She nods. The pure joy brightening her eyes makes my chest tighten with something I can’t bring myself to fathom. “Our numbers have gone up so fast. I checked Rock Snow’s online orders and I’ve never seen so many emails.”
“Good job, team.” We high five, my palm tingling after the brief contact.
“A lot of comments are women asking for your social handles, though.”
“Oh, yeah?” Honestly, good thing I deactivated my notifications. I don’t want to get overwhelmed by my number of followers increasing and my private messages being flooded with girls seeking my attention. Taking part in the video was to help Alara and Rock Snow, not for my own benefit. I seriously couldn’t care less about gaining more popularity.
“Are you that surprised?”
“You calling me good-looking, Alara?”
“I’m calling you conceited,” she fires back, which makes me bark out a laugh. “Anyway, I’m here to make you an offer.”
I shift in my seat, folding my forearms on the table and giving her my undivided attention. I like that, even if she blushes, she holds my gaze. “I had a feeling. Tell me about it.”
“I want you to be the face of Rock Snow. Dad is willing to raise your salary if you agree to appear in most of my posts. We’ll switch between shooting videos and taking simple pictures, but I think you’re a natural in front of cameras. Besides, you’re a local, so what’s better than having our town’s snowboard prodigy to help us promote our brand? And think about it – it could be beneficial for you too. Coach Wilson mentioned something to mydad about you needing to give back to the community, so this could be part of your duty. It’s a win–win situation.”
Fuck, she’s cute and convincing and hot.
I was going to say yes either way. But I like the way she’s sitting up slightly taller, her chin lifted with conviction and determination. I like that she had her arguments ready even though I’d have bowed at her feet at the first question – okay, dramatic, but true.
I shrug, nonchalant. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
“Really?” Her face brightens like she’s been exposed to the first ray of sunshine after a rainy season.
I can’t help but mirror her delight. “Positive. I’ll even do it for free.”
Because if it means seeing Alara smile like that? If it means making her happy? I’ll do just about anything to make her feel this way every single day. And if it helps me from getting stuck with my tormenting thoughts? Then I’ll do whatever it takes to feel better – to feel free.
CHAPTER NINE
ALARA
“You’re a genius.”
Taking a seat in a leather chair, I beam. “Why, thank you, Dad.”
He’s sitting on the other side of his large desk, his socked feet propped on it and his tablet balanced on his stomach. Jazz music is playing from the record player placed by the window, the smell of pine trees even more prominent here because of the scented candle burning.
A pen is tucked behind his ear as he taps on the screen of his iPad. He lifts an eyebrow, quirks the corner of his mouth in a grin, and scoffs like he can’t believe what he’s seeing. “We’re out of stock of every single pair of goggles you used in that video. Online sales have gone crazy. Sales in general have been doing amazingly well. I’ve even heard that cabins and hotel rooms at the resort are fully booked from early December to mid-January.”
My eyes widen little by little with every bit of information my dad shares. All of that because of a video gone viral?
On Sunday, we passed a million views. Today, three days later, we’ve quadrupled the number of views. Our number offollowers has gone from five thousand to over sixty thousand across all the platforms we own, and I’d be lying if I didn’t freak out about it all at first. In a positive way, of course, because it feels like my hard work has finally paid off.
“Good job,” Dad says, putting his feet down and placing the tablet on the desk. He fetches his glasses, puts them on, then grunts when he realizes a pencil is stuck behind his ear. Plucking it out, he finally drops his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “You and Diego make a good team. He was already popular, but now? What is it that you call him? Superstar? Fits him well.”
“Don’t say that in front of him,” I joke, staring at the frame on the desk – a picture of my parents, Jordan, and me taken last Christmas. We’re all wearing those ridiculous festive sweaters Mom loves so much. “His enormous ego will only inflate.”
Dad chuckles, but then his gaze lifts to a point above my head, and my amusement dies.
“Are you talking about me?” Diego asks, as he comes and sits next to me. I take in a whiff of his cologne and almost groan in frustration at how good he smells.
“Who else?” I retort, turning to watch him ruffle his hair – the way he does every time he takes his beanie off. His cheeks are slightly flushed, which pushes me to tease him more.
I don’t know what to call my friendship with Diego – it’s filled with banter, blatant flirting, and undeniable tension. Skiing lessons started again on Monday, and on both then and yesterday, he showed up at my place with a dirty chai latte. It’s quite the detour from our neighborhood to the Latte Lounge, so I find it sweet that he takes the time to head over there every morning just to bring a smile to my face. After the lessons, we hung out together, but we didn’t see much of each other during our shifts at Rock Snow. We have another lesson later this afternoon, and I’m already looking forward to it. It’s a nice breakfrom the store, and I’ll admit that I’m having fun watching Diego with the kids.
“Where are you coming from?” I ask him. “Hiding from your groupies? What do you call them again? Snow bunnies, right?”
