up telling everyone I give terrible blow jobs or something to help his bruised ego," she says. I scoff.
"That's shitty."
"Toxic masculinity at it's finest. Luckily I was already in graphic design classes so I made a lovely little e-postcard inviting everyone to the search party for his tiny dick," she says with a small grin on her face.

"You did not."
"I definitely did. I still went through some hazing after that but I felt I'd already won. I guess I just proved to him I wasn't politician wife material. He's currently running for mayor of a tiny town in Connecticut."
"Damn, that's wild. Well, fuck that guy," I say.
"Cheers to that."
We clink glasses. I take a sip.
"Was that the last guy you dated?" I ask.
She pauses, looking directly into my eyes, then back at the fire.
"I guess, it depends on what you consider 'dating," she says. "I just...haven't gotten the timing right yet."
I nod.
"Or maybe you just have to decide to take a risk?"
She looks at me, I see her eyes flicker down to my mouth.
I search her face. Looking for...something. Something more. I look at my glass. The distance in her eyes makes me want to grab her and hold her. She's so fucking beautiful and I desperately want to make her smile.
"What?" She asks.
I snap out of my trance.
"Oh uh, nothing."
We sit in silence. I am trying to find a way to open this subject more, to find out if Ginger is open to having more...with me. I have a strong urge to say the things sitting in my chest, to let all my words go.
Suddenly a rustling of leaves comes from a bush behind Ginger's chair. She yells, stands up and practically jumps into my lap with fright.
"Whoa! It's okay!" I try to reassure her but my arms instinctively wrap around her, holding her tight to my chest.
"What is it?! Oh my god what is it?!" She's practically hysterical.
I look but don't see anything, finally a bird flies out of the bush.
"It was a bird, just a bird, no biggie," my voice is low, my mouth near her eyes and neck. She smells amazing and I desperately want to kiss her. Instead I just stroke her hair. Her breathing steadies but she still clings to the front of my shirt. Finally she opens her eyes and looks up at me. I look down at her. It would be so easy. Our faces are inches apart. I think about our previous kiss, how good it felt.
"Well, I, uh, I think I'm going to go to bed," she says.
My heart drops.
"Oh uh, okay, g'night."
"Night."
She gets up and squeezes my shoulder on her way in. I turn around and watch her go into the cabin, she turns back and looks at me before heading inside.
I sit there for a few more minutes, wondering about all the things I could've said or should've said that would allow me to get a little further into Ginger's heart. I feel intoxicated by being near her, by smelling her and feeling her heart thumping wildly against my chest.
I look up at the stars. Suddenly, I finish the rest of my drink in one swallow and decide that I must know. Tonight. Right now. Before Callum comes back or before this trip ends. I turn off the fire pit and head inside to find Ginger. It's now or never.