Page 79 of Wanting You

“Thanks, Ted. I’m hoping there’s a tiny hill for me to start with.” They began to walk. “And I obviously don’t have any equipment. Will that be a problem?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. We’ll provide everything for you, and I promise it won’t be scary at all.”

Yeah, she wasn’t sure she believed him, but there was no way she was going to back out now.

They went down a flight of stairs, down a long hallway, turned and went down another glass-encased hallway, up a flight of stairs, and then stepped outside and walked under a covered, paved path that led to what she assumed was the ski school, talking the entire time about what it was like to be a teacher. Ted opened the door for her and stood back.

“Here you go, Chloe! Good luck!”

“Ted, wait!” she said nervously. “Who am I supposed to talk to? Who’s my instructor?”

He laughed softly again. “Oh, right! Forgot about that.” He stepped inside and looked around before waving to someone. “He’s heading this way now.”

Chloe turned and looked in the same direction as Ted and froze.

“Chloe Donovan, let me introduce you to your instructor, Tanner Westyn,” Ted said cheerily.

“Chloe?” Tanner said in wide-eyed shock. “What are you doing here?”

“Um…”

“Do you two know each other?” Ted asked.

“Um…”

“I need to get back to the front desk, but Chloe’s your first student, Tanner! And go easy on her. She wants to make a good impression on her students.” And then he turned and walked away, completely oblivious to just how awkward everything was.

The door closing sounded incredibly loud, echoing throughout the area.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Tanner said slowly.

And rather than stand there second-guessing herself, she embraced the awkwardness. “I hear we’re taking our students on a field trip next week,” she said confidently. “And I’m going to need you to show me how to ski.”

For a moment, Tanner looked around as if this was some sort of prank, because there was no way this was happening. It wasn’t possible for Chloe to be standing here in front of him for any reason, let alone to learn how to ski. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t…

“Wait, what do you mean we’re taking our students,” he said, now even more confused. “It was just supposed to be my class.”

She nodded. “It was, but my students heard about it and were very upset about being left out. You’re not looking to shun my class, are you? Because if this is your way of one-upping me in your quest to be a better teacher, then let me tell you something, Tanner Westyn! I won’t allow it!” Poking her finger into his chest, she kept getting closer. “We were supposed to be the kindergarten team and you have done everything possible to keep us separate and I’m putting an end to it!”

There wasn’t anything funny about what she was saying, and yet she was kind of adorable when she was riled up.

And it was a bit of a turn-on too.

So not the time, dude…

“Oh, you are, are you?” he asked, deciding to play along. “So you’re just going to tag along on my field trip?”

Crossing her arms, she nodded. “Yes, I am, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I already emailed all the parents and sent home the permission slips in everyone’s backpacks. And since it’s so spur of the moment, I plan on following up with all of them over the weekend to make sure no one misses out.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “I would have thought you’d be completely against this. After all, it’s not part of any lesson plan or curriculum and it’s all about skiing. Something you hate.”

The eye roll was a given. “I don’t hate skiing, Tanner. I never said that. I just can’t ski. There’s a difference.”

“That part I knew, but where me and skiing are involved…”

“Still never said I hated it,” she interrupted firmly. “I didn’t like a situation that I was put in. What you do and the career you had were amazing. I’m not looking to be a part of that—not as a VIP or mindless cheerleader who’s supposed to just stand in a corner while everyone fusses over you. And that doesn’t make me a bad person,” she went on. “I was completely honest with you about how I felt.”

“Okay, I get that, but…I still don’t get why you’d want to be here with me. I get that your students would have been disappointed, but you could have come at another time without me.”

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