Downhill From Here

4. Brutal

Bowie's POV

October 18th

6:28 am

The coldness in the air was the only thing keeping me up right now. It was a brisk morning with the winds chilling my bones. The sun was still slowly getting up. I just wanted to go back to my bed.

I didn't understand why Nathan wanted to meet at 6 am. There were so many other hours of the day to choose from.

Standing in my snow gear at the top of the steep slope, I looked down at the halfpipe.

And watching Nathan come up on the ski lift, suddenly I was nervous.

What had I signed myself up for?

I was going to embarrass myself in front of one of the greatest snowboarders of all time.

Spending time with him and Lilo yesterday made me forget about our deal. I only saw the Dad version of him and I completely forgot about this version of him. Shit.

The oatmeal I had this morning suddenly seemed like a bad idea. I wanted to throw up.

Breathe, relax.

Remember what Stevie always says, "if you're gonna throw up, at least make sure no one's around."

The lift stopped allowing him to step off. He was only dressed in a light black snow jacket and white snow pants. His boots blended in with his pants and he wore a grey beanie.

We're we even experiencing the same weather conditions?

"Morning," he said with a gravely deep voice. My ears perked up by the sound of it.

His face was cleanly shaved and he looked down at my snowboard before looking at my attire.

"Hi," I smiled nervously, I could hear the shake in my voice. Although that could've also been the chill in temperature.

Walking straight up to me, he picked up my board and inspected it. He ran his gloved hands all along the sides and briefly looked at me.

"You're just going to do some runs," He held my board up to his side and looked down at me. I was chilled underneath his stare, the cold air forgotten.

He seemed different. But maybe it was just my nerves.

I felt like he was staring deep into my soul. The eye contact was too intense for me.

"Okay."

"I need to see what I'm working with," His breath created a vapor that disappeared instantly.

Handing me the board, he gestured his head towards the pipe.

Taking my board, I snapped my feet in and slid forward-facing down to the starting position. Pulling my pink eyewear over my eyes, I let out a shaky breath.

I'd been doing this forever. It's just like riding a bike.

Lifting my knees up together and turning to the side, I moved with my board heading towards the deck to transition. My body knew what to do instinctively.

I dropped down into the vert, feeling speed pick up. The cold air cooled my face as I came up on the opposite wall. I lifted my knees and my body went flying, I did a method grab and within seconds I was dropping back into the halfpipe, sliding to move up the next wall.

My speed was increasing and I used the momentum as I lifted up from the next wall. My body went even higher in the air this time, the ground looking so far from me. I spun in two full rotations, grabbing onto the tip of my board.