While she waited, she observed the beginners at the bunny hill. People of all ages dressed in every color of the rainbow were either wedging, or, as the instructors taught the little ones, “pizza-ing” down the small hill. Those who were better balanced positioned their skis side by side and “french-fried” their way up and down the mini slope. The unlucky ones lay sprawled on the snow, struggling to bring themselves upright, so they could try one more time to make it down without falling.
“I remember those days well,” Bryce said. He’d come up beside her without her noticing. He tapped her on the nose. “Earth to Melanie.” Wearing his skis, he couldn’t get much closer to her without tripping over them.
Melanie whirled around. “Hi, Bryce. You sneaked up on me, no fair! I don’t have my skis on yet. Give me a second,” she said, then raced over to the racks, where she removed her skis and poles and placed them flat on the ground. She clicked each boot into the proper position and adjusted her gloves before poling back to the chairlift.
“Okay, now I’m fair game,” Melanie said as she slid into place beside him.
“Blue or black?” Bryce asked as they poled their way to the front of the line.
Melanie raised her eyebrows. “A daredevil now, are we? I never would’ve guessed. Let’s start with a blue run, then we’ll see how things progress. I’m not as young as I used to be,” she said teasingly.
Bryce laughed, showing that one crooked tooth. Sexy as ever, Melanie thought as she laughed with him. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? Doesn’t matter, she thought, as they stood waiting for the chair to tap the back of their knees. I’m here now.
In one giant swing, they were airborne. Bryce lowered the protective railing before sliding closer to her. “I’m scared.”
Both burst out laughing. “A college professor, and you can’t come up with a better pickup line than that?”
He inched closer, so close in fact that she could smell his minty breath. Melanie was glad they had on their heavy outerwear. She did not want to see those flat six-pack abs, or his well-muscled chest, not even a hint at what he looked like under all that down. At least not yet.
“I thought we were past that,” Bryce teased.
The lift stopped midway up the mountain. They were dangling on the topside of a mountain, and neither seemed to notice. The gears ground, then they resumed the climb.
“You did, huh?” Melanie replied.
“Yeah, I did,” Bryce said, “so let me see what I can come up with.” Bryce placed his index finger on his cheek as though he were in deep thought. “How about a little Shakespeare?”
He cleared his throat, then began,
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
“How’s that?” he asked when he’d finished.
“If you don’t hurry up and raise the bar, we’re gonna be in trouble,” Melanie said as they came within a few feet of their drop-off point.
Bryce slid across the seat, checked to make sure their skis and poles were out of the way, then raised the bar. They inched as close to the edge of the seat as possible, raising their ski tips. As soon as they could feel the heavily packed snow beneath them, they shoved off the lift and skied to an area where they wouldn’t be in the way of the other skiers and snowboarders. Skiing had its rules.
Both adjusted their goggles
“I remember those days well,” Bryce said. He’d come up beside her without her noticing. He tapped her on the nose. “Earth to Melanie.” Wearing his skis, he couldn’t get much closer to her without tripping over them.
Melanie whirled around. “Hi, Bryce. You sneaked up on me, no fair! I don’t have my skis on yet. Give me a second,” she said, then raced over to the racks, where she removed her skis and poles and placed them flat on the ground. She clicked each boot into the proper position and adjusted her gloves before poling back to the chairlift.
“Okay, now I’m fair game,” Melanie said as she slid into place beside him.
“Blue or black?” Bryce asked as they poled their way to the front of the line.
Melanie raised her eyebrows. “A daredevil now, are we? I never would’ve guessed. Let’s start with a blue run, then we’ll see how things progress. I’m not as young as I used to be,” she said teasingly.
Bryce laughed, showing that one crooked tooth. Sexy as ever, Melanie thought as she laughed with him. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? Doesn’t matter, she thought, as they stood waiting for the chair to tap the back of their knees. I’m here now.
In one giant swing, they were airborne. Bryce lowered the protective railing before sliding closer to her. “I’m scared.”
Both burst out laughing. “A college professor, and you can’t come up with a better pickup line than that?”
He inched closer, so close in fact that she could smell his minty breath. Melanie was glad they had on their heavy outerwear. She did not want to see those flat six-pack abs, or his well-muscled chest, not even a hint at what he looked like under all that down. At least not yet.
“I thought we were past that,” Bryce teased.
The lift stopped midway up the mountain. They were dangling on the topside of a mountain, and neither seemed to notice. The gears ground, then they resumed the climb.
“You did, huh?” Melanie replied.
“Yeah, I did,” Bryce said, “so let me see what I can come up with.” Bryce placed his index finger on his cheek as though he were in deep thought. “How about a little Shakespeare?”
He cleared his throat, then began,
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
“How’s that?” he asked when he’d finished.
“If you don’t hurry up and raise the bar, we’re gonna be in trouble,” Melanie said as they came within a few feet of their drop-off point.
Bryce slid across the seat, checked to make sure their skis and poles were out of the way, then raised the bar. They inched as close to the edge of the seat as possible, raising their ski tips. As soon as they could feel the heavily packed snow beneath them, they shoved off the lift and skied to an area where they wouldn’t be in the way of the other skiers and snowboarders. Skiing had its rules.
Both adjusted their goggles
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