We piled into the gondola. Clem took the uphill seat and I sat facing her. While I was getting my poles organized, Evie stepped into the cabin. “That was a close one. Those doors almost got me.” She went to sit, but there was a loud swishing noise and then a squeal, followed by a thud, and Evie ended up crumpled on the metal floor.
“Ouch!” She groaned. “I think GJ’s snowsuit might be a little too slippery for this sport.”
“I agree,” Clem said. “Try not to fall, you might slide right off the side of the mountain.”
One thing I’d learned about Clem was that she was tough, and not very sympathetic.
“Are you okay?” I stood and held out my hand to help Evie up from the floor.
“I think so.” Evie slipped her hand into mine, and Icouldn’t tell whose was hotter or sweatier. She grunted as I pulled her to her feet and picked up her poles. “Thanks, Nick.”
“Oh, you’re all right. That’s not the only bruise that your butt is going to get today,” Clem said.
I turned to face Evie and widened my eyes. She returned the look with a hint of a smile and then rubbed the backside of her snowsuit. “Maybe skiing isn’t for me.”
“Baloney.” Clem leaned against the window. “You two will be slaying pow by the end of the week.”
This time it was Evie who gave the look. Clementine’s antics were definitely diffusing the tension between the two of us.
“Pow?” Evie sat, but the swooshing sound happened again. I was ready this time and grabbed her elbow before she slipped to the ground for ass bruise number two. “Thanks,” she whispered.
While Clementine explained the different slang words for powder, Evie put her mittens on the seat and sat on top of them. The scratchy wool provided enough friction to allow her to sit without sliding off.
As we reached the top, Clem’s phone rang inside her pocket. She pulled out an old flip phone, opened it, and stuck it between her head and the ear flap of her helmet. While she talked about some volunteer event in Windswan, I stood and readied myself to get off the lift—so did Evie.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here today.” She pulled on her mittens.
“Ditto,” I replied. “I thought that I was getting a private lesson with the mayor of Sugar Peaks.”
Evie laughed. “Yep. Everyone knows Clem.”
“What’s that suit made out of?” I rubbed her arm.
“Asbestos and Crisco?” Evie laughed. “I dunno.”
The doors opened and Clem continued to speak loudly as we picked up our skis. I pulled everyone’s skis from theexterior compartments and handed them to Clem and Evie. Clem mouthedThank you, but was still engrossed in her conversation.
“How do you do this?” Evie looked at her skis like she’d never seen a pair before.
With our fearless leader in the midst of an extreme gossip session about the Legion ladies, the lesson fell to me. “It’s easy.” I dropped each ski and Evie did the same. “Make sure there’s no snow crusted up on your boots and then stick the toe in here.” I pointed to the front part of the binding with my pole. “Then push your heel down on this part. It will snap you right in.”
Evie followed my instructions and then the two of us were left standing there at the Mercy of Clem’s conversation about whether or not to use Dijon mustard on the ham sandwiches.
“I don’t give a damn, Muriel, the Dijon is too spicy for the old people. Do you want them keeling over at the penny table?” Clem shouted into the phone.
A young family rubbernecked as they walked by.
“Is she always like this?” I whispered.
“From what I’ve seen, this is nothing,” Evie whispered back. “Oh, I forgot to tell you about breakfast.” She gave my chest a playful pat. My cock responded instantly, and I hoped that the snow pants hid the hard-on. I was a goner, if the woman touched me for longer than a second, I’d probably blow my load instantly.
“Right. Breakfast.” I blinked, willing imagery of unsexy things into my brain to deflate the bulge in my pants.Environmental disasters, philosophy, golf…I breathed a sigh of relief as it worked and remembered what we were talking about—breakfast. “What was it today? Some kind of monster?”
She bit her lip. It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
Tire fires, dirty socks…what Evie did was cute as hell. Mymind was going to have to repeat its unsexy mantra all day long.
“No monster today. It was a croissant.”
