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The wind picks up, and our bench starts to sway from the gust. I grasp the armrest.
Zane chuckles beside me. “Are you afraid of heights, Lo?”
“A little,” I admit.
“I’ve got you,” he says.
He places a gloved hand just above my knee, and I wish I could feel the warmth of his skin through the layers we are wearing.
A minute later, we pull up to the top of the run. I’m unsteady as I slide off the bench, and my board hits the snow. Zane anchors my arm as I regain my balance.
“Maybe this is too soon,” I say as doubt takes over. “I don’t think I’m ready.”
It’s funny how the incline looks so much steeper when you’re at the top looking down. Even an easy one, like green.
“You’re ready,” he insists. “And I told you … I’ve got you.”
Benji and Wyatt watch from a few steps away.
“You going down with her?” Benji asks him.
Zane nods, never relinquishing his hold on me.
“All right then,” Benji says. He jerks his body and starts sliding down the mountain.
Wyatt stands there for a second. Benji abruptly stops a few feet away and leans down for some snow on a bank. He forms a ball and launches it, pelting Wyatt right in the neck and pulling his friend’s attention away from us.
Zane chuckles as Wyatt curses and takes off after Benji. Soon, the two of them are weaving and trying to make every small incline into a ramp.
“They make it look so easy,” I say.
Zane glances over at me, but I can’t see his eyes behind his mirrored goggles that now rest on his face. I can feel them on me though. “It isn’t their first day on a board.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” I ask.
“Am I supposed to be mean?”
“Well … no. But after the other night … I don’t know … I thought …” I stumble over my words awkwardly.
He surprises me again when he smirks. There’s a flush on his cheeks from the cold. “You thought that little brush-off at the bar was going to dissuade me?” He scoffs out a laugh. “You don’t know me very well, Lo, if you think I’d give up that easily.”
“Is that right?” I ask as warmth spreads through my chest again. I don’t think I realized until just now how much I want that to be true.
“Yep. Come on. Let’s tackle this mountain.”
I shift forward, emboldened by his confidence in me. And when his hands fall to my hips and he lines up his board parallel with mine, I relax into the ride.
“Shift to the right,” he instructs.
He allows me to guide us both as I lean to the right, and we start zigzagging down the mountain to control the speed.
I love the feel of his hands on my hips and his presence at my back. It’s like I’m weightless and nothing in the world can touch me. I’m wobbly a couple of times, but Zane steadies me. And we make it to the bottom without falling.
“Is this how you teach all women how to snowboard? Even that Brett chick?” I ask, thinking about the bachelorette party.
He exhales a laugh. “Not even close.”
“So, I’m special?” I tilt my head.
