"Bye Finn," she said with a cheeky smile, before disappearing into the crowded après ski bar without waiting for a reply.
Thea woke up to the sound of her alarm and groaned, clutching her aching head. 9am - what had she been thinking - an early lift up the mountain suddenly didn't seem like such a good idea after the antics of the prior evening.
Rolling out of bed she made her way into the chalet's living room where Vivi, Esme and Ben were already looking worse for wear, sitting beside the fire and clutching mugs of coffee like their life depended on it.
Thea shuffled over to the coffee machine, her muscles aching after her many failed skiing attempts over the last few days, before plopping herself into the couch beside Vivi, sipping her coffee and looking sheepish.
"Guys, I don't think I can ski today, I've fallen over a few too may times and everything hurts," Thea said with a groan.
"Ok, valid T," Vivi said laughing, "but what I really want to know is who was your handsome stranger? Don't think I didn't notice you disappearing with him."
"He was actually one of the victims of my skiing accidents," Thea laughed, "obviously it's nothing though, we're both just here on holidays."
"Then what's THIS?" Esme suddenly squealed, holding up Thea's phone and showing her a message.
"Hey Thea, it's Finn. If you remember anything after the third round of tequila shots then you'll know you promised me a date. Meet me beside the Alpine Lodge at 1pm and wrap up warm (but don't worry I'm not giving you another chance to kill me on the slopes). Finn :)"
Thea snatched her phone from her friend's hand. "I never promised him anything, she grumbled."
"Come on T," Vivi said," why don't you go? You just told us you're not skiing today so now you'll have something to do."
"What's his Instagram? I have to make sure he's not a serial killer," Esme added while Ben chuckled at the girls' chaos.
"Fineeeee," Thea groaned, "What's the worst that can happen? Well, actually maybe I might be murdered because I don't know his instagram Esme. I only know his first name and that he's here with some friends"
"WHAT?" The two girls shrieked, bringing Melanie and Miles into the kitchen to survey the chaotic scene.
"T's going on a date with a stranger from après ski and she only knows his first name so Esme thinks he's a serial killer," relayed Ben.
"I just don't understand how you know NOTHING about him, what did you even talk about?" Vivi said exasperatedly.
"I don't know, we were drunk Vivi," Thea said, "I also told him he looked like Oliver Taylor."
"The Formula 1 driver?" questioned Ben.
"Yeah, but he obviously isn't him, his name is Finn. It's just a brown hair, blue eyes and English accent thing I think," said Thea. "Look, ok fine I'll go, but I'll share my location and if I end up disappearing then tell the police what cabin in the woods to find my body in. Now let's make pancakes and discuss what all of you did when you were drunk. What'd I miss?"
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A few hours later, Thea was ready for her date and walking into the village. She had settled on her fur-lined ski jacket, cream turtleneck jumper and black flared jeans, layered with ski thermals to protect against the sub-zero temperatures. Adding her hat and scarf into the mix, she felt rather puffy, this was far from her usual choice of date attire.
Thea arrived and was somewhat disgruntled that Finn was nowhere to be seen. Until she realised he was, she'd just been looking in the wrong place.
YOU ARE READING
Lights Out
RomanceThea never saw him coming. Literally. For 22-year-old Thea, a ski holiday was just meant to be another part of her exchange experience. She didn't expect the handsome stranger she crashed into to change her life. *Set in the world of F1 racing but a...
