What We Search For

by Stories, Natasha

  “What are you talking about? You were probably on your board all last night.” I said, grinning slightly pausing for effect. “Then again. So was I. And it was good.” I added with a laugh.

  “So I’m just going to throw this out there. Clearly I’m going to be the best snowboarder out of us.” Brad said suddenly.

  “Oh yeah?” Chris replied slowly.

  “Yeah. I mean no offense but you two clowns are pretty uncoordinated.” Brad replied.

  “How the hell did you get to that conclusion?” I asked, genuinely interested.

  “I’ve seen you both dance! Never mind stepping on a partners toes. You blokes would step on your own!” Brad answered with a grin.

  “I’ll admit I’m not the best at dancing. But how does that translate to snowboarding?” Chris asked.

  “It doesn’t.” Brad replied slowly, “I just wanted you to know you’re both shit at dancing!” He added with a laugh.

  “You my friend are an idiot.” I said with a smile.

  “The women love it.” Brad replied with his nose in the air.

  “How would you know that? You scare them all away!” Chris said, laughing and slapping Brad on the back. I couldn’t help but join in on the laughter.

  “It’s not my fault if women are intimidated by my ridiculously handsome features and muscular physique.” Brad said, as he attempted to highlight his biceps through his snow gear to little effect.

  “Give it up Chris. You won’t be able to crack his sense of self-worth. It’s like trying to insult a dog. He’ll just wag his tail and lick you on the face.” I said smiling.

  “Good point. There’s a good boy.” Chris said, petting Brad on the head.

  “Say what you will! I’ll still kick your asses on the hill.” Brad said, as he tried to shake Chris’ hand off of his head.

  “Well! We’re about to find out! Looks like this is us.” I said, as I pointed to the end of the gondola.

  We stepped off the gondola together and I stopped and looked around. People were everywhere already. Looking to my left, I watched as a group of people effortlessly floated down the mountain on their skis and boards. Moving away from the gondola we found the designated area for lessons, which we had already booked. We had all agreed jumping on the board with no help would probably be a bad idea to start off with.

  Trekking through the snow we stood under a colored pole indicating where our instructor would meet us. As we waited other people were beginning to arrive. It was damn cold up here, and I was wearing all the right gear but the cold just seemed to seep through. Leaning from one leg to the other I pulled my beanie, or otherwise known as a tuque in these parts further over my ears.

  “Damn it’s cold up here.” I said, voicing my thoughts.

  “Very interesting observation.” Brad replied shortly. Leaning down Brad grasped a chunk of snow and flung it in my direction. “I wonder why that is?” He asked sarcastically. Laughing, I returned fire.

  Brad was wearing a pale green jacket with black pants and a black tuque while Chris was wearing a gray jacket and gray pants. He was doing his best to camouflage in with the snow. Chris watched our exchange in amusement not venturing to join in on the battle.

  Looking up from our play fight, Brad and I noticed a few girls coming to join our training group. One thing I’d figured out was it’s difficult to determine the age of people when they are covered head to toe in gear. Goggles, tuque, helmet and often face mask. The girls I thought, seemed to be around our age by the way they were talking to each other, and they came to stand next to us while continuing their conversation.

  “I can’t wait for this!” One of them said, in a distinctly American accent.

  “I know! I can’t believe I’ve never done this. It’s just so beautiful up here!” Another replied, as she took it all in with one sweeping glance, which for a second I thought lingered on me, but maybe it was my imagination.

  “Oh hey! I think the instructor is here.” The last said, pointing at a girl dressed all in red.

  Waving at us she joined the group “Hi everyone! My name is Haley, and I’ll be helping you all today while you learn how to snowboard! Hopefully everyone is ready? It looks like everyone is here.” She said, as she appeared to tally our numbers. Counting me, she appeared to recognize me and gave me a small knowing smile and a quick wink, and continued her count. “Okay numbers are good, so let’s head over here and have a chat!” She said excitedly. She led the group over to what I could only assume was the area for the newest people on the hill.

