First Sight (5 page)

The waitress came back with our bill, and
Elizabeth
pulled out her corporate credit card.  “This
one
is on the expense account, since
it
’
s
Travis’s welcome lunch.”

“
Great, t
hank you,” Travis said.

“Thanks
Elizabeth
,” I said
.

Marissa
chimed in
, thanking
both Elizabeth and Travis.  “You know, for joining the team so we could all go out to lunch.”

“No problem,” he said with a laugh
,
slid
ing
out of the booth. 
“
This was
fun
.
”
As I got to my feet, I saw that he had already t
aken my coat off the hook
. 
As he stood there holding it, I noticed that h
e towered above me, and I wondered
how tall he was—definitely over
six
feet.

“Here you go,
Maddy
,” he said, handing my coat to me.

“Thank
s
.
”
I
took it
from him and slipp
ed
it on
as his dark eyes met mine
.

The four of us
slowly
walked back to the office,
no one particularly eager to get back to work.  We
talk
ed
about
the
logistics for the weekend. 
Elizabeth
and her husband had a large SUV that could seat six, so we decided that it might be easier for them to drive.
 
Marissa
, Travis, and I
agreed
to meet at
Marissa
’s apartment on Saturday morning and then drive out to
Elizabeth
’s house together.
  They all seemed
really
excited to be going skiing, and I silently wondered what
exactly I was getting myself in
to.

“You could sign up
for a lesson if you’re worried,”
Marissa
said
helpful
ly
as we pulled into the ski resort
on Saturday morning
.
  She turned around to peer at me, bundled
up
in her light pink parka
, hood
already
pulled over her head
.
 
Her blonde hair peeked out from beneath the fabric, and her blue eyes were wide and sincere. 
She and Mike were sitting in the middle of the SUV,
Elizabeth
and her husband
,
Steve
,
were up front, while
Travis and I
were
nestled
in the very back. 
Marissa
had been chattering the entire way, evidently excited either by the prospect of skiing or spending the day with Mike—I couldn’t tell which.  Still, it had been nice to have her stories
to
distract me.

I wondered if my worry was that obvious.  I’d tr
ied
to make casual conversation with everyone that morning, but the closer we got to the resort, the more the anxiety built up inside me.  How did I ever let them talk me into this?  I didn’t know the first thing about skiing.  I didn’t even have the right attire. 
Marissa
and I
had go
ne
shopping
one night after work
so that I could
buy some ski-appropriate clothes.  While I did already have a blue parka, I’d picked up some waterproof
grey ski pants, long underwear,
and
rugged black gloves. 
Marissa
had lent
me an extra pair of ski goggles, and I would rent skis and boots at the resort.

The five others had been trying to tell me that I had nothing to worry about.  I wasn’t too sure though, since they’d all been skiing for years.  They probably had forgotten how hard it was when you were brand new
to the sport
.

“Yeah,
don’t worry
Maddy
,
” Mike added, turning so that he was looking at me as well.
  “Usually the
lessons
are really helpful for beginners.”

I nodded and swallowed,
still feeling a little uneasy.

“I
can’t wait to go
skiing
!”
Marissa
said
excitedly
, clutching Mike’s arm
.

“
Me too
,
b
abe,” he said, turning back to
ward
her and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

Mike had turned out to be a nice guy—he was tall, with dark curly hair, and
worked in
marketing
at
a
firm down the street from our office. 
I hadn’t found
out
how he and
Marissa
had met, but no doubt it had been somewhere near
work
. 
Between happy hours
, lunches out,
and morning coffee runs,
Marissa
seemed to meet a lot of new people.  Mike
and Travis had
gotten
along well
enough
as we all headed out to
Elizabeth
’s that morning.
 
Of course, although I didn’t
know Travis very well, it seemed like he would get along with anyone—he was
easygoing and
f
riendly
all the time.

Mike had been joking
around
with
Marissa
the entire ride. 
She kept playfully elbowing him or punching him in the arm as we drove along the winding mountain roads. 
“
Kids, settle down!
”
Elizabeth
had even teased at one point.  Mike
appeared to be a bit of a jock,
and although he was
a little too macho for m
y tastes
,
Marissa
was
clearly
infatuated with him
.
  And of the various guys that she’d dated, he
was certainly one of the
men
better suited to her.
  Not everyone could keep up with her enthusiasm
and adventurous spirit
, but h
is personality
fit the bill.

