“Hey.” Oliver shot me a huge smile, which sent my stomach into a cartwheel.
Taking in Oliver made me gulp audibly. He looked good. Likereallygood. His hair was pushed back, but a few waves hung by his eyes and the ends curled up by his shirt collar. He wore a flannel button-down that made me want to tuck right into him. His jeans fit him perfectly and ended in his brown boots he always wore anytime I saw him off the ski hill.
“Sorry, I would have been up earlier, but Mattie didn’t tell me you were here.”
“I got distracted,” Mattie said sweetly. “Silly me.”
I desperately wanted to shoot her a glare but didn’t want Oliver to see.
“You ready?” Oliver asked.
“Uh-huh.” I walked over to him, stopping a few feet short. Was I supposed to hug him?
“Ladies first.” He waved his hand in front of him.
I stepped toward the door, grabbing Mattie’s green coatoff the hook and slipping it on. “See you later,” I said to Giles and Mattie.
“Don’t wait up,” Oliver teased, winking at me.
I nudged him in the chest, and a sliver of my nerves were eased. Although a different kind of excitement brewed in my gut at the innuendo of staying out late with Oliver.
Oliver’s ideafor a date turned out to be some sort of ice sculpture park. Apparently, it closed tomorrow and he had been meaning to check it out.
We had to take a gondola up the mountain to get to it, and the ride itself displayed some of the most breathtaking views I had ever seen. My nerves hadn’t completely gone away, but I was momentarily distracted as I pressed my face up to the glass and took it all in. Mountains, rolling in the distance for as far as my eyes could see. The surrealness of it all hit me on the ride up. There I was, sitting with a guy who was my opposite in so many ways, in the most picturesque setting I could ever imagine.
The layoff had felt like the worst thing imaginable, but could it have been so bad if it had led to this moment?
When we arrived at the top, Oliver placed his hand on the small of my back, letting me exit the gondola car first. It was somehow like twenty degrees colder up here, and I was grateful for the thick sweater and wool coat I’d chosen to wear.
There were a few small warming huts. One saidTicketsabove it and the others looked like food vendors. Snow sculptures and large castles were carved into the snow. Some lit up as people wandered through the mazes of structures. I was immensely grateful he hadn’t picked an activity where I wouldlikely embarrass myself within the first fifteen minutes. Walk around and marvel at intricate ice carvings? Even I was capable of that.
Oliver paid for our tickets, and I insisted on a hot chocolate from the vendor before we started walking around. He asked me to take a picture of him on top of a giant snow fort castle. I even got in a selfie with him in front of one of the snow sculptures that looked like a giant elf.
As we moved through the displays, my anxiousness had finally started to subside. Every moment with Oliver was easy. Whatever pressure I had felt about tonight was gone as soon as he slung an arm around my shoulders. While I still wasn’t sure exactly what to make of us, I couldn’t deny how outright good it felt to be with him.
“Admit I can plan a good date,” Oliver said, smiling down at me as we walked through one of the larger light displays.
“I don’t know. I kind of wish you’d taken me snowboarding again,” I said.
We walked by a few other sculptures, one resembling a penguin eating an ice cream cone. “You’ll never let me live that down.” He chuckled.
“It’s okay. I’ve realized you like forcing me to do things I suck at. Snowboarding. Snowshoeing. You get a thrill out of me struggling while you breeze through the activity.”
“Is that what I’m doing?” he asked sarcastically. “I could have sworn I was just trying to have some fun with you.”
“Fun with me or fun at my expense?” I teased.
“Can’t it be both?”
I stopped when he stopped. His eyes lit up at something in the distance.
“Speaking of fun.” He pointed.
I squinted to see a small ice-skating rink with people swirling around it.
“What? No way.” I let out a laugh of disbelief. “I was thoroughly enjoying how chill this was.”
He pouted and reached for my hand. “Come on, Frankie. Please? Ice-skating is easy. It’s nothing like snowboarding.”
