Page 64 of Friends Don't Kiss

Kiara

When I don’t say anything, he adds, “I just want to connect with… with someone real, and for a short time.” He takes a deep breath, like a man who fucked up and knows it. “Is it too much to ask?”

I’m not sure what to answer, so I stay silent, listening to the ruffling of papers on his side of the phone call. I’m waffling between the feeling that something is off, and the attraction I feel from his words alone.

“Tell you what,” he finally says. “Do you like snowboarding?”

I roll my eyes and press my palm on the phone so I can talk to Willow. “He wants to go snowboarding,” I whisper.

Colton

I can’t believe I let him go so long before bringing up a first date. Snowboarding. Safe. Public. There’s no reason for her not to go for it. I’ve finally reached the end of this disaster. My nerves are so shot that at this point I don’t care if she hangs up or not.

I’ll find another way to make her see we belong together.

But with Willow clearly in the room with her, there’s no reason she won’t encourage her to go for it.

Kiara

Willow stifles a giggle and motions me to keep talking.

“Why’d you want to go snowboarding?” I mean, I’m all for it. Little to no conversation. I’d avoid chairlifts—these could lead to long conversations and awkward physical proximity—and opt for gondolas, pretending I needed to warm up a little. It’s rare to be alone in a gondola. The presence of other people would drastically reduce the awkwardness of having to get to know each other. No dressing up and trying to look pretty. So, for me? Perfect.

But why would a guy want that? Is he some kind of loner who’s awkward around women? I’m looking for a man, a real man, with experience. Someone who can, you know, pop my cherry in an expert manner. I’m willing to go through all the crap if it leads to that.

I know I’m not experienced, but I don’t think snowboarding—the baggy clothes, smelly socks, matted hair, not to mention the physical exertion that generally leads to me falling asleep before dinner—ever led to one losing their virginity.

“I just thought we’d… do something fun, have lunch together. Don’t you like snowboarding?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Scared you can’t keep up with me? I’ll wait for you.”

The guy is lucky he’s got a sexy voice. I hate that I don’t find the strength to tell him off. To be honest, I’m curious what kind of person he is. Sometimes he can say the most outrageous things. Other times, he’s spot on. Covering my phone with my hand again, I whisper for Willow’s benefit, “I think he might have a split personality.” Then I ask him, “D’you know where Red Mountain is?” and stick my tongue out at Willow, who’s rolling her eyes. She firmly believes the research the guys did on this dude is solid and I have nothing to worry about.

“I’ll figure it out,” he answers, a smile in his voice. “Saturday?”

Inspiration hits me. “Can’t do Saturdays. I can’t do days, really. How ’bout tomorrow night?”

There’s a slight pause, and for a few seconds I’m both hoping and dreading he’s going to bail on me. Tell me he has poor night vision or some shit. “Tomorrow’s perfect. Four o’clock at the main lodge?”

“Six.” That’ll give me time to get ready. And then we’ll get into the later hours of the day, which will be more conducive to warming up with… a drink at the bar. And more if we gel. Screw smelly socks and such. Night skiing shouldn’t make me too gross. It’s too fucking cold to break into a sweat.

“Six it is. I’ll be wearing a… a light blue ski jacket.”

With the weather we have coming, there won’t be many people in the main lodge at six. Just the die-hards, and they won’t be standing around. “I’ll find you from your picture. I’ll be the—”

“You’ll be the most beautiful woman in the room,” he cuts, getting me another eye roll. “See you tomorrow.”

He hangs up before I can answer, and I have to say, I kind of like it. I’m jittery from the phone call and confused by the different things he said. I can’t get a read on the guy, but overall I got a good feel.

twenty-three

Kiara

Notgonnalie,I’mnervous as hell. Not about meeting a stranger and the whole safety aspect of it. I got that part covered. Willow has a screenshot of my date’s profile, plus I’m sharing my location with her in case he shoves me in a snowmobile and smuggles me to Canada. At the last minute, I also texted Colton to let him know where I would be and to “send dogs and the snow patrol if I’m not back by midnight.”

His answer?Have fun, Cinderella.

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