Demanding Ransom (26 page)

“I’m
fine,” I grumble, and someone, probably a ski instructor, rushes over to us to
help us off the ground, not because they’re worried or concerned, but more
because we’re holding up the line. “And I still hate you.”

“I
figured,” Ran says, pulling me up. My legs already feel sore and my muscles tremble
with exhaustion, and we haven’t even made it down the bunny hill. “Do you
forgive me?”

“No.” I
let him haul me to the far side of the slope, out of the way of the families
with children that don’t even look old enough to walk, yet seem to know exactly
what to do as they plow down the mountainside on their skis and boards.

“I’ll
have to see what I can do to change that.” Even though he still has his goggles
on, I don’t miss that wink he shoots me. “Okay, so let’s sit down and get the
other boot strapped in.” He pulls my foot into the bindings like earlier.
“Since you’re a goofy rider—”

“Shut
it—”

“No,” he
laughs, “it’s just what they call it when you ride with your right foot
forward. I’m goofy, too, so it will make things easier. I’m going to stand right
behind you and help you angle down the hill. We’re going to take it nice and
slow, Maggie. You don’t need to be scared.”

Nothing
about his statement provides any calm, mostly because I have no idea what he’s
talking about, and also because the thought of him at my back as I fumble down
the hill sends a wave of chills up my spine. Well, I’ve had chills all over,
really, ever since I set foot in the snow. But these ones aren’t brought on by
the cold.

“Okay,
let’s get you up.” Ran slants his board so he’s immediately behind me, and when
he grabs onto my waist, those chills from my spine flood into my brain and
shock my entire nervous system. “Because I think you can handle it, we’re going
to go straight to garland.”

“Uh,
okay.” It’s clear that I’m just not going to understand any of this lingo and
will have to rely on Ran to teach me everything.

“So your
board is flexible.” He holds me in place. “It’s flexible tip to tail, but it’s
also flexible toe edge to heel edge, too.” He gently pushes me forward, just
enough so that I’m forced to catch my balance by gripping my toes against the
boots. It would probably be easier to do if they weren’t so numb. “Since it
bends in so many directions, you’ll be able to take advantage of that as you
shift your weight from your toes to your heels. Does that make sense?” As Ran’s
explaining, he pulls at my hipbones and draws me closer to his hips. I try to
regulate my breathing, because I don’t want to fog up my goggles right now. As
much as I’d like to keep my eyes closed, I really need them open.

“I
guess.”

“Okay.”
He keeps his hands on my hips. “So garlands are just small turns. Like picture
Christmas garland and how it curves. That’s the design we’re going to make in
the snow.”

I nod
and shiver at the same time.

“So you
know how I said your board is flexible? It can twist side to side, kinda like
wringing out a towel. So when you alternate your pressure—pressing one
foot down and lifting up on the other—your board will twist.”

“Got
it.” I don’t really, but I need him to continue explaining so I can focus on
something other than his hands that are still around my waist.

“Okay.
So a garland really is just a series of half-turns, without changing edges.
We’re going to start with a heelside garland okay?” I nod. “We’ll slowly head
down the hill, pointing our board toward the fall line, and then we’re going to
shift our weight backward to slow up by lifting our toes. Got that?”

I nod
several more times, but I didn’t catch any of it. Heelside, garland, and fall
line make absolutely no sense to me. Flustered, ruffled, and
distracted—those are words I understand much better at the moment.

“After
we slow from that, we’ll press our weight to our front toes and the edge will
lift out of the hill and the board will turn toward the fall line again, okay?
We’ll just keep doing that over and over until it feels good, alright?”

I think
the only part about this snowboarding debacle that feels good is having Ran’s
hands on me. And even that holds just enough tension in it that it borders on
tormenting instead, because all I really want to do is flip around, rip off
this stupid board, and tackle him in the pile of the fresh powder that clings
to the edge of the tree line. Having him tempt me last night with that peck of
a kiss did something crazy to my brain and my insides and nothing is really
working as it should today. I honestly don’t know why I assumed my legs would
be able to figure things out, either.

