I raised my eyebrows at him. “Pizza and french fries? What are we, in the second grade?”
Jason smirked. “Trust me, you’ll be glad you learned this. So when you’re gliding down the mountain, you’ll keep your skis parallel with each other, so that they look like two french fries.”
“French fries are never always parallel, you know.”
Jason gave me a playful but stern look.
“Am I going to have to punish you for being a bad student?”
“Ooh, is that an option?” I smiled wickedly at him.
Jason chuckled and went straight back to lecturing me about skiing. My shoulders slumped and my smile disappeared.
“Pizza is when you bring your skis to a point, like this.” He pushed my skis to a point in front of me. “You do this when you want to go slow, go it?”
“Pizza, french fries,” I said, demonstrating for him.
“Good. Now are you ready?”
My eyes grew wide. “Ready? That’s all you’re going to teach me? No test hill or anything?”
“This is the test hill.” Jason looked out at the slope in front of us. Even if it was a test hill, and probably the equivalent of a walk in the park for Jason and his friends, the hill looked terrifyingly steep to me. Trees and bushes lined the winding snowy path.
“But there are so many trees.”
“Focus on the path, not the trees. You ready?”
I gulped.
Jason pushed off and propelled himself over the edge onto the slope where he slid down the mountain, moving further and further away with each second. He stopped effortlessly and looked back at me.
“Sophia! Come!”
Knowing Jason couldn’t come back to help me, I looked down at the hill.
Alright, here goes nothing.
Pulling my yellow goggles down over my eyes, I looked out at the yellow-tinged scenery. I pushed myself off the ground and, keeping my skis in a ‘pizza’ pattern, I slowly made my way down to meet Jason.
“Come on, grandma.” Jason smirked at me as I moved slower than a slug in a desert.
I meant to stop next to him, but my skis kept inching along in the snow. Jason put one arm around my waist and steered me as he skied next to me. His grip was secure and tight. The fears about racing down the mountain subsided and I knew I could trust Jason.
“This isn’t so bad, is it?”
I looked at him and shook my head.
A few children raced by next do us.
“How are they going so fast?” I asked.
Jason nodded at my skis. “Put your skis into the french fry position.”
Angling my feet away from one another, I straightened out my skis and almost immediately began sliding down the hill faster.
“Keep the fronts of your skis up so that you don’t pick up any snow!” Jason yelled out, as now the wind was whistling past our ears.
I did as he said and my speed increased even further. That secure embrace around my waist disappeared as Jason let go.
Jason let go.
Oh crap.
I was speeding down the hill, going faster and faster. My eyes flashed to the right where I saw several trees and soon I was veering towards them.
“Jason!” I screamed out. “JASON!”
Flashbacks of my nightmare, the tall flames, and Jason leaving me filled my head.
I pointed my toes inward to create a pizza position, but I moved too fast and too far. My skis touched each other and before I knew it, my body lunged forward and my skis tangled themselves. My teeth bit down hard onto nothing, sending a pain through my jaw. Soon the whole world was upside down. My body tumbled one, two, three times before I rolled into a large bush.
“Sophia! Are you okay?” Jason came sliding down, stopping expertly next to me.
I blinked hard, still feeling the tingling feeling in my jaw. I was completely tangled in my skis.
“Ow,” I managed to say.
“I’m so sorry - I thought you were doing alright - you had the hang of it! I shouldn’t have let go.”
Jason began untangling my skis and legs, which wrapped themselves into what looked like a piece of modern art. He sat me up and pulled my goggles off my head.
“Your lip is bleeding,” he said.
The metallic taste of blood lingered on my tongue. Warm tears began streaking down my cold cheeks.
“Sophia.” He pulled off his goggles and I could see now that his brow was furrowed. He pulled his gloves off to cradle my cold face with his warm hands. “What’s wrong?”
Before I could stop myself, everything came tumbling out.
“Everything! This trip, these stupid skis, you.”
“Me?”
