Chapter 14
Garrett
I pulled the neoprene bandanna down to my chin, closed my eyes and filled my lungs with pure mountain air. Steam escaped me. I did it again. Of all my dangerous vices, I didn't realize how much I missed snowboarding until I felt the crunch of graded snow beneath my feet.
The elated feeling of freedom was intoxicating.
I looked over at Judy, she was wrapped in the pink hues of dying light miles behind her. Here on the mountaintop the sunlight hadn't completely faded. She had already strapped herself in and was waiting patiently for me to do the same.
The view was magnificent. She was magnificent.
It actually pained me to look at her, especially after that kiss last night. The phantom taste of her lips echoed across my tongue all day. I'd waited half a decade to do that, and it was every bit worth the wait.
This was the last night of the three days I promised her. Our commitment was over. It all felt too sudden, but it was necessary. For Jackie's sake, I needed to break whatever Judy and I had off before my daughter got hurt.
“You ready?” I yelled over the screaming wind, after snapping into my bindings.
“I'm waiting on you, old man.” She shot back, then planted both poles and thrust herself forward past me.
Old man? I scoffed, hopping forward on my board, then cutting in after her. So she wanted to play a game?
I got low and flew down the trails after her. We stayed only on the ones that were lit with the massive flood lights. Everything else was too dark even for me. Judy was good, real good, but I was still faster. My back leg carved tight, fast grooves in the snow and soon enough I became her shadow.
“Tag,” I shouted, slapping her square on the ass as I passed by.
Her head cocked around so abruptly that I thought she might fall. Worried, I slowed down to make sure she was alright. The fox played me like a flute, capitalizing on my compassion to blow by me. She tagged my shoulder as she passed.
Trail after trail, I led most of the game, taking unfair advantages where I could. She was great on the open trails, probably a little better than I was even, but I excelled everywhere she was afraid to go. Occasionally, I'd slip into the trees and do some night forest riding—always staying close enough to the edge of the trail to use lit section of woods—or I'd take her through the parks and soar over her head on some of the bigger jumps.
We played that way for hours as the snow fell faster and wetter. If Judy minded, she didn't show it. I told the owners to send most of the staff home including the lifties. We'd only be riding the gondola and that was completely automated. There was no reason to make lift attendants suffer unnecessarily for our childish games.
Both of us knew what it was like to endure cold, shitty days. It turned out that each of us had worked for a season at a ski resort when we were younger; her during a break in university, and me just after secondary school before football training camp. On the gondola up, we shared a flask of whiskey I kept in my pocket and shared war stories from the times we worked on the mountain.
“No way! You did not seriously spray paint his car.” Judy roared incredulously between fits of laughing.
“It was his own damn fault. Our landlord had us living virtually on top of one another. You get that many drunken mountain rats partying in the same house for two months and...” I smiled, remembering a half dozen other equally crazy stories. I took a long pull of the flask and continued. “Well let’s just say, that wasn't the worst of it. It was a real shame, too. The place was gorgeous before we arrived. Three floors, game room, fully stocked bar, two entertainment centers, and Jacuzzi on the patio.”
“Sounds like nineteen-year old Garrett was in heaven.” Judy's eyes twinkled as she looked at me. It wasn't hard to see the admiration there. It was an incredible feeling. I wasn’t famous in her eyes, I was special.
She was my dancing partner again; someone to share in a grand adventure with. I'd done so much by myself, but with her I felt as if I was getting the whole experience. I got to see the excitement in her eyes, and knew that we went through it together. I could see myself plainly in her brilliant green eyes and it warmed me more than the whiskey.
Dangerous, a small careful voice said deep within me. I tried to push it away but, it lingered, growing only louder. Don't fall for her. You know it can never work, especially not after what you're about to do to her.
“Garrett?” Judy repeated, snatching the flask away. “Are you in still there? Us American girls aren't that boring, I hope.”
“No, of course not. Sorry. My mind ran away from me for a moment.” I snapped out of the ominous thoughts and regarded her fully again. “What was that?”
“I said,” She gave me a playful sidelong look while taking a sip from the flask then continued, “Was that your first time in the States?”
“Yeah. Then football took over…” I chuckled. “Apparently I couldn’t keep away from your country after that.”
“Dad played football briefly in college.”
“Yeah?” It would make sense why he held on so tightly to the stadium, despite not being the best choice to run it. “Was he any good?”
“He was alright, I guess.” She shrugged noncommittally. “I think he’d have been better-suited to be a ref instead, honestly. He knows everything there is to know.”
I tucked that bit of info into the back of my mind. I could picture Paul as a referee. “I can tell you’re not much of a sports fan, are you?”
“Oh yeah?” She replied with a sassy shake of shoulders that was adorable. “And what do sports fans look—”
The entire mountain abruptly closed its eyes on us.