Fierce: New Adult Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 4) (6 page)

“Here. We wear the same size, and you can use my extra boots.” Kelly hands them to me, and they’re soft when I slip my feet in. A stark contrast to the hard plastic shell of the ski boots I usually squeeze into.

I stand and take a few steps. I look back over my shoulder at him. “Wow, we could share shoes. If you ever need killer heels, you know who to ask.” In full flirt mode, I use my catwalk strut, and when I turn to come back, he chuckles.

“Good to know. Do they feel okay?”

I nod and he says, “Finish your sandwich and we can go. I’ll find my extra board.”

I gobble down the rest of my lunch and am still chewing when I meet Kelly at the equipment racks. He hands me a board that has a nearly pornographic naked woman as the top skin. My face flushes. “Nice.”

“That’s Betty, the closest thing to a girlfriend I’ve had in a while.” Kelly winks at me. “I’m hoping to change that.”

Oh, my.
My insides tingle as I drop my gaze. But I’m so tired of being single I’m going to act on this. I hold the board out toward him. “Here. You should probably carry this up the stairs for me. You’ve got me so flustered I’m bound to drop it.”

He tilts his head at me, and a smile slowly forms on his face. “Flustered, huh?” His ocean-blue eyes twinkle, and he steps closer.

We’re close enough that the combination of soap and his light musk makes the pit of my stomach quiver. He leans in to whisper in my ear, and his breath against my skin makes me shudder a little. “I’m just getting warmed up.”

Holy hell, so am I.
I follow him out the door. He leads me over to the beginner area where there is only the slightest incline.

Kelly stops and drops our boards. “Okay. Put one foot in a binding, and let’s get a feel for the board on snow.”

I attach myself and see he has done the same. Kelly pushes off with his loose foot and places it on his board as he glides. I mimic the movement with ease.

He grins. “Yeah, just what I thought. C’mon. We’re going up the chairlift.”

“What? On a trail already?” I scramble to keep up with him as he continues to push with one foot to slide.

“Yup. You’ve got this.” When we get to the short lift line, he takes my arm. A metal chair on a cable is moving, and we need to slide out to the loading area and let it scoop us up.

With Kelly’s help I manage to sit, and he pulls the safety bar down. The weight of the board dangling off one leg is odd, and I twist to face him and rest the board on the footrest.

“This is so awkward.” Panic flickers for a moment. “How am I going to get off without falling?” The exit ramp of the chairlift is a steep, short hill designed to propel the rider fast enough to get out of the way of the next chair’s occupants.

“You’ll just set the board down on the snow and place your loose foot next to the empty binding.” He lifts his leg attached to his board and demonstrates. “Then you let it ride until you slow down enough to take your foot off and scoot out of the way.”

“Right. And you’ll pick me up when I fall?”

“Nika, you won’t fall. But, yes, I plan to spend my afternoon picking you up.” His meaning isn’t lost on me, and I can’t help the silly grin that covers my face.

Wind blows, and our chair sways gently. Kelly asks, “I probably shouldn’t push my luck, but what’s changed? Last year I did everything I could think of to get you to go out with me, and you didn’t have any interest.” He puffs his chest out. “Did I get more ripped or something?”

I snort. “Ah, you didn’t try everything. You never actually asked me out.”

His licks his full lips, and I long to taste them. “Why would I when I was sure you would shoot me down?”

The whine of the lift engine is louder as we approach the unloading ramp.

“Yeah, that’s what Megan said. So I decided you needed me to be less subtle.” I wiggle my way to the edge of the chair as he lifts the safety bar, preparing for us to get off.

He asks, “Ready?”

I nod and push off with my hands. I can’t help but let out a little scream as I ride the board down the incline. It slows, and I put my foot on the snow to bring myself to a stop. “I did it!”

“You sure did. C’mon now. It’s time for the fun part.” We push ourselves over a bit, and Kelly sits down and pats the snow next to him.

