Downhills From Here

Part 7: I prefer to arrive still alive

We trudged on in silence for what felt like ages. We could hear the faint echoes of people talking, laughing, screaming, and shouting, but we were alone in this neck of the woods. I stopped at an outcrop and looked down. It was a steep climb. I'd probably break my legs if I tried to descend here. Jonathan gently tapped my shoulder and pointed towards the forest.

"That way is easier."

Without acknowledging him I steered my steps into the forest until I felt his tap on my shoulder again.

"Jen." This time his voice was softer, gentler, the same voice I had fallen in love with earlier. I startled myself with that thought and turned so abruptly he almost walked into me. We stumbled a couple of steps together, him forwards, me backward until he regained balance and pulled me up with him.

"I'm sorry." He brushed off some imaginary snow from my shoulder and studied my face. He shrugged and looked a bit like a boy who was expecting to be told off.

Narrowing my eyes, I stared back at him. What was he sorry for? I was the one who had almost killed him, with my schuss downhill. I should say sorry. I should.

He sighed and looked down at our shoes, and spoke to the shoes when he opened his mouth again. "I'm sorry for shouting at you. You didn't deserve that."

Right, the shouting. I blinked. Did I have a concussion? He was apologizing.

He peered up at me as if to gauge my reaction. He wasn't getting a reaction. I had schooled my face into a spitting image of the Ice Queen. But on the inside, I was a confused burning mess. My brain was reeling. He was the first boy, or rather man I thought as I stared at his tall frame, who had ever apologized to me. My heart was jumping in my chest and I had a pressing feeling in my stomach.

"Jen, I'm sorry." He said again and lifted a hand to my face, but then just hovered there. He didn't touch me. I realized I wished he would touch me.

"It's Jenna," I said and realized I sounded really bitchy and softened my tone. "Thank you."

He looked at me and I felt I needed to elaborate.

"For apologizing. You're probably the first guy ever who has apologized to me."

"Wow. Guys can be dicks sometimes."

"Yeah." 

"I mean, I know I can be a dick sometimes, but I usually try to make up for it." He picked up his skis where he had dropped them when we stumbled and then turned to me again.

I had to turn away. The way he looked at me made my knees go weak. I sucked in a breath through my nose and clutched my skis harder. He's probably the womanizer I had judged him to be straight from the beginning. I was not going to fall for his charm, no matter how charming he was. No matter how gorgeous his eyes were. No matter... Get a grip, Jenna! I suppressed the urge to slap myself.

We continued in silence until I could see the piste through the trees. People were slaloming down, spraying snow here and there. Oblivious to our near-death experience.

"Do you..." Jonathan started just as we reached the edge of the piste and watched as a skier wooshed past us. The skier was looking very professional, doing deep turns from one side of the piste to the other. Avoiding other skiers like it was way too easy. We were still almost halfway up in the piste, and the red lodge was a small rectangle in the distance. I could feel the coffee call.

"Jenna?"

I realized Jonathan had asked me something, but I had been so busy watching the skier that I hadn't heard him. Jonathan frowned and looked at the disappearing skier and then back at me.