"Does this mean we're going to be outside all day?" Aaron asked as we walked into the lounge. I had pulled into the ski resort. It was probably the biggest resort I know. It has the equipment to do basically anything in the snow. We had to drive about an hour to get here, but I was overly excited. When we were kids, our parents would bring us here. Some children have Disney, I have a weird snow resort that serves fantastic chocolate milk.
The wind outside picked up. A lot of people started moving back into the resort. Other's came out and simply put on their goggles. The snow started to lightly fall. Nothing too overbearing except flurry.
"Yes," I grinned taking us up to the check-in. It only took a few minutes before the man at the front desk gave us a few wristbands. We quickly put them on as he told me to head outside to a shop that was situated behind the building. It would be where we would find all the rental equipment.
As we walked through the resort, I could already smell the hot chocolate and coffees that everyone was brewing and drinking. A few people looked exhausted, their hair wild and faces all red from the cold. Their gear was still on which meant they probably just got out of being outside. Other people looked like they were just sitting around and having a good time. Laughing and smiling with each other—probably best friends on a vacation.
"So what would you like to do?" I asked with a smile as we walked through the resort to the rental space. I had arranged for us to rent out equipment. A lot of the people at the resort were here from out of the state, so renting equipment would only be difficult if there was a large waiting line, which there wasn't.
"Not be cold." Aaron muttered.
"You're wearing like four layers of clothes," I said with a deadpan face.
He shrugged, "It's still fucking cold."
I kept my glare at him that matched my deadpan face. Then I turned to Pierce, "What would you like to do?"
Pierce looked at me bewildered and shrugged. "I have no idea." He looked around, "Ski?"
"Ok," I said suddenly turning around. I wasn't going to get anywhere by asking these two.
I led the boys outside. Ever since I was little, snow sports were basically the only activities my family could do during winter. Which is why James and Matt were bringing our snowboards. I used to ski and then I realized how much cooler snowboarding looked. So I fell for the trap of getting a snowboard. It took me weeks to finally get the hang of snowboarding, but I finally got it. I'm not great at it. Actually, I'm quite mediocre. But at least I could stay up.
"There you are," I turned around when I heard James voice. He—along with everyone else—walked towards us while carrying all of their gear. James was holding my white snowboard in one hand while he held his black one. "Check your phone Park."
"Sorry," I said rolling my eyes. "I can't feel or hear my phone when it's buried in three layers of clothing."
"You guys ready?" Matt said. His snowboard was set over his shoulder, a wide grin on his face. He already had his goggles around his neck—totally prepared for the rest of the day.
Will was supposed to come and join us. This has been something we've all done together for a long time. But he had promised Maggie to take her on a date. Although I think it's cute and romantic, he's going to miss out on a lot of fun. Will and I usually team up against Matt and James. Mainly because we're the ones in the family that snowboarding didn't come naturally to. We had to help each other learn while my other brothers were doing weird flips and twists in the air.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
Matt pointed at one of the taller mountains. A wide grin spreading on his face, "That one."
Pierce started laughing hysterically and when I looked at him I realized he was exaggerating. His gloved hands were on his cheeks and his gaze was locked on the ground. "I'm going to die," He basically squealed.
Aaron chuckled and patted his brother, "Be a man and do regular skis."
"And what are you going to do?" Pierce asked curiously. His arms crossed over his chest and I couldn't help but smile.
Aaron looked at the shop that had all the rental equipment. Then grinned—probably seeing something he was interested in. He looked at Pierce and said, "Remember a few weeks ago we had that guy pull us at the back of his boat?"
Pierce nodded, his eyebrow raised. "Yeah..."
"Kitesurfing for me it is." Aaron looked over at me and gave me a half grin. "Where do I find my equipment?"
I smiled, leading him to the front desk where he asked for what he wanted. He would have to take a short lesson on how to maneuver the kite, but apparently, he had already learned how to use a two line kite when he did it once on the water. Aaron was asked several questions over his weight and height. If he wanted skis or a snowboard. In the end he went with snowboard because apparently it's more similar to the water version of kiteboarding.