I shook my head. “That came out wrong. I meant - I thought this was going to be a romantic getaway for you and I, and it turned out to be a disaster.”
“A disaster? But I thought we were having fun.”
I shook my head.
“I’m sorry, Sophia - but we don’t see our friends as often as I’d like to. Plus, I thought since Ellie would be here, you’d be alright. She’s your best friend and all.”
Ellie’s name reminded me of our previous conversation and my own, biting insecurities. I buried my face in my hands and let out a deep sigh.
“I just wanted you to come see what I do for fun. At least, what I used to do for fun.”
I looked up into Jason’s brown eyes. He looked so innocent, so concerned, and for a moment I saw that teenage boy in him who spent winters here with his friends.
“All I wanted to do was get you out on the slopes and have some fun, but if I knew how strongly you felt about this, I never would’ve organized this trip in the first place.” His voice was tinged with sincerity.
“No.” I put out my hand and grabbed his. “I’m glad you invited me, and I’m glad you invited all your friends. I just had a vision of what this trip would be, and that was spending the entire weekend up in that hot tub with you and a bottle of wine. I was just surprised when it turned out to be something else, and I acted in the wrong way. I was disappointed when I should have been thankful.”
Jason gave me a flat smile. I squeezed his hand, keeping my eyes on his so that he wouldn’t look away.
“I’m so happy you love me, Jason Powers, because I love you. And I loved that you surprised me.”
Jason mimicked my smile.
“You know, if you wanted to spend time alone with me, you could have just asked.”
“Now I know for next time.” I smiled.
Jason grabbed the ski poles away from me and put them to the side, he then crawled over me, forcing me to lean back in the pile of snow. Jason lowered his lips onto mine, kissing me slowly with his cold, mint ChapStick flavored lips. His warm tongue poked out and played with mine, providing an opposing heated sensation compared to the coldness of his lips and skin. The combination was delicious.
Even though I was a foot deep in freezing cold snow, I was warm all over. Jason pressed himself into me. If anyone could melt this snow, it was him.
Several feet away I could hear the whoosh as skiers and snowboarders raced by.
Jason touched my cold cheek with his warm fingers, wiping that last tears away.
“YEAHHH! Come on you lovebirds, this is my third time down!” Ellie shouted from the slope. We turned in time to watch her disappear around the corner. “SEE YOU AT THE BOTTOM!” Her distant voice shouted.
Jason and I looked at each other and laughed.
“We can go slow and once we’re at the bottom I’ll bring you back to the chalet. You can rest in the hot tub and drink spiked eggnog with Julia until we get back.”
“No,” I said abruptly. “I want to keep skiing. I’m just starting to get the hang of it!”
Jason smiled. “That’s my girl.” He put out his hand and helped me up.
As we made our way down the hill, I gained more confidence as I became more accustomed to the long blades attached to my feet. It was completely unnatural
and absolutely absurd, but insanely fun.
After a few runs down the hill I understood why Jason and his friends woke up at seven in the morning to do this, as hours passed by like minutes. The speed at which I zipped down the slopes was exhilarating. I controlled my skis to go this way and that. There was a lot more body work than I expected as I leaned to the left, then to the right. The cold refreshing wind and the sun’s soothing rays felt good on my face.
But the best part of the day was sitting on the lift next to Jason and being surrounded by the magnificent view of the Colorado Mountains and the white snow sparkling like diamonds under the sun. Jason kept me warm by sitting with me in his arms, kissing and cuddling me every chance he got.
~Chapter 5~
Once we got back to the chalet, Ellie and I made our way inside where it was warm. The guys stayed outside to put away the equipment. Julia was sitting by the fire with her feet up. She had what looked like a script in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.
“I’m claiming the shower - I think I have sweat icicles.” Ellie cringed as she walked awkwardly towards the stairs.
“Suit yourself,” Julia said, taking a sip of her wine. “So? How was it?” She looked up at me.
