Page 16 of Ski You Later
“There’s steam coming out of your ears right now, girl.” Aurora’s voice startles me. She rests her body against the door frame as I whip my gaze towards her. I frown at my best friend, she’s watching me with a bored expression and munching on some black licorice.
“How long have you been standing there?” I ask, narrowing my eyes in her direction. She casually shrugs and makes her way into the kitchen, flopping into the chair beside me.
Turning to face her, I finally take in what she’s wearing. Aurora’s long black hair is down, with hernatural curls on full display. The makeup she wears is subtle, but perfectly highlights her features. She then completes the whole look with a maroon two-piece set. The short skirt perfectly hugs her figure, and the crop top compliments the look with one strap.
Realization dawns on me, and I dive across the table to snatch my phone. Messages have flooded my home screen, everyone talking about their excitement for tonight and asking where Aurora and I are.
Looking up, I see Aurora’s expecting gaze locked onto me, and her left eyebrow slightly raised.
“Rora, don’t be mad,” I say gently. The tone of my voice conveying the message I don’t have the nerve to say.
“No! You promised you would come this week!” She yells as she shoots out of her chair and rounds the table towards me.
There’s a decent number of bars on campus, but The Cave is the main spot for all the student-athletes. They offer a huge discount for winter athletes on Thursday nights, so naturally, everyone will be there. The bar found out that a majority of the training is scheduled on the weekends, so offering the discount on Thursdays always brings in a huge crowd.
This includes the Polar Ski Team, who all go almost every week. The team decided a while ago that dancing and drinking was the best way for us all to bond, and the tradition just stuck over the years.
The whole night is a nice break from competing against each other, and we’re all able to act like a real team.
Unfortunately, this week has been crazy with school, and the whole thing slipped my mind. “This stupid assignment is due at midnight, and I still don’t even have half of it done,” I say apologetically. Her face falls as she hears my argument since she knows more than anyone how I have to put my academics first.
That doesn’t mean I don’t feel terrible, especially with Isla and Liam becoming even closer lately, I know she was relying on hanging out with me tonight.
“No worries, I totally get it,” she says. The hurt is evident in her voice as she heads towards the front door. I can’t help but see her as a puppy walking away with her tail between her legs.
Tipping my head back, I let out a silent scream that expresses my exact feelings. “I’ll be at the bar no later than nine.” My voice is full of defeat as I put my head in my hands.
A scream from the other room forces me to smile, and Aurora’s excited form quickly rounding the corner. “You’re the best, most amazing, beautiful friend a girl could ever have!” I can’t help but smile bigger as she skips around the table, giving me a quick hug before she’s out the door.
After an hour of intense focus, I finished the last question of my assignment. Through grit, dedication, and random people online, the entire thing came together easier than I thought. I owe my life to the anonymous man who decides to teach organic chemistry on his channel.
Closing and organizing all my papers, I rush to my room to get ready. Cringing as I see the time, I plug in my curling iron and scramble around my room.
Aurora’s contact pops up on my phone repeatedly, her texts letting me know that my absence has been noticed.
With a natural makeup look and a quick curl to my hair, I quickly settled on an outfit. My cream-coloured tank top has lace trim that wraps around the edges, and I pair it with my dark red skirt.
I then quickly rush towards the front door, but make a necessary kitchen detour for a tequila shot. I’ve never arrived to The Cave sober, and I won’t start thattoday. Pouring the cheap alcohol into my princess mug, I can’t help but wince as I shoot it. Putting down the bottle as I contemplate another one, I brace myself for the late night before me.
Ignoring the constant buzzing in my pocket, I put on my oversized leather jacket and matching dark brown boots.
It feels like a miracle I managed to get everything done. Finishing my assignment, getting ready, and having a drink with barely any time to spare. I can’t help but smile smugly to myself as I finish another day of managing my insane workload.
Grabbing my purse off the hook, I barely pay attention as I whip open the front door and walk straight into Roman’s chest.
His hand darts out to steady me, and his grip is essential as my balance becomes precarious. Whipping my head towards him in surprise, I notice the same emotion reflected in his gaze. “What are you doing here?” I sputter out.
My words jolt him out of his shock, and his hand quickly releases me. “Sorry, I just came to drop off your tin.” He raises the loaf tin in his other hand as he steps away from me.
His gaze travels down my body as he steps away, the outfit I’m wearing seeming to catch his attention. Whether it be because he likes the style or because he only ever sees me in athletic wear, he continues to take me in with a look of admiration on his face.
It's been a little over a year since I broke up with Daniel, and that means it’s been just over a year since I’ve felt appreciated like this.
Nerves quickly take over me. That nervous feeling I always get whenever a man is near, except this time it’s not with fear, but rather excitement.
I start bouncing from foot to foot, Roman’s silence doing nothing but stress me out. “Everything okay?” I gently ask. His eyes finally meet mine again, and they freeze me to the spot. The last thing I expected to see was such raw want written all over his face.
As if realizing what he’s doing, he blinks, and his expression returns to his bored mask.
