THIRTEEN
STERLING
Turning Maisy down—again—wasthe last thing I wanted to do. I can see it’s still sitting heavy on her, because not only is she completely distracted during our lesson, but she’s also doing a damn good job of avoiding my eyes whenever her goggles are off.
Last night we crossed a line. One I swore to Levi I wouldn’t cross. The only reason I’m even teaching her how to snowboard is because Levi trusted me to keep my hands to myself.
When Maisy and I first started seeing each other years ago, it didn’t take Levi long to put two and two together. Maisy doesn’t know this, but before we were even officially dating, he pulled me aside and told me flat out that if I ever broke her heart, he’d kill me. That was the first time I’d ever seen Levi’s protective side, and it scared me more than I expected.
When Maisy broke up with me, he was the first person to show up at my door. I thought he was there to finish me off since she’d already gutted me. Instead, he came with a six-pack of beer and planted himself on my couch. We spent the day watching the sports network without saying much of anything. When he finally stood to leave, he asked me to promise him one thing—that Maisy and I would never try again. That the furthest we’d ever go was friendship.
At the time, it was an easy promise to make. I couldn’t picture a future where Maisy and I would ever get back together, let alone be friends. But now? After what happened last night? I feel like I’ve already broken that promise—fingers in places they shouldn’t have been.
Maybe that promise is a blessing in disguise, because it’ll keep me in check going forward. Being anything more than friends with Maisy—even just casual, even just messing around—feels too much like the life we had three years ago. A life Maisy didn’t want.
Back then, life was damn near perfect. I had Maisy, the most amazing girlfriend, Levi, my best friend, their parents who treated me like one of their own, and I was right on the edge of going pro. Snowboarding was supposed to be my dream career—traveling the world, conquering mountains, and doing it all with Maisy at my side.
But when she ended things, I lost all of it in one shot. Not just her, but Levi and their parents, too. Even the career I wanted, because suddenly I couldn’t picture it without her in it. So I left. I packed up and swore to myself I’d never let anything feel permanent again. Because permanence is just an illusion.
Maisy’s sharp squeal yanks me out of the memory, and my heart slams against my ribs when I realize she’s not practicing her edging like she should be—she’s flying down the fucking mountain uncontrollably.
I snap into motion, tossing my board down, slamming my boots into the bindings, and tearing after her as fast as I can. The slope is steep, trees closing in fast, and I push hard to catch her before she gets hurt, but I’m too late.
She crashes into a pine tree with a sickening thud, the impact knocking her flat onto her back.
“Fuck.” The word tears out of me as I skid to a stop, rip out of my bindings, and sprint to her side. “Maisy, are you okay?”
She doesn’t answer as she lies still, goggles hiding her face. Panic surges through me as I drop to my knees, peel the goggles away, and find her eyes squeezed shut, her throat working as if she’s trying to swallow back pain.
“That was a hard hit,” I say, my voice tight. “Can you move? Does anything hurt?”
Relief washes through me when her eyes finally crack open. She groans and tries to sit, but the sound she makes when she lifts her arm sends a shiver down my spine. She grabs her wrist and hisses.
“You’re hurt.” I gently take her forearm, tugging her glove off to check. Her wrist doesn’t look broken, but it’s already swelling. “It might just be?—”
Maisy snatches her hand back before I can finish, shoving her glove on and muttering, “I’m fine.”
Fine, my ass.
She unclips her boots and forces herself to stand, wobbling like she might topple at any second. I’m on my feet, instantly grabbing her elbow to steady her.
“Maisy, listen to me. You hit that tree hard. You can’t just walk it off. We need to get you down to the medics and make sure everything is okay.”
Her expression turns stone-cold. “Sterling, I said I’m fine.”
She shoulders her board, starts climbing back up the slope, and I scoff as I trail after her. “Yeah, you keep saying that, but it’s clear you’re not.”
She ignores me.
“Maisy, don’t push me on this. If I have to call the ski patrol to drag you down the mountain, I will.”
Still nothing.
“Fine,” I snap. “Lesson’s over.”
She spins on me, eyes blazing. “I’m not some fragile little girl, okay? I’ve taken harder falls than this.”
I hear the tremor in her voice, and the fear she’s trying so hard to push down. I see the way her shoulders are tight, how her jaw works, and I realize that the fall scared her, maybe even pulled her back to that crash three years ago. And she’s doing exactly what she did then—shutting down and pushing everyone out.