I took a seat on the couch across from her and happily started peeling off my snow pants.
“It was painful at first, but once I got the hang of it, it was pretty fun.”
“Really? I can’t imagine anything being fun out in that disgusting cold powder.”
I thought about Jason climbing over me, giving me a long, warm kiss. I shrugged.
“You just have to give it a chance.”
“Nah. Jason tried to back when we dated, but I never did any of it. It’s not my thing.”
My heart stopped. The rosiness in my cheeks drained away.
“When you - when you dated?”
“Oh yeah, he was into all sorts of stupid things - skiing, skateboarding, going to the beach and actually swimming in the water.” She said this as if it was something completely unheard of. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I mean, why do those things when you’ve got a yacht and a tan to work on?”
I nodded in agreement, but everything she said washed through me.
When did Jason date Julia? And why didn’t I know about it?
The thought of it was going to plague me all night, I knew it.
“I’m done!” Ellie called from upstairs.
“Excuse me.” I grabbed my snow pants and left the scene as soon as I could, glad for an excuse to get away. I made my way upstairs into the bedroom.
“The shower’s in the other room, honey,” Ellie said nonchalantly as she combed out her wet hair.
“Ellie, I need your help.” There was a tone of panic in my voice.
“What’s wrong?” She looked at me through the reflection in the mirror.
“Did Jason and Julia used to date?”
“Yeah, of course they did. Only for a few weeks though. It was in the tabloids for like six months though, even though there were only, like, two photos ever taken of them together.”
“Oh.” My heart sunk into my stomach. I swallowed.
“It’s nothing to worry about though, it was ages ago.”
“How long?”
“Three, four years I think?”
“Well, I would have liked to have known about it. I wonder why Jason didn’t tell me.”
Ellie shrugged as she applied mascara to her long lashes. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it if I were you.”
There was a knock at the door which startled us both. Ellie cursed loudly as she smudged her makeup and had to fish a Q-tip out of her makeup bag to fix it.
I opened the door a sliver of the way open.
“Sophia?”
“Yes, Jason?”
“A snowmobile is arriving for us in twenty minutes.”
“What? Why? Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
He closed the door. Ellie and I exchange confused glances.
“Where else can we go besides here?” I asked. “We’re on a freaking mountain!”
Looking at me through the mirror’s reflection, Ellie shrugged, messing up her makeup again.
“Darnit!”
I smiled at Ellie’s foolishness. Without wasting anymore time, I took a quick shower and put on a long-sleeved dress and some long, thigh-high stockings (for the cold). Knowing we’d be riding a snowmobile, I shoved my black lace thong in the corner of my suitcase and opted for a pair of panties that had more coverage.
Minutes later I was downstairs where I met Jason at the door. He was wearing dark corduroy pants and a light-tan pullover sweater which looked awfully comfortable and smelled delicious (like Jason).
“Nobody else is coming?” I asked, noticing that Ellie and Ty were upstairs while Simon sat next to Julia by the fire, showing off the bruises he accumulated throughout the day.
“It’s just us.” Jason smiled.
“Oh.” My heart thudded in my chest.
Jason got my coat from the closet and helped me into it before gesturing towards the door. “After you.”
We stood outside where a large black snowmobile sat in the snow.
“Here.” Jason grabbed a giant globe of a helmet and fitted it over my head.
What the-
I blinked as it sat heavily on my shoulders.
If I knew I’d be wearing a helmet, I wouldn’t have done my hair.
I shook the rest of my hair behind the helmet and watched as Jason pulled his own helmet on and hopped onto the machine.
“Come on!” His words were muffled through his helmet. Looking down through the visor, I took a few steps in the snow before climbing onto the seat behind Jason.
Oh my.
This was quite the machine. I had to pull the skirt of my dress up over my knees just to sit on it properly. Snow blew down, settling on my stockings and melting through to my skin.
I wrapped my arms around Jason’s waist and closed my eyes shut as the machine kicked into motion.