"You're going to want to go to the open space to the left." The man pointed, "There will be an instructor there to help you set up."
Aaron looked back at us, grabbing the helmet he was handed. He placed it over his beanie and then put on the big pair of reflective goggles. "Look for me when you're riding up the ski lift," Aaron grinned. "I'll catch up with you guys."
Pierce rolled his eyes as we all watched his brother walk towards where the man pointed. Pierce turned to look at me and said, "He always does this. One day he's going to die."
"For Park's sake," James said as he patted my shoulder. "I hope not."
Ashley finally joined us. She was dressed in a light blue snow suit that I've seen her wear every year since we were in high school. Whenever we go out to do snow activities, it's the only outfit she'll wear because it suits her well. Olly was at her side, looking very uncomfortable. I never asked where he was from, I always assumed it would be Michigan. But seeing him walking through the snow was making me question it a lot.
"Sorry you guys," Ashley said catching up to us. "We had to get a new pair of goggles. Olly left his at home."
"You good now?" Matt asked getting impatient. I could tell that he was itching to get on the ski lift. He just wanted to go down the mountain. He's always been the best in our family. He even brought his Go-Pro to attach to his helmet.
"Wait," Pierce spoke up. "I don't know what to do."
Matt groaned causing James to chuckle. James grabbed Pierce's arm and led him to the rental shop. He helped set him up while Matt placed his Go-Pro on his helmet. Ashley and Olly kept flirting so I moved up towards Matt.
"Hey could you help me real quick?" Matt asked me as I got closer to him. Whenever he placed his helmet on the camera would shift. I moved my hand up as he strapped on his goggles trying to make sure they wouldn't get caught with the camera. I had to hold onto the camera while Matt helped himself. "Is it on straight?" He asked when he was done.
"Yup," I said grinning. "You ready?"
"Hell yeah sis. I'm going to shred this mountain," Matt grinned. He put his arm around my shoulder and turned us so we were looking at the highest mountain he wanted to ski down. "Just like I do with women."
I laughed and elbowed my brother in the gut. "You're such a player," I said causing him to chuckle. "When are you going to settle?"
"Never," Matt shouted like a war-cry.
James caught our attention by waving at us towards the ski lift. Pierce was already at his side, ready with a snowboard placed on his shoulder. I made my way over to Pierce who was holding a green snowboard. As we walked to the ski lift, James and I sat on either side of Pierce while Matt stayed at the edge. He was basically hopping up and down the seat—mainly to scare us. Behind the four of us was Ashley and Olly. I turned to look at them and Ashley gave me a thumbs up.
We were explaining to Pierce how to snowboard. He seemed nervous but told us he used to know how to skateboard. So he was going to stick with those skills. "I think I'm going to take Pierce down the first mountain," I told my brothers.
"Sounds good," James said smiling. "We'll catch you both at the bottom."
There were several mountains and hills we could down if we wanted to. Because Pierce was still trying to figure it out—and the small bit of practice he got on the hills was probably hardly enough—I made the last minute decision that we would go down the smallest mountain there is.
While we were riding up, we all looked over at the flat ground in the distance. Pierce started laughing when he saw a kite rise in the air. At the bottom of the kite was someone who was being dragged along the snow and ice. No one said it, but we all knew it was Aaron. From so far away he only looked like a spec, but I couldn't believe it. He was moving fast. I didn't know there was so much wind until we got up here. I could only imagine the wind the kite was catching.
A small smile crept on my lips. I should have stayed on the ground to see how he was doing. It would have been cool to see the mechanics of moving the kite around the wind. If he was still out there by the time Pierce and I got down, I was definitely going to go see how Aaron was doing. I'm sure that even in the cold he would look right at home. His daredevil blood was probably pumping with all the adrenaline.
"Here's your stop," James said pulling me out of my thoughts.
