True L̶o̶v̶e̶ Story (9 page)

Oh gross. I don’t even recognize myself anymore.

But back to the fashion…

My cable knit sweater Uggs are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn in my entire life. I didn’t get the hype about Uggs either, until I tried on a pair. I don’t ever want to take them off, so naturally, I’m wearing them, along with a short cream sweater dress, when I get on the airplane and nervously fly to Denver.

Okay. I should be completely honest. I’ve looked for any kind of diversion, including fashion, to get my mind off of the fact that I’m terrified of breaking a leg. Specifically, I’m terrified of breaking a leg in front of Ian. I have never even had a desire to ski. It’s not come close to crossing my mind since I can trip falling UP the stairs. I can trip over nothing. My own two feet are fully capable of betraying me without any warning. They’re vicious, really.

These thoughts are warring in my brain as I look out the window and gaze into the cotton puff clouds. I guess it’s better than obsessing over seeing Ian again. I won’t deny that I’ve battled pushing him out of my brain, deciding to not overthink anything with him. I will just see what he has to say, if anything, when I see him. Consequently, all I’ve thought about for days are all the ways I can stay OFF the slopes. I have an arsenal of reasons/ excuses to pull out, should anyone corner me about why I’m avoiding my skis.

These theories are all shot to dust during the car ride with my parents to the resort. After many hugs and kisses are passed around, they start right in.

“We’re scheduled to have a skiing lesson at 8 A.M.,” Charlie informs me.

“About that…” I start.

“Your mom and I will join you. You’ll do fine, Rosie.”

“You know how to ski, you don’t need to wait up for me. Take advantage of all this,” I wave my hand, wildly pointing at the snow-covered mountains. It doesn’t work.

“No, I could use a refresher course,” my dad says.

“Me too. How long has it been since we’ve done this?” Charlie pipes in.

This leads to a ten-minute trip down memory lane. The last time they skied was when they spent their anniversary in Lake Tahoe. I tune out for a minute, admiring the beautiful sunset, when I hear Laila’s name. My ears perk up and I rejoin the conversation.

“Have you seen Jeff and Laila yet? Is everyone already here?”

“We saw them briefly as we were leaving to get you. There’s quite a group here.”

“Really? How many?” I want details.

“Oh, I’d say at least fifteen, maybe twenty…” My mom looks back at me and smiles. “Ian asked about you. He wondered if you were coming … seemed surprised you weren’t already with us.”

“Hmmm.” I say with all the nonchalance I can muster. Meanwhile, my insides are doing trampoline circus tricks.

***

It’s dark by the time we get to Crystal Peak Lodge. The glistening lights of the resort against the backdrop of the mountains and starry sky is a sight to see. Every stressful thought from the last couple of months dims, and anticipation takes its place. This will be wonderful. I am determined to make it so.

I thought I wasn’t ready to see Ian yet, but my eyes scan the lobby, searching every corner for him. All of a sudden, it’s very real that I WILL BE SEEING IAN SOON. I can’t wait. Even if it doesn’t go the way I might hope, I just want to look at him.

“There you are!”

I turn around and am immediately swallowed in a hug from Jeff. Laila stands next to him and smiles, her warmth a few notches cooler than the last time I saw her. It bewilders me momentarily, and then her smile widens and I push my thoughts aside.

“Sparrow, hello! You look so pretty. Did you have a nice flight?” Laila looks me over from head to toe and back up again. I want to ask if I passed inspection.

“Thank you. Yes, it was fine,” I smile.

I’m glad when my parents pick up the conversation. My dad goes to our condo to put my luggage away while my mom and I follow the Roberts to the lodge’s restaurant. Our group is already there and introductions are made all around. Still no Ian. Everyone seems pretty nice. My parents go for the older group—the parental side—congregating to the left side of the huge table and I venture to the younger side. I sit by Wendy, who appears to be around my age. Across from Wendy is Carl, and I think they’re a couple. On the other side of Wendy is a gorgeous blonde, Jade. She’s a bit icy, but I guess you can get away with that when you’re so beautiful. Next to Carl are two handsome brothers, Jake and Jared. I realize belatedly that they’re also brothers to Jade. The J siblings. They could all be models.

