anna morgan is a world-class snowboarder who happens to be enjoying her time off in the quiet ski town of summit valley. when she reconnects with an old friend, will cloud, she isn't expecting much out of it.
with the annual 'fire and ice' competit...
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anna
"anna!" i grabbed my smoothie off the counter and turned toward the sound of my name. will cloud was walking quickly towards me with a brown backpack slung over one shoulder.
"hey will." i greeted him, giving him a small smile. his presence instantly stirred up butterflies in my chest. he was easily a foot taller than me with a head of gorgeous brown hair and pretty eyes. so many girls fought for his attention, it made me nervous that it was all currently directed at me. dink, one of his best friends, trailed behind him, stopping to say hi to someone before continuing toward me.
"why have i heard a rumor that you got busted trying to figure out the cloud 9?" he asked me, the look on his face telling me he knew it was more than just a rumor. the corner of his mouth shrugged up into a small smirk and a playful look danced in his eyes. he looked me up and down as he spoke, almost like he was judging if i could actually nail the trick.
"i'm kayla. have to run! catch up with you later!" i said quickly, dropping a five-dollar bill into the tip jar and turning my back on him. he grabbed my right hand and dink stepped in front of me, blocking my path. i shivered lightly at the contact between our fingers and felt how rough his hands were.
shaking the thoughts from my head, i rolled my eyes and turned back around to face will. i looked up to meet his green eyes but they were already looking down at me, piercing through the facade i was fronting. he smiled at me and let go of my wrist.
"i got bored. i wanted to see if i could do the first move. relax! my snowboards are locked away and i'm not allowed back on them until my dad gives them back. you don't need to worry about anyone perfecting the cloud 9 before you." i lightly shoved his shoulder and took a sip of my strawberry-banana smoothie. he and dink linked arms with me and started walking toward my house, dragging me along between them.
"oh, trust me. iw asn't worried about you actually being able to perfect it." will gave me a pretty smile and laughed to himself. his laugh was deep and enticing, beckoning me to laugh along with him as much as i tried to fight it.
"i don't know will...if anyone could perfect it, i think it would be anna." dink winked at me and stepped a little closer. will tightened his grip on my arm the tiniest bit, causing my cheeks to heat up.
"when your dad does decide to let you have your boards back, i don't want you to try the cloud 9 again, anna," will said definitively. this caused me to roll my eyes at him again. his voice was stern, like he was reprimanding me. i pulled out of their arms and turned around to face both will and dink.
"i can handle myself. i don't need you two to look out for me, but thanks anyway. how sweet of you both!" i flashed dink a bright smile before i turned back around and walked up the steps to my front door. i glanced over my shoulder to see a fierce look on will's face. it was a mix of anger and concern.
dink was smiling at me with a glazed-over look in his eye. i sent him a small wave, which caused him to snap out of his daze. he said something to will and slapped his shoulder. this caused the look on will's face to soften and he nodded his head. will have me a small wave and he continued on with dink already starting up another conversation.
