Page 96 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

Delilah leaned into him for several moments, staring down the hill. Finally, she took a deep, shaky breath, and said, “No, I’m good. I can balance. I rode that horrid lift up here. I’m good.”

“Attagirl!” Anthony released her and came up alongside her, his dark goggles hiding his green eyes, but his comforting smile eased her tension slightly. “Just remember that if you feel like you’re going too fast, dip the front of your board into the snow and bend your heel slightly. If that doesn’t work and you’re scared, just sit down on your butt.”

Delilah nodded. “I can do that.”

“I know you can.” He took her hand and gave it a gentle press. “I’m going to stay right next to you. You got this.”

“I got this,” she said weakly, clearing her throat to try again. “I got this.”

“Yeah, you do,” he said.

“Here I go.” Delilah released his hand but she didn’t move.

“Do you want me to go down a few feet so you just have to get to me?” he asked, scooting forward.

“No,” she shrieked, wishing she didn’t wear her panic like a scarf, slowly choking her. The last thing she wanted was to be left up here all alone, where some rogue boarder might bump into her, sending her careening down the hill.

Delilah realized her rapid breathing was making her lightheaded. “This is … it’s a lot. Maybe snowboarding was too advanced for me and I should give something less adventurous a try. Like snowshoeing!”

“You want to go snowshoeing in the woods?” Anthony chuckled. “We can do that, but wolves are hungry this time of year. We might need to practice running in the shoes, in case we get in a hairy situation.”

Delilah glared at him. “It is not nice to terrorize the girl you are dating when she is standing on top of a mountain, balancing on a toothpick.”

“You aren’t giving the snowboard enough credit. It’s perfectly formed to keep you upright. The rest is up to you.”

“What about snowmobiling?” she asked.

“Avalanches. Lilah?” She looked away from the steep hill and focused on his face. “People snowboard all the time and survive. It’s the ones who do stupid shit like try a flip in the air or jump giant mounds that break their necks. You are simply going down the bunny hill and if you get scared, just drop right onto your butt for a full stop.”

“Makes sense. Most of my weight is in my butt,” she joked.

“No self-deprecating humor,” Anthony said, his hand coming up to squeeze her. “I like this butt.”

“I feel like any second now, you’re going to shove me down the hill by a tap on my cheeks!”

“I would never do that. Now, deep breath.” Delilah sucked in air with him and let it out slowly. “Are you ready?”

She nodded vigorously, although she still wasn’t sure. However, Delilah had asked for this lesson and it was unacceptable to back out now.

Shifting her weight forward, Delilah’s stomach dropped as her snowboard dipped and she took off, screaming, “Oh, shit!”

The snowcapped trees whizzed by and it wasn’t until Delilah was halfway down the hill that she realized she’d managed to stay on her feet. She heard Anthony call out from somewhere nearby, “Use your edge! Delilah! Look at you go! Yeah, baby!”

She turned slightly, slowing herself down and screamed with excitement, “Oh my gosh, I’m doing it. I’m doing it!”

Delilah turned to smile at Anthony, who was several feet over from her. Suddenly, Anthony looked up and yelled, “Look out!”

Delilah didn’t have a chance to react to his warning before she hit a mound of snow and tumbled over it, rolling several times down the remainder of the hill. When she finally stopped, Delilah lay on her back, staring up at the blue, cloudless sky and figured little cartoon birds were going to appear at any second.

She heard rushing movement and Anthony’s worried green eyes came into view, his hands all over her face. “Delilah? Baby, are you okay?”

“I think so, but someone should probably get the license and registration of that snowbank,” she joked.

“I’m such an idiot,” he said, smoothing a hand over her forehead; she noted he’d ditched his ski gloves, his warm skin gliding over hers. “We went too far left and I didn’t see the pile until it was too late.”

Delilah smiled at him, still a little dazed. “No self-deprecating, remember? Up until I went ass over tea kettle, I was doing pretty good, right?”

Anthony chuckled. “You were great.”