“I’ll come with you to the
skiing
lesson,” Travis said
,
his voice deep
,
evidently
trying to make me feel better.

“Thanks, but you don’t have to,” I said, smiling gratefully at him.  “You’ll probably just be really bored.”

“I don’t mind,” he insisted, giving me an easy smile.
  “I wouldn’t just send you off by yourself
when
you’ve never
even
skied before.”

“Okay,” I said shrugging.  “If you’re sure….”

“Really, I’m sure,” he said.
 
As I took in his warm smile I thought that h
e
certainly
didn’t look like he minded having to suffer through
a
beginner’s lesson with me.  I hoped he wouldn’t regret not hitting the slopes right away with the others.
  Although I was worried about my capabilities on skis, I was
actually glad to have someone that I knew offering to help me.  I wasn’t sure what exactly a skiing class entailed, but I imagined the instructor would be busy with other students as well.  Besides, I’d only been
with Travis in group situations, and
I had to admit that I was
looking forward to spending
a little
time alone with
him.

Steve navigated the SUV into a parking spot, and we
all
climbed
out
. 
Marissa
, Mike
, Travis,
and I walked over to
the rental area
. 
Elizabeth
and Steve skied a lot, so they were busy removing the
ir
equipment
from the roof
rack
.
 
Marissa
explained to me how they would fit
us
for boots and skis. 
I filled out the
information
sheet
provided
, noticing that we had to sign a waiver for the risks involved. 
Great
—even the people who owned the place
were
acknowledging the
inherent
danger.
  I sighed as I signed the form, hoping that I wouldn’t break any bones in my quest to spend a day
skiing
with the others.

After getting fitted, we
each
carried our gear outside. 
I awkwardly tried to manage my skis and poles, unsuccessfully, as one pole clamored to the ground.  Travis reached down and grabbed it for me, easily gripping his
own
skiing
equipment in one arm.

“Need some help?” he asked, offering to take something else from me.

“No, I think I can manage,”
I
said with a wry smile.  “Thanks, though.”

I reached out and took the
pole
back from him
, then nervously looked around. 
Through the trees I noticed skiers effortlessly gliding down the gentle slopes.  They were obviously on a be
ginner run, but it didn’t look as
bad
as I thought it would
.  It wasn’t like they were racing straight down a steep hill like all the skiers that I’d seen on TV.  It actually looked like it could be fun.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay if we go skiing while you’re in class?”
Marissa
asked.  She was practically bouncing up and down with excitement, and I could tell that she was eager to get going.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.  Travis said he’ll help me.”

“We’ll catch up with you guys later then,” Mike said with a wave.  He pulled his mirrored goggles down and grinned at
Marissa
.  “Race you to the ski lift,” he said before taking off.

“You are so not beating me,” she called out as she hurried after him.  “Bye
Maddy
!” she
shouted
, glancing back at me.  “Call my cell when your class is over.”

“Bye!”

As t
he others headed off in the direction of the ski lift, Travis and I walked over to where the beginner’s lesson would be held.

“Why don’t you try putting your skis on before class starts,” Travis suggested
.
“
Y
ou can start to get used to the way they feel.”

“Okay,”
I
said, laying my skis
down
on the snow. 
Travis
showed me how to step into my ski
s
so the boot
s
would latch in. 
I didn’t realize it would be so hard just to put my skis on, but a
fter a few tries
of stomping my boot onto the ski
,
I
finally
got it. 
Once I got them on,
I tried to move forward, copying his movements, and immediately fell over.  Although the ground looked flat, it was sloping slightly downward.  I
hadn’t
expect
ed
to slide forward so easily
in the smooth snow
.

“It’s okay,” Travis called out to me.  “It will take a little getting used to.”

I struggled to stand up in my skis but couldn’t figure out how to without completely losing my balance.  Travis easily glided ove
r to me and held out his
gloved
hands.  I reached out to grasp them, and he was suddenly
pulling me to my feet in one swift movement.

“Tha
nks,” I said, clutching onto his arms
as I steadied myself.  “I didn’t expect to just start sliding like that.”