Love on the Lifts

by Jill Santopolo

  You’ve never skied this slowly before. At this rate, it might take half an hour to get down this trail, maybe longer, but you realize you don’t mind.

  You and Sam ski pretty much next to each other for a while, both of you looking at the edges of the trail, enjoying the scenery. There’s something kind of Zen about skiing this way instead of the adrenaline-fueled way you usually do.

  You’re scanning the tree line when you see an antler. “A deer,” you say, “about twenty yards ahead on the left! Come on!”

  You speed up, and Sam does, too, this time, probably wanting to catch the deer in his sketchbook before he disappears into the trees. But before you and Sam make it to the deer, you hit a pile of ungroomed powder on the side of the trail and fall. Sam, who’s about three seconds behind you, does the same. You look over and see his face right next to yours in the snow. His goggles are slightly askew, and his helmet cockeyed.

  “You okay?” you ask.

  “Just cold,” he answers, adjusting his goggles. “You?”

  “Same,” you say, lifting your head a little. “My cheek feels like it’s been flash frozen.”

  Sam reaches out his hand and touches your cheek with his glove. “Warmer now?” he asks.

  You have a feeling that if you leaned forward and kissed Sam, he’d kiss you right back. But you’re not totally sure if you want to be the one to make the first move.

  Click here if you kiss Sam.

  - - - - -

  Click here if you decide you don’t want to be the one to start the kiss.

  - - - - -

  Don’t like your options?

  Click here to go back to eating lunch with the twins in the lodge.

  - - - - -

  Click here to go back to the beginning and start over.

  “Actually,” you say to the brothers, “I like to ski blues, greens, blacks, and double blacks, so I think I’m going to head out on my own. But thank you both for the invitations, and for the lunch company.”

  “Our pleasure,” Sam and Leo say in unison, and then smile at each other.

  You smile, too, and then wave good-bye as they head out of the lodge.

  You’re about to start gearing up to head back out to the slopes when you notice someone over by the fire whose leg is in a cast. He has it propped up on the coffee table on a couch pillow and is reading a book. You stand up slightly to get a better look. From your new angle, you can see that the book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and that the boy is about your age and is at least seven flavors of adorable. He has dark ringlets, long eyelashes, and a smattering of freckles on the bridge of his nose. Part of you is intrigued and wonders what happened to him, but the other part thinks maybe you should just get back on the slopes. You didn’t come on vacation to sit in the lodge talking to a boy with a broken leg . . . or did you?

  Click here if you’re curious enough to go over and ask.

  - - - - -

  Click here if you decide to head back to the slopes.

  - - - - -

  Don’t like your options?

  Click here to go back to eating lunch with the twins in the lodge.

  - - - - -

  Click here to go back to the beginning.

  You decide that you might as well go over and say hello. After all, you’re a huge Harry Potter fan. When you were in elementary school, you dressed as Hermione for two Halloweens in a row, and you know every single spell in all seven books and what they’re supposed to do.

  “Hi,” you say, as you stop behind the couch.

  Mr. Harry Potter flinches, and his book goes tumbling out of his hands.

  “Aresto momentum!” you say, reaching toward it, but your attempt at catching the book is futile because the whole couch is in front of you.

  Mr. Harry Potter looks up at you and smiles. “Hi back,” he says. “You startled me. I was in the middle of the part where they’re in the Ministry of Magic, and I kind of forgot I was in a ski lodge.”

  He leans down to pick up the book but can’t quite manage it because of the way his leg is propped up in front of him.

  “I’ll get it,” you say, walking over and grabbing the book from the floor. “Sorry I surprised you out of the Ministry of Magic.”

  “No problem,” he tells you, taking his book back. “I’m Javier. Care to join me?” He pats the seat cushion next to him on the couch.

  “Thanks,” you say, as you sit down and introduce yourself. “So what happened to your leg?”

  Javier closes his eyes and shakes his head. You can’t help but notice how perfectly his eyelashes curl up off of his cheeks.

  “The bunny hill happened,” he says as he opens his eyes. “My friends and I came up from Texas to learn how to ski. It was our parents’ senior year gift to us—this trip. Well, we got here three days ago, and the first morning, first thing, first ski lesson, I fall totally wrong and break my leg. The Ski Patrol had to come and take me to the hospital, then they set my leg, gave me painkillers, the whole thing. My mom wanted to fly up here, but I told her I was fine, that I’d just relax in the lodge. Luckily, I found Harry seven in the gift shop at our hotel yesterday afternoon, or it’d be a long, long vacation.”

  “Oh, that sucks,” you say, fighting the urge to reach out and touch his cast. It’s white fiberglass and looks almost as if his leg is wrapped in bandages of snow.

  Javier shrugs. “So what about you?”

  “Here on a family vacation,” you tell him, “but seem to have lost the family.”

  “You don’t like skiing?” he asks.

  You shake your head. “No,” you say, “I do. I just saw your Harry Potter book and . . .” You let your sentence trail off because you don’t exactly know how to finish it.

  “Well, you’re welcome to read with me,” Javier says.

