Page 25 of Catch Yourself a Snowmance
Carson slams into my calves, throwing me backward. I plop down—right into his lap.
“Sorry!” he shouts. “Can you … uh … make it stop?”
“No!” I yell over my shoulder as we continue to slide down the slope, me riding Carson like a human sled.
“Ahhhhhhhgh!” he yells as we go over a small mogul.
I barely hear him over my own screaming.
We’re like two kids on a toboggan careening downward toward whatever awaits us at the bottom of the run.
Carson’s arms wrap around me from behind. Strong and sure despite the fact that we are completely out of control. I loop my arms around his thighs and hang on for dear life.
We’re crossing from the green run onto a moderate slopewith more incline, aiming toward the edge of the hill. It’s not a cliff, more like a ravine with pine trees and bramble.
“Help!” I shout to no one in particular. “Someone, help us!”
Carson’s grip tightens around me. He moves his head so it’s over my shoulder.
“I’ve got you. I’ll take the worst of it.”
I relax into him even though our momentum is still faster than we can manage and the edge of the slope is approaching quickly.
A skier turns right in front of us and uses his boots to interrupt our downward momentum. We slam into the man, coming to a dead stop.
“Everyone okay?” the stranger asks us.
“Yeah. Thanks,” I tell him.
“Thanks, man,” Carson says.
The stranger nods and skis off, leaving me sitting on Carson’s lap in the middle of the slope.
I turn around and as soon as my eyes catch Carson’s, we burst into laughter.
“I think this is my last run of the day,” Carson says. “Nearly taking you out has to be the capstone of my snowboarding career. It’s official. I’m a skier.”
His arms are still wrapped around me. Maybe he doesn’t realize it. I definitely do. I have to resist the urge to lean into his embrace.
I hear our names being shouted from behind us. Then Mitch and Gage snowboard up to us.
“What have we here?” Mitch asks Gage.
“Looks like Carson’s giving Alyssa a ride down the slope,” Gage tells Mitch.
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Mitch asks.
The two of them burst into laughter.
Carson drops his arms, and I stand up and brush myself off.
“I fell and smashed into Alyssa on my way down the hill,” Carson explains.
He tries to get up, but plops back down and shakes his head.
“Oh, man!” Mitch says. He and Gage laugh harder.
“That’s classic!” Gage says through peals of laughter. “Alyssa, you should have gone with us when we abandoned the bunny slopes. We haven’t fallen once today.”
