AMB~she~OUS

THIRTY SIX

"Leave D&D and my father altogether."

Had that really happened or had it been some weird dream?

There was no way that could've happened last night, right? I mean-

"Miss, are you listening?" A voice snapped me out of my thoughts bringing me to the awfully dreadful present.

"I'm sorry, what?" I snapped my head to the boyish-looking man in front of me who had been saying something about keeping my legs together and stuff. Stuff I couldn't quite remember.

"It's pretty simple, most kids get past this stage just fine." He beamed at me holding out his hand for me to take.

"I'm sorry but I can't do this." My hands reached over to remove the ridiculous-looking gear off of me.

A hand moved over to stop me.

"I never took you for a quitter." Nick said, his mouth quipped in amusement.

I wasn't a quitter but I wasn't suicidal either. My eyes darted to the slope in front of me and I shuddered at the thought of falling to my death just because someone said it was "fun".

"I'm not, I just have a thing against heights." I muttered.

"Yet you're not afraid of breaking glass ceilings to climb certain heights?" He raised an eyebrow at me,  the corner of his lips tugging into a small smile.

"That's a bit different."

"Fair enough. So I can't convince you to try this out?" He asked.

I shook my head at him, I don't think there was anything that could get me on that so-called 'tiny' slope.

Nick watched me thoughtfully for a minute before turning to our ski instructor.

"Is there any chance both of us can go down together, maybe having someone next to her will ease the fear." Nick asked much to the instructor's glee.

"Of course, I don't see why I didn't think about it sooner. It's common for couples to do this for the first time together."

"No, we're no-"

"We'll go together then." Nick cut me off.

"I'm not going." I told him, nothing could get me up there.

"I'll cut you a deal." Nick bargained.

I didn't think there was anything he could offer me that could make me rethink how much I valued my life.

But I was a tiny bit curious. What could he possibly offer me at a time like this?

"You're curious, it's written all over your face. Just ask."

Damn him for always being right.

"What? What kind of deal?" I finally caved in.

"One question. I get to answer one question you've been dying to ask me." He offered.

It seemed too little to offer for someone who would be putting their life on the line.

I knew all about curiosity killing the cat but unfortunately, I didn't possess nine lives. I only had this one and there was so much I hadn't done.

"I'll make it two then. One question and one request, you can ask for just about anything and I will follow through. Think about it."

Now that appeared a bit more tempting. There were a couple of things I was curious about and I could use my request for later when I would really need it. Looking at it now, the slope didn't seem as big and intimidating as before.

"Let's do it then." I said, putting up as much bravado as I could.

*************†****************

Okay, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

If I was being completely honest I was starting to see why people liked these kinds of activities.

The adrenaline rush was kind of exhilarating, to say the least. However, just because I had enjoyed it one time didn't mean I was going to let Nick coax me into trying other things.

Like he was trying now.

"Let's just try snowboarding once, it isn't that different from skiing if you look at it right."

"No." I bluntly say.

There was a small coffee shop near us that I was going try, all the wetness and cold were starting to get to me, and was looking forward to something warm.

"Oh, come on how am I supposed to know if all this is good enough to purchase without your take?" His mouth did a little pout that had me bursting into laughter.

It was weird seeing him so lighthearted when all he had done was exhibit the complete opposite.

He wasn't the Nick I knew.

But then again, what did I know about him? Aside from what he had shown me...shown everyone.

"I'll cut you another deal then, what do you say?"

"I'm not making any more deals with you." I shook my head at him and pointed out to the coffee shop.

"If you need me, I will be sipping on a hot cup of cocoa."  I said, ready to drag my feet in the heavy snow.

"Wait!" Nick's hand reached out to stop me.

"What?" My eyes involuntarily rolled at him.

"Did you think about my offer?"

It was impossible not to.

"There's nothing to think about, Nick. I'm not leaving D&D...or Craig." I told him sternly.

It was absurd for him to even think I would consider such a ludicrous proposition.

"I'm not surprised, I knew it was a long shot but at least I tried." He didn't seem dejected which was slightly worrisome because that meant he wasn't going to accept my answer that easily.

Not wanting an ugly surprise in the near future, I decided to ask what Nick's plan B was since he had already anticipated my answer.

Because I knew he had one, he was the type.

"So what now?"

Nick's lips spread out in a sly smile. I suspected whatever he had up his sleeves wasn't going to be good.

"You're a bit slow-witted and it's kind of cute." He spoke voice full of laughter.

"What do you mean I'm slow-witted?" I asked borderline between perplexed and irked.

"If I can't win you over in a diplomatic way then I'm just going to use unethical means. I'm just going to have you leave D&D on your own accord." He declares with a small wink.

There was no way I would leave the company...right? Especially not for his.

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