He comes back out with a board just about my height and a pair of size 10 boots. He places both on the counter.
“Give those boots a try, Cindergennie. They should feel nice and tight, but not too tight,” he says.
I slip one on my foot; it’s a perfect fit.
“It fits,” I tell Everest, “what do I owe you?”
“On the house, Princess. Now go get your Prince Charming,” he says, “but if he doesn’t meet your expectations, you know where to find me.” He winks and it makes me shiver.
“Thanks, Everest, but I’ll pass,” I say as I place my regular shoes on the counter, grab my helmet, board, and go. Yeah, Aspen definitely doesn’t meet my expectations. He surpasses them.
As soon as I make it outside, I immediately spot the bunny slopes. It’s the first thing to the right, so it’s not hard to find. Plus there are tons of little kids out here, so it’s easy to assume. Now, the hard part is going to be finding Aspen.
I jog through the slopes, glancing around and hoping he’s wearing the same blue coat he was wearing the day he ran into me. That will make it much easier to find him. I scan the hill and look for anyone wearing blue. Then, I see him. He’s wearing the same coat, but it helps that he’s tall. He must be 6’5,” because I’m tall and he still towers over me. Most guys that I talk to don’t, but I noticed a lot of guys here in Colorado are tall. All the guys that were over last night had to be at least six feet.
They must eat a lot of green beans here in Colorado.
I spot Aspen and walk over to him. God, he’s like a walking thirst trap with snow boots. I’m hoping he’s not too mad that I’m late. I just didn’t expect to meet him so early and I never set an alarm. It’s nice though, I don’t have to go the whole day thinking about him and wondering what he’s doing since I’m right next to him.
“Hey Aspen,” I say, interrupting him to help a girl get back on her feet. He looks good doing his job.
“You’re late,” he says, in something I think is a playful way.
“I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t think we would meet so early and I didn’t set my alarm.”
“I figured, I’m just pulling your leg,” he says. A wave of relief washes over me. “Why don’t you strap in to your board and we can get started. Everyone else is just learning how to get up from the ground and balance on their heels,” he informs me.
“Sounds good, coach. But if I break something, you’re buying me a drink.” I tell him, plopping myself down on the snow.
I strap both boots into my board and wait for his instruction while sitting with my knees bent.
“Okay, so snowboarding is a tricky sport. The key is to have balance. If you don’t have balance, then you will fall, which is okay, but it’s also hard to get back up if you’re not used to it, so you want to avoid falling,” He says. “To start with, you will be balancing on your heels. Try not to go on your toes yet. So I’m going to hold yourhands and help you stand. I’ll keep holding them while you get your footing. So remember, heels.”
He bends down to grab my hands and uses his muscles to help me stand up.
“Keep your knees bent,” he instructs.
I suck at balancing, so I topple over, causing him to fall back. At least he’s the cushion I land on.
His stomach is rock hard. I look down at him and giggle.
“Oops, sorry,” I get out through bouts of giggling.
Did I really just giggle? What the heck is wrong with me? I’m not the type to giggle.
“All good, Snowflake,” he says, the butterflies in my stomach flutter.
I roll off of him in the most unsexy way and do this weird move so I can turn my body back towards the mountain. I look like a turtle flipped on its shell, trying to wiggle back up on its legs.
He gets up, like that whole process is nothing.
I hear some of the girls in Aspen’s class making comments about me like; “How do I get that special treatment?” or “What do I gotta do to get those arms around me?”
I want to tell them so badly that Aspen in fact rocked my world last night and he might just do it again tonight, but I refrain.
“Try to lean back on the board so that way, if you fall, you fall on your butt,” he explains.
“Lean back. Got it.”
