Chapter Thirty-Five
Raven
Something smacks me in the face.
“Ow,” I mutter as my eyes flutter open. I turn to my right and find someone lying next to me. It takes me a second to realize that it’s Carly. And it takes me another second to remember where I am. At Wolff Ski Lodge.
Carefully pulling back the blanket and sliding out of the bed so I don’t wake up Carly, I tiptoe toward the window and gaze outside.
The view is so mesmerizing with the snowy mountains.
There’s something peaceful about looking out at nature and appreciating the world for its natural beauty. It makes me itch to work on my lyrics.
Continuing to tiptoe so I don’t wake my friends, I grab my lyrics notebook and a pen from my night table and settle down at the small table on the side of the room.
Not only is the peace and quiet of this place and its beauty inspiring me to write, but it’s also my relationship with Kylen.
Growing closer to him with each passing day liberates whatever fears and insecurities have held me back all these months.
It’s like all my walls have been shattered and my heart is raw and open and ready to embrace the world.
My pen scratches over my notebook so fast that my hand hurts.
I don’t think I’ve ever had the words flow out of me so freely before.
This song is a love one as well, but this time I dive very deeply into what it means to grow closer to another person.
How much of an effect that special person in your life can have on you.
How he or she makes you want to strive to do better, be better, fill the world with only positive things.
As long as you have that feeling inside you, nothing can hold you back or bring you down.
You really do feel like you’re conquering the world.
I don’t realize that an hour has passed until I hear footsteps and voices in the hallway.
It seems many students are starting to wake up now.
I’m pulled out of the bubble I was encased in and lean back in my seat, reading the words I put on the paper.
A large smile tickles my lips. I need to do some tweaks, but this song is solid.
I’m not sure if I want to offer it to Next Level Dudes.
Actually, I think I might want to compose my own music and sing it. For now, I’d like to keep it to myself.
“Why are they so noisy?” Sophie groans as she rolls over on her bed and squishes her pillow over her face. “Make them shut up.”
Her complaints cause Addie to stir and she sits up, blinking at me. “Raven? How long have you been awake?”
“About an hour.”
Carly moves as well, but she falls back asleep in a second.
Addie focuses on the notebook I’m hugging to my chest. “Were you writing a song?”
“Yeah. Being at this beautiful place has inspired me to write. I actually completed an entire song. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before.”
“Nice!” Sophie removes her pillow from her face and smiles at me. “Can’t wait to read it, if you’re comfortable sharing it with us.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll be okay with that. Maybe after hogging it to myself for a few days.”
“Why?” Addie asks with a knowing look. “Is it about Kylen?”
My neck heats up. “Um…maybe.”
With a squeal, Addie leaps off her bed and dashes over, dropping down on the second chair. “Really? That’s awesome!”
I motion for her to keep her voice down, even though Kylen can’t possibly hear our conversation. I guess I’d like to keep this under wraps for now. “I feel…I don’t know. Really, really good. We made hot chocolate last night and shared some things, and I guess I feel safe with him.”
Addie gapes at me and then sends an excited smile to Sophie.
I hold up my hands. “But I don’t want to jinx it or anything. I don’t even know if he feels the same way. I’m taking things as they come.”
“As if he doesn’t feel the same way,” Carly mutters.
“You’re awake?” I ask.
She opens her eyes and sits up. “You think I can sleep through a conversation about your love life?”
I laugh softly. “I feel like I’m opening up more to him. Who knows what will happen?” I can’t help the huge smile taking over my face. “I want to spend like every second with him. I think about him all the time. Is that too much?”
“Heck no,” Sophie says. “You think I didn’t obsessively think about Damian as he and I grew closer?”
“You did?”
“Of course! A doctor should have diagnosed me with Obsessed Damian Syndrome.”
“And I would have been diagnosed with Obsessed Ryder Syndrome,” Carly adds.
“And me with Obsessed Caleb Syndrome!” Addie says.
I smile. That makes me feel better. “So I guess I have Obsessed Kylen Syndrome.”
