Page 61 of Vixen's Guide to Christmas
This makes her smile. “Vacation, huh? What do you have in mind?”
I pretend to think for a second, even though I already have something in mind. “I’m thinking something outside-y.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Not outdoorsy, right?”
I kiss her nose. “Absolutely not.”
“This feels pretty fucking outdoorsy.”
I laugh as Kat scrunches her nose and mumbles random swear words as we walk up the sledding hill on the grounds of the Timberline.
“It’s not that outdoorsy,” I defend.
She stops and points to the sled we’re carrying. “I’m walking up a hill. In snow. With boots on. And not cute ones. I’m helping carry a sled. That I’m going to use to slide down a hill in the cold with snow blowing in my face. And then I have to climb back up the hill again. If that's not outdoorsy, I don't know what is.”
She has a point, but I need to hold my ground. “Okay, it’s in the middle. But it’s going to be fun. Plus, it could be worse.”
“How?”
We stop at the top of the hill, and I lean in toward her. “We could be going on a hike.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Never.” I peck a kiss to her lips before arranging the sled on the top of the hill. When I stand back up, I see her looking around, a bit confused.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“Yeah. Just wondering how this goes.”
I give her a confused stare. “How what goes?”
“How does this work?” Kat points to the sled. “Like, how do we move? How does it go? Is there an engine I missed? I don't understand the mechanics.”
“Kat, have you never gone sledding before?”
“This is actually my first snow.”
That takes me back. “Your first snow?”
She nods, suddenly a little shy. “You have to remember, I'm a born and raised California kid, and not in the area where they do get some snow each year. This is my second Christmas in Tennessee, but the only snow we got last year was when I happened to be away for work. So yeah, all of this is a first for me.”
Wow…I never even thought of that. And now I’m even more glad that I stretched the limits of her outdoorsy and outside-y rule.
When you’re in your thirties, there are less and less firsts to be had. Sure, marriage and kids are there. Some big life experiences. But these littles ones? Ones that normally wouldn’t be a big deal, but when you get to watch the person you’re falling for more and more experience them? Those are the ones you’re going to treasure.
And it being on Christmas Eve? There’s something poetic about that.
“Well then…” I pull her into me, giving her a quick, and family friendly, kiss. “Let me show you how it’s done.”
I make sure the sled is situated perfectly on the hill—flat enough that we can get in it, but not so far away we can’t catch the slope.
“Get in, toward the front,” I instruct, which she does. I move it up a little closer before I situate myself. “Now come here.”
I spread my legs, bringing her back tight into my hold. She turns her head just as I wrap my arms around her.
“If you wanted me to cuddle you like this, we could’ve stayed in the room and done warm, inside-y things.”
I chuckle. “We'll have plenty of time to do that later. Now, when I give the go, we’re both going to push off with our hands. A few shoves and we should be at the hill and then gravity takes us the rest of the way.”
