Forever With Me

chapter 17

chapter 17

       I stare at the small slope in front of me, second-guessing my decision to try skiing for the first time. This slope is perfect for beginners to get used to skiing before trying different slopes of various difficulties, but since this is my first time skiing, I doubt I'd try any other slopes. In fact, I'm having doubts about trying this slope.

       "You don't have to go down if you don't want to," Zali says. "A lot of people think they want to try skiing but decide at the last minute it's not something they want to do. There's nothing wrong with it."

       I shake my head. "No, I want to try it. I'm just... waiting to make sure it isn't too crowded before I ski down. For safety reasons."

       "Right." Zali looks down the slope. "There's barely anyone there. Now is the perfect time to go down."

       Zali knows that I'm a tiny bit afraid to go down the slope; he's just trying to get me to admit to it. I don't want to admit to it, though. I know there's nothing wrong with being afraid to ski for the first time, but I was so excited about trying it. Now I'm not as excited.

       "Here, I'll show you how to do it," Zali says. "Stand tall. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart." Zali does the stance he tells me to do and I copy him. "Tilt your shins forward a bit and make sure your shoulders are slightly in front of your hips. Then hold your poles like this." Zali does what he says and once again, I copy him. "Once you're ready to go, just gently push off on your poles."

       "Cool, give me five minutes and I'll be good to go."

       Zali chuckles. "Alright, if that's what you want. I'll meet you at the bottom of the hill." Zali puts his ski goggles over his eyes before he pushes off on the pole and glides down the hill. He makes it look so flawless, but I bet when I try, I'll just fall over.

       Lyle walks over, carrying his skis and poles. He sets his skis down beside me and puts them on. "If you're not going to ski, get out of the way so other people can go down," he says.

       "There's more than enough room for people to go down," I say. "And I'm going to go down." Just once I work up the nerve.

       Lyle snorts. "Sure you are." He puts on his goggles, then goes down the slope. Like Zali, he looks natural doing it too. If he has already skied before, he can go down a different slope. He's probably only going down this slope because Zali and I are here. It's like he's been following us around ever since we got to the ski lodge.

       I'm getting sick of Lyle constantly going out of his way to be rude to me when everything that has happened was his fault. If he didn't want me snitching on him, he shouldn't have cheated on Zali out in the open where anyone could have walked in on him. The annoyance I feel from Lyle is channeled into determination, so I put on my ski goggles before pushing off on my pole. Even though I'm going down the slope at a normal speed, it feels exhilarating. It's really fun.

       As I get closer to the bottom of the slope, I realize that I don't know how to stop. Zali realizes it too and since he's waiting at the bottom for me, he wraps his arms around me right as I was skiing past him, bringing me to a halt. "Thanks," I say.

       "Yeah, no problem," Zali says. "I guess I should have told you how to stop or even slow down."

       "My God, get a room, you two," Lyle says with an annoyed tone since he's near by and probably doesn't appreciate the fact that his ex-boyfriend has his arms around another guy's waist. Too bad for him because I know Zali didn't appreciate the fact that Lyle had his tongue down someone else's throat.

       "Get lost," Zali snaps back. "You don't get a say in what I do anymore."

       Lyle scoffs and walks off, going back up the slope so he can ski down it again. I don't get people like Lyle. He was so pissy when Zali so much as talked to someone else yet he was cheating on Zali. And now that Zali and Lyle are broken up, Lyle is still mad whenever Zali spends time with me. Not to mention Lyle is now dating Daphne. He can't have both.

       Zali asks if I want to go down the slope again. I do, and this time, Zali tells me how to slow down and stop skiing so he won't have to stop me every time. I only go down this slope for today, but I still have a lot of fun.

       When I've had enough skiing for the day, I decide to head back to the lodge. Zali wants to go skiing down the more difficult slopes, so I tell him I'll see him back at the lodge. Once I get into our room, I take off my outerwear before I flop down on my bed. Now that I'm trying to relax, I start to feel a bit sore, probably because it was my first time skiing so my muscles weren't used to that kind of movement. 

       Zali comes into our room about an hour later. He takes off his outerwear as well. He then grabs a towel, saying he's going to go take a shower. Maybe I should take a bath when he's done to help relieve my sore muscles.

       Zali showers for a few minutes, then he walks out of bathroom with his towel wrapped around his waist. He goes to grab some new clothes to wear, but I find myself just staring at his shirtless back with water dripping down. I can feel my cheeks heating up a bit, but I can't peel my eyes away. Zali is hot.

       God, what was I thinking? He's my best friend. Just my best friend. But the more I stare at him, the more attractive I find him. I mean, I think I've always considered him attractive since I moved back, but I never thought too much about it since he was in a relationship. But now that he's single...

       No, don't think like that. Feelings will only complicate things. He just needs to be my best friend.

       Right?

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wrong georgie lol.

last chapter i realized i didn't even write an author's note??? i also wrote one but idk why i didn't last time. i even inserted the line i always do before my author's notes lol. but anyway, i'm happy it's finally cool enough were i live where i can have candles lit and i don't need a fan one while i'm awake. i love the cold <3