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I back away at the last second, nod toward the lodge “Coo inside”
She stares atmoments, but this time all I see in her eyes is pure pissed-off female It’s a look I’ister it After all, having Ca at me with all that worry and other crap
She doesn’t callup—lobe in the hands of a hyped-up toddler—she doesn’t argue, either At least not until we lass doors of the Lost Canyon ski lodge We’re only there a few seconds before a group of rowdy gro on her ass The kids take off running before either of us can do more than stare at the little monsters
I hold out a hand to help her up and she takes it, but her blue eyes spark with annoyance “What exactly are we doing, Z?” she de in here”
“Don’t sweat it Mike’s not out here tonight And even if he was, I won’t let him near you”
She stiffens at theex “He’s not the one I’m worried about”
“Oh, yeah? Who are you worried about, then?” I glance around I wouldn’tthe shit out of so her
“You, Z I’m concerned about you”
Fuck I walked right into that one Cam, Luc, Ash, and I have been friends since ere like five Which is great when you understand that we’d pretty reat when it co there is to know about one another—including the fked-up stuff
“Don’t be,” I tell her, deterame “I already told you, I’m solid”
“Yeah, right” She pulls off her ski hat and her crazy red curls poof in all directions With all that hair and her turquoise snowboarding suit she looks a little like a Muppet A cute Muppet, but a Muppet nonetheless To annoy her—and maybe to distract her, too—I reach out a hand, ruffle her curls
She slaps at , so I do it some more The tension from that disaster of an alhup my friendship with her and Luc, too, isn’t an option
She ducks down, escapesa bony elbow squarely inweakness is soion with ive her curls an extra tug before dodging out of range, just to show her the elbow didn’t hurt
“Coet a table”
“Why can’t ait outside like we usually do?” She’s alive in to her But not now Not tonight
Because if I can’t board, can’t sht, there’s only one option left And we’ve already had one too-close-for-comfort call “It’s cold out there, in case you haven’t noticed”
She looksthree thousand dollars in top-of-the-line snowboarding gear and you’re worried about a little cold?”
“A little cold? No” I point toward the doors we just cah In the last fewin all directions “But it is fking cold out there I was starting to worry about getting frostbite on my nuts”
She rolls her eyes, ust “Nice, Z”
“Hey, you asked,” I tell her as I shedblizzard conditions outside, but inside the resort the heat is cranking full blast It feels good after half a day on theI want to do is start to sweat, not e’ll be back out there in a matter of o I thought you’d appreciate the chance to thaw out”
“Yeah, that’s e’re in here,” she says, finally getting on board anda beeline for the only available table in the coffee bar “Because you’re worried about the condition of my lips”
I ignore her as eave through tangles of people and snow gear alike The place is crowded, but that’s nothing new this time of year Everyone fro in between hits the Park City slopes once winter closes in, all hoping for a rip-roaring time Of course, —one of the many reasons I, like most of the locals, norue It’s a lot easier to get hurt on a run when half the people out there with you don’t have a clue what they’re doing
In fact, if I hadthe backcountry every day instead of just on weekends But once Lost Canyon started paying Luc and Ash to ride here when they’re in town, I started co into the non-resortified areas Because while Icrazy shit, even I’o backcountry on my own At least most of the time
Cam slides into the booth, then looks at me expectantly “I’d like a Power O,” she tells me It’s the snowboarder special here at Lost Canyon, a specially y drink that slams you with a shot of pure adrenaline It’s her favorite, but it’s never really done ht up
“I thought it was your turn to buy”
She snorts, tries to look tough “Dude, stop fronting We both knoe’re in here”
“Oh, yeah?” I ask, brow raised “And why is that?”
She zeroes in on option number four and we both pretend there’s no hurt behind the snide look she givesboobs and don’t-fuck-with- orders behind the counter You’ve been looking for her ever since you saw her on the slopes last week I’ to make a move”
To be honest, so aht e to the ht coat I alot to the top she alking away