“And the cure?” Addie says. “A kiss.”
My eyes widen. “No way. I doubt we’ll kiss.”
“Why not?” Carly asks. “Do you want to kiss him?”
My face flushes. “Well, yeah. Of course. But…”
“But what?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to wait for him to make the first move, you know,” Carly tells me.
“I’m sure he would be hesitant to take that first step because of what went down between you guys.
Think about it. He probably feels like everything that happened between you guys was his fault.
He was the one who rejected you after you declared your love for him.
True he immediately regretted it and tried to repair the damage, but it still happened.
Maybe he’s scared he might hurt you again. ”
“Me make the first move? Yeah, right. I’m not that bold.”
“You’re bolder than you think,” Sophie tells me. “But that’s assuming you actually want to take the next step with him. Only you can determine that.”
As my friends and I get ready, I replay their words in my head. Of course they’re right. It sounds so easy as words, but in reality? It might not be so easy.
When we get downstairs for breakfast, many students are already gathered at the table and are munching on the gourmet food. As soon as Kylen, who sits at the back with his friends, notices me, he waves me over with a humongous smile.
“Aw, look how happy he is to see you,” Addie says. “That’s so cute.”
His friends have a certain look in their eyes as they glance between the two of us. Jasper even claps him on the back. Did he talk about me with his friends? I’ve always wondered if guys talk about the girls they like with their friends. I think it’s safe to say that he did.
“So what’s for breakfast today?” I ask as I settle down next to Kylen. Unlike at school, there isn’t a lot of room for buffet tables, so we’re given a digital menu. We have to give in our orders with our name and someone will come out and deliver them to us.
“Fancy, fancy,” Carly mutters as her eyes rake over the options. “And way too many things to choose from. Thanks for making my life even more difficult, Harrington Bay Academy.”
Kylen leans closer to me as he studies the menu. “Do you think this egg casserole dish looks good?” There are accompanying pictures to every dish, so we have an idea what we’re ordering.
He’s only a few inches from me and I can smell his delicious smell that is so unique to him. It makes me feel safe again, like being near him and inhaling his scent is like coming home.
“It does look good,” I admit. “I think I’ll order that, too.”
I also choose a whole bunch of other dishes I’ve never heard of before. As we wait for our food to arrive, Carly announces, “So what are the plans for today?”
Sophie and Damian want to hit the slopes again. Ryder adamantly refuses to try again because he’s not interested in another round of first aid. He and Carly are going to try snowtubing. That leaves Kylen, the guys, and me.
“What are you guys doing?” Kylen asks them. “Raven and I are spending the day together, so you guys are welcome to join us.”
Why do his words make me feel so giddy inside? Raven and I are spending the day together. Like he’s mine and I’m his.
Beck holds up his hands. “Nope. The guys and I have plans. Yep, we totally have plans. You and Raven should definitely go do your own thing.”
I try not to laugh. He’s not exactly being subtle here.
Leo’s eyes are so bright and full of light as he says, “You know I’m hanging out with Lilah.”
“I heard you guys got together!” I gush. “That’s awesome. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks. I’m happy for me, too.”
“Just remember to be the perfect gentleman, man,” Beck reminds him. “Don’t mess this up.”
Leo sighs as his shoulders droop. “You’re putting so much pressure on me, bro.”
I reach over to rub his arm. “Don’t worry. Just be yourself and she’ll love you.”
“You sure about that?”
“Of course. You’re a good guy and I know you’ll treat Lilah right.”
He beams. “Thanks. You always know how to lift my spirits, Rave.”
I cross my eyes at him and stick out my tongue, which has all of us, including my friends and their guys, rolling.
Jasper frowns. “It’s not special if you guys keep using it.”
“Yeah, he’s right,” Kylen agrees. “It only suits Jas to call her Rave.”
“It suits no one,” I stress.
“Tomato, tomahto,” Jasper says, then ducks when I throw a rolled-up napkin at him.
