“Okay. We’re all meeting up for lunch in forty-five minutes, anyway. I’m sure we can have Alex riding down the mountain like a pro by then.” He smiles encouragingly at her.
Forty-five minutes go by too quickly. I’d like to keep skiing by myself, but I promised Matt I'd ski with Kendra while they set up, so I head to the lodge. It's packed, but eventually I spot Matt and Kendra saving a table. Michael, Tyler, and Alex sit down beside them. I head to the table.
“Hey Mike,” Matthew looks over the group. “Where’s Jess?”
Michael picks up a sandwich. “She went off by herself while I was helping Alex. I think I did something that ticked her off.”
“You weren’t telling her how to ski, were you?” Matthew asks, grinning.
“Maybe,” Michael says slowly.
Kendra laughs.
“Big mistake,” Tyler says, taking a drink of his soda.
“Why? What did I do?” Michael looks confused.
“She hates being told what to do,” Kendra says. “She likes doing things her own way.”
“You couldn’t have warned me about that?” Michael says.
I stop before they can see me. Am I really that bad? Bad enough that even Kendra noticed? I wait another minute before I join them. “Hi.” I try to sound nonchalant. I sit next to Kendra. “How did the board lesson go, Alex?”
“She’s doing great,” Michael grins at Alex, and she beams back. It looks like my plan backfired for Tyler with his date. She appears to be infatuated with Michael.
“Dude, Jess,” Tyler says. “You should see what Michael can do on skis.”
“I’ve seen him.” I take a bite of my sandwich.
“No, not on the hill,” Tyler says impatiently. “On the terrain park, you know, with all the jumps.”
“Freestyle too, huh?” I don’t feel guilty about ditching Michael anymore. He doesn’t need another admirers.
“Nah, it’s just something I’ve messed around with.” Michael’s voice drips with false modesty."But if you're interested, I could show you later."
I open my mouth to tell him I'm not interested, but Matt cuts me off. "I'll do the terrain park with you after lunch. Jess and Kendra can have some girl time."
He stands. "Help me take the cooler out, Michael." He tosses me one of the walkie-talkies. "We can meet up later with this."
seven
Proposal
The sun is just going down when I get the call on the radio. I listen to Michael’s instructions and then turn to Kendra. “The guys want us to meet them at the top of the old lift.”
“It’s about time.” Kendra says. “I bet they’ve been messing around at the terrain park this whole time.”
“Probably.” I’m trying hard to keep my voice casual.
“We’d better hurry,” Kendra says. “It looks like we only have time for a couple more runs.”
The anticipation is killing me. I have to keep ahead of Kendra so she won’t see my face as we ski down to an old lift, just before the ski boundary.
Kendra stops beside me. “Where are the guys?”
Before I can answer, Michael walks out of the trees like a red-haired snow god.
“Mademoiselle.” He takes Kendra by the hand. “Right this way; we have a table waiting for you.”
