Chapter 6 Ski Trip Disaster
I should’ve known something was wrong when Jake bounced into the living room wearing ski goggles and no pants.
“EVERYONE GET UP!” he shouted. “WE’RE GOING SKIING!”
Mike lifted his head from the couch. “Put pants on, you maniac.”
Jake blinked, looked down, and screamed. “OH MY GOD, WHERE ARE MY PANTS?”
Josh walked in holding them. “You left them in the bathroom when you slipped getting out of the shower.”
“I was SPEEDING,” Jake said proudly, snatching them back.
Patrick crossed his arms. “You can’t speed in a shower.”
“Watch me.”
Drew sighed. “Please don’t.”
Before I could say anything, Mike tossed a pair of ski socks into my lap. “Suit up, sweetheart. You’re going down the bunny slope.”
I frowned. “Why the bunny slope?”
Josh looked personally offended. “Because it’s safe.”
“It’s boring,” Jake added. “But safe.”
Patrick handed me a ski jacket that looked like it belonged to a tactical snowman. “Wear this. It’s warm.”
I slipped it on. It swallowed me whole. “I look like a marshmallow.”
Josh smirked. “Cute marshmallow.”
Mike leaned close. “Very cute.”
“Stop,” I muttered, cheeks burning.
Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to the ski lodge. Jake was vibrating with excitement, Drew looked like a dad ready to supervise everyone’s poor decisions, Mike was bragging about how he “used to ski competitively in middle school,” and Patrick just looked… prepared for disaster.
Josh helped me out of the car, adjusting my scarf like I might freeze instantly. “If you feel unsafe, tell me.”
“I’m literally going on the bunny hill,” I reminded him.
“That doesn’t mean you’re safe,” he said.
Mike clapped him on the back. “Relax. If she crashes, it’s just snow.”
Patrick added, “Or trees.”
“Or other people,” Drew said.
Jake nodded. “Or fences.”
I stared at them. “Wow. Incredible pep talk.”
Josh glared at the others. “Stop talking.”
Inside the rental shop, things got worse.
Jake tried on every helmet as if he were auditioning to be a Power Ranger. Mike complained that the boots were “clearly made for trolls.” Patrick stood stiffly while an older woman forcefully tightened his bindings like she was preparing him for war.
Drew helped me with my boots. “You don’t have to go if you’re uncomfortable.”
“I’m fine,” I said, even though my stomach did a weird flippy thing.
Josh appeared, frowning. “Baby girl, you’re pale.”
“I’m always pale,” I said. “I’m practically translucent.”
Jake gasped. “You’d make a HOT vampire.”
“Jake,” Mike said, “everyone makes a hot vampire.”
“That’s not true,” Jake argued. “Some people make weird vampires. Like Steve Buscemi.”
I choked on air. “Can we please just go outside?”
The bunny slope looked harmless… at first.
Then I saw the toddlers skiing better than most Olympic athletes.
“Oh no,” I whispered.
Josh tightened his grip on my hand. “We can go home.”
“No,” I said. “I can do this.”
Patrick stepped behind me, close enough that I felt his warmth. “I’ll stay right behind you.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I’m staying,” he said simply.
Drew stood on my other side. “We won’t let you fall.”
Jake saluted. “I will throw myself under your skis if necessary.”
“That is NOT helpful,” Mike said.
But standing there between all of them, something steadied in my chest.
“I’m ready,” I said.
Josh kissed my forehead. “Okay. Start slow.”
“Yeah,” Jake said, pointing. “Do NOT do what that guy is doing.”
We all turned as a man flew past at the speed of light and wiped out face-first into a snowbank.
I swallowed. “Noted.”
They showed me how to angle my skis, how to shift my weight, how not to die. Honestly, I forgot half of what they said, but I nodded anyway.
“Ready?” Josh asked.
“No,” I said. “Let’s go.”
I pushed off.
For two glorious seconds, I felt amazing. Wind in my hair. Cold on my face. Confidence blooming in my chest.
Then I realized I had no idea how to stop.
“Guys?” I called.
Josh immediately started skiing after me. “Pizza, baby girl! Make your skis into a pizza!”
“I AM A PIZZA!” I yelled back.
“No, you’re a—OH SHIT—”
I didn’t hear the rest because I crashed straight into Josh. We tumbled together down the slope in a tangle of limbs and skis.
When we finally stopped, I was lying on top of him.
He groaned. “You okay?”
I nodded. “I think so.”
Jake slid to a stop beside us and threw his hands up. “THAT WAS AMAZING!”
Drew looked as if he had aged ten years. “I thought you were going into the trees.”
“I thought I was going into the sun,” I said.
Patrick reached down and lifted me off Josh like I weighed nothing. His hands stayed firm on my waist. “You did good.”
“I crashed.”
“Still good.”
Mike arrived last, completely graceful and not even out of breath. “Not bad for your first run.”
I stared at him. “Did you just SKI DOWN BACKWARDS?”
He shrugged. “Talent.”
Jake slapped his arm. “Show-off!”
We tried again.
And again.
And again.
By run number five, I finally made it to the bottom upright.
Jake screamed like someone had proposed again. “SHE DID IT!”
Josh hugged me so tight my ribs creaked. “I’m proud of you.”
Drew kissed the top of my head. “Told you you’d get it.”
Mike winked. “Natural athlete.”
Patrick rested a hand on the back of my neck. “Good job, love.”
My heart basically melted out of my body.
We took a break in the lodge, all warm wood and soft lighting and the smell of cocoa.
Jake returned to the table holding six mugs of something suspiciously pink. “I found a drink called Bunny Slope Surprise!”
Mike groaned. “Jesus Christ.”
Drew sniffed it. “It’s mostly sugar.”
Patrick took a sip. “It’s alcohol.”
Jake’s eyes widened. “OH.”
Josh gently took the mug out of my hands. “You’re not drinking that.”
“I wanted to try it!”
“No,” he said.
“Ugh, fine.”
Jake chugged his. Immediately regretted it. “It tastes like regret and medicine.”
“I warned you,” Patrick said.
But sitting there, surrounded by their voices and laughter, the earlier disaster felt far away. I wasn’t scared anymore. I wasn’t overwhelmed. I was… happy.
Really, truly happy.
And when Josh slid closer, brushing his knee against mine, my heart soared.
This chaos?
This warmth?
This life?
Yeah.
I wanted every part of it.