Chapter Thirteen
Enrique could tell there was something off with Leighann as she slipped on her gear the next morning. Silence stretched between them, the only sounds being the click of her boots in the bindings and the slight rustling of her clothes as she moved.
They were in the reserved portion of the mountain. The only protection from the elements was the operator’s shack at the bottom of the lift. The atmosphere was so different from the day before when they could hear the sounds of children’s laughter, the clicks of cameras, and the other skiers on the slopes. Here, it was completely quiet, save for the mechanical whirring of the lift chairs above them. He liked it, the privacy and the fact that he could practice without the fear of anyone laughing at his mistakes or any show of anxiety.
The mountain was covered with blinding white snow; tall evergreen trees bordered the vast, empty, and quiet slopes. He noticed Leighann was unusually quiet. Occasionally, he noticed a wrinkle form between her brows, like she was thinking about something, but then she seemed to take a deep breath and intentionally smooth the lines, returning to a neutral facial expression.
She barely spared him a glance as she clicked the strap on her helmet closed and lowered her goggles into place.
She retrieved the goggles from her coat pocket and held them out to him. “No arguing today. There is no one here to see your fashion sense, so looking cute in your aviators isn’t necessary. Goggles are not just to protect your eyes from going snow blind but also from the temperatures and drafts. Put them on, or we don’t leave this spot.”
Her tone told him she wasn’t going to take no for an answer, which was fine because he had come prepared today and worn contacts. He removed the aviator sunglasses from his face and slipped them into his breast pocket before putting the goggles over his helmet. Leigh helped him adjust the strap to the right amount of tension before sliding back a few feet.
Grabbing her poles from where she had stabbed them into the ground, she announced, “There are no greens on this side of the mountain. So, we’ll start slowly with the easiest blue slopes.” Her tone was curt as she approached the chair lift. He was right behind her. She explained how to get on and took the first chair, so she was in front of him. Ideally, they would have ridden together, but she was obviously upset about something, and he didn’t need any more emotion stirred up than he was already dealing with. He hadn’t realized how far up in the air the chair lifts were, they rode close to the ground where you got on. By the time they reached the top of the slopes, his heart was pounding, and his breathing was faster than normal, too.
Leigh was planted right at the end of the chair lift to make sure he came off at the right time and didn’t go sailing right over the edge of the nearest slope, which was a blue-black diamond, way harder than he was prepared for. Compared to the gentle green they had practiced on yesterday, these slopes were much steeper and loftier. Side by side they “skated” to the first slope he was to traverse. He stood next to her, overlooking the slope, wearing his usual mask of indifference. But internally, he was a bundle of nerves and anxiety.
Leigh walked him through the turns on the slope, showing him a map of the terrain. She reminded him to never point his skis directly downhill as that would create a dangerous amount of speed, always zig-zag the mountain, she warned. She pointed out places he would need to start his wedge to ensure he maintained a safe speed, locations of ice build-up… She was still talking, but he had stopped listening as panic threatened to overwhelm him. As he took reconnaissance of the slopes, his heart sank slowly, all the way to his toes. His mind couldn’t take in any more information she had to offer because it had shut down in fear. Anxiety flooded his system, causing a bead of sweat to run down his temple even though it was twenty degrees outside.
His throat started constricting and he knew that if he let this go any further he would make a scene and Leighann would know something was wrong with him. He couldn’t risk her finding out. He was tough as nails according to his brothers, always in control, and put together. He reminded himself that he was a fully grown man, self-made and successful in everything he did. Not to mention in the best shape of his life. He could do this!
He wasn’t a child anymore, and this wasn’t a life-or-death situation. This was an adventure. It was meant to be fun. He was going to fulfill this brotherhood pact, face this stupid childhood trauma, and have a good time learning a pastime that 1.5% of the population enjoyed.
Besides, he had a three-time Olympic gold medal skier as his instructor. What could go wrong? They may have gotten off on the wrong foot and disliked each other, but that wasn’t a criterion for a successful working relationship. He was certain she would ensure his safety. If children could do it, then what was stopping an adventure-loving thirty-two-year-old man like him?
His jaw set in determination, and his grip tightened on his poles. He was going to do this before his anxiety got the better of him, and he chickened out. He needed to prove to himself that he wasn’t a coward, and he was going to do it now.
His eyes narrowed as he analyzed the slope, as if he were taking the measure of an enemy, a challenge he needed to overcome. Taking a deep breath, he gave a mighty heave with his poles, not bothering to give a heads-up to the woman next to him before his skis tipped over the edge and he was taking off down the slope.
