“The tube landed on you while you were kissing?” Sophia’s incredulous voice is mirrored by the look of disbelief on her face. Or as much of her face as I can see on video chat. When she gets excited she brings the phone closer to her mouth, which means right now I can basically see her lips, nose, and chin.
“Not directly on us. Someone yelled so Blake rolled us out of the way.” Remembering his arms around me makes me warm all over and gives me goosebumps. Figure that one out.
“Best first kiss ever.”
“I could have done without the group of girls. One of them gave me a verbal high-five for scoring Blake.”
Sophia rolls her eyes. “I’m gonna need to see a picture.”
“Tomorrow.” My stomach does a little dance. Blake kissed me again when he dropped me off at the lodge, then invited me to go skiing.
“Ooh, another date?”
“He’s taking me to another resort. Someplace less crowded.”
She frowns. “I thought the ski patrol dude said not to—never mind, look who I’m talking to.” Her eyes brighten. “They can’t keep you off the slopes when it’s only practice. There’s no way you’d miss the chance to canoodle with a bo-o-o-o-o-oy.” She flutters her eyelashes then presses the phone to her chest. Everything goes black.
“Stop hugging me.”
Her eyes fill the screen. “I’m just super excited for you. I know how frustrating it was when Jake—”
“Let’s not.” Jake was new at school this year and I liked him right away. Unfortunately, my group of friends did too so before I could get to know him on my own, I was placed directly in the platonic category. “It’s like they have some code that says no one’s allowed to date me.”
“That’s why I avoid sports. Makes things much less confusing when it comes to boys.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“Not simple, but not complicated. Look at how fast things have happened with Blake now that you don’t have your posse hanging around.”
I know she doesn’t mean that the way it sounds, but sometimes I think Sophia wishes I wasn’t friends with all the hot jocks in school. It’s not like I’d ever stand in her way if she liked one of them, but since she’s my friend, most of them avoid her romantically, too.
“You have a point.”
She rests the phone in her lap so I’m looking up at her. “Have fun with this boy. Besides, it’s not like you’ll ever see him again, right?”
A knot of worry settles near my heart. Neither of us have said anything about what happens at the end of vacation, but it’s stupid to think this could work. If I was eighteen and getting ready to go to college, maybe, but I’m only fifteen. A sophomore. Long distance romance is not in my future.
“Cally?”
“Sorry.”
“You went inverted on me there.”
I snort. “Introverted?”
She cocks her head. “Same difference. So I take it from your silence you don’t think you’ll see him again?”
“I don’t see how we could. We live on opposite ends of the country. We literally could not live farther away from each other and still be in the US.”
“There’s always SnapChat.”
I sigh. “He claims he doesn’t believe in social media.”
“What is it with boys?”
I shrug, and she waggles her brows. “Then I suggest you really have fun tomorrow.”
“Ugh!” I slam my phone onto the bed—my version of throwing a pillow at her head—then pick it back up. “You’re such a slut.”
“You’re such a prude.”
A knock at my door startles me. “Dinner in five.”
“Soph, I gotta go.”
“I want every detail. And send a picture before I die of curiosity.”
“Picture I can do. Details, we’ll see.”
“Prude,” she repeats.
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
***
“You sure you don’t want to come to breakfast?” Dad zips up his jacket and grabs his car keys. “I hate for you to be stuck here by yourself.”
“I’m meeting Blake so I won’t be alone.”
Dad pauses. “You’re spending a lot of time with him. Maybe both of you should come along so I can see for myself what’s so appealing about him.”
“Dad, no. We’re just hanging out. Tomorrow we’re both going back to our opposite ends of the country and I’ll never see him again.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to get rid of me?”
I roll my eyes. “We’re going to lunch, so I don’t need to eat anything now.”
His brows narrow for a second, then his face returns to its normal mellow expression.
I smile. “Go. I’ll be fine.”
I fight the urge to check the time on my phone until the door closes firmly behind him. Blake will be here in less than ten minutes. I rush to the bathroom to check my hair for the hundredth time, then slip on my snow pants, grab my skis, and head for the door.
The silver car from yesterday is already parked outside, and Blake climbs out when he sees me. A broad smile spreads across his face. “You look great.”
