Page 51 of Ski You Later
The van comes to an abrupt halt, the door ripping open, and ricocheting back with a bang.Everyone shoots bolt upright in surprise, with any lingering sleep disappearing.
Roman stands outside the door with a hand braced on either side. His breath is heaving as he scans the people in car and stops as we lock eyes.
The frustration vanishes as he looks at me and is instantly replaced with a smile. Slinging a pink backpack over his shoulder, he hops in and slams the door closed behind him.
“Huxley! What do you think you are doing!” Rachel’s shrill voice ensures that everyone has no choice but to be awake at this point.
“Sorry, got in the wrong van.” That’s all he says as he ducks down and makes his way to the back row. He looks gigantic in the confined space as he puts my bag on the end and takes the seat beside me.
Rachel’s at her wits end with athletes today because she just turns up the radio as she peels out of the lot. As Calvin and his friends realize Roman’s not going to get in any trouble, they all promptly return to closing their eyes.
I watch as Taylor and Sofia have the same idea, but Jasmine’s glare remains fixed on me. Her eyes are narrowed on me, and I can feel fear trickle in even as shesits three rows ahead. With a last scrunch of her eyes, she flips her hair and faces the front.
I keep my eyes forward, too scared to look away incase she decides that she’s not done with me. Roman’s cough pulls my attention away and try to shake the nerves as I face him.
Before he can even say a word, I look up at him with dread in my eyes. “You really shouldn’t have done that! The people in this van aren’t too fond of us on a good day, let alone causing another interruption to our departure.” I send him a pointed glance and try to ignore how fluttering forms in my stomach the longer we lock eyes.
He shrugs, brushing his hand through his mop of dark, wavy hair. The silky strands part slightly to the left, and the rest of the hair falls back in place. As he stretches his arm in the air, he looks behind me and places his arm against the back of my seat. “Honestly, I couldn’t care less, Langley. Anyone who isn’t fond of you isn’t worth my time.”
Again, the ease at which he says this causes a slight delay when it comes to my understanding. I quickly turn back to the front to make sure he doesn’t notice my fierce blush.
The road whizzes past us as we hit the highway, and the athletes in front of us all lean on one another in sleep. Roman and I stay silent for a while, but I can’t help periodically catching glances of him from the corner of my eye. He keeps his arm on the back of my seat and reclines as if it’s the most comfortable thing in the world.
The start of the sun rise casts a pink hue on his features as I turn to him fully. It cascades down from orange to pink and highlights his attributes.
A small scar below his chin, a freckle that rests near his temple and the faint smile lines that are proof of his happy nature.
He casts a quick look at me, but then does a double-take as his gaze stays fixed on me. As if in a trance, his hand slowly comes up until it’s gently cupping my jaw. The feel of his callused hands contrasting my squishy face, but I revel in it none the less.
I can only imagine a similar pink and orange hue is all over my face, and I smile at the thought of it. A soft grin transforms his face at this, and I feel the motion of his thumb landing lightly on my lips.
“Rhodes. You are absolutely beautiful,” he says slowly, as if he can’t believe his own eyes. I can’t stopthe furious flush that forms in my cheeks, and I try to dip my head away. No one has ever said something like that to me, and I have no response for something so kind.
“No, no. Don’t do that, Langley. You’ll break my heart.” He leans in closer and uses his hand on my jaw to tip my head back toward him. “Don’t shy away, especially not from me.”
This is how people feel when they reach the top of the roller coaster, and teeter on the precipice.
“Roman. I just wanted to thank you for switching vans for me.” I hate the breathless quality worming its way into my voice, but I can’t think straight as his damn thumb starts moving in a gentle tracing motion.“I was really hoping we would get to sit together anyway,” I somehow manage to string together those words before all sense leaves my brain.
The pink hue is stunning on his features as he leans in closer. I don’t dare breathe as his thumb brushes my lower lip, pulling it slightly down until his thumb starts to carefully trail down my chin. “Anything for you, Rhodes.”
My heart solidifies and then proceeds to remelt in my chest. No one in my life has ever said those words to me, let alone, saying them with eyes that are filled with sincerity.
His lips are millimeters away from me at this point, and I can’t help but tip my head the slightest bit up in response. I don’t know if this is for show or what his game plan is at the moment, but every organ in my body is screaming for oxygen as he moves fully into my space.
His lips are soft as they press into the side of my temple. The kiss lingers as he uses the hand that’s cupping my jaw, to pull me closer. Cold floods the space he occupied as he pulls away, turning to face the front of the van once again.
Before I can question his absence, the arm on the back of the seat moves forward and he promptly wraps it around me. Leaving a small gap between us still, my heart swells as he gives me the option to pull away.
There’s not a single doubt in my head as I close the distance. Resting my head on his shoulder and smiling to myself as he pulls me in close.
After four hours on the road, everyone in our van starts to stir and mingle. Jasmine’s been whispering with her friends, periodically glancing back at me, and laughing. I try to ignore the forced giggling from her friends, but I can’t help the way my jaw clench gets moresevere the longer I’m in this car. I fear all my teeth will be cracked and broken before the first race.
Roman’s presence is the only reason she’s not making more obvious barbs in my direction, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
When we reach the halfway point, an hour later, everyone gets out to use the washroom and stretch their legs. Roman and I areso disappointedwhen we accidentally load into the other van with our friends.
Aurora gives me a big hug, expressing how sorry she is that she didn’t see me go into the other one. Her defense being that she sat down and proceeded to fall asleep immediately.