  You like that idea. Nate wasn’t into books, and you always thought it would be nice to date a guy who was. Or who at least wouldn’t mind snuggling up on the couch and reading together every once in a while.

  “No book,” you tell him. “I mean, I have some back at the house we’re staying at, but none with me here.”

  Javier looks at you and gives you a crooked smile. “We can share?” he says, but the way his voice goes up at the end of the sentence makes it sound more like a question.

  “How would we do that?” you ask, genuinely curious. Does he want to read aloud to you? You wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to that, but it might be a weird thing to do in a ski lodge.

  “We can each read the same two pages, and then when we’re both done, move to the next two. My little brother and I read like that all the time. It’s basically the only way I can get him to do his homework. You just have to come a little closer to make it work, so we can both see the same pages at the same time.”

  You love that Javier helps his little brother with his homework. And that he wants to read in tandem with you. You decide to forget skiing for a little while and see what it’s like to read with Javier.

  “Okay,” you tell him. “I’ll give it a try . . . but before I get comfortable, do you want anything from the snack bar? Hot cider? Hot chocolate? Anything?”

  “How about one of each,” he says. “And we can share.”

  He reaches into his pants for his wallet, but before he can get it you say, “My treat. You’re sharing your book with me.”

  He smiles with both sides of his mouth this time and says, “Okay, but next round’s on me.”

  As you wait in line at the counter, you can’t help but compare Javier to Nate, and Javier seems to win in every department: Looks, brains, personality. It makes you wonder what you ever were doing with Nate in the first place.

  When you have the drinks balanced on a tray, you head back over to Javier and set the tray down on one side of him. You set yourself down on the other.


  “Thank you very much,” he says, lifting up the hot chocolate that has a ton of whipped cream on top along with a marshmallow. You weren’t sure which he preferred, so you got both.

  “You’re welcome,” you say, watching him take a sip.

  When he’s done, he hands the cup to you, and you can’t help laughing. His nose has a dollop of whipped cream on the end, like he’s a white-nosed clown. He looks so ludicrous like that, and seems not to notice at all.

  “What is it?” he asks.

  But you can’t stop laughing long enough to tell him, so you reach over and wipe the whipped cream off his nose. Before you can grab a napkin, Javier grabs your hand. You look up at him and his eyes lock with yours. It feels as if he’s cast a spell on you. Then very slowly he lifts your whipped-creamed finger to his mouth and kisses it, licking the cream off his lips right after.

  “Mmm,” he says, and you blush.

  You’re not sure if that counts as a kiss as far as Angie is concerned, but as far as you’re concerned, Javier kissing the whipped cream on your finger is a million times sexier than kissing Nate ever was.

  “Okay,” you say, leaning up against Javier. “Let’s get back to the Ministry of Magic.”

  He wraps his arm around you and holds the book where you both can see it. “I think I’m glad I broke my leg,” he says.

  “I think I’m glad you did, too,” you answer. Because even if you didn’t find love out on the lifts, it’s very possible you found it in the ski lodge.

  CONGRATULATIONS!

  You’ve found your happy ending!

  Click here to go back to the lodge after you say no to eating with the twins.

  - - - - -

  Click here to go back to eating alone in the lodge.

  - - - - -

  Click here to go back to the beginning and start over.

  “My lips are cold, too,” you tell him.

  You’re close enough to see his eyes widen behind his goggles. “They are?” he asks.

  “Without a doubt,” you say. “See?” Then you lean toward him and gently press your lips against his.

  “Mmm,” he agrees. Then you feel an increase in pressure against your lips and he’s really kissing you. You scoot yourself closer, and he wraps his arms around you. The kiss gets deeper and you don’t feel the cold anymore. It’s as if all of your senses are focused on Sam—the warmth and feel and taste of him.

  Too soon, he breaks off the kiss. “That was . . . wow,” he says.

  “Me, too,” you tell him. “Wow.”

  He stands up on his skis and reaches his hand down to help you up. You grab it, and then, once you’re standing, he kisses you again, softly this time.

  “I think,” he says, between kisses, “that we should take kissing breaks instead of art breaks. And maybe see if the couch by the fire is free when we make it down to the base lodge.”

  “Deal,” you tell him. “First kissing break is at that big tree. Let’s go!”

  You take off quickly, and Sam matches your speed. Apparently, he’s as eager for the next kiss as you are.

  And as Sam slides his arms around you in front of the tree, you wonder if Angie was right. Maybe you did find love on the lifts after all.

  CONGRATULATIONS!

  You’ve found your happy ending!

  Click here to go back to agreeing to ski with Sam.

  - - - - -

  Click here to go back to the beginning and start over

  You wait a moment longer, but Sam doesn’t lean in, so you don’t, either. The tension you felt in the air diffuses, and it’s clear that the two of you are in friend zone now, for whatever reason. He takes his hand off your cheek.

  “Ready to keep going?” he asks.

  You pull yourself into a sitting position and nod.

  He looks over into the woods, and the deer has gone. “Okay, let’s see if that deer is farther down the mountain.”