With my arms around him, I felt Jason’s muscles through his thick coat. He moved this way and that as he leaned into each curve. Both Jason and the machine were powerful, rumbling beneath me as we trekked through the snow. Air rushed past us, cooling my nearly-bare legs. I shivered and my heart beat wildly in my chest as we sped through the snow and around the mountain. The burst of adrenaline coursing through my body kept me warm. My arms tightened around Jason, who beneath me smelled like masculine musk, strong pine, and fresh cold snow.
The trip wasn’t a long one, and soon we were at our destination - a small chalet, about a quarter of the size of the one we were just in.
“How cute!” I said as I climbed off the snowmobile and popped off my helmet.
Jason cut the engine and pulled off his helmet. Snow collected on his disheveled hair. With his legs straddled on either side of the vehicle and his helmet in his hands, he looked like a bad boy on a badass motorcycle.
Damn, he was hot!
The snowflakes in his hair began melting, as if to prove my point.
“You like it?” Jason looked at the small chalet.
I wiped away the snowflakes collecting on my eyelashes.
“It’s gorgeous!”
“Let’s go in then.” Jason smirked as he swung his leg off the snowmobile and jumped into the snow, leaving big boot prints behind as he walked up to the chalet.
“You have access to this place?”
Jason held up the key. “Only for tonight.” That devilish, naughty smirk took over as he looked at me and pushed the front door open. His eyebrow shot up. “Sophia Fletcher, will you be my date for the evening?”
I smiled and bit my bottom lip.
“I’d love to.” I walked into the small chalet, which already had a fire roaring in the corner.
Jason helped me with my coat as he hung it up in the closet, followed by his own. After removing our boots, we walked in. The place was smal
ler, but cozier than the large place we were staying in - and in a way, I preferred it. The orange fire illuminated the entire inside of the wooden chalet, giving it a true cabin in the woods feeling. By the window was a table with two silver platters set up on it.
Jason walked over to the table and pulled the cover off one of the silver platters revealing a steaming gourmet meal of steak and vegetables.
“I figured after all that skiing today that you’d be hungry.”
I smiled nervously and fiddled with my fingers. “You’re not wrong.”
Jason put the cover back down onto the meal and took a step towards me. He furrowed his brow. “Sophia, is everything alright? Did something happen since the ski hill?”
Letting out a long breath, I put my hands down. “Okay, I have to ask you this. Did you used to date Julia?”
“Julia?”
“Yeah, Julia Stein. Did you date her?”
“Yes, but only for a few weeks. I thought you knew that.”
“No, I didn’t.” Tears welled up in my eyes and threatened to fall down my cheek.
Jason shook his head. “Sophia, why does it matter?”
“I just thought I would know who you dated.”
“You can - it’s on the internet. But why would you want to?”
I opened my mouth to respond but realized I didn’t have an answer. Why did I want to know?
“Hey.” Jason took my hands. “I thought we were done with all this jealousy stuff.”
I shook my head. “This is not jealousy stuff.” I bit my lip.
“Then what is it?”
“It’s something that happened last night.”
“That stupid question Julia asked in the hot tub?”
“Well, yes, but also -”
Jason peered deep into my eyes, his furrowed brow showing that he was trying hard to understand what I was trying to say.
“Your nightmare,” he said.
I nodded.
“What happened?”
“It’s just - I feel out of place with your friends. They’re all rich and successful and used to different things. I mean, how can I compare to Julia Stein?”
My tears were gone, but now my chest was tight and my words were strained.
Jason let out a short laugh.
“Do you know why I broke it off with Julia? She was too fake - too high maintenance. I didn’t want a girlfriend like that. Julia Stein would never do what you did today. She’d never put on skis and throw herself off the side of a mountain, and she’d never get up after turning herself into a human pretzel either.” Jason touched my nose and I let out a weak giggle. “You know what else she’d never do?”
All of Me (The Billionaire Next Door Book 7) Page 3