Our food finally arrives and we dig in. The egg casserole dish turns out to be so freakin’ delicious that Kylen orders another serving. I would, too, but there’s so much other food for me to finish. Everything is so darn good that I want to cry.
Eventually, students start clearing out of the room and heading off to their own activities. Carly and Ryder settle down near the fireplace with a one-thousand-piece puzzle of the Eiffel Tower. They’ll go snowtubing later.
“So, Juliet, where are we headed to first?” Kylen asks as we climb the stairs. “I know you want to go ice skating really badly.”
“I do. How do you feel about it?”
“I haven’t gone in a long time, and I can’t say I was good at it, but I’d love to go with you.”
I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. “Thanks. But we can do another activity first, one you’ll enjoy better.”
“You sure? I don’t mind.”
“I’m worried I won’t want to leave once I get there,” I admit. “So it makes sense to do something else first.”
“Ah. Got it. So…snowtubing?”
“Okay.”
The shuttle is set to arrive in twenty minutes, so my friends and I quickly get dressed and meet the guys outside. Kylen’s friends are joining as well, but they stand far away from us, as though they want to give us total privacy. My friends seem to be doing the same.
The shuttle arrives right on time and then transports us to the location. I’ve gone snowtubing before, but it’s so much more exciting to experience this with Kylen. He and I take single tubes and make our way up the mountain.
“Want to race?” he asks me.
“Sure.”
We settle down in our tubes and, after counting to three, we launch. It’s obvious that Kylen has more of a chance at winning because he’s heavier than me and is sliding much faster than me, but it’s fun either way. Kylen lifts his arms above his head and yells, “Woohoo!”
With a smile, I raise my arms above my head and cry out, too, feeling free like I did when I looked out the window earlier today.
Kylen reaches the bottom way before me, but when I do, he wraps his arms around me and lifts me in the air with such power that I’m airborne for a second before my boots hit the snowy ground.
“That was awesome!” I say. “Let’s go again.”
This time, before Kylen launches off, he reaches over and holds out his hand.
I smile as I place mine inside. We count to three again and launch.
Holding his hand like this as we slide down the mountain feels so incredible.
It’s almost as if we’re telling each other that we’ve got each other, no matter what. We’ll never let go.
He’s kind of pulling me along because he’s moving faster, and that leads me to have such a fun ride that I can’t help but cheer the entire time. Kylen chuckles and yells, “You’re cute, do you know that?”
I freeze for a second, but then I yell back, “You know you’re cute, too?”
He winks. “Not as cute as you.”
Oh my gosh. We are totally flirting with each other.
I don’t have a chance to linger on that for too long because we reach the bottom of the mountain with such force that I nearly topple over in my tube. Thank goodness that Kylen didn’t let go of my hand.
He quickly gets out of his tube and helps me out of mine. “Are you okay? I thought you would have for sure flipped over.”
“I’m okay,” I assure him. “Thanks to you. You’re like my hero.”
He raises his hand and pushes up my beanie that’s falling into my eyes. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I like being your hero.”
“I like it, too.”
The smile on his face is so sweet and warm that it once again melts my insides. “Do you want to try a double tube?”
“Sure! That’ll be fun.”
We reach the top of the mountain with our blue double tube and sit in it, with me in the front and him in the back. Even though I can’t see him, I once again feel protected by his close proximity.
We cheer as we slide down the mountain, with Kylen yelling at the top of his lungs.
That makes me laugh. When we reach the bottom, he once again lifts me out of the tube, but this time, he wraps me in his arms and says, “I’m having so much fun with you.
I wish we could spend every single second of every day together. ”
I look into his eyes and see how sincere they are. I’m about to respond, but an attendant shouts at us to clear the area so the next person won’t crash into us. Kylen takes my hand in his and leads me away from there, his other hand lugging the tube.
“Want to go ice skating now?” he asks at the same time I say, “Time for ice skating?”
Both of our lips snap shut in surprise, and then we burst out laughing and make our way to the ice skating rink.