A little bit ways up was the drop off to the first—and smaller—mountain. I glanced over a Pierce, expecting him to be nervous. Instead, he looked excited. Not nearly as much as Aaron probably would, but still excited.
"Ready?" I asked.
Pierce pulled his googles down, the snowboards already strapped to our feet. "Let's do this," He said through the small bit of wind that was over us.
"On three," I said and he grabbed my hand. I put my goggles down, a wide grin on my face. "Three!"
***********
There was a lot of screaming. Not bad screaming, but screaming nonetheless. Pierce struggled at first, trying to get his balance. He wiped out twice before he managed to get back up and not fall. The whole way down he didn't complain. I made sure to pick an easy mountain. One with no pine trees or obstacles. The people around us were all families in skis and a few kids who were struggling with snowboards.
By the time we were at the bottom, Pierce was grinning. He had snow all over him. The wind really didn't help either of us balance, but it was still really exciting. Ashley and Olly jumped behind us. But from what we caught on, Olly kept wiping out. So hopefully he'd make it down ok. I'm sure one reason Pierce did well his first time was because he used to skateboard. And I'm not saying skateboarding and snowboarding are the same—they're not—but it helped him keep balance which is what he needed.
We went back up a few more times. Going down the same mountain. I asked if he wanted to advance to the larger one, but he refused. I'm sure that if I were with Aaron, Aaron would have already jumped off with my brothers.
I had completely lost everyone—we had all agreed to meet up at the cabin at a certain time to get hot chocolates. But right now, I was going to stick with Pierce. We had the whole buddy system working. When we were back at the foot of the mountain, we both took our snowboards off and carried it on our shoulders. We agreed to go see if Aaron was still kite surfing. Maybe he was finishing up and we'd have to find him to get hot chocolates. He wasn't around when we all agreed to head back to the resort.
When we arrived to the open area, sure enough, he was still snowboarding across the flat snow with the kite carrying him. I hadn't known how open the area was until I was standing at the edge. It looked like a giant lake that had frozen over, but I wasn't sure. It could easily just be a large area of snow. Looking at it from a certain angle, it was simply a valley in between two mountains.
"You two want in?" An employee asked. He was standing at the edge of the area, holding a few ropes in his hand. He looked more like an instructor than an employee. And he was currently helping a young lady strap into the harness that would attach to the kite.
"We're just waiting for that guy to come back," Pierce said for me.
The instructor smiled, "He's been out there for a while."
"We know," Pierce shook his head like he was used to this.
"Good luck getting him out of here," The man chuckled and continued to help the woman strap in. He gave her a few instructions on how to hold her kite, and after a few minutes she was off too.
At first, she was trying to understand how to maneuver the kite with the wind. It took her a few tries before she finally started moving fast. Not nearly as fast as Aaron. It did look like a lot of fun, but when I asked what I would have to do I shook my head realizing I lacked way too much upper body strength the even consider kiteboarding.
Pierce started waving his arms frantically—trying to catch is brothers attention. Aaron must have spotted us because he soon made his way in our direction. I didn't think he would be able to come towards us because the wind was moving in the opposite direction—but somehow, he moved the kite a certain way in order to move himself towards us.
When he was closer, he slowly leaned back towards the ground—like he was pushing all of his body weight against the kite—until he was lying flat on his back. The kite sank down until it reached the snow. Aaron's goggles were the same reflective gray he has as his Ray-Bans. I'm sure he chose them on purpose because there was no way that was a coincidence.
He took them off his eyes, placing them on his helmet as he gave me a grin. His breathing was hard and very visible in the cold air. Without a care in his voice he said, "Hey Birdie."
"You done sir?" The instructor asked him.
"Yeah," Aaron's eyes lit up a bit as he took the harness off. He walked over to Pierce and I as soon as he finished getting out of all his gear. The employee took all of it and added it to a pile of other harnesses and tangles of rope. Then he started to fold up the kite.
Aaron placed his snowboard over his shoulder once he was in front of Pierce and I—a big grin still on his face. "Guess what I found out?" He asked us.