I realize I’m the baby when everyone around me orders fancy cocktails and beer. No one says anything about my choice of Coke with a squeeze of lime. Small talk resumes and it turns out, they’re spread all over: California, Indiana, Texas and even New York. Jared perks up when I say I’m at NYU. He’s finishing up his last year at Columbia. The food arrives and my tenderloin is delicious. I can never resist a good steak. I’m really enjoying getting to know everyone, especially Wendy and Jared, when I feel him in the room. I turn around and sure enough, Ian is walking into the restaurant.

Carl sees him next. He waves, and Ian lifts his hand to Carl, but his eyes are on me. He walks straight for me and stops just behind my chair. I look up at him and can’t help it. I’m fairly certain I light up like a tacky lawn at Christmas, complete with a flamingo.

“Sparrow…” His lips curve up. “You made it. How are you?”

“I’m well. How about you?”

“Same. I see you brought the beauty to Colorado.”

“I think it was doing fine on its own.”

Ian’s smile widens. “No … no, I don’t think you know what you do…”

We stare each other down … until Jade clears her throat. “I saved you a seat, Ian,” she calls out. “You’re just in time for dessert.”

Ian doesn’t look at her right away, but when he does, the spell breaks. He pats my back in a friendly gesture and goes to sit by her.

I can’t help it. I’m stung. I don’t know what I expected, but it was something a little …
more.
I want to kick myself for having any expectations at all. I pass on dessert and mostly listen to the conversations around me. I can’t hear what Jade and Ian are saying, but it sounds like they’re not having any lull in topics.

“Sparrow?” Wendy is looking at me, waiting for my response.

“I’m sorry, did you ask me something?”

“I was wondering if you want to head to our condo,” she points to the others, “we’re just gonna hang in the condo tonight and get up early to ski in the morning. Come with us.”

“Aw, thanks. I better … go back to my own tonight. I haven’t seen my parents in a couple of months. And I have a skiing lesson first thing in the morning.” I try not to grimace as I say that.

Jake pipes up, “You haven’t skied before?”

“No, never.”

The table goes silent when I say that. Jared waves his hand nonchalantly. “Oh, you’ll be fine. I think I had my first lesson here…”

I smile at him and then turn to the others, making eye contact with everyone but Ian and Jade. “It’s so nice to meet all of you. I’m beat tonight, but I’d love to catch up with you tomorrow night.”

They all agree to look for me the next day, and I stand up to head back to my room. My parents are still in deep discussion with their new friends and the Roberts. It could be a while before they’re ready to go. All of a sudden, I realize I’m not just making it up—I really am exhausted.

I head to the other side of the table to kiss my parents and am turning to leave when I nearly run into Ian. “Let me walk you to your room,” he says.

I don’t trust myself to speak, so I don’t. We walk out of the restaurant and into the hallway of the lobby. He looks at the packet holding my room key to see which direction to go. He puts his hand between my shoulder blades and leans his head over to mine, giving me a sideways hug of sorts.

When he pulls back, his eyes are luminous. “Hi,” he says again.

Mercy sakes. He just … does it for me. Whatever
it
is, he does it.

“Hi,” I whisper.

He leaves his hand on my back, leading the way toward my condo, even though I couldn’t begin to tell you where we’re going. He keeps watching me, smiling and assessing me with those eyes. I can’t think of a thing to say, and I don’t want to spoil the moment with trivial thoughts or accusing questions.

All too soon, we’re at my door. He takes both my hands and clutches them firmly in his. “When you’re done with your lesson in the morning, will you ski with me?”

“Oh—” a nervous laugh escapes, “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. In fact, I’m sure it’s NOT. I don’t really expect to take to it.” I scrunch my face up and shake my head.

He laughs back at me, his even, white teeth shining like a perfect toothpaste commercial. “You’ll be great. And if you’re not, I can help you.”

“Right. Because you’re an excellent skier, aren’t you?”

“How did you know?” He teases, as his thumb softly outlines my thumb and the palm of my hand. I shiver. “Are you chilly?” he asks.

“No,” I sigh, feeling more than a little foolish. “You should really go ahead and do your thing—I don’t want to hold you back and I’m sure I won’t have it down after one lesson.”

“Stop that. It’ll be fun. What time are you done? Noon? Later?

“I think just before noon.”

“Great. How about we meet around one. Come warm up for a while after your lesson, rest, eat, and then be ready to do the real thing.”

