“This is my wife, Stephanie, and daughter, Sam, by the way. This is my instructor, Ollie.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, trying to hide my surprise that Kevin had this whole family. Even though I’d only met him today, this didn’t fit into the vision I’d crafted of him—the vision I had already started modeling my own life after. In reality, Kevin was apparently a family man. Not at all what I saw for my future.
“Can you teach me to snowboard?” Sam asked.
I chuckled and bent down so that I was closer to her level. “I most definitely could. I bet you’re a natural, just like your dad.”
“Let’s master skiing first,” Stephanie said, smiling.
I looked down at Sam. “Maybe next year.”
Her smile widened, revealing two missing top teeth.
While I hadn’t spent too much time around kids, I had given my fair share of lessons to them throughout the years. While I preferred the more advanced lessons, kids always impressed me with their resiliency and lack of fear. They would truly just go shooting down the mountain without a care or a single thought toward their well-being. Meanwhile, most beginner adults completely got stuck in their own heads. Frankie’s lesson came to mind…
“Thanks again. We’ve got to go catch our dinner reservation, but I really appreciate today.”
I shook Kevin’s hand and said my goodbyes, watching as he walked away with his little family.
They were cute, but I felt zero pang of longing for that dynamic. My childhood had proven to me that just because you can call it a family in name didn’t mean it acted like one.
I slung my board underneath my arm and headed in the direction of my studio apartment. A hot shower to shake the internal chill that had gripped onto my bones sounded more than enticing.
“Ollie!” My name echoed along the bottom of the mountain. I whipped around to see Giles walking toward me, his own snowboard still in hand.
“Hey,” I greeted him. “You trying to grab a drink?”
Did I sound too hopeful? Too desperate?
“Nah,” Giles said. “I was just getting a few runs in, waiting for Mattie to finish up at the lodge. We’re making dinner together since Frankie is working again.”
“Sister-in-law cramping your style?” I joked.
Giles shrugged. “I think anyone in my space for an extended period of time would eat at me a little. But Frankie istrying really hard to get a job so I’m trying not to stress her out more. Plus, she works at Marie’s most nights lately.”
“Right, I’ve seen her in there.” A huge understatement. I’d learned her schedule and had eaten dinner there every night she worked this week. While the food was fine—good, even—I was beyond sick of the roasted vegetables and healthy crap that was exclusively on the menu. I’d kill for a burger and fries. But any time I thought about going somewhere else—sitting alone at a table for one—I found myself wandering into Marie’s yet again to sit on a barstool in front of Frankie. I’d suffer through another plate of rabbit food if it meant getting whatever free time she had in between pouring drinks.
“If you’re trying to get a drink somewhere, I think some of the seasonal workers were headed to The Ridge.”
I winced at the thought. I’d tried hanging out with some of those guys when I’d first gotten here, but they all made me feel ancient. Last weekend, they’d gone out for one of the guy’s twenty-first birthday, and at least two people in the group had asked me to look at their fake IDs to see if they looked legit.
“I’m good,” I said.
Giles chuckled. “Too young for you?” he asked knowingly.
“Is that what I seemed like to you when we met?” Giles was a little older than me, and I don’t even think I was twenty when we first met.
“If anything, you seemed even more exuberant, if that’s possible,” he joked. “But I liked you. You weren’t afraid to try anything. Plus, you had a good head on your shoulders. Responsible.”
“You’re probably the only person to describe me like that. Can you put in a good word with Frankie?” I wanted to take the words away the second they came out.
Giles lifted his eyebrows, but didn’t necessarily looksurprised that I’d brought her up. “You’re hanging out with her tomorrow, right?”
“Not like that,” I said, even though he hadn’t actually suggested anything. And I wasn’t sure how to describe what Frankie and I were doing tomorrow. The word “date” didn’t quite fit, but what other term could describe two people who had kissed, still felt a spark of attraction, and were now spending time alone together?
Giles held up his hands. “I didn’t say anything.”
I still felt the need to explain myself, like word vomit. “We’re both new in town, we don’t know many people. I just wanted to hang out and make it up to her after the snowboarding nightmare.”
