Page 94 of Sweet Ruin

I had snow in places I most definitely shouldn’t, and I felt like I’d landed myself in an extreme game of Twister. One ski was stuck in the ground, and the other had disappeared so my foot was flying free. One pole was in the snow behind me while the other was lodged underneath me. I was a mess. But at least I’d stopped.

Anna skidded to a halt next to me, my missing ski in her arms. “You all right?” she asked.

“I’m not hurt if that’s what you mean. But there’s snow up my backside, and it’s so cold I can’t feel my nose anymore. So not quite sure I’m okay.”

She laughed. “Look, despite what Sawyer says, we’re all terrible at skiing to begin with. You’re doing pretty well though. You’re halfway down the slope already.”

I looked back up the slope and was surprised to see how far I’d come even if I had fallen most of the way.

“Maybe I’m not cut out for skiing,” I suggested.

She placed my rogue ski on the ground alongside me and offered out her pole to pull me up. I gave her a grateful smile as she helped yank me to my feet.

“Just give it a few more goes,” she said. “If you’re still not enjoying it, I’ll happily bail with you. We can go check out hot guys in the village. Everyone is cut out for that.”

“Uh, I’m not sure Wes would like that.” I looked down the slope and saw Wes was frantically pushing his way back up the hill toward us.

“He doesn’t have to know,” she replied with a smirk and a shrug. “Guys in ski gear are hot, and it’s like ski trip blasphemy if you don’t at least check a few of them out.”

I laughed. “I meant Wes might not like it if I quit. He seems so excited to ski with me.”

“Ugh, fine,” she said. “Let’s get your ski back on then. But don’t forget, I’m ready to go search for hot guys as soon as you are. This place is pretty much a hottie buffet.”

I shook my head at her.

“Seriously though,” she continued, as she bent down to help me with my ski. “Just give it a little more time. It will get easier.”

“Okay, I guess I could give it another chance.” I felt better knowing Anna would gladly quit with me at any time, and it was reassuring to be reminded my friends had all started at the same level as me.

“Are you okay, Isobel?” Wes had finally reached us.

“I’m okay,” I said, looking up as my boot snapped into my ski and I stood tall once more.

“I’ll leave you guys to it,” Anna said. “See you at the lift.” She took off down the slope, making it look even more effortless than Wes. She was practically flying across the snow.

“You were great,” Wes said. “You nearly had it. And on the first try!”

It seemed like a very generous appraisal of my performance.

“You just need a bit more practice,” he continued. “You’ll be racing me down the mountain in no time.”

“Maybe,” I said, with a nervous laugh. “I think I’d happily settle for slow and controlled though.”

“Just remember to create that wedge with your skis to slow you down. And it usually helps if you keep your eyes up so you can look in the direction you want to go instead of down at the ground.”

I nodded along like my life depended on his words. In all honesty, it probably did.

He reached over and dusted off some of the snow that had ended up all over my jacket. “You ready to try again?”

“Uh, I think so.”

“Great,” he said. “This time, I think we should aim for the bottom of the lift.”

My eyes widened as I cast my gaze down the hill. We still had about half of the slope to go.

“You can do it,” Wes added with a supportive smile. “It’s not that much further now.” He was being very sweet, but I thought he was too ambitious. My butt had spent more time on the snow than my skis so far. If he thought I could make it to the bottom of the slope unscathed, he had another thing coming.

“Maybe we should aim a little closer,” I suggested.

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