  The two of you get up and start skiing, keeping an eye out for the deer. But without the flirtiness of earlier, you’re not having quite as much fun as you were before. And actually, skiing so slowly is a little boring. You can’t take it anymore, so you yell, “Race you!” and take off down Eridanus.

  You toss a quick look over your shoulder to make sure he’s following. He is, though you realize that if he wasn’t, you really wouldn’t have cared all that much. You’re a much faster skier than Sam, and the race really isn’t a race at all. You get to the base lodge at the bottom of the mountain first, but because you’re polite, you wait for him. He’s only about a minute or two behind you, you figure, so you stab your poles into the ground, lean against them, and watch the skiers coming down off of Eridanus. You love seeing the little girls skiing together—they remind you of you and Angie. You think about Angie briefly and hope she’s having an okay day.

  You spot Sam coming toward you now, and a guy in a charcoal jacket is close behind him. When Sam stops next to you, the guy stops, too.

  “Sam!” he says, as he hockey stops next to him. “I thought that was you! Where’s Leo?” He pulls his goggles up onto his helmet. You can’t help but notice that he has incredibly bright eyes. So bright they’re almost turquoise.

  Sam pulls his goggles up, too. “Josh?” he says. “Hey!”

  Then he seems to remember that you’re there and introduces you to Josh. You can tell that Josh is trying to figure out what the relationship is between you and Sam and where you’ve come from. So you decide to help him out.

  “Nice to meet you,” you say to Josh, holding out your gloved hand. “I met Sam and Leo in the lodge for lunch and was looking for some skiing company for the afternoon. Sam offered.”

  “Not Leo?” Josh asks. “That’s unlike him when there’s a pretty girl involved.”

  “He offered, too,” you laugh, blushing a little bit at the compliment. “But I wasn’t sure about those double blacks.”

  Josh nods and says, “Yeah, that guy’s a little crazy. I was thinking about doing some off-path tubing, so was hoping I’d run into him. Looks like I found the wrong brother.”

  “You did,” Sam says, just as you say, “You mean taking your own tube and making a trail down a mountain yourself?”

  You’ve tubed the regular way before, but never off-path.

  Josh nods. “It’s really fun, if you’re not too risk averse.”

  You passed on your chance for danger with Leo because he seemed a little too crazy, but Josh seems a little more . . . responsible crazy. And you feel like it might be fun to be crazy along with him. Especially after your superboring run with Sam. You just have to decide if you’re willing to take the risk.

  Click here if you decide to join Josh.

  - - - - -

  Click here if you decide to take off on your own.

  - - - - -

  Don’t like your options?

  Click here to go back to agreeing to ski with Sam.

  - - - - -

  Click here to go back to the beginning and start over

  You decide that you only live once and might as well go for it.

  “You may have found the wrong brother, but you found the right girl,” you say. “I’d love to off-path tube, if you’re looking for someone to come along. I’ve never done it before, though, so you might have to teach me a little.”

  Josh’s eyes light up. “Yeah?” he asks.

  “Yeah,” you say. “So how does this work?”

  “I’m going to head up Eridanus again. Nice to ski with you,” Sam says.

  You say good-bye to Sam, then look over at Josh. “Okay, come with me,” he says. “We’ll take the Stargate chair up to Lynx. That’s where I stashed the tubes. There’s a nice little run through the trees. It’ll be good for your first time.”

  Josh leads you to Stargate, which doesn’t have that long
a line. The two of you get on in no time. “Okay,” he says, “so here’s what’ll happen. Once we get to the top of Lynx, we’ll ski for a few feet, and then there’s a turn off to the right. We’ll take off our skis, pick up the tubes, and then you just follow me to the bottom of the mountain. Then we can chairlift up again to get our skis. Sound good?”

  You nod. “Absolutely,” you say.

  Josh nods. “Okay, just make sure you pay attention. I know you’ve got a helmet on, and the tubes will protect you, but I still don’t want you crashing into any trees.”

  “Me, neither,” you tell him. “I don’t want me crashing into any trees, either.”

  He laughs, and the two of you get off the lift. You both pop your ski boots out of the bindings and lean your skis and poles up against a tree. Josh pulls two tubes out from under a tarp that’s held in place with rocks.

  “Okay, here we go,” he says, handing you a tube. It’s light blue and has plastic handles on each side. “Do you know how to steer?”

  “With your body weight?” you ask. “Leaning to the left and right?”

  “Exactly,” Josh says. “Now see the path I made? It parallels Lynx for most of the way. We’ll end up popping back onto the trail about a foot before it ends. Once that happens, try to stop and get up. I don’t want you to get skied into, either.”

  You laugh and set your tube up behind Josh’s. He takes off down the path and you follow, your heart racing. This is one of the more dangerous things you’ve ever done. You really hope you can get the steering down. Ski Patrol won’t be here to save you if you don’t. You gauge Josh’s speed and make sure yours is about the same. You follow in his tracks, leaning left and right.

  The minute you enter the trees, you notice the quiet. All you hear is the scrape of your tube against the snow beneath you. You’re staring at Josh and watch him make a wide right around one tree, then left around another.

  “How you doing?” Josh shouts back to you, without turning his head.

  “Great!” you yell, without taking your eyes off him.