"That you're super perfect at wind boarding like windsurfing?" Pierce asked crossing his arms. "Because I think that's unfair advantage."
"Shut up," Aaron said shoving his brother to the side.
I chuckled and put my arm around Aaron's waist. He seemed surprised for a second and quickly looked down at me. His face was red and he kept sniffling from the cold but his breathing was finally under control and he put his arm over my shoulders. "What'd you find out?" I asked.
He perked up and led us back towards the cabins. "They've got snow mobiles here," He looked down at me with a suggestive smirk and I instantly knew what I would be doing for the next hour. "You know I'm a motorcycle guy."
************
Let me explain the difference between motorcycles, jet skis, and snow mobiles. Motorcycles bank to the sides. They also have wheels. So by far they are the most unstable. Jet skis do bank, but hardly as much as a motorcycle. Keeping balance is easier because you're floating on the water. But the waves can easily knock you in the wrong direction if you're not careful. Jet skis are the least impacting—once you get the hang of it because you have to basically stand the entire time. Then there's snow mobiles—at first glance they look like they're very stable. Because in a sense, they are. Unlike the motorcycle and jet ski, it doesn't bank nearly as much. So yeah, a snow mobile is fun, but really cold. Really loud. And really really jittery.
Aaron made sure to rent out two snow mobiles. I looked over at Pierce in hope that he would join, but he didn't. He put his hands up and shook his head while backing away slowly. Aaron seemed to have already known that Pierce would back out, so he simply gave me his sly grin.
My parents used to never let me get on a snow mobile. None of my siblings were allowed to. And soon we lost fascination so it had never occurred to us to ride one. Snowboarding seemed to consume us as our main winter sport. But I wasn't at all surprised when Aaron decided to want to ride the snow mobiles.
When we were finally given our mobiles, Pierce told us he would wait for us to get back. There was a specific track we could follow. It meant going through trees and standing on a course, but in general we would be making a circle around the bottom of the mountain.
I hesitated when Aaron sat on his ride. We got a small lesson on how to operate it and I was surprised at how similar it was to a jet ski. Aaron could see my hesitation and he placed his goggles on his helmet. His eyes locked with mine and a smirk spread on his lips. He brought his hand up and curled his finger at me beckoning me towards the snow mobile.
My heart sped up and couldn't help but grin. I walked over, taking a seat on the snow mobile next to Aaron's. "Ready Birdie?" He asked while putting his goggles down over his eyes. I nodded, doing the same. He grinned and subconsciously touched his abdomen where I would typically have my arms around if we were on his motorcycle. "Hand on," He called loudly as he revved the machine.
He blasted in front of me, some snow following behind him. I had to look away as the snow landed close to me. When he was finally, I started to laugh and revved up—jolting forward as I accelerated.
The entire time we were on the snowmobiles it felt like we were chasing each other. Aaron was smiling whenever I could see him. If he flew for a few seconds, he would let out a small cry of excitement like he was on a rollercoaster. I hadn't known he could be so carefree until I pulled up beside him. He was weaving through several trees like he was born on the course. Sometimes he would accelerate and pull away. Other times he'd slow down while I jumped through a small hill of snow.
I was going to yell at him to slow down but I realized it would be like stealing candy from a baby. The only times I'd ever seen Aaron this way is when he's out and doing something adventurous. There's absolutely no pinch of hesitation in his body. He's the kind of person that if asked to jump off a cliff—he would. I'm not sure if he seeks adrenaline or fun. Because for him, those two seem to go hand-in-hand.
When we finished the lap, Aaron and I got off with smiles on our face. The employee asked if we had a good time. Aaron couldn't even answer, he was too busy trying to control his uncontrollable smile. "It was awesome," He finally managed.
We started heading back to the cabin when we realized we couldn't find Pierce. As we walked through the snow, Aaron took off his goggles and helmet, leaving him in his beanie. He brushed snow off his head, leaving his hair was wild as ever.
"See?" I said softly shoving him with my shoulder as we walked. "Snow isn't that bad."