I reluctantly agree.

“You must be tired. It’s, what—two hours later to you?”

I nod and unlock the door, smiling shyly at Ian.

“Sparrow…”

I go completely still and wait for him to speak.

“You’re a vision,” he almost sounds bashful as he says it.

I start to say something, but draw a blank. My face warms up and my cheeks hurt from smiling. I open the door and go inside. The last thing I see before I shut the door are his light bulb eyes shining at me, as his hand briefly touches his cushiony lips. I know who I will be dreaming of tonight.

The time change works to my benefit the next morning, when I’m awake bright and early. The view is so spectacular in the morning light, I actually gasp when I step outside. The mountain peaks don’t even look real.

I have a serious case of the jelly stomach as we pick up our skis and shuffle across the snow in the awkward snow boots. I haven’t been this nervous in … I don’t remember when. Our small class gathers at the bottom of the bunny hill. There are only seven of us, including Lars, the instructor. He looks like a surfer dude who is slightly out of place, but he surprises me. In no time at all, he has us doing things I never thought possible. I master the wedge; let me tell you, I have worked out how to stop. As a last case scenario, Lars shows us the best way to fall if we can’t stop.

We do wide laps across the bottom of the hill for a long time and before I know it, I’m ready for more. Can you believe I don’t even fall once? In fact, the scariest part of the entire lesson is when we graduate to the ski lift. Now,
that
could wreck the entire experience for me right there. I nearly panic when I come
this
close to missing the seat, but it carries me off just in time. I catch my breath as I try not to think about how high it’s going … with nothing holding me in.

My dad yells out in the seat behind me, “You all right, Rosie?”

I don’t dare turn around, but yell back, “Yes!” my voice approximately two octaves higher than normal.

Lars is in front of me, and I study closely how he gets off the lift. When it’s my turn, I copy his moves to a T. Whew. That was intense. And then I turn around and see what I have to go down. What was I thinking? I do a few huge gulps, ignore that quivering that has returned in my guts and then take off down the mountain.

A huge grin is waiting for me when I get to the bottom. Lars is so proud. I’m pretty sure my grin matches his. I’ve never felt such an exhilarated rush. We spend the next hour fine-tuning what we’ve learned. The last few runs, Lars shares the lift with me. He’s charming and makes me laugh, so the time passes quickly. After he’s finished up his last tip and told everyone to enjoy the rest of their stay, he skis up to me.

“Looking great out there, Sparrow,” he says, still beaming.

His voice reminds me of Owen Wilson. In fact, that’s who it is—I’ve been racking my brain the whole morning to figure out who it is he favors. He’s much younger and cuter than Owen, but the messy blond hair, nose that’s been broken a time or two and the constant smile lurking on his lips has him looking like he just stepped out of a romantic comedy.

“Sparrow?”

“I’m so sorry. What did you say?” I mentally kick myself for getting distracted for who knows how long.

“I was just wondering if you want to meet up later? I know where the prime snow is … and some kickin’ places around town.”

I see he has the surfer lingo down pat. Maybe that’s how skiers talk too.

“Well … that sounds fun. You’ve been really … fun. I’m actually supposed to meet up with a friend later. But there are a bunch of us here—all better at this than me. You’re welcome to join us anytime.” If I say “fun” one more time, I’m going to choke myself. Give me too much attention, and I find a way to humiliate myself.

“I’d love that,” he says. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a card. “I’ll be watching for you, but here’s my number. I’m free most afternoons and evenings this week.”

“Thanks,” I take the card and awkwardly tuck it inside my pocket.

He pushes off with his poles and turns back over his shoulder. “There’s something about you, Sparrow. You’re gorgeous, but … it’s more than that. There aren’t many people coming through here that I want to get to know better … you’re an exception.” He lifts his pole up and does a little bow before taking off.

I’ve just decided I love winter gear. I can splotch to kingdom come and no one will be the wiser.

I feel loads lighter as I get ready to meet Ian. Knowing that I’m not going to fall every other step has put my mind at ease. Beyond that, finding something that I’m halfway good at in the athletic department makes me downright giddy. I never dreamed I could pull that off. I pig out, brush my teeth and sigh when I realize I still have about twenty minutes before we’ve agreed to meet.