Chapter 150. Competition.
As soon as I heard Cinder’s voice, I pushed Aaron away like I’d been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.
Aaron gave me a disgruntled look, his bottom lip sticking out in an adorable pout.
“Come on, stop messing around! Cinder and her new boyfriend are waiting for us to go skiing!” I protested, and Aaron finally gave in. He went to the bathroom alone to take care of his little problem, and I took the opportunity to scarf down the delicious breakfast he’d prepared for me. After that, the four of us headed to a nearby ski resort.
When we arrived at the lodge positioned on top of a snowcapped mountain, we realized the ski slopes were al- ready packed with tourists and more capable local skiers. Be- side me, Cinder bounced up and down excitedly.
Aaron was so concerned about my safety, I could hardly take a step toward the slopes before he was bombarding me with all sorts of protective equipment. Warm-weather clothes, knee pads, chest protectors, helmets-he insisted on helping me put on each piece of gear.
Aaron’s thoughtfulness got Cinder’s attention, and more than once I caught her glancing enviously at us while Aaron adjusted the various straps and buckles of my ski outfit. After a while, Cinder even asked Eliott, who had quickly put on his own suit, to follow Aaron’s example and help her.
When I heard that, the corners of my mouth quirked up in a satisfied smile. Aaron knelt in front of me, tightening my skis, but I pulled him up to a standing position so I could re- ward him with a long, passionate kiss.
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closest ski run. “Let’s go, let’s go!”
“Aaron, you have to give Olive some good lessons, make sure she doesn’t wipe out!” Cinder called after us.
Listening to Cinder’s teasing voice behind us, I started walking faster, but I’d forgotten that I was already wearing my skis. I tripped and fell forward toward the snow-covered ground.
“Baby, watch out!” Lucky for me, Aaron grabbed me just in time, and I was able to regain my footing.
“Oh my g*d, Aaron, I’m so glad you’re here.” I was stunned, and all I could do was clutch Aaron’s jacket with both hands, afraid that I would fall again if I let go of him.
“I’m guessing you don’t have much experience with skiing, babe. Don’t worry, we can start off slow,” Aaron comforted me, gradually releasing his grip on my hand once he saw that I was safely upright.
“Who told you I don’t know how to ski?” I asked indignant- ly. At first I couldn’t understand Aaron’s line of thinking at all, until I realized he must have gotten the wrong idea from my stumble just now.
While we were talking, I saw Cinder zip over the edge of the hill in front of us, and Eliott followed right behind her. It was easy to tell from their comfortable postures that they were both experienced skiers.
Aaron glanced at Cinder and Eliott, who were skiing smoothly and gracefully down the slope, and then looked back at me with a knowing expression. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Baby, there are a lot of people who can’
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t ski. You don’t have to be embarrassed.”
“Aaron, I think you might have the wrong idea…”
“I know, baby, you don’t want to make a fool of yourself in front of your friend. I understand. We can go to that run over there,” Aaron suggested. He held my elbow and led me to a slope a little further away from Cinder and Eliott.
Fine. I could tell by this point that Aaron was completely deluded, and he wouldn’t believe me no matter how much I tried to explain. It would be easier to just show him what I could do.