Aaron caught my hand in his and smiled down at me as he pulled me closer to him. I was hoping my blush would blend in with how red I was from the cold. "I just wish it weren't so cold," He put his beanie back on.
When we arrived back to the cabin, I tried pulling my phone out of my zipped pocket. But even with my gloves, my fingers had gone completely numb. So Aaron and I sat down on one of the sofas while I tried to warm my hands. When I finally managed to get my phone, I saw that Pierce had texted me how he had gone into the cabin. Then I had several other messages from Ashley and my brothers. They were telling me where they were located.
So I followed their directions. It led Aaron and I to a small living room that had a crackling fireplace at the end. Several people were sitting on the chairs or couch. The room looked like a typical cabin living room, except some of the walls were made of glass and it overlooked how people were snowboarding and skiing. At one of the couches I could see our group so I led Aaron over and took a seat in the center of one of the couches while Aaron took the end.
"Hey," I said smiling.
"She's alive!" Matt exaggerated. He was eating a protein bar and lying on the floor around the coffee table. He took all his coats off which left him in a long-sleeved shirt. "We thought a grizzly bear ate you."
"I got you some hot chocolate," Ashley said. She handed it to me and I took it between both hands. Hoping that it would warm me up.
"Thanks," I managed to say as I blew the steam away when I took the cap off.
"Here," Pierce said passing another cup to Aaron. Aaron took it slowly and when he realized how hot the cup was, put it between both hands as well. Pierce smiled looking between the both of us, "How was it?"
"So much fun," I said as I took a sip. "You should have been there."
Pierce shrugged, "Small vehicles aren't my thing."
"I never thought I'd see our Park on a snow mobile," Matt smirked and winked at a girl that passed by us.
I rolled my eyes, "Keep it in your pants. Your little sister is here."
"Shield your virgin eyes," Matt said through a laugh.
I took my large coat off and threw it at Matt who continued to laugh when he realized he was annoying me. "Cut it out you two," James said with an eye roll. James was sitting the closest to the fire. He looked like he was falling asleep, much like Olly who wasn't contributing at all to the conversation because he looked so out of it. James glanced at his watch and said, "We should all probably get some lunch."
Everyone agreed but I frowned looking down at my hot chocolate, "I just got here."
"Well maybe if your boyfriend and you didn't take so long," Matt said standing up and dusting his legs off. "I'm starving Park."
I glanced back at Aaron. His eyes were locked on the fire but as soon as I looked at him, he locked his eyes with mine. For a second I totally forgot where we were. I was to focused on the drowning misery that nothing else seemed to matter. Aaron lazily closed his eyes as a small grin spread on his lips. "I think I'll stay here for a few minutes," He said deeply. "I want to finish my hot chocolate."
I looked at his cup of hot cocoa and realized he had probably only had a few sips. Turning back to my family and friends who were all standing up I said, "We'll catch up."
"Ok," James said. He patted my shoulder as he walked by me and said, "We'll be at the resorts restaurant. I'll get you a ginger ale."
Aaron watched everyone walk away without even turning his body. His eyes trailed after them and when the whole group rounded the corner he gave out a small—relieved—sigh. After he took his jacket off he wrapped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me towards him. Both his arms went around me and he buried his face at the side of my neck. "You're so warm Birdie," He muttered softly while giving me a small squeeze.
In about two seconds my heartrate had increased by the tenfold. I felt a blush push up my neck and I tired biting my lip to prevent it. It didn't work. I even pulled Aaron's arms closer around me and I could feel him grin softly against my neck. I could tell that Aaron was cold. Maybe he himself wasn't cold but his clothes and skin were freezing compared to mine. So I put my hands over his freezing one. His body was not made for the cold weather and although he was having fun, I wasn't sure how much he'd be able to take if we went outside again.
I tried to play it off by smirking and saying, "Are you afraid of my brothers?"
"Hardly," he said casually. Even though he had obviously been waiting for them to leave.
"Really?" I looked at him over my shoulder. I was very aware that we were in a public area. A few people that walked by would simply veer their eyes away from us. I never liked PDA in general. I always thought it was weird to see other people display it. But when you truly like someone—that concept of displaying affection in public—goes out the window. "So why'd you wait to put your arms around me?"
Aaron opened his eyes and met mine. The edge of his lip curled up and he laid back a bit to get comfortable. In his dense tone he said, "If I had a little sister I wouldn't want to see a guy all over her. At least not in public. I didn't want your brothers to get the wrong idea of me."
I frowned unsure how to answer. When I was with Jeromy, PDA was never an issue. He wasn't the kind of guy to display public affection. And whenever my brothers were around, he would be so intimidated that it didn't even matter. He'd be too afraid to even hold my hand. Not Aaron. Holding hands he'd do, but putting his arms around me he wouldn't. "But you hold my hand," I said.
"That's not nearly as bad as us cuddling and face to face the way we are." I hadn't realized how close we were until he mentioned it. My eyes instantly flicked over to his lips and he noticed. Aaron raised his eyebrow at me, his head tilting like he was waiting for my move.
I gulped and met his eyes saying, "So what image would my brothers get if they saw us?"
"That I'm only sticking around for certain reasons."
I knew exactly what he was talking about and I couldn't help but laugh. "And what reasons would those be?"
Aaron rolled his eyes, "Like you don't know."
"I just want to hear you say it," I pushed on my grin widening.
He locked his eyes with mine, amusement clearly written on his face. Aaron took a deep breath but didn't say anything else for a few seconds. Then he said, "Last thing I need is for your brothers to gang up on me because they think I just want to sleep with their little sister."
I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face. I had to turn around for Aaron not to see that I couldn't control my lips. He pulled me in closer and I let him. I even relaxed against him. I let out a small sigh that only seemed to get a small squeeze from Aaron's arms.
That seemed like some sort of conformation to me that he wasn't around for the heck of it. I hadn't thought about getting in another committed relationship. My mind was too stuck on my career and idea of making friends. But now that I had the option in front of me, I wasn't at all sure I wanted to turn it down.
"So did you like your Christmas present?" I asked after a few seconds.
"Yes," he said quietly.
"Really?" I hesitated because I honestly didn't know if it was good or not. Sure, he had fun coming to the resort. But bringing Pierce and Aaron to snowboard was just like them usually going out and doing wild things.
Aaron nodded, "I didn't really expect you to get me a gift."
That surprised me. If anything I was hoping he'd want a gift from me. Or that getting a gift would make him excited. "Why wouldn't I get you anything?"
He shrugged. "You already gave me Christmas. I didn't think anything could top that."
"What do you mean?"
Aaron sighed. He hesitated and I already knew it was so he could think clearly over what he was about to say. He never hesitates unless it's about him thinking over his words. "This was the first actual Christmas Pierce and I have had in a long time. So I was content just by seeing a Christmas tree."
I frowned but before I ask anything Aaron swiftly changed the subject by adding. "Besides," He grinned. "I didn't expect you to get me a gift because you already created that building for me."
"That was hardly a gift."
"It got me talking to you didn't it?"
"Well..." I stuttered. "I guess."
Aaron smiled. Or at least I think he did. I couldn't really tell by the way I was facing. But his chin was on my shoulder, his face somewhat angled towards me. I could feel his breathing on my neck and I'd like to think he smiled. Because in his honey-coated voice he said, "It was a gift."
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
Disclaimer: I have never been to a skiing resort. I had the opportunity, but I had to get my tonsils removed so I ended up staying home and eating ice cream. It was a pretty lit weekend...not.
Again, sorry for not posting often this last week. I was on break with my best friends. So I had absolutely no time to write. I'm back home so I'm hoping to fall back in my usual pattern. Hope you all liked the chapter though.
Keep up the comments and votes, they go super appreciated with my smiles that you all sadly cannot see. But my friends do see them and they think I'm texting a cute guy or something. Until next time...
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