Jesse quickly shuffles after him, digging his poles into the ground and bending his knees.
Henry drops his arm and nudges me, clicking his boots into his skis. “Let’s go, Pen! I can cover you. These boys know how to raise a fuckin’ tab.”
“You go! I want to take this in a little longer before the sun is all the way up.”
He slams his skis into the side of the hill, stopping a bit below me. “I’m not going to leave you up here.”
I wave my hands at him. “I’ll be right down! They’ve already got a big head start! Go, go!”
Henry hesitates another second before pushing off. I watch them all zigzag their way down the mountain until they disappear and then let out a sigh of relief.
“I knew it.”
My head snaps to the sound of Baylor’s voice. “For the love of—” I grind my teeth together. “Why are you still here?”
“I wanted to see for myself.”
“See what?”
“How you’re going to get yourself down this mountain.”
I ball my hands into fists.
“What exactly is your plan? To fall your way to the bottom? To carry your board and walk all the way down?” He swivels his board as he slides in front of me with ease. “We don’t have the time.”
“I already told you—”
He shakes his head. “Enough with the lies, Aspen. I’m not an idiot.”
“That’s debatable.”
“Admit it. You’re out of your league.”
With a growl, I reach down and strap my loose boot onto the board and tighten the bindings. That much I know how to do. What comes next is my damn pride getting the better of me again.
I shimmy my legs forward until I’m away from the safety of the flat top of the hill and then slowly straighten my board so it’s pointing downhill.
Baylor’s laugh fades behind me as I bend my knees and center my weight and begin sliding down the steep hill. As I swiftly increase in speed, a silent alarm goes off in my head, telling me to slow down, to stop.
But I don’t know how.
My pride dissipates as fear takes over, and my heart sinks from the unwanted rush of adrenaline. My arms swing as my balance wavers from my heels to my toes.
Other riders shout at me as I narrowly miss them.
The edge of my board digs into the snow, and before I can prepare myself, I fall face-first into the hill. The fresh powder Henry and his friends made out to be so wonderful does little to soften my blow, but I imagine falling on anything at the speed I was going is bound to hurt.
“Aspen!” I hear the person shouting my name getting closer.
I wipe the cold, partially melted snow from my face and roll my eyes.
“Are you insane?” Baylor asks, spraying up snow as he stops beside me.
I push myself up onto my hands and knees. “Why? Because I fantasize about castrating you over my morning coffee?”
There is a moment of silence before he lets out a low chuckle. “The first thing you think about in the morning is my cock, huh?”
“Ugh! Why don’t you just leave me alone?” I throw myself upright and immediately topple over into Baylor’s chest.
