“A spanking bench?”
“Ha! I wish!”
“There’s a leather ottoman in our room that I’m certain will work as a makeshift spanking bench.” I winked at him. “Please be safe on your way down the hill. Since I’ll be in front of you, I won’t see you being reckless.”
“Ohhh, you’re going to be in front of me, huh?” Hearing his laughter made me laugh as well. “I think you’re confused, but I’ll be sure not to be reckless on my way down the hill, since you’ll be right behind me watching.”
Ryan pushed off, slowly moving away from me on the snowboard. I lifted one of my skis and began making my way down the mountain. Staying behind Ryan was my intention, but not because he would get to the bottom of the hill first, but because it was a pleasure to watch him do anything. Ryan had no trouble staying upright on the snowboard, and he even made a few subtle moves sliding to his left and then making a wide shallow arc to his right. He was delightful to watch, and I was proud of him for stepping outside his comfort zone and trying something new.
When I came to a stop beside him at the bottom of the hill, the first thing I noticed were his bright red cheeks. Both of us were out of breath from the run. Neither of us were used to this kind of altitude while exerting ourselves. He clasped his hands behind his head, trying to inhale as much air as possible to fill his lungs.
“I won,” he huffed out.
We laughed, and this scenario became a theme for the rest of the day. I spent most of the day behind him on the slope. I was completely content watching him. As the day went on, the braver and bolder he was with his moves on the snow. At the end of our last run of the day, he hugged me when he stepped out of his bindings. His cold nose rested against the side of my neck.
“I can say that I’ve been snowboarding now,” he said.
“And you can say you’re pretty good at it too.”
It was late in the afternoon when we turned in the snow gear we had rented. While Ryan was putting on his sneakers, I turned the SUV on with the app on my phone. I wanted to make sure it would be warm by the time we got inside. As we walked to the SUV in the parking lot, Ryan playfully bumped into me.
“Thank you for bringing me here and giving me the chance to snowboard.”
“You’re welcome, my boy. I had a delightful time watching you master the slope on your first visit.”
When we got inside the SUV, it was already warm and comfortable. On our drive back to the hotel, Ryan set his arm on the armrest of the center console next to mine. The side of his hand lightly grazed mine. He hooked his pinkie finger over mine. I was more than proud of him each time he initiated affection. Though he might have viewed the acts of affection as being small or insignificant, they were monumental for him, and they meant everything to me.
“I think that mountain kicked my ass,” he volunteered as we neared the hotel.
“Tired?”
“Very.” Ryan laughed while his finger stroked mine.
“The altitude is mostly to blame.”
Both of us were absolutely exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel. Ryan leaned on the wall to the left of the wall I leaned on in the elevator. His cheeks and nose were still red. I summoned enough energy to put my hands on his cheeks and to kiss the end of his nose.
“How about room service for dinner?” I asked.
“That sounds perfect.”
As we walked from the elevator to our room, Ryan made some subtle noise with his jacket by swinging his arms naturally.
“I’m too tired to make much more noise,” he said while laughing.
Our evening was spent in the great room in front of the fireplace with one another. Both of us were too tired to move much, especially after we ate. With the glowing fire as our only light, Ryan leaned against me, and we watched the snow swirling outside. Ryan was warm, fed, and relaxing comfortably beside me. It was the perfect ending to our perfect day.
