Chapter 7 #2
I turned my attention to her again. “What’s going on?”
Her eyes were focused on the tent we had set up for the toy drive. She narrowed them and cut her glance to me. “Blackman Boards?”
“Yes.”
“What is Blackman Boards?”
Part of me was surprised that she didn’t know what the company did, but I got the distinct feeling she was putting things together about my being connected to it.
“It’s a company that specializes in manufacturing all sorts of gear for extreme board sports, like snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing. ”
“And your name is Taj Blackman.”
“It is.”
Olivia studied me for several long moments. “Are you telling me that you’re the owner of this company? That you put on this toy drive?”
I dipped my chin. “My father opened Blackman Boards years ago, and I just recently took over as CEO. My sister is the lead graphic designer—a role our mom used to fulfill—and the both of us will inherit the company down the road.”
Uncertainty, and a bit of uneasiness, washed over her expression. “So, you’re the guy in charge?”
I smiled. “I am. Now you know what I do for a living.”
She returned a small smile. “I was so off with my guesses.”
Laughter spilled out of me. “You really were.”
I led Olivia over to the tent so she could add the toys she brought to the other donations. As we did that, I briefly glanced to where Kingston, Archer, and Savanna were still huddled together, watching us.
It would have thrilled me to introduce Olivia to them, but I didn’t want her to feel pressured by it this soon.
“Hey, I have a question.” Her voice broke into my thoughts.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“So, I understand that you run this company, but do you know how to snowboard?”
Grinning, I nodded. “I do. I learned when I was very young.”
“Do you like it? Is it fun?”
“You’ve never done it?”
She shook her head. “Not even once. I’ve always wanted to try it. Either snowboarding or skiing.”
I swept my hand out toward the mountain. “Would you like to learn? I can teach you.”
Utter surprise and delight leaked onto her features. “Really? I’d love to do that sometime.”
“There’s no time like the present.”
Olivia’s eyes dropped to her body briefly before she said, “I don’t think I can do it in these clothes.”
“Of course, you can’t. That’s why it’s a good thing I’m in charge at a company that can provide everything you do need. Come on. Let’s go get you a few things.”
With a bit of a pep in her step—as much as she could have in the snow without boots on her feet—Olivia followed me around the tent while I grabbed her the things she needed. I ignored the questioning looks from my employees, keeping my focus entirely on Olivia.
When I had gathered all the items she’d need, I stuffed them into one of our gear bags and said, “I’ll walk with you to the lodge, so you can run into the women’s locker room to change.
You can put your clothes in this bag, and I’ll get you a locker for it.
I don’t mind having it at the tent, but if you decide to change afterward, the clothes will be freezing from being outside.
At least with a locker, it’ll all be warm. ”
“This is so exciting,” she bubbled. “I can’t believe I’m going to be snowboarding in a matter of minutes.”
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. She was so happy, so eager, to do something I’d grown up doing my whole life. “I’m glad you’re excited about it. I hope you don’t get discouraged as you learn.”
“Why would I?”
I opened the door and allowed her to walk inside ahead of me. “Most people don’t pick it up on their first try. It takes some practice, but once you understand the concept and have some time on a board, I promise it gets easier.”
We made it to the locker rooms, where I handed the bag off to Olivia. She took it and said, “I’ll go as quickly as I can.”
“There’s no rush at all.”
Since I was already dressed appropriately for the occasion—I’d just need to put on a helmet and goggles—I waited patiently for Olivia outside the locker room. It didn’t take her long at all.
And before I knew it, we were fully decked out, snowboards in hand, and making our way to the beginner hill, so I could teach her the basics.
I couldn’t explain it, but there was something I liked a whole lot about the way Olivia appeared to be so invested in every word I said.
After giving her a thorough rundown of everything she was going to need to know to make it safely down the hill, we got ourselves strapped to the boards.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
She pulled the balaclava down from in front of her mouth and beamed at me. “I can’t wait.”
That smile.
That gorgeous smile was going to be the death of me.
“Alright. Take your time, and remember what I said and demonstrated on my board. If you need to slow yourself down, go to one of your edges. And don’t worry if you fall, because it happens to everyone when they’re learning.”
She nodded her understanding, covered her mouth and nose again, and focused her attention on the hill.
I held my breath, waiting to see how this was going to go. The last thing I wanted was for her to be so eager about it only to be so disappointed that it wasn’t generally the kind of skill that people could pick up after one or two tries.
Olivia finally moved, turning her board like I’d demonstrated to get herself going, but she didn’t make it more than three or four feet before she fell.
Surprisingly, she got back up and immediately tried again. Olivia barely went a foot or two farther the second time before she wiped out.
She got up again.
And again.
And again.
A horrible sinking feeling settled over me as we made the slow and painful descent down the beginner hill. I believed we’d make it to the bottom, where Olivia would tell me she hated this and never wanted to do it again. It wouldn’t be the way to show her all that Rising Sun had to offer.
When we got to the bottom, Olivia freed her nose and mouth from behind the confines of the balaclava again, and she bounced on her toes after she’d unstrapped herself from the board. “That was so much fun! Can we do it again?”
My brows shot up. “You enjoyed yourself?”
“It was a blast.”
“Even with all the falling, you still want to try again?”
She nodded furiously. “You said that was normal. And the only way I’m going to learn and get better is if I keep practicing.”
The tension I’d been holding on to as I feared the worst would be the case eased out of my frame. “You’re absolutely right. Let’s hop on the lift so you can try again.”
So, that’s what we did.
For just shy of two hours, Olivia and I spent our time on the beginner hill. And she was just as happy about it by the end of that time as she had been at the start, even if she hadn’t quite mastered snowboarding.
I walked with her through the parking lot and back to her rental vehicle.
Once there, she said, “I came here today, thinking it was just going to be a charity event. And it would’ve been totally fine if that were the case.
But I have to tell you just how much fun I had.
This was a wonderful experience today, Taj. ”
My fingers twitched at my sides, and I fought the urge to reach out and touch her, to drag my thumb along that bottom lip of hers.
“I can honestly tell you that I’ve never met anyone who’s had such a positive attitude when first learning to ride.
Even I wasn’t that happy when I learned, and I did it as a kid. I’m really proud of you.”
“Thanks. I hope I get to do it again sometime soon. For now, I’m just bummed to have to head back to the hotel.”
This was a chance to spend more time with her. “Well, would it help to know you were going back there only to get ready to go out to dinner?”
Her brows shot up in surprise. “Dinner?”
Jerking my chin down with a slight nod, I said, “Yes. I’d love to take you out for dinner tonight. You deserve a celebratory meal after all the hard work you put in today.”
Olivia’s lips curved into a smile. “I did work hard, didn’t I?”
I laughed. “You did.”
With a nod, she said, “I’d love to go. It sounds wonderful.”
“Perfect. I’ll pick you up at six. Does that work?”
“That works for me.”
At that, I reached out to open her car door for her. She got in, and I waited until after she pulled away before I moved back to the tent to help with the remaining cleanup from the toy drive.
It was just as successful as my time with Olivia had been.