I wasn't a skier, so I chose to visit a spa for the day. Park refused to join in on the spa treatment and stayed at the sidelines. I, on the other hand, enjoyed a very lovely mud bath and massage. I also had the added benefit of winning free spa supplies.
I managed to waste away a few hours there before I walked with Park to one of the slopes for a little while. I wanted him to stop sulking and admit that he was scared too. I could tell by the way his face contorted into a virtual scowl. He was trying to cover it, but I knew. At least, I thought I knew. We reached the lift station and we changed into our ski clothes.
"I'm guessing we'll be on the beginner slope?" He asked. He had on black and red thermal pants peaking from beneath his black snowpants. For some reason, we were wearing similar clothing. My snowpants were red and black and I had an equally red down jacket.
"Excuse you. I can ride the advanced one!" I argued. Park scoffed, but I could tell his heart wasn't in the conversation. I struggled to bend over in my goofy clothes. I had to put on my skis still. Since Park wasn't in his jacket yet, he bent down to help me absently.
"Okay," he nodded as he put on his gloves. I rose my eyebrow, feeling defensive. He helped put my foot into the ski, and then he strapped them securely.
"I bet you I can!" I crossed my arms, the fabric making noises as it rubbed against itself. He tied the gear nice and tight around my foot. His skis were already on.
"I believe you," he muttered. I frowned. Park obviously didn't believe me at all, and it was clear he didn't care either. I would show him. I led him to the ski lift for the advanced slope. No way would I let him think I couldn't. Just because I didn't ski didn't mean I couldn't. We finished suiting up and headed for the lift.
"Who's Vanessa?" I asked once we were on the ski lift. A cold breeze blew by. Park stared down at me, his eyes narrowed.
"My ex-girlfriend," he said shortly. I wanted to ask more questions, like what did the letter mean and what had happened. Instead, I faced forward again and stared at the sky. It was depressingly gray. A light snow had started to fall again, nothing too serious. A strong wind was blowing in though, and with the high altitude, it made me uneasy.
We reached the top and hopped off. There were a few people, but the majority stuck with the intermediate and beginner ramp. I put my goggles over my eyes. "I'll race you down," I said with a grin. I wanted Park to be happy again. For all the times we argued, we often had our good moments. We were in this together now, and I wanted to help him out.
"Oh really? I think this is a little dangerous," he said hesitantly. I sighed, a breath of air curling out of my mouth as I did so.
"You're just mad that I'm going to win and you have no chance. You underestimate my skills," I said sassily. Park finally gave me the slightest smile.
"Okay. I'll race you down," he said. Another strong wind busted by for a second.
"You're on. One, two, THREE!" I shouted quickly and took off, sliding my poles into the ground to propel me forward. I laughed, feeling exhilarated. I knew the basics of skiing, and I had done it before, I just wasn't good. I had bad balance sometimes. Since the path was advanced, there were trees and rocks in the wait-- not to me IRON it was mind bogglingly steep. I curved around a tree, wind whipping past my face.
I saw Park jet off ahead of me, meandering around the obstacles. His form was way better than mine, as usual. He was tucked in, shooting ahead like a bullet. I dodged another rock and tried to catch up to him. "YOU'RE NEVER GONNA WIN!" I shouted out. I heard his laughter as a response. I was so focused on my speed, that I neglected to see the red directly in front of me. From behind a tree, a red coated arm pushed me off of my balance. I tilted precariously to the left as I passed a rock on the right. The back of my ski hit the rock and sent me veering off the path. I let out a shout of surprise.