Leighann’s jaw dropped, her eyes widening as she was equally startled and dumbfounded by his abrupt departure. She watched him glide away on the snow-covered mountainside. ‘ What in the world is wrong with him?’ she thought as she quickly jumped into action to follow him. Had he been listening to her at all? Had he picked up on any of the safety tips she had just gone over? She worried her bottom lip as she poured on speed to catch up with him. He wasn’t crisscrossing the mountain like she had instructed, and that worried her. Trying to wedge all the way down a mountain caused fatigue to set in quickly.
Yet, there he was, racing down the slope in front of her, trying to wedge his way into slower speeds at the turns. She glided down after him, her jaw clenching in annoyance as she caught up to him. Her lips parted, about to say something unpleasant, but then she remembered what Curtis had told her.
She remembered the relieved smiles on Mr. Bailey and Mr. Lawrence’s faces as they escorted him out last night, and she ground her teeth when she realized that pretty much everyone was counting on her not to blow this opportunity.
“Enrique,” she called, the cold air whipping past their faces as they zipped toward the bottom of the mountain. “What do you think you’re doing? You need to slow down!”
He didn’t respond to her, but she knew he had heard. As they approached the bottom, his legs formed a wide wedge similar to hers, and they slowed to a stop. He was doing much better compared to yesterday and had almost perfected the technique. He staggered just a bit, but righted himself before he fell, stopping at the same time Leighann did. Sighing, he placed his goggles on the forehead of his helmet as he stared up at the slope they had just successfully traversed.
His breaths came out in white puffs of vapor as his chest heaved slightly. “What does it look like I was doing?” Then he pointed his pole towards the slope they had just come down “Skiing!” The triumphant grin on his face said it all, he was the champion and no one could tell him otherwise.
Leighann stabbed her poles into the ground, threw her hands up in the air, and shouted, “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You didn’t let me finish, nor did you wait for the go-ahead so we could go down together so I could guide you.”
He glanced at her and raised a brow. Internally, he was still in disbelief that he had actually skied down the slope without her help. And he hadn’t crashed! His confidence had grown exponentially. His heart still raced, and his palms were clammy. If he were honest with himself, he thought he might blackout from the panic when his skis tipped over the edge, but then the wind was in his face, and all he could think about was staying on his feet.
“Sometimes, Leighann, you need less talk and more action.”
Part of her wanted to wipe that triumphant grin right off his face. Another part was proud that he had made it down on his skis, and yet another part was equally embarrassed and irritated. “ Did you just say I talk too much?” she asked in disbelief at his rudeness and careless behavior.
His lips twitched. “Did I?”
Enrique could see her grit her teeth as she glared at him. “I was only trying to tell you what to expect on the slopes. These ones are steeper than the easy green we practiced on yesterday. These aren’t even the easiest blue slopes on the mountain. This area is reserved for more experienced skiers, which you are not. Going off half-cocked like that is a good way to get yourself injured or killed.”
“Seems like I did just fine.”
She pointed a finger to herself. “ I’m the gold medalist. I’m the professional. You hired me to instruct you on how to ski, but you must listen if you actually want to learn!” Her hands were on her hips, and she was shouting at him. Pink flooded her cheeks as fear for his safety and frustration with his recklessness drove her to the edge of her sanity. “What if you ran into an ice patch? What would have happened then? Did you even listen to what to look for or the common places on the slope that form ice? I am responsible for your safety right now. You do realize that it is just you and me out here, right? No one else is around if you get hurt.”
“An ice patch?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. Was he being serious right now? “Are you kidding me? You don’t remember this from the video or any of the half dozen times I have talked about it?” When he shook his head, Leigh took a deep, long-suffering breath and explained once more.
“There are several ice patches on these slopes, and if you wanna ski here without going back home with a broken neck, you need to keep an eye out for them and avoid them if possible. I pointed the most likely areas out on the map, but you weren’t paying attention again, I take it. Anyway, if you see you are going to go over an ice patch, keep your weight centered over your skis and avoid turning until you get off. Otherwise, you will likely lose control. That is also why it is important to maintain a safe distance from the edge of the mountain. If you hit one of these patches on the edge, you could shoot right over instead of being able to turn back into the mountain. If we ski together, I can warn you of potential danger and help guide you through it.”
“Okay, well, I didn’t run into ice patches last time. You saw how I did. I didn’t get hurt, so it’s all good. Let’s get going; there is more snow to slay.”
She felt like stomping her foot on the snow. “No, it’s not all good. No, we are not ready to slay any more snow! I need to go over the slope with you again. ”
Enrique pushed off with his poles and slowly skied away from her and back towards the ski lift. He shrugged his broad shoulders, “I did fine last time; I’m sure I can do it again. This time, you can ski with me, but you gotta stop talking and get moving. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a hands on kinda student. All this lecturing is boring.”