Page 25 of Ski You Later (Alpine Glow #1)

I think arguing with Rhodes is the only thing that could make me feel better at this point.

“Where’s my race suit?” Aurora yells from the garage, our connecting door currently being propped up with a pile of gear. She does a drive-by past the front entranceway as she tosses another bag of equipment onto the ever-growing pile.

The season's first race means that most athletes are scrambling the night before to ensure everything is ready to go. Our group chat is blowing up my phone, with everyone double checking they have the essentials packed since the race is a seven-hour drive away.

I decided to be productive and pack up everything early this morning, so now I can just relax on the couch while Aurora runs around in a panic.

Roman and the guys were nice enough to offer us a ride to the van tomorrow, meaning we don’t need to leave our car in the university parking lot for a week. I chance a look back at our mountain of bags and inwardly cringe.

It'll be a tight fit for sure, but I feel better when I remember that Roman has a truck. Usually, we would’ve driven with Charles, Liam, and Isla, but Aurora needs a break from some of them, and Roman was offering.

Against my better judgment, I check my messages from him and see the same confirmation text from a couple of hours ago staring back at me.

Roman: Do you and Aurora want a ride to the van tomorrow?

Rhodes: Really? Do you mind?

Roman: I was the one who offered, Langley.

Rhodes: Oh, ha-ha, yeah. Fair point!

Roman: … Is that a, yes?

Rhodes: Yes, please!

Roman: Alright. Be there at five thirty.

I grimace at my phone, dreading that our texts have the same energy as the ones I share with my aunt. Not that I expect everything to change after one very fake date, but I was hoping things between us would become more casual.

I can’t stop the mixed emotions I have after that whole night, the way his defenses were completely lowered, and he seemed genuinely happy.

Surely, he didn’t fake that; he doesn’t strike me as the type of guy to fake any emotions.

Then, with Jasmine throwing herself into the whole mix, I can’t help but start tapping my foot in a fit of nerves.

Did Jasmine manage to scare Roman off? Will he stop wanting to help me now that he knows how mean she can be?

Biting my thumbnail, I re-live the entire night and try to pinpoint every moment that could have scared him off.

Aurora runs past me down the hall, holding a bundle of clothes in her arms, but abruptly drops them to the floor. Turning fast as a viper, she jumps over the couch, smacking my leg down, and ripping my hand from my mouth.

“No! Stop stressing about nothing! I’m too busy to help right now,” she yells in my face. Pointing her finger at me with menace, and then rushing to finish what she was doing.

I let out the breath I was holding and watch as my crazy best friend runs into her room. She’s right, though; this whole deal won’t work if I go home and stress out about everything. Tossing my phone onto the couch beside me, I use a rare pocket of free time to work on my latest drawings.

In no time, pencils are scattered in the folds of the couch as my sketch pad sits snugly on my lap. Candles are lit periodically throughout the space, and calming jazz music plays, as I snuggle into my blanket.

I decided to use pencils today, revelling in getting my fingers covered in the lead as I press the side of the tip onto the page.

A fake fireplace sits on my TV, and the crackling of the wood sets a calming atmosphere.

A frustrated scream from Aurora’s room ruins my mood for a minute, but peace returns shortly after.

In my periphery, I notice she’s frantically running in and out of the house, but I can’t hear if she is talking to me.

The paper in front of me has a rough sketch of Roman’s face plastered across it. I squint as I focus on capturing the strong set of his jaw, accenting it with a dusting of stubble.

I think about the few times I’ve seen him un-shaven and decide I prefer it the other way. When his face proudly displays his smattering of freckles, it always manages to make my stomach flip.

The face that stares back at me has a small smirk playing on the corner of his mouth, and I did my best to capture the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. I start to shade the column of his neck just as I feel a presence behind me.

“Who’s that?” Aurora questions bluntly.

“Roman,” I respond without looking up.

There’s a stretch of silence behind me as if she’s confused by my words. “That’s Roman?” Aurora questions again.

“Yes. Why?” I look at her now, confused at the face she’s making.

“It just looks wrong.”

“What? I thought I nailed his proportions in this one!” I say defensively.

“No, you did. It’s just that he looks happy.” It comes out as more of a question, and I can’t help but frown at her.

“Stop being mean,”

“I’m not! The guy literally never smiles. So, it looks wrong.”

Now that she says it, I can’t remember a single time lately that we’ve hung out, and he hasn’t been smiling. Whether because he was teasing me or just because we were hanging out. Lately, Roman has always had a smile on his face .

“Oh, well, he’s been smiling a lot lately,” I counter defensively and turn back to my drawing.

I can practically hear the wicked smile forming on my best friend’s face, and I promptly ignore her as she continues to get ready.

I scoff at Aurora’s insinuation and toss my sketch pad beside me.

Crossing my legs and tucking them further under the blanket, my mind wanders to our last couple of interactions.

The way he teases me but never in a degrading way, and always makes me feel more confident after our verbal sparring.

If it were anyone else on our team, I would never even dream of yelling at their face, let alone being pleased with myself after.

As I reach for my drawing again, a weight sinks on the couch beside me, and Aurora throws her arms over her face.

“I can’t do it. I’m not ready. I’m not going,” she says definitively.

“You aren’t done packing yet? What have you been doing for the past couple hours?” I close my sketch pad and face her, so that she knows she has my full attention.

“I can’t race this weekend. I’m not ready, Rho.

” Grