by Mia Ford
“So, this is the latch that you will slip your boot into,” Glen said, holding up the boot. “Don’t do it yet. Just watch. We will get to all of it very shortly.”
The girls in the back were struggling to bend over or grasp anything because they were dressed like the little boy from A Christmas Story. I tried my best to hide my smirk and chuckle as the shorter one almost fell over, reaching for the taller one and nearly taking them both down. They looked so ridiculous bundled up like that, but I assumed they were probably from somewhere warm and had been bamboozled by the local shops into buying everything in the store for their probably one trip down the bunny slope. It must be nice being that rich that you can spend that much money on completely unimportant items of clothing, just to never wear them again. At least they didn’t have their cellphones out, not that they could press the buttons with the thickness of the gloves that they were wearing.
The wind had died down a lot since the day before, and I felt like if I had been bundled up like they were, I would be sweating to death by now. However, I guessed that I was used to the frigid temperatures, and some even worse. I can vividly remember a time where we were hired by the National Park service to come out for a week straight and give safety lessons to skiers who trekked to Denali to brave the natural slopes. It was definitely the most gorgeous place I had ever skied, but damn if it wasn’t bite through your jacket cold out there. After the first day, I had them take me to the closest town to get a temperature-rated coat and snow pants. That was what these girls looked like, except their movements were going to be very restricted because of all the layers. At least if they took a fall, they would just roll down the hill and not get injured.
When it came time to help everyone with their movements, Glen sent me over to the overstuffed girls, laughing at me as I tried to help them through their clothing. The short girl was hopeless, and had gone into full out laughing mode, sitting down in the snow and telling me to just help her friend. I shook my head and laughed, trying not to make them feel silly.
“What are your names?” I asked.
“I’m Hailey,” the one on the ground said.
“I’m Bea,” the tall one replied with a giggle.
“Are you girls from California?”
“No.” Bea laughed. “Believe it or not, we are from Colorado. You would think with the way we are dressed that we had never felt cold weather before.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything.” I chuckled.
“At least I won’t be cold when I go inside,” she said, a smile in her voice, though I couldn’t see her lips at all.
“All right, show me how to put on your skis,” I said, standing back.
She slipped her feet right into the latches, but grunted and giggled as she strenuously bent at the waist and clicked the straps in place. She then stood up and grasped onto the poles to keep her balance. We went through several different motions, her arms going in all the right places. She was actually pretty good at this, and I was a little surprised they were taking a beginners’ course.
“So, have you girls skied before?”
“Maybe when I was a kid,” Bea said. “Believe it or not, we live in a ski town, but work is so crazy, and until now, I didn’t have skis.”
“Oh, well, what do you do?”
“I’m a writer, a ghostwriter actually,” she said.
“What is a ghostwriter?”
“I write books for a publishing company, for authors that aren’t actually authors but want to publish a series of books,” she explained. “I sign my rights away to the material, and then the client purchases it.”
“That’s interesting,” I said. “I didn’t even know that was a thing.”
“Apparently,” Bea said, laughing.
“All right, Hailey,” I said, reaching down and helping her to her feet. “Your turn.”
Hailey was a bit more challenged by bending over, and her movements were a little jumbled, but they were good enough to make it down the mountain without breaking her neck. At least, I hoped they were. Part of me was curious what Bea looked like, since she sounded really sweet and probably around my age. However, her full-on mummy suit kept me from seeing more than her cheekbones, which was unfortunate, or fortunate, depending on the way that you looked at it.
“All right,” I said, looking back at the rest of the class. “Are we ready to make a run down the bunny slope?”
“Yeah,” the class said enthusiastically.
“You ladies want to go first?”
“Sure,” Hailey said.
“Why not? If we fall, we will just lay there as cushion for the rest of them.” Bea laughed.
Hailey situated herself at the edge of the hill and pushed off, letting out a little squeal as she went down. Not long after, Bea let loose, showing me really great form as she pushed through the white fluff, moving her skis back and forth. I was impressed at how quickly she seemed to catch onto everything. The ski down the bunny slope was the last thing they did with us for the day, so I liked to make sure every one of them made it down the hill safely. I felt that it was a testament to my teaching skills if they didn’t fall or lose a piece of equipment on the way down. My first two were a success, and I smiled as they reached the bottom and celebrated, ramming into each other with their cushioned suits and falling backward.
Everyone laughed as they went down, and I stood there waiting for them to clear the bottom before sending the next skier down. Bea threw her head back and pulled off her beanie and goggles, laughing wildly as she tried to climb to her feet. I stood there, slightly taken back, squinting my eyes down at the flashes of red glimmering in her hair. Her smile was bright and big, and she looked absolutely gorgeous surrounded by all the snow. I stopped the next skier for just a minute and moved to the edge of the hill, taking a closer look. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Bea was the girl that I had seen in the hotel the day before. I had spent the entire morning with her and didn’t even know who I was talking to. God, I was such an idiot. I had totally missed my chance, though I did get to talk to her for a little bit.
I looked back over at Glen, and he looked at me confused, walking over and putting his hand on my shoulder. He looked down at the girls as they dragged themselves off the bottom of the slopes and to the sidelines. He turned back to me and cleared his throat.
“You all right, buddy?”
“That was her,” I said, shocked. “That was the girl from the courtyard yesterday.”
“The ones stuffed like sausages?”
“Yeah.” I chuckled.
Glen laughed and moved down the line, double checking everyone’s skis and poles. One by one, the rest of the class went down the mountain without one incident of failure. My mind, though, was somewhere else at that point, and I was anxious to get down to the bottom myself and find this girl. By the time the last of the skiers had reached the bottom, Bea and Hailey were gone. I pulled my goggles down and clipped into my skis, taking off down the slope before Glen could stop me. I was going to find this girl.
Chapter 10
Bea
We scooted off the end of the slope, laughter filling our stomachs. We grabbed each other’s hands and pulled ourselves to our feet. I glanced back up the hill, looking at the tall, muscular guy that I had seen just the day before, standing outside of the elevator. It was Mr. Tattoo, and his name happened to be Cameron, my ski instructor. I looked back at Hailey, who was waiting for me, and smiled, making my way over to the bench and letting the concierge service take my skis. I actually really like skiing, but I knew that if I wanted to really enjoy it, I would have to lose some of the layers. I was barely able to control my movements and just kind of floated down to the end and fell over. I had to admit, though, it was fun, and I hadn’t laughed that much in years. I really loved having Hailey around to lift my spirits.
We walked back up to the resort and inside, taking off our jackets and the rest of our layers and giving them to the concierge to send up to our rooms. We then head
ed over to the bar and sat down at the end, ordering Irish Coffees to warm ourselves up and relax. My cheeks, since they were pretty much the only things showing outside, were red and tingly as the heat from the building washed over me. I was glad I hadn’t brought all my layers into the bar, or I would be sweating like an animal.
“So, what did you think?” Hailey asked.
“I actually think that I may really like skiing,” I said with surprise. “Though next time, I am going to do my snow pants, an under shirt, a sweater, and one of the lighter jackets. I was like the damn Stay Puff Marshmallow Man coming down the bunny slope. It was a good thing that there were no kids there this morning.”
“Yeah, we would have either scared them half to death, or they would have chased after us, thinking Frosty had finally come back to life,” she said, laughing. “All in all, though, I could totally see me and you hitting the slopes back home on the weekends. Maybe we’ll even meet us a couple of handsome men to take out with us.”
“You are always thinking about men.” I laughed. “I will be perfectly happy taking myself to the slopes and enjoying the day whizzing down the mountain. Thank God for ski lifts, though. I couldn’t imagine going up and down that mountain without it. Then I might not think that skiing was that fun after all.”
“Yeah,” she scoffed. “I could totally see us making it halfway back up and just collapsing, deciding it was better to freeze to death than keep going up the mountain. I am glad we decided to buy gear, though. We may actually get some use out of it back at home. It makes going back to the grind seem a bit more exciting than before.”
“You act like our vacation is over.” I laughed. “It’s totally only day two. We have lots of skiing time left.”
“Yes, we do,” she said, clinking her coffee mug against mine.
“So, the instructor, Cameron, I saw him yesterday when I was getting in the elevator to go up and get ready for shopping,” I said nonchalantly.
“He was nice, and I loved his tattoos,” Hailey said.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I’d have to say that he is probably one of the hottest men I have ever met up close. If you thought he was hot in his ski gear, you should have seen him in jeans and a Henley. His muscles filled out, like, the entire thing.”
“Uh oh, sounds like someone has a crush.” Hailey snickered.
“No.” I blushed. “Can’t I just think a guy is, like, super hot? Besides, I don’t have a chance in the world. Have you seen the kind of girls that are floating around this place? They are like supermodels.”
“Girl, you are freaking gorgeous,” Hailey said. “And on top of it, you are smart, hardworking, and you have an actual personality. Those hookers have daddy’s money and really good plastic surgeons.”
“Still, they are much hotter than me,” I said. “And I am terrible when it comes to talking to guys. I get all kinds of out of sorts, and can barely put a sentence together. I have never been the girl that could pick up men.”
“You picked up Grant,” Hailey pointed out.
“No, he picked me up.” I laughed. “I just talked about random nonsense the whole time, and luckily, or not depending on how you look at it, he found me charming.”
“You are charming,” she said, smiling. “And it looks like you are going to have your chance to talk to Cameron, after all.”
We looked up at the entrance to the bar and watched as Cameron walked inside, ruffling his black hair with his hands and pushing up the sleeves of his sweater. He was so handsome, with his snow pants lingering on the edge of his hips and his smile the perfect Colgate-commercial white. The suspenders to his pants were off his body and laying to the side, giving him the appeal of a hot fireman. Immediately, I could feel the heat push into my cheeks, and I fanned myself, trying to slow down my heart rate. Hailey looked over and pushed my mouth closed, a giggle coming from her chest. Cameron walked over to the bar and nodded at the bartender, reaching across and taking the bottle of beer from his hand. He took a sip and set it down, turning and looking around the room. Finally, his eyes landed on me and Hailey, and my heart skipped a beat.
Our eyes locked, and I gasped slightly, trying to find my footing as his mouth curled up into a smile. I grinned back and then looked down, grabbing my napkin and fiddling with it as he pulled himself away from the bar. Hailey looked at me confused.
“He’s coming,” I said under my breath.
“Perfect,” she whispered. “Just be your amazing self. You will do great.”
I looked up in panic as Hailey picked up her mug and walked off, Cameron getting closer by the second. I could feel the sweat in my palms start to rain down, and I grasped my mug with two hands, turning back toward the bar. What was I supposed to even do? I hadn’t talked to another man in three years, let alone in a situation where we were probably going to be flirting. I took in a deep breath as he walked up next to me, the smell of his cologne seeping into my brain and making me hazy.
“May I sit down?”
“Sure,” I said, looking and smiling.
“You are Bea, from my class, right?”
“Yeah,” I replied, swallowing a drink of my coffee. “It was a really great class. I think I might pick up skiing when I get back home.”
“Well, you seem like a complete natural,” he replied with a smile. “I am glad I could give you the confidence to actually get on the slopes. I’ve been skiing for a very long time, and I couldn’t imagine my life without being able to escape to the snow.”
“So, you have been instructing for a long time?”
“Since I was about nineteen, back at home in Vermont,” he said. “I started skiing when I was a little kid and just really caught the bug for it. I competed, I trained, and then I realized how much I loved it when there wasn’t any pressure on me to be the best. So, I quit competitions and started teaching. My buddy Glen and I created our freelance company, so we pretty much get to ski almost every week of the year.”
“That’s awesome,” I replied. “I stay at home all the time in my home office. I wish I had chosen to travel more. I mean, with my job, I can do it anywhere in the world that has internet. For some reason, though, I decided to settle down in my own home town.”
“Well, I am sure you are amazing at your craft,” he said. “There is nothing wrong with settling down. I’m sure the Mister is happy to have you home.”
“Oh.” I laughed. “There is no Mister. just me.”
“I see,” he said, smiling.
“How about you?”
“No.” He chuckled. “It’s just me and my skis, and Glen, of course, but he’s my best friend, so I don’t mind having him with me.”
“Hailey has been my best friend for many years,” I said. “She is the whole reason that I am here for the Christmas holiday.”
“Nice, you took a girls’ trip,” he replied.
“Kind of,” I said. “My boyfriend of three years and I broke up, and she thought I needed a vacation.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said kindly.
“It was for the best, trust me,” I said, laughing awkwardly. “We were not really meant for each other, and he was a big douche bag.”
“No one likes a douche bag.” He laughed.
Cameron was really sweet, and I couldn’t help but notice that he actually paid attention to me when I was talking. He actually acted like he was interested in what I was saying, and that, in itself, was a completely new experience for me. Not to mention the fact that he was incredibly handsome, which made it a lot easier to sit there and stare into his gorgeous eyes. We continued to talk until it was dark outside.
“Well, I think I’m going to head upstairs and get changed so Hailey and I can lounge around and feast on room service,” I said, smiling.
“May I walk you upstairs to your room?”
“That would be nice, thank you,” I said, handing my mug to the bartender and grabbing my coat off the back of the chair.
Hailey had already gone upstairs, and the ba
r was starting to fill up, so I figured it was the perfect time to make my exit for the evening. We walked slowly across the marble floor and over to the elevators, talking about the time he spent in Denali teaching safety to the adventurous skiers out there. I thought about the bunny slope I had just been down and couldn’t even start to imagine just randomly skiing down something like that. However, the thought of seeing such an amazing place made me a little jealous.
“I would love to travel,” I said. “Alaska has always been on my list.”
“It truly is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been,” he said as we climbed into the elevator.
“Floor five,” I said, watching as he leaned over and pressed the button, the muscles in his arm tensing and then releasing.
“There was part of the trip where they took us ice fishing, and I actually saw a moose and a bear,” he said. “It was like being inside of a National Geographic film. I’d love to go back there sometime just as a tourist so I can really see the land.”
We got off the elevator and walked down the hall to my room. I stopped and turned toward him, smiling. I reached up and kissed him gently on the cheek and reached for the door handle.
“I had a really nice time,” I said. “Thank you for teaching me how to ski and then keeping me company.”
“Do you think that I could get your number?” he asked, with a strangely shy tone to his voice. “I mean, I’d love to take you to dinner while you are in town.”