I slowly look him up and down, exaggerating my movements to make him laugh, but instead I send my heart into overdrive. I know plenty of good-looking guys but this is the first time one has stared at me with such.... intensity. We lock eyes and my mouth goes dry. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
He winks and moves around the car to take my skis, but pauses before putting them in the trunk. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Cute boy. No parents. Yes, definitely a good idea. “The skiing?”
He raises an eyebrow. “What were you thinking?”
My cheeks grow hot and I smile up at him. “Skiing. Totally.”
He laughs softly and slides my skis next to his snowboard. “So, food first, or should we go straight there?” He walks me to the passenger side and opens my door.
A girl could get used to this.
I’m not super hungry but most teenage boys I know need to feed every two to three hours. “Can we grab something on the way?” I climb in and reach for the door but he leans forward and brushes his lips over mine, lingering long enough for my hand to drift to the back of his neck and curl into his hair.
He mumbles against my lips. “What was the question?”
“I don’t remember.” I kiss him again, pulling him a fraction closer. Time seems to stand still. I’m always so focused on my goals—skiing, school, being a good daughter—that I rarely allow myself to fully let go. But this boy—I could get lost in him.
A low rumble sounds between us and I laugh against his mouth. “Food.”
He pats his belly. “Yeah, it’s been a couple hours since breakfast.”
We go through the McDonald’s drive-through and he’s inhaling his egg and bacon sandwich before we’re back on the road. My egg white sandwich still sits in my lap, unopened.
“That was impressive.”
He crumples his empty wrapper. “Why aren’t you eating?”
I fold the paper wrapper so I can hold my food without getting my hands greasy, but pause before taking a bite. I may hang out with boys, but I’ve managed to hold on to a few feminine traits. My teeth sink into the sandwich and I let out a groan. Okay, maybe I am more boy than girl. “How far is this place?” I ask, my mouth still full.
“Oh, uh... I looked it up. It’s not too far. Maybe thirty miles. It’s just on the other side of the mountain.”
I study him as he drives. He hasn’t checked his phone for directions, yet every turn he’s made it’s like he knows where he’s going. “You seem to know your way around.”
His eyes dart to me, then back to the road. “Yeah. We visit here at least once a year.”
“That’s cool.” I lean my head against the seat and watch the mountains crawl by. We have mountains in Vermont but they’re nothing like the Rockies. My whole life I’ve flung myself down icy, narrow trails. These wide, powdery Colorado slopes are like heaven. “What’s it like in Tahoe?”
His fingers flex against the steering wheel. “Like this, but with a huge lake in the middle. You can see the water from the peaks. It’s pretty cool.”
“You really know how to paint a picture.”
He shrugs. “You know how it is. When you live someplace you take it for granted.” He nudges my arm with his elbow. “What’s it like in Vermont?”
I smile. “Oh, you know. Snowy. Mountainous. With sunny days thrown in here and there.”
He snorts. “Are you always such a smartass?”
“Yes.” I take a sip of my drink and try to hold back a smile, but fail miserably.
He reaches for my hand and slips his fingers through mine. “I like it.”
All witty comebacks flee my brain when our hands touch. I wish I could bottle the sensation of his skin on mine and how his heat crawls over me.
We ride in silence until we make the turn off the main road into the resort, and my knee starts throbbing like it knows I’m about to do something stupid. I slide my hand out of Blake’s and slowly rub the tendons around me knee, hoping to be subtle, but he totally notices.
“Is it hurting?”
“It’s all in my head. Either that or my dad and coach have it rigged to know when I’m breaking the rules.”
“We don’t have to go.”
I level my gaze at him. “I didn’t come to Colorado to ski ONE day. We’re doing this.”
“Okay.” He holds up his hands in mock surrender. “But promise me you’ll speak up before you do serious damage.”
For a moment I’m left speechless because I was thinking the same thing about him. Blake’s the perfect balance of cocky, sweet, funny, and hot, but worst of all, he lives a bazillion miles away from me so there’s no way this is going to end well.
But there’s no point in him warning me. My heart’s already in this too deep—the damage is guaranteed.