I plop down, and cold seeps through my pants to my bottom. We connect our loose feet. Kelly hops up and reaches for my hands to pull me up. He continues holding them. “I want you to imagine your belly button leading you where you want to go.” He grips my hips and twists me so that my board is pointing down the hill and my torso is too.

“You’re going to get a little speed and roll onto your toes to turn to the right. Try it.”

He lets go, and I jerk my hips to get the board to move forward. I do as he said and manage to make a turn without falling. Kelly’s right there to grab my hands again.

“Excellent. Now to go the other direction, you’re going to keep your torso down the hill and roll onto your heels.” This time he nudges me into motion.

When I finish, I say, “Hey, this isn’t nearly as hard as I expected.”

“That’s because you’re a natural. Ready to link two turns together?”

I nod and take off. I complete a few before I fall. It doesn’t hurt and I laugh. Kelly slides over and sits next to me on the snow. “Impressive. Do you like it?”

“I do. I’m so glad you suggested this. Thank you.” I fall back and spread my arms out on the snow. The sky is cerulean blue with cotton-ball clouds.

Kelly’s face appears above mine as he leans down on one elbow. “I have another suggestion.”

I smile because I think I know what’s coming.

“Would you like to go for coffee after this?”

“That sounds an awful lot like a date. Are you asking me out?” I sit up, and he does too.

“I sure am.” He hops up in one smooth move and pulls me up beside him.

A real date!
I control my urge to squeal.
“I’d love to.”

Chapter 9

B
y the end of the afternoon, Kelly had me up on an intermediate trail and I was proud of myself. It helped that he was full of compliments and right there to assist me up every time I fell. He’s got no trouble touching me, and I have no trouble soaking it up.

My hair is silky in my hands as I pull it into a smooth ponytail. The ladies’ room door opens with a squeak and Megan walks in. “You ditched us to snowboard with Kelly this afternoon?” The grin on her face makes it clear she’s teasing me.

I stroke on mascara as I speak. “I sure did. I decided to be less subtle, and guess who has a date now?”

“Well, it’s about time. Where are you going?” Megan is brushing through her hair.

“To the Baked Bean for coffee.” I’m done primping and pull open the door.

Megan says, “Have a great time, and keep flirting. It’s working.”

When I return to my locker Kelly is waiting for me. His face is sun kissed, making his eyes appear deeper in color. A lock of hair hangs over one, and I reach up to push it out of the way. “Hi.”

The smile I get in return, along with him grabbing my hand, takes my breath away. “Hi.” He has already hoisted my bag over his shoulder to join his and leads us out while still holding on to me. We get a few curious looks and greetings as we walk by other instructors. When a blonde named Jess glares at me, I smile because I know she tried to get Kelly all last winter and I want to gloat that he’s mine.

A cold breeze blasts as we walk through the doors. Kelly says, “I suppose we should take both our cars and meet there.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” We get to his truck first. An older model Toyota, it appears well maintained, and when I notice the California plates I imagine crossbars over the bed holding a surfboard. I also imagine him in a wetsuit unzipped and hanging at the waist. Now that’s a sight I’d like to see.

He doesn’t stop and keeps walking me to my car. I wait for a comment about my expensive vehicle, but he doesn’t even seem to notice. Kelly brushes a finger lightly over my cheek, and it sends a tiny shiver through me. He says, “See you soon.”

I smile and nod. My door slams shut, and as I pull on my seatbelt I watch him walk away in the side-view mirror.
I have a date!
I let out a little squeal and turn the key to make my engine purr.

I arrive before Kelly and wait in my car. I check my appearance in the rearview mirror and pull out lip gloss. After the fifth coat, my lips are super shiny and I stop myself. His truck pulls into a space a few cars ahead of me, and we meet on the sidewalk by the path to the coffee shop.

Kelly’s warm hand takes mine, and I notice we’re almost the same height, which means his mouth is easy to kiss. A smile creeps over my face when I look at his luscious lips. I’d better get to nibble on them later. He asks, “What are you smiling about?”

