Page 18 of Finding Love on the Slopes

Yet, there he was, racing down the slope in front of her, trying to wedge his way into slower speeds at the turns. She glided down after him, her jaw clenching in annoyance as she caught up to him. Her lips parted, about to say something unpleasant, but then she remembered what Curtis had told her.

She remembered the relieved smiles on Mr. Bailey and Mr. Lawrence’s faces as they escorted him out last night, and she ground her teeth when she realized that pretty much everyone was counting on her not to blow this opportunity.

“Enrique,” she called, the cold air whipping past their faces as they zipped toward the bottom of the mountain. “What do you think you’re doing? You need to slow down!”

He didn’t respond to her, but she knew he had heard. As they approached the bottom, his legs formed a wide wedge similar tohers, and they slowed to a stop. He was doing much better compared to yesterday and had almost perfected the technique. He staggered just a bit, but righted himself before he fell, stopping at the same time Leighann did. Sighing, he placed his goggles on the forehead of his helmet as he stared up at the slope they had just successfully traversed.

His breaths came out in white puffs of vapor as his chest heaved slightly. “What does it look like I was doing?” Then he pointed his pole towards the slope they had just come down “Skiing!” The triumphant grin on his face said it all, he was the champion and no one could tell him otherwise.

Leighann stabbed her poles into the ground, threw her hands up in the air, and shouted, “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You didn’t let me finish, nor did you wait for the go-ahead so we could go down together so I could guide you.”

He glanced at her and raised a brow. Internally, he was still in disbelief that he had actually skied down the slope without her help. And he hadn’t crashed! His confidence had grown exponentially. His heart still raced, and his palms were clammy. If he were honest with himself, he thought he might blackout from the panic when his skis tipped over the edge, but then the wind was in his face, and all he could think about was staying on his feet.

“Sometimes, Leighann, you need less talk and more action.”

Part of her wanted to wipe that triumphant grin right off his face. Another part was proud that he had made it down on his skis, and yet another part was equally embarrassed and irritated. “Did you just say I talk too much?” she asked in disbelief at his rudeness and careless behavior.

His lips twitched. “Did I?”

Enrique could see her grit her teeth as she glared at him. “I was only trying to tell you what to expect on the slopes. These ones are steeper than the easy green we practiced on yesterday. These aren’t even the easiest blue slopes on the mountain. This area is reserved for more experienced skiers, which you are not. Going off half-cocked like that is a good way to get yourself injured or killed.”

“Seems like I did just fine.”

She pointed a finger to herself. “I’mthe gold medalist.I’mthe professional. You hiredmeto instruct you on how to ski, but you mustlistenif you actually want to learn!” Her hands were on her hips, and she was shouting at him. Pink flooded her cheeks as fear for his safety and frustration with his recklessness drove her to the edge of her sanity. “What if you ran into an ice patch? What would have happened then? Did you even listen to what to look for or the common places on the slope that form ice? I am responsible for your safety right now. You do realize that it is just you and me out here, right? No one else is around if you get hurt.”

“An ice patch?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. Was he being serious right now? “Are you kidding me? You don’t remember this from the video or any of the half dozen times I have talked aboutit?” When he shook his head, Leigh took a deep, long-suffering breath and explained once more.

“There are several ice patches on these slopes, and if you wanna ski here without going back home with a broken neck, you need to keep an eye out for them and avoid them if possible. I pointed the most likely areas out on the map, but you weren’t paying attention again, I take it. Anyway, if you see you are going to go over an ice patch, keep your weight centered over your skis and avoid turning until you get off. Otherwise, you will likely lose control. That is also why it is important to maintain a safe distance from the edge of the mountain. If you hit one of these patches on the edge, you could shoot right over instead of being able to turn back into the mountain.Ifwe skitogether,I can warn you of potential danger and help guide you through it.”

“Okay, well, I didn’t run into ice patches last time. You saw how I did. I didn’t get hurt, so it’s all good. Let’s get going; there is more snow to slay.”

She felt like stomping her foot on the snow. “No, it’s not all good. No, we are not ready to slay any more snow! I need to go over the slope with youagain.”

Enrique pushed off with his poles and slowly skied away from her and back towards the ski lift. He shrugged his broad shoulders, “I did fine last time; I’m sure I can do it again. This time, you can ski with me, but you gotta stop talking and get moving. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a hands on kinda student. All this lecturing is boring.”

Chapter Fourteen

He couldn’t stop thinking about that one successful glide down the mountain. It was exhilarating, and had filled him with so much adrenaline that he couldn’t wait to go for another round. This must have been the same adrenaline high his parents felt after a successful score. He hadn’t thought of that in years, but it made sense that thoughts of them were coming back now.

After the successful run down the mountain, the anxiety and fear were replaced by a euphoria he couldn’t explain. The fact that he didn’t fall like yesterday, and he didn’t let his near paralyzing fear stop him, made him feel like a king. As he approached the lift, he felt like he was on top of the world. There was a lingering smile on his lips as he relived the experience over and over.

Yes, he was still terrified as he rode the chairlift back up the mountain. It was a good thing he was in shape and had just received a great bill of health from his physician or he might haveworried about a heart attack but… he was going to be okay. That first drop was the worst, then it felt like flying, which he actually enjoyed, which was weird given his fear of heights.

The feeling of the cold air on his skin and the rush of racing down the mountain with Leighann far behind had been freeing. He was proud of himself, and at that moment, he didn’t give any thought to the risks and consequences he could have experienced if it had gone the wrong way. He couldn’t help but feel there was a chance his fear could be curbed once and for all. What did they say about grabbing the bull by the horns?

When he arrived at the top of the mountain, he headed towards a slope just to the right of the one he had taken previously. It looked much the same; in fact, it looked less steep than the last one. He gripped his poles tightly again and lined himself up at the top. Leighann was two lift chairs behind him, her eyes narrowing in disbelief as she saw him staring at the much steeper slope with a look of determination written all over his body.

Leighann practically jumped out of the lift chair once she reached the top of the mountain and pointed her pole towards him, warning, “Don’t you dare go down that mountain, Enrique!” she shouted, making her way to him as quickly as she could.

But, of course, he wasn’t one to be told what to do. Sometimes, she wondered why she even bothered. Once he made up his mind, there didn’t seem to be a way to stop him. Her breath stuck in her throat when she saw him glance over at her, a look of excitement and resolve on his handsome features.

“Enrique! Don’t do it!” she shouted once more, but he didn’t listen. His arms went back, and the tips of his poles dug into the snow as he gave a mighty shove. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted a last-minute warning.

“Watch your speed at the bottom of this one, or you’ll crash!”

But he was already tipping over the edge and gliding down the slope. Leighann watched him. Man, he had to be the most pigheaded and difficult man she had ever met. He was such a pain in the rear end to deal with. Just when she thought they were making some progress and he saw reasoning, he did something stupid like this. She thought they had a plan, and they were going down the previous slope again, but this timetogether.How had she gotten her wires crossed so badly?

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