Chapter Thirty-Two
Raven
The lodge looks so cool!
My friends and I, and the rest of the junior class, can’t stop staring at the place.
There is a huge fireplace in the foyer that makes you want to sit right in front of it and get all warm and toasty after spending the whole day outside.
Many couches sit around the room, each one looking comfier than the next.
There’s an area with a table and chairs to eat, and there’s a staircase that leads to the rooms upstairs.
The overall design and atmosphere of the place make you feel like you’re at home and like you’ll never want to leave.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some students choose to hang out in here instead of doing any of the outdoor activities.
After the chaperones take attendance to make sure everyone has gotten off the bus and arrived here safely, they give out the keys to the rooms. Addie sprints over to grab our keys.
Each room gets two, so we decide to give them to the two most responsible people in our group. That would be Addie and me.
The chaperones tell us to stash our bags in our rooms and then come back down to eat breakfast. All the food that’s being provided here is being catered by someone not affiliated with the lodge.
The boyfriends are such gentlemen for offering to help their girlfriends lug their bags up to our room.
Girls will be on the second floor while the boys will be on the third.
As I lift my suitcase to follow my friends and their boyfriends up the stairs, someone slides his fingers through the handle and gently yanks the suitcase out of my hand. My head snaps up to discover Kylen.
With a sweet smile, he says, “May I take your bag up to your room, m’lady?”
My stomach gets into knots as I smile and say, “Thank you, kind gentleman.”
Of course I can take my suitcase up to my room on my own, but there’s something sweet about the gesture. Besides, a girl can be spoiled now and then, can’t she?
The rooms are awesome, too. Each one has three beds—one is queen sized while the other two are twins—there are a few dressers and a closet to store our clothes. The TV on the wall is pretty big and there’s a mini fridge that is stocked with water and soda.
After the boyfriends deliver the suitcases to the room, my friends hug and kiss them, promising to catch up with them soon. I offer Kylen another smile as I take my suitcase from him. “Thanks again.”
He bows. “No problem, my sweet Juliet. I shall see you downstairs, where we shall break bread over breakfast?”
I once again giggle at how adorably dorky he is. “I’ll be there, my handsome Romeo.”
His jaw falls open and then he punches a fist in the air. “She has called me handsome! I may never wash my ears ever again.”
I continue laughing as I wheel my suitcase further into the room, my cheeks pink. Kylen and the boyfriends wave goodbye and leave the room.
“Now this is a ski lodge,” Carly says as she falls back on the queen-sized bed with a happy sigh and stares up at the ceiling. “Who wants to share this bed?”
“I strongly advise that I sleep in my own bed,” Sophie says. “I roll around too much and can smack someone in the face.”
“And I worry I’ll have a nightmare,” Addie admits. “It’s rare, and I haven’t had one in a long time, but a new environment might trigger one.”
Carly beams at me. “That leaves you and me, Raven.”
“Awesome. I bet we won’t stop whispering to each other all night.
Addie and Sophie will try to murder us the next morning.
” I lift my suitcase onto the queen-sized bed and then help Sophie with hers, since the thing weighs like a million pounds.
Sheesh, I thought she decided to bring fewer books on the trip, but it seems she added them at the last minute.
Then we follow all the other girls down the hallway and the stairs, where the catering company is setting up breakfast. From the smell, I can tell this is going to be just as gourmet and delicious as the food they provide for us at school. And that makes me super excited.
“I’m starving,” Carly whispers as she stares at the food like she’s a lion ready to pounce on its prey.
“Same,” I say. “The food looks and smells so darn good.”
A few feet away from us are Kylen and his friends. Beck doesn’t seem to be able to stand still as he stares at the food like he’s a bull ready to charge. Actually, as I gaze around the room, it seems like many of the students look like they’re ready to devour the entire table.
So when they’re done setting up, everyone rushes forward to sit down at the table.
There isn’t a lot of pushing and shoving—I would call this controlled chaos—but my friends and I decide to wait until things calm down before sitting down at the end of the table, where Damian managed to save us seats.
There’s also enough room for Kylen and his friends.
No one says much to each other as we stuff our faces with the delicious food.