  Sitting down in a circle on top of our boards Haley introduced herself in full which led me to thinking I hadn’t actually spoken to her since we had our… entertaining night together. Finally it was time to start our lesson.

  The basics came first and then we slowly progressed into actually going down a hill. If you could really even call it a hill. I fell over more times than I’d care to admit and Chris and Brad were the same. Near the end of the lesson, Haley came over to me to see how I was going.

  “Looking good on that board.” She said, as she brushed up against me.

  “Feeling like an idiot to be honest!” I replied light heartedly.

  “You’ll get it.” She laughed, “It just takes a little bit of time but once you have the feeling, you’ll be flying down the hills.” She added, glancing around she slapped me on the ass and took off laughing.

  Our encounter had not gone unnoticed. The group of American girls talked amongst themselves softly while looking directly at me. Embarrassed for some reason, I looked away and started my painstakingly slow descent. To my great relief I made it without falling over once, but the relief was short lived as I came to a stop and fell hard on my rear.

  Chris came up to me after completing his own descent and gave me a knowing look. “That’s the one isn’t it? The one you met the same night we met Brad?” He asked with genuine interest. Nodding slowly, I came to my feet.

  “Yes. Guilty as charged.” I said, watching Haley move away.

  “No need to worry about that. She seems to be nice enough. Not a bad looking girl either!” He said, slapping me on the back.

  “She’s an attractive lady I won’t deny that.” I replied, smiling. I returned my attention to the rest of the class coming down the hill.

  Taking my helmet and tuque off I breathed in the frigid air and looked around slowly. My gaze landed directly on one of the three American girls. She seemed strikingly familiar but I couldn’t quite place work out where I had seen her. There was something about the shape of her face. Something… She must have seen me looking as she suddenly set off walking in my direction with a smile on her face.

  Chris wandered away to go check on Brad, leaving me alone watching this girl come directly at me with one of the nicest smiles I had ever seen. That was it! I’d seen that smile before somewhere. She stopped in front of me and took her goggles and tuque off, and I stood there staring like an idiot for longer than I would have liked. My mind raced for her name.

  Although our last encounter had been a short one it was a memorable one. Amanda. It was Amanda from the LA airport. Of all the people to meet on a snow hill in the middle of Alberta in the same snowboarding class as me! “Amanda!” I exclaimed happily, after my moment of staring in shock and wonder. “I can’t believe you’re here! How are you?” I asked curiously.

  “James! So great to see you! I thought it was you earlier, but I was a bit shy to come say hello because I couldn’t tell for sure.” She said, as laughter came to her lips.

  Her laugh was like a gentle breeze and it gave me goosebumps. Her hair was shining in the sunlight amplified by the snow, and her smile a radiant white. I couldn’t help but admire her beauty. Time stopped for a split second as I soaked it all in.

  “How long has it been?” I asked, as I went to give her a hug.

  “Well. It would have been a couple of months or so, I can’t believe you even remember me!” She said as we hugged.

  “How could
I forget such a beautiful face? Also falling on your ass right in front of me is pretty memorable.” I replied, grinning at her the whole time.

  “Ha! Well aren’t you the smooth talker. That was so embarrassing, but I’m glad you were there to help me up!” She said, returning my smile and pointing up the hill, “I’m here on holiday with my two girlfriends up there. Sally and Jane. What about you? Have you found somewhere to settle in or are you still traveling?” She asked.

  “I’m actually living in Banff. It’s a beautiful part of the world and I’ve met some very cool people.” I started, “So far I’m loving it, and this snow is just too much to pass up.” I replied.

  “I completely understand! Snow can be so beautiful and these mountains are breathtaking.” Amanda remarked, as she emphasized with her hand in a sweeping motion taking in the surroundings.

  “Absolutely agree with you. It was love at first sight! I haven’t felt this good in years. Who would have thought this traveling stuff would be so amazing? It only took me twenty seven years to do any of it!” I said, my smile still plastered on my face.