“Okay,
if you’re ready, here we go.” Ran drops his front hand and keeps the back at my
left hip as he cautiously guides me forward. “Very good, Maggie,” he encourages
as we pick up speed slightly, the packed snow sliding under the smooth bottom
of our boards. “Now pull up on your front toe and we’re going to dig back into
the hill with our heels, okay?” He brings his right hand to the small of my
back as I do what he says, and he steadies me so I don’t fall completely over
onto him. “Nice.”

My body
angles forward again, prompted by his slight pressure. “Now let’s point the toe
toward the fall line and try again.” I do as he says, but I think I must
overcorrect because my weight propels me over the toe edge of my board and Ran
has to hook his arm around my waist to pull me upright, his hand landing a
little higher than he probably means for it to, though I don’t know that he
notices. There is nothing remotely feminine about my attire right now and I’m
sure I’m nothing more than a figureless blob of androgynous jackets and padding
in his eyes, anyway.

“Whoa,”
he breathes against my neck as he catches me. “Too far.” I reclaim my balance
and we start to slide down the hill again. “It’s all about little shifts in
balance. You don’t need to dive over the front of your board.”

“I like
to take things fast,” I say, not entirely limiting my answer to just
snowboarding. I wonder if he picks up on it. I don’t know why I’m being so
bold; this really isn’t like me. Maybe because I won’t be alive past this
afternoon, having frozen to death and all.

“Some
things need to be taken slowly, Maggie,” he states, and it’s glaringly evident
he’s knows what I mean. My cheeks heat a thousand different shades of red.
“Let’s try this again.”

This
time Ran doesn’t let go of me and I’m not sure if it’s because he’s worried
I’ll go end over end with my board still bound to my feet, or if he just
doesn’t want to let go. I’m hoping it’s the latter as I feel him closer at my
back, our boards only about six inches apart now, cutting the same grooved
pattern into the snow. We stay like this, slipping down the shallow mountain
until we’re at the base where the snow flattens out completely and stretches
toward the lodge.

Ran
swivels around to face me and looks up the vast, white hill at our work. “Nice
job, Maggie!” he shouts, tossing me a high five that totally rocks any balance
I had. I plummet to the hard ground with a thud. I’m pretty sure the entire
mountainside rattles underneath me. “Sorry!” he laughs, stretching out a hand
to me. Instead of letting him aid in helping me, I tug his arm with one
forceful jerk and he crashes down on top of me. His breath rushes out from him,
suspended in a frozen cloud between us.

Ran
pushes his goggles up onto his forehead and then slips his fingers under mine
to do the same. “Maggie,” he says softly, “it’s not nice try to injure your
teacher.”

“It’s
not nice to hang back when I’m ready for more,” I retaliate. “Plus, I feel
kinda bad that you have to spend all this time on the bunny slopes with me when
it’s clear that you’re very experienced and should be carving up that
mountainside.”

Ran
pushes up on the snow and does what looks like a scissor kick to flip his board
over so he can sit next to me. “I like teaching you,” he says, tucking a loose
lock of his dark hair up under his gray beanie. He stares straight ahead and
the muscle at the back of his jaw tightens. “And I like taking things slow with
you, believe it or not.”
 

In a
strange way, it feels like he’s rejecting me again. That is, until he turns
toward me and leans in, bringing his mouth just to the edge of mine so his
breath flutters against it. “I like it this way, Maggie.” His eyes are still
open when he presses his lips onto mine, and though my mouth had been frozen
solid from the bite of the air before, the moment the heat of our lips meshes
with one another, they’re not just instantly thawed, but they radiate a warmth
that courses throughout my veins. Even my toes don’t feel as cold as they once
did.