Even the kids who normally don’t care for the food are packing it in.
The chaperones tell us that we should eat enough because we won’t be eating again until dinnertime, and since we’ll be engaging in the many activities here, we want to have enough energy.
“Man, how am I going to survive all the way until dinnertime?” Beck grumbles as he adds a second helping of nearly everything onto his plate.
“I saw vending machines on the floors,” Kylen tells him. “There are all sorts of snacks we can buy. Don’t worry, man. You won’t die.”
The chaperones walk around the table, handing the students info packets on the activities we can do here.
Skiing, snowboarding, snowtubing, ice skating, sledding, a winter hike, and more.
There are also activities students can do here inside the lodge, such as making hot chocolate, playing board games, doing puzzles, and there’s also educational stuff that has some of the kids groaning and moaning.
There are also schedules for when the shuttles leave. One should be arriving in half an hour.
“So what are we doing first?” Sophie asks.
“Most of the activities are in the same area,” I say as I study the information. “The skiing, the snowboarding, snowtubing, and the ice skating. The shuttle to the winter hike is separate.”
Carly shivers. “Who wants to go on a hike in the cold?”
“You’ll be out in the cold on all the other activities, too,” Ryder points out.
“Yeah, but that’s different. I mean, I have no problem if you guys want to go on the hike, but I’d rather do the other stuff.”
“I don’t think we’ll have time to do everything,” Addie says. “So let’s choose what we want to do most. And we don’t all have to do the same things, either.”
All of us decide we want to ski first, including Kylen and his friends. The school is providing us with all the gear we need, so we go up to our rooms to change into the right gear. We’ll pick up our skis and poles at the location.
Then we meet in the foyer and wait for the shuttle to arrive.
Most of the kids are here as well while a handful choose to remain at the lodge.
Some of the kids go on these kinds of trips with their families every year, so it’s not exciting for them.
They’d rather lie down on the couches and busy themselves with their phones.
I even notice that some kids aren’t even here.
I guess they decided to skip out on this because they couldn’t care less about it?
“Oh my gosh, how exciting is this?” Carly bounces in her spot. “I haven’t gone skiing in a long time. And I’ve never been snowboarding before.”
“I’m looking forward to ice skating,” I tell them. “My elementary school took us there once and, according to my teachers, I flew across the ice like a pro. I haven’t ice skated since then. Will you guys go ice skating, too?”
“I tried it when my family took us to Rockefeller Center,” Sophie tells us. “I fell so many times that I was black and blue all over. It’s safe to say that ice skates and I are not a good combination.”
“I’ll go with you,” Addie tells me. “And it’ll be so romantic to skate with Caleb, if he wants to come.”
“Sure, but I doubt I’ll be graceful,” he says.
“I don’t care about that.” She snuggles in his arms. “I just want to have the best time in the world.”
The shuttle finally arrives and all the students load onto it. I look outside during the drive, taking in the beautiful snowy mountains. I can’t believe we’ll be skiing and snowtubing down them soon.
When we get to the location, everyone separates to the activity they want to do. My friends, their boyfriends, and Kylen and his friends head to skiing. We get our skis and poles and then embark on what I hope will be hours full of fun and entertainment.
***
I’m glad to report that I only crash twice. I can’t say the same for Sophie, though. No matter how much she holds onto Damian for dear life, she can’t keep balance and wipes out. A lot. She eventually grows too frustrated and decides to try snowtubing instead.
Addie and Caleb grow a little tired after a while and decide to head back to the cabin to take a short break. Carly has the time of her life, but she and Ryder accidentally bump into each other, and Ryder has to go to the cabin for first aid.
That leaves me all alone.
Well, I technically am not alone because Kylen and the guys are here, too, but they’re kind of doing their own thing. So I guess I am alone.
I’m about to go down the slopes again, but Kylen is by my side. “I see you’re alone.”
“Oh, yeah. My friends had to leave.”
“Want to hang out with me? I can’t promise I’ll be as fun as your friends, but I think I’m good company.”
“You’re always good company,” I tell him.
His face shines like I gave him the best compliment in the world.