  “Oh definitely. I’ve only recently started traveling too, and I can’t get enough of it. There’s so much in the world out there to discover.” Her voice was full of passion, “While we’re young we may as well go and see it right?” She said. Nodding my agreement, I watched as Amanda’s friends approached from the top of the beginner hill.

  “Are you staying in town?” I asked, after a moment of silence.

  “Yes. We’re sharing a place for a week.” She replied.

  “Fantastic. Would you like to catch up for some drinks sometime? Bring along your girlfriends, and I’ll bring a couple of my friends along and we can make an evening of it if you’d like.” I said, hoping she would agree.

  “That would be great I’d like that. I’ll talk to the girls about it but I’m sure they would be up for it.” She said.

  “Do you have a phone number that works here so I can get in touch with you?” I asked hurriedly.

  “Sure do!” She replied. After reading off her number we said our goodbyes and went to finish the lesson.

  Heading back up the hill I joined Chris and Brad. “Well that was interesting.” I said, puffing from the exertion of walking through the snow.

  “What was that about?” Brad asked slowly, drawing his head closer to mine to look me in the eye.

  “An old friend.” I replied with a wink.

  “Suspicious!” Brad yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

  “I’ll tell you later. Let’s finish up here first.” I said, as I held my hands up defensively.

  “You better!” He said, leaning forward he pushed me over into the snow. “Or else!” He added with a laugh and kicked off away from me.

  Chris watched and shook his head slowly, “Children.” He said, with a fond smile creasing his lips.

  Shaking myself free of snow, we continued our efforts of trying to get down the hill. We inevitably fell over a few more times, but it was worth it. I was having a hell of a lot of fun and I couldn’t wipe my newfound smile off of my face. Haley called everyone together at the end to discuss today’s lesson.

  “Hopefully everyone was able to learn some new things today, and had fun in the process.” She started, “If you’re interested in a follow up class I’d recommend having a chat to the folks at the ticketing area and they can organize that for you. Snowboarding is easy once you know how. It’s just the learning phase that can be quite tricky.” She said with a smile, “Thanks very much for coming along today and I hope you have a great remainder of the day!” She added, and as she turned to leave she caught my eye again and whispered something I couldn't quite make out. With that she walked away.

  Turning back to the lads with a slightly puzzled look on my face I decided to explain what had happened earlier with Amanda.

  “I said I’d tell you so here goes.” I started, looking at each in turn.

  “Her name is Amanda. I actually met her in transit. I was coming through LA to get the connecting flight to Calgary.” I said, “There I was just sitting in the airport reading when suddenly this stunning girl falls flat on her ass in front of me,” I continued, smiling. “Hilarious, but I didn’t have time to laugh as I sprang into action, helping this poor damsel in distress to her feet was my first priority. Our eyes met and fireworks ensued. There was a pause in time as we drank in each other’s gaze. Until finally the silence was broken. We spoke of things men and women speak of.” I paused and looked over at Brad, “Things you’re not quite old enough to hear just yet,” I said with a smirk. “Anyway. One thing led to another, and… We exchanged names. It was a hot, steamy, and saucy encounter.” I finished, with a longing look towards the sky.

  “You my friend have problems.” Brad said slowly, “Why didn’t you hook up with her right there?” He asked, clearly upset with the ending of my story.

  “What was I meant to do? Flex at her? We can’t all be as attractive as you Brad.” I said, with a hint of a smile touching my lips.

  “Well you should damn well try. Shit man you had me going there for a minute.” Brad replied with a grin.

  “Me too.” Chris added, “That’s pretty crazy you would find her here of all places. Actually she found you! I think she might be interested!” Chris finished, smiling at me.

  “Well you say that...” I started, “I’ve actually already signed both of you up to coming out with the girls. She has two girlfriends that came with her, so it’s your jobs to look after them!” I said, grinning at each in turn.

  “Are they hot?” Brad asked.

  “How the hell should I know? I saw them in their snow gear from a distance.” I replied with a sigh.

