Page 12 of Ski You Later
He seems to have a fight with himself as I watch conflict enter his gaze. When I think he’s just going to turn around and leave, he surprises me further by stepping directly into my space. “Oh, I don’t know, Langley? Did you ever think that I don’t book the training space,” he says defensively as his glove lightly taps my collarbone periodically.
“I did, actually! That is why I always defend you when everyone’s pissed at you!” I retaliate by stabbing my finger into his stomach multiple times as I say this. My angry tone mixed with my kind words, cause Roman’s face to look more confused than ever.
His quizzical stare meets my angry one and he throws his hands in the air. “Then why are we yelling at each other!”
“I don’t know,” I yell even louder. Throwing my hands in the air with him, and his oversized jacket causesthe extra room in the arm sleeves to flop all around the place. My eyes widen immediately, and I realize that I’ve been warm in his jacket this whole time as he stands in front of me in his speed suit.
With speed that impresses even me, I reach down and start to fumble with the jacket’s zipper. My gloves inhibiting my ability to grip the small clasp, and I let out a frustrated sound.
Roman’s hand lands atop mine as I continue to struggle, stopping my motions as I look up at him. “What are you doing?” He asks exasperatedly.
“I’m giving you back your jacket,” I respond instantly.
“Why?” His guarded expression falters before he schools it back.
“You’re in a race suit. You must be freezing.”
His gaze narrows, probably at my rapid switching of emotions. “I thought we were fighting?” His question has an air of lightness to it, and I grip onto that like a lifeline.
“I can multitask,” I say casually.
Lifting my shoulder in a shrug, I push his jacket to my elbows as I start to remove my gloves. There’s no way I can grab that tiny zipper with my chunky mitts.
“If you think I’m letting your hands out of those gloves, you have to be insane.” He quickly grabs both my wrists, stopping my movements.
“Fine. I’ll give it back to you in the lodge then.” I have to tilt my head drastically to look at him when he’s this close, but he nods at my words and releases my hands.
He doesn’t step back though, and I surprise myself by staying rooted to the spot as well. This close to him, it’s easy to see the stubble that clings to his jaw, the harshness of his features similar to a statue.
Arguably, the most noticeable feature displayed on his face is the bend at the top of his nose, the result of a childhood injury.
“Why are you smiling, Langley?” His voice is quiet as he asks this, his body drifting closer to me, almost as if he’s unaware he’s doing it.
“I just remembered the day you broke your nose. You had that terrible crash, and then when they tried to send you home, you started freaking out. Even at thirteen, you were determined to finish every race.” I can’t help the laugh that escapes me as I remember us all those years ago.
He must feel the same way, his eyes widen as I recount the memory, shock, and something elsesparkling in his gaze. “How the hell do you remember that. That was about ten years ago.” The awe is evident in his voice, as if people remember these things about him is not a common event.
“How could I forget, that day was hilarious. I think Xander started crying because he thought you were dying.” That gets another smile from him, possibly the most genuine one I’ve ever seen.
Before I decide if I’ll randomly freak out at him again, I decide it’s time for us to get moving. “Okay, let’s just tear this course down and get in the lodge.”
Finally stepping away from him, I go to clip on my skis and ignore the cold that quickly fills the space he previously took up. As I grab the four gates, my jaw drops as the view from over the pitch greets me.
The entire course is gone, bundles of gates leaning on the side of the hill. All the work I had been dreading is completely done, and neatly piled where the coaches wanted it. Roman skis up to my side, taking the gates from my hands with ease.
“Yeah, I hiked up here while you were on the chair and tore down the entire course. A snowball to the face seemed like enough of a punishment for you today, Langley.”
Feelings rapidly fly through me at this: guilt, embarrassment, gratefulness, and shame. How he must have felt after doing all that work just to have one of his athletes scream in his face.
My cheeks flames at the thought, and I quickly turn towards him to apologize. His strong back is all I see as clips in his skis and goes down the pitch.
CHAPTER 6
Banana loaf?
After triple-checking that this was the right address, I ring the bell before I let my nerves take over. Standing on the stoop of their cute little house, I marvel at the fact that I’ve never been here before. It wasn’t even a ten-minute walk from my house, and I can even see the university at the very end of the road.
Double checking my watch, I still have an hour before I need to be in my bone structure and development class.
