Page 13 of One Last Run

“Because you hate failing at things. That’s why you stay with things or people, even when they no longer serve you.” Pete looked far too confident in her perception as she said that.

Danica clenched and unclenched her fists. “What is that supposed to mean?” Danica asked. “What does that have to do with us?”

Pete stared her straight in the eye as she said, “We have almost nothing in common. We were bound to find that out eventually, and then it was all going to come crashing down.”

Danica blinked. “Are you saying that you wouldn’t commit to our relationship for my sake? To save me from failure?”

Pete nodded. “Yeah, I mean, look at you and Eddie?— “

“You don’t even know him,” Danica said abruptly.

“I know enough. He’s nice, quiet, probably politically neutral, and he has a good job. He’s a safe choice, right?” Pete looked her up and down. “He doesn’t challenge you. He doesn’t inspire you. You don’t sound inspired. You sound like you barely even like the guy. You never bring him up, even when Maggie and Kiera are talking about their partners. Doesn’t sound like someone about to marry the love of their life.”

Danica opened her mouth to tell Pete she was wrong, but closed it, too exasperated to even get the words out. She wanted to tell Pete she was wrong, even if that would technically be a lie.Even on his best days, Eddie’s unexpected call yesterday made her realize she had never even considered getting back together with him. As she was trying to find the right words to tell Pete where she could shove her assumptions about Eddie, the cable above their heads groaned, the pulley system clicking as it started up again. The chair swayed and Danica grabbed the bar again, trying not to lose her balance as the chair slowly lurched into motion once more.

“Hey, it works,” Pete said, her mouth splitting into a bright smile.

Danica blinked. Was she on a chairlift with Jekyll and Hyde? She snatched Pete’s flask out of her hand and took a swig, the warmth and sweetness surprising her. She sputtered, sniffing the top of the flask. “Is this… honey?”

“My throat gets dry when it’s cold. Warm honey water helps,” Pete said

Danica eyed her.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say it out loud.”

Danica raised one eyebrow, taking another sip from the flask.

“That you were wrong.”

Danica rolled her eyes, passing back the flask. “I’ll say it out loud when I’m actually wrong.” She pulled her gloves back on, focusing intently on tightening the wrist part. She’d assumed Pete was drinking whiskey out of a flask, and there she was, drinking warm honey water like some Golden Girls character. Why did that annoy her so much more?

Pete shifted her goggles back into place. The goggles were absurdly pink and reflective, clashing with everything else about her laid-back style. “How’s your panic attack? You feel like you’re coming down from it yet?”

Danica studied Pete’s side profile for a moment. Her high cheekbones, the slight bump in her nose where she broke it playing flag football in high school. A face once so familiar shecould draw it from memory, but she now felt like it was the face of someone she knew but couldn’t quite place.

Had Pete picked a fight solely to distract her from her panic? If so, it had worked. That was the most frustrating part? She hadn’t spent the entire stall on the lift panicking, because she’d been so focused on her infuriation. To what extent did Pete’s words honestly convey her emotions, and to what extent were they a manipulative tactic to agitate her and divert her attention from their perilous situation in the stalled chairlift? She wanted to thank Pete, but she also still kind of wanted to strangle her. Compromising for somewhere in the middle, she stared straight ahead, pulling her yellow goggles back over her own eyes.

Danica focused intently as the lift lowered into the station, growing more nervous with every moment that Pete continued to lean casually back in the seat. Danica straightened her skis, clutching both poles. Getting plowed down by a ski lift upon disembarking was one of her worst fears, and letting that happen in front of Pete only heightened that worry inside of her.

Pete lifted the bar and let her snowboard land under her at the last moment, expertly balancing and gliding out of the ski lift’s way as it continued to move forward. To channel the same level of cool and casual, Danica did not panic and claw her way to freedom with her poles. Instead, she concentrated on keeping her balance and getting out of the way, hoping her reaction looked just as calm and collected. Feeling a bit cocky from her success, she paused, glancing Pete’s way. “Which way are you heading?”

Pete stood from clipping in her binding. “I was going to head down Bushwacker,” she said, gesturing to the black run behind her. “You coming?”

Danica shook her head. “No way.” She pointed to the blue behind her. “Woozley’s.”

“Coward,” Pete teased, her white teeth flashing in a grin.

“Proud to be an alive coward,” Danica said back. She leaned forward, pushing off her poles and moving away from the horrifying black runs behind her.

“See you later,” Pete called out, then added something unintelligible with a gesture toward Danica.

Danica glanced over her shoulder, confused, just in time to see a herd of children in matching red vests, absolutely invincible on their tiny skis, barreling towards her. They seemed to be racing toward her at an alarmingly fast speed. She froze, clutching her poles close to her body as they raced past. How were kids’ clubs even allowed up away from the bunny hill and lower, easier green runs? They split around her, four kids on each side like a school of piranhas, moving as one ferocious organism. A ski instructor whizzed by after them, blowing a whistle and calling for them to slow down. She heard their giggles on the wind as they raced out of sight down the steeper descent of See Forever.

Pete held out a thumbs up questioningly. “You okay? Thought you were a goner.”

“It’s going to take more than that to take me out,” Danica said, her heart still pounding.

“Just a car ride and a slippery parking lot, right?” Pete laughed.

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