  “They must be hot.” Brad added, as if I had said nothing, “Hot girls only hang out with hot girls. You said Amanda is hot. Right?” Brad asked, looking at me with his widened expectant eyes.

  “He really is a dog. You can see his tail wagging in excitement!” Chris said, laughing softly.

  “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.” I said to Brad, eyes full of laughter, “Before any of that, let’s finish off the day. I’d like to be able to not fall over by the end!” I added with a grin.

  “Sounds good.” Chris replied. Picking up our boards, we made our way back up the ‘bunny’ hill leaving Brad to trail behind us.

  Upon our return to town we split up to shower and change and agreed to catch up for a beer in an hour. Whistling to myself after I had freshened up at home, I walked towards the agreed upon pub. Once I arrived I saw Chris sitting at the bar but Brad was yet to be seen. “Hey man.” I said, approaching his chair.

  “Oh hey buddy! I just ordered a beer.” Chris said, turning around to the bar tender. “Sorry could you make that two?” He asked and returned his attention to me, “Brad should be pretty close. I spoke to him before leaving home. He’s just finishing up his hair I’d imagine. He spends too much time and way too much wax on that, I’m surprised it even washes out.” He said laughing.

  “You’re not wrong there mate, but he assures me the ladies love it. I find just nodding and smiling seems to keep him happy.” I replied. Chuckling together we looked up to see the man in question ambling through the door. Our beers arrived just as he came in, and Chris ordered a third for Brad.

  Once we were all settled in drinking Brad leaned over saying, “So mate! Tell us more about this girl you seem to be in love with. Amanda wasn’t it?” Laughing with Chris he continued, “When is the wedding bud? We could see you smiling and staring off in space the whole afternoon after you met her. We could hardly get a word in without having to poke you to get your attention.” He added.

  “Our boy is growing up, and he used to be so cute and innocent too.” Chris said, smacking me on the back as they continued to laugh. I ended up joining them.

  “My friends! Do not fear! You will all be invited to the wedding. Kids table obviously.” I said seriously, “You laugh at me now but you’ll understand once
you meet her. There’s something about her.” I added, which was only greeted with even more laughter.

  “Something about her? You really are smitten. Could it be love at first sight? You hardly know the girl.” Chris said, as he elbowed Brad in the ribs.

  “That’s it! It’s definitely love at first sight. I bet she’s smoking hot or something. Shame on you James. It’s not all about looks you know.” Brad said, chiding me with a grin and knowing eyes, “Well I can’t blame you to be honest. It’s difficult to not fall for some deep blue eyes and some long flowing blond hair, or red, or brown, or green, or pink.” He started, “Actually I really just like women. Women are great!” Brad finished with a grin. He was talking loud enough for the whole bar to hear as more than a few people were looking in our direction, “If you find one you like you may as well keep looking for another one you like! That’s how I see it, anyway.” He pronounced. I could only shake my head in wonder.

  “I don’t know. There’s this feeling I get with her. Just being near her makes me happy.” I said.

  “It’s called a boner, James, and I get that with hot women too and it sure as shit makes me happy.” Brad joked. Laughing together, we polished our first beers and got onto the next, and then the next.

  “Why don’t you call the girls?” Chris suggested, “Have a few drinks with them and maybe go out for a dance.” He finished, taking a sip of his beer and eying me over his glass.

  “I’ve got to do everything for you boys. Don’t I?” I asked, in mock frustration.

  “Well. Not everything.” Chris started, “Just most.” He laughed.

  “Speak for yourself.” Brad said, striking a pose. It was comical at best. Laughing at the display I shook my head slowly.

  “Alright. I’ll see if they are up for it.” I said, reaching into my pocket for my phone.

  Taking a long drink I plucked up my courage and dialed. My heart started to beat faster as the phone started to ring, clearing my throat I waited. I was surprised to find I was getting so nervous over such a small thing.

  The phone rang once, twice, three times, and just as I was about to give up an answer came. “Hello?” A female voice answered.