“Oh, just thinking about what I want.” I raise my eyebrows, and he bumps against me.

“I hope I can deliver.” He pulls the door open to release the scent of coffee mixed with the yeasty odor of baking bread.

I don’t want money to be an issue with us and decide to start off on the right foot. “I’m buying, and you have no choice. Think of it as payment for the snowboard lesson.”

Kelly’s squints for a moment. “Okay.”

Whew.
“Thank you for making that easy.”

He shrugs, and I can’t decide if he’s fine or if we’re going to have a conversation about finances at some point. I order cake and a latte while he gets a bagel and coffee. A few customers are scattered about the café, but it’s mostly empty. I don’t see any other instructors and guess they went to the local dive bar.

While we wait Kelly asks, “So what made you move to Breck?”

I lean against a wood support pole as the fatigue of using new muscles begins to set in. “My brother Derrick and I love to ski, and I wanted to have a place to call home where he would always come to visit.”

He fiddles with the pull tab on my fleece. “You should take this off so you don’t get chilled when we go back out. You’re a twin, right?”

“Yeah, and we’re pretty close.”
Although not as close as this.
I drink in his unique scent. I put my hand over his and unzip my jacket.

He nods, “I thought so. I’m kind of close to my sister too. It must be nice, having family around.” He helps me out of my fleece and holds it for me.

“Oh, Derrick isn’t here this year. He and Gretchen Nickelson moved back to New Hampshire. He’s in medical school now.”

“Where are your parents?”

Here we go.
“My parents died in a plane crash when I was thirteen. It’s just me and Derrick.”

He takes my hand. “That must have been hard.” Whoa, another guy that doesn’t apologize for a death he had nothing to do with.

I smile and give him a light squeeze. “It was, but now it’s just part of who I am.”

“Nika?” A man’s voice calls us to pick up our tray, and Kelly retrieves it.

I lead us to a table in the back corner. My bones clunk on the hardwood chair, but it’s oversized and the seat is hollowed out slightly, making it more comfortable than it should be.

A fork clatters against my plate as Kelly sets my dessert in front of me. “Nika is an interesting nickname. How did you get it?”

“When we were little, Derrick couldn’t say Dannika, and that was his version. It stuck.” I slice into my carrot cake with my fork and put a piece in my mouth. The cream cheese frosting is sugary, and energy rushes through my bloodstream.

“It’s cute. I like it.” Kelly’s bagel crunches when he takes a bite.

“Are you named after Kelly Slater?” I sip my latte and find it isn’t too hot.

He nods. “Yeah. My dad was a big fan, and as a surfer he wanted me to be one too. I get funny looks around here, but at home everyone thought my name was cool.”

“It’s a cool name. So where’s home?” I spear another piece of cake.

Kelly swallows a mouthful of coffee. “Wherever I am. I worked my way through college, and probably spent more nights in my truck than in a bed since I graduated from high school.”

“You sleep in your truck? Isn’t that uncomfortable?”

He grins. “Nope. I’ve got a camping mattress and the stars as a nightlight. The sound of waves crashing on the shore puts me to sleep, and when I wake, I’m right where I want to be.”

“Wow, so everything you own fits in your truck?” I try to imagine having only a few outfits.

“Yeah. I don’t need much, you know.”

I don’t know. I have more shoes in my closet than could ever fit in his truck. “Well the offer to borrow anything that fits stands.”

He chuckles. “I don’t think your jeans would work for me, but thanks.” He leans in close. “I’m pretty easy to please.”

“I can see that. I like to think I’m the same way, but I have an embarrassing amount of stuff compared to you.” I lick frosting off my fork.

He leans back and picks up his coffee. “Have you ever been camping or slept on a beach?”

I shake my head. “My idea of being on a beach is with a lounge chair and a cabana boy. And the only camping I’ve done is a long layover in some airport VIP lounge.” I grin at myself. “But I think I would like to try it your way.”