Page 41 of Taking Chances

“You don’t owe me anything.” It comes out rougher than intended, but I hate that she feels indebted to me.

Her innocent eyes stare at me with surprise before shaking her head. “Look, I would love to teach you to ski. Everyone else is coupled up anyway, and I don’t want to be the third wheel.” Traces of vulnerability lace her voice, making me sigh.

“OK. I can agree to one”—I lift my finger—“lesson.”

She squeals with delight, her supple tits bouncing with the movement.

“You have ten minutes to drink the coffee and grab your gear and then we’re heading out.” She’s already in teacher mode.

Turning around, she runs upstairs, and I manage to keep myself from creeping on her. The others are spread around a huge, live edge table in comfortable chatter.

“Ready for skiing?” Natalie smirks, obviously the loudest one in the group.

“Not really. But if this guy can do it”—I point a thumb at Connor—“it can’t be that hard.” Connor bares his teeth while others chuckle.

They’re all half dressed in their gear. Matt’s sporting ski pants with the suspenders hanging over his hips, Alex and Noah have their unbuttoned jacket’s on, and Natalie is wearing the same get up Anne is—tight thermal clothing, though in mint. She’s objectively an attractive woman, but her toned body does nothing for me.

Luckily, the body thatdoescomes back in ski pants and a jacket, meaning no curves are visible. Which is definitely safer.

“Still not ready?” She lifts a brow in my direction. Groaning, I get up and head upstairs.

The first thing I notice entering the bedroom is the giant window overlooking the snowy mountains. Below it sits an equally giant bed with wooden framing. Hopefully, it’s large enough to host both Connor and I. Since this is my first time skiing, I ordered all the gear online, so everything, including my ski suit, is brand new. Quickly, I get it all on me, already sweating, and get downstairs.

“Oh, you have a thing.” Anne points to my chest, but quickly continues, “Here.” A piece of plastic snaps in her hand and I realize I left my tag on. A flash of embarrassment hits me, but her soft smile makes it go away. She could have teased me mercilessly, but she’s too nice for that.

“Let’s go.”

I follow along, grabbing all of our gear. “Peoplelikethis? Hiking in these horrible boots, wearing a ton of equipment up the hill?”

“You’ll see.” Her lips turn up, conspiratorially.

As we get to the lift, the fresh air nourishes my lungs. The whiteness of the snow is only interrupted by the lush green trees, soaring toward the sky. The view is pretty spectacular. It has to be even better from the top, but Anne informs me we’re doing the bunny slope.

“This is perfect for beginners,” she states.

My gaze lands on the group of three year olds having a ski lesson to our left and another flash of embarrassment passes through me. She helps me strap on the skis, turning me sideways so I don’t start downward, and suddenly I’m glad for my helmet.

Hockey was a part of me for most of my life, but the rink has a flat surface and it’s fenced in. There is no danger of getting lost somewhere in the forest, an avalanche covering your frozen body. I shiver with the thought and turn my gaze back to Anne, who is now also strapped in.

“This is how we’ll start. You’ll put your skis in this V pose and we will try to go downhill like that. The wider your heels, the slower you’ll go. Got it?”

I nod, feigning confidence I don’t have. Back and legs straight, I slowly turn downhill and snap my feet into the V position. It takes me a split second to fall on my ass, the skis unpleasantly tugging me up.

Anne releases a soft, honest giggle, and I shoot her a glare.

“It’s probably better if you don’t stand like a stick, but instead bend your knees generously.” She’s still giggling but nice enough not to mention my fall.

“You could have led with that.” Laughter bubbles out from her.

“Sorry.” She lifts her hand. “Sorry. I won’t laugh. It’s unprofessional of me as your ski instructor.” Her eyes are still smiling but her lips have settled.

Now that I’m clear on how I need to position myself, I’m kind of a natural. It’s all in the knees and shifting my weight, which is similar to hockey, so it comes easy to me.

“Wow. You’re doing great,” Anne notices.

“Don’t sound so surprised. I am a hockey player, after all.” I smirk.

“Right, I forget about that.” She stares at me for a second. “Do you miss it?”

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