Page 17 of Full Send

I pry myself off the couch, my legs still barking at me after the day on the slopes, and walk towards the dining area.

“It has been a while. Glad to finally have a chance to catch up,Tanner.” I linger on his name, Tanner. No one calls him Tanner except his grandparents, everyone else calling him Chapman or simply Chap. See, I can play along too, Tanner.

“Ah. Glad to see you remember my name,Ronni. I didn’t forget yours either.” A sly grin grows across his face as he locks his eyes on mine longer than I’m used to, the crinkles around his eyes deepening. It feels like he’s staring deep inside me, searching for something. I can feel myself shift awkwardly, my thighs clenching, my mind wondering what he’s looking for. It’s like I’m exposed and laid bare to him. Huh. Well that’s… new.

I try to regain my composure, remembering what I was doing before he walked in.

“So Lizzy, this is Tanner, Collin’sbestie.”I flick my eyebrows at Tanner, teasing him before watching as Lizzy eyes Tanner. She clearly noticed where my attention was just lingering.

“Nice to meet you, Tanner.” She looks at Tanner, eyeing him with mild curiosity. Maybe she really is taking a break from boys for now.

“So what’d you bring us tonight,Tanner?”I ask, eyeing the boxes of pizza on the table.

“Oh just the classics from Big Red’s.” He shrugs his broad shoulders in one of his trademark, calm indifferent gestures.

“Tell me you got the Flyin’ Hawaiian. Spicy and pineapple? Count me in as always.” Collin’s eyes are wide as he opens the first box, now seated at the dining room table with Lizzy, passing out plates.

“Yep. I know you’d never let me forget.” Tanner eyes me with a smirk and tilts his chin up as he slides a box of pizza towards me at the other end of the table. “And for you,Ronni.”

I cock my head, giving him a curious look before opening the box. I grin wildly at its contents. A sausage pizza, with freshchopped basil and extra balsamic drizzle spread across the top, one of Big Red’s signature pizzas.

“You remembered my Abe Froman, with the extra balsamic drizzle? I can’t believe you remembered!” I look to Tanner, a grin of appreciation still on my face. I can feel the slightest bit of heat and color hit my cheeks. I don’t know why, but it feels good that he remembered something about me like this. One of those times where the thought really does count.

And if I’m not mistaken, I think I might have caught a throat bob and hint of blush in him too. A rare brief glimpse past his armor. Whatever it was, it was short lived as he turned his attention back to Collin, talking about the day on the slopes.

Collin and Lizzy open another bottle of wine while Tanner grabs his own beer from the fridge.

We’re all hungry and clearly thirsty. It’s been a long day. Tanner is sitting quietly at the end of the table, his green eyes seemingly catching my gaze whenever I happen to look his way.

“So Lizzy, my boy Chap here is the knife maker,” Collin says proudly between bites. “We’ll be seeing him around the next couple weeks.”

“Alright,Chap,” she says before rolling her eyes and looking at me. “There goes our girls trip, V.”

A snort of laughter escapes my mouth and I put down my wine.

“Don’t worry, Lizzy,” I say, looking back at Collin and Tanner, “Tanner here means we’ll be seeing less of Collin I’m sure. He’s always been his damn shadow.”

After grabbing another slice of pizza, I notice Tanner’s been awfully quiet for a change. “So Tanner, it looks like you’re still up to your usual shit, and dragging Collin along with you.”

“Huh?” He says, looking momentarily confused while Collin snorts a laugh.

“Looks like she caught you dude.” Collin says between bites of pizza.

“Oh come on. That was pretty slick over on Alta Zero after lunch.” I think I caught him off guard. For just a moment, there’s the slightest hint of blush in his cheeks above his scruff.

“Oh, that backflip. Yeah…” He shrugs. “Didn’t think anyone was watching besides Collin, honestly. The line looked good when we first took Sublette up. So I checked with my Patrol buddies at the top to make sure it was ok to duck the rope and hit it. The landing was so clean. It felt great to just send it. Totally worth it. Were you ladies on the chair or something?” He says this as if it was just a regular occurrence, the same expression and demeanor you’d expect of someone who was giving you the time of day. So matter of fact. So calm.

Can he be serious?Oh that backflip? Didn’t think anyone was looking as you hit one of the hardest lines on the mountain? One that requires permission from ski patrol to even try it, right under the chairlift for everyone to see? And you don’t just hit it, but throw a backflip in for fun?

The memories of Collin and Tanner’s shenanigans come flooding back. I just can’t with him sometimes. He acts like it’s no big deal at all, like it’s skiing the bunny hill at the base of the mountain or something.

This is what I’ve never understood with him. It’s not that he’s outwardly cocky or arrogant. No. Sure he can be loud, rowdy, and fun. But his confidence shows through in how calm and steady he is. How he can treat death defying acts as just part of everyday life, completely unfazed by them. It almost feels like an act to anyone who hasn’t seen him like this before. How can he think something so crazy is just…normal? I’d kill to just have one tenth of his confidence.

Clearly, Lizzy isn’t buying it though. Oh boy, I can see her eyebrow arching.

“So then why hit a line and drop a flip in it like thatChap,if you don’t even care about putting on a show for an audience? You’re not just trying to impress some cute ski bunny or your buddy Collin here?” Ah Lizzy, my snarky sidekick.

Tanner has a puzzled look on his face, his eyes dropping to the table for a moment. I wonder what he has to say about this. After a few seconds of contemplation, Tanner finally looks back up, right in my direction, emerald eyes peering through me again.

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