“I think I want to try the harder course,” I tell him. “I wiped out only two times on the easier course. I think I’m ready for the harder one.”
“Well, I’m happy to inform you that yours truly hasn’t wiped out once, not on the easy course or the harder one. So I’d be happy to join you.”
“You really didn’t crash once?”
He shakes his head.
“Show off.” I stab my elbow into his side.
He chuckles. “What can I say? I’m one with the skis.”
I look toward the harder course. You start on a higher point on the mountain, and the way down is much more difficult, not to mention scarier.
We make our way up the mountain, and then I glance down, swallowing hard. Wow, it’s really a long way down. I’m not scared of heights or anything, but the course does look terrifying.
Kylen slides his gloved hand into mine. “Hey, you can do it. I’ll be with you every step of the way. I won’t let anything happen to you. If you want to do this, I mean. It’s okay if you want to back out. No judgment here.”
We won’t be able to hold hands because we need both of our poles, but he promises he’ll ski right next to me.
I know I can do this on my own, but it feels really good to have him by my side.
Protected. Cared for. It feels like he’s trying to send me another message as well.
That he’ll always be by my side in life, if I’m willing to have him.
I send him a sweet smile. “Thanks. I’m ready to do this with you by my side.”
He searches my eyes, as though wondering if I got his other message. With a nod, he focuses on the course. I take a deep breath through my nose and then release it through my mouth. Then I’m off.
Holy crap! This course is much faster than the easier one.
It takes a second for me to get used to it and I almost lose my balance a few times.
I sense Kylen skiing close, as though he’s ready to hurry to make sure I’m okay in case I do fall.
It’s not safe for him to catch me, so the best he can do is ski close by and be there for me if I do wipe out.
I don’t know what it is, but just having him near me infuses me with a confidence I didn’t know I had. I no longer freak out about the speed or how difficult the course is. I push away all my worries and insecurities and just enjoy myself skiing down the mountain.
When I reach the bottom, Kylen throws his poles down and gathers me in his arms. His warm breath is on my cheek as he murmurs against my temple, “See? I told you that you could do it. You were amazing! Phenomenal!”
I laugh as I wrap my arms around him. “You made me confident.”
“I did? Nah, don’t put this on me. It was all you.”
I shake my head. “You helped a lot, Romeo. Thanks for being here for me.”
He slowly lifts a gloved hand to my face and pushes away some hair that snuck out of my beanie. “Of course, Juliet.”
Naturally, I want to do the course again.
I’m a little more courageous and adventurous this time and try to do some tricks, which results in me wiping out a few times.
But that doesn’t matter. I’m having a blast with Kylen.
Though he doesn’t crash once, not even when he attempts a few tricks. He’s kind of…sexy.
My eyes widen and I almost lose my balance and wipe out again.
Did I just admit that I think he’s sexy?
Well, I don’t know why I should be surprised at that.
I thought he was super sexy back at camp, and he’s only gotten sexier over the past year and a half, both inside and out.
I once again wonder what it would feel like if I were to kiss him.
Would it be ten times better than how it was at camp?
Because that was already out of this world.
“Nice!” Kylen exclaims when we reach the bottom. “You’re a pro at this.”
“Not like you.”
He lifts his shoulder with a cocky grin. “Just call me the ski god.”
“I will not.”
He chuckles. “Want to take a break? Or maybe we can do something else?”
“Hmm. Do you want to try snowboarding or snowtubing?”
We decide on snowboarding, and Kylen’s friends join us as well.
I have just as much fun with Kylen on this activity as skiing, and of course Kylen tries to do all these tricks to impress me.
It’s kind of cute. Okay, it’s more than cute.
I want to tell him he doesn’t have to try so hard to impress me because I already think the world of him, but I know he’s having the time of his life and I don’t want to take that away from him.
Plus, he looks mega sexy on a snowboard.
Eventually, it starts to get late and we need to head back to the lodge.
My friends and their boyfriends have already left, so it’s just Kylen, his friends, and me.
The guys can’t stop gushing about how much fun they had, but Kylen and I don’t really add in to their conversation.
We spend the shuttle ride back smiling at each other.