Ran
brings a hand behind him on the snow to push further toward me, his lips
increasing in pressure against mine, and the moment my eyes start to close and
my breath leaves me, he pulls back. “You ready to try again?”

I nod,
wishing he was talking about the kiss, but knowing he’s referring to the hill
that sits behind us. He looks over his shoulder toward the chair lift.

“Yeah,
let’s do that again,” I say, pushing off the ground. Ran takes my gloved hand
and steadies me. I shoot him that smirk he’s so good at and add, “All of
it.”
 

“You’re
really doing great. And I’m not just saying that.” Our chair continues its
steady incline and I’ve gotten used to the nauseous sensation that accompanies
riding it because I just don’t think it’s going to go away. This has to be
close to our twelfth time heading up the hill, and each run I pray that they
won’t have to shut it down for me again. Luckily, the past ten trips have been
a success.

“Thanks,”
I reply, trying to hold his hand, but our gloves are so thick that our fingers
don’t fit together well. “I hate to admit it, but it’s actually a little fun.”

“I think
it’s funny that you hate to admit that.” Ran adjusts his goggles and
straightens out his beanie. There’s a clump of snow tucked into the fold of it
and it’s gradually melting, leaving a darker ring of damp gray in its place.

“Why?”

“You
don’t like admitting your wrong, Maggie. And it’s kinda cute when you do.” He
brushes the tip of his index finger across my nose, which I’m sure resembles
Rudolph’s bright red bulb. The temperature’s dropped over the past two hours
and the higher up the mountain we go, the windier and more frigid the air.

“Well
then, if you find it cute, I’ll have to admit to being wrong more often.” It’s
fun to flirt with him like this, like we’re playing some game. It’s fun to do
anything with Ran, actually. Even snowboarding.

“Tell me
three things you can admit you were wrong about.” He leans toward me and quirks
up his lips. “Preferably about me. That would be cuteness overload.”

“Hmm.” I
feign thinking long and hard, because the reality of it is that I was
completely wrong about him; I was wrong about almost everything when it came to
Ran. “What if I admit to more than just three things?” I tilt my head as I ask
the question, and I glimpse the people that ski and board down the hill under
us. They look like a child’s action figures, they’re so small.

“Then
you would be drop dead gorgeous, but honestly that is already true, so it’s not
really like any of this changes much.”

“Well,”
I begin, trying not to peer down at the snow below because it’s throwing off my
equilibrium, “for what it’s worth, I was wrong about everything with you, Ran.
You’re not at all who I thought you were.”

“Good or
bad?” I have no idea where he’s taking me, because this lift is still climbing
and I can’t see the end of it through the clouds of mist that hover over the
mountaintop.

“Good.
All good.”

I drop
my head onto his shoulder and breathe in his scent. Though it’s freezing out,
we’ve given ourselves quite the workout this afternoon and Ran smells faintly
of sweat as a result. But he also has the clean smell that just seems to be
him, and I can’t get enough of it.

“What if
there was one more thing you didn’t know about me that might change that?”

Oh no.
Where did this come from? I thought we’d already done this whole ‘I have
secrets in my past that might change the way you feel about me’ thing. I
honestly don’t know how many more skeletons I want to meet—between the
two of us we could fashion quite the impressive haunted house come Halloween.

“What
now, Ran?” I try not to sound exasperated by it because I do want him to be
open with me and if he catches my hint of frustration, that might not continue
being the case.

“Tell me
you’ll forgive me first,” he smiles.

Not
again. “Seriously? You
do
realize
that making me do that is not at all fair, right? Because you could say
something terrible like you’re an ax murder or drug embezzler or something.”

“If I
were either of those things, would you not forgive me?” Ran stares at me
straight through his goggles. I think he’s actually a little bit serious.

I shake
my head. “
Really
?” He nods. “I don’t
know—I guess if you were truly sorry then I would forgive you. I guess.”
I waver. “I don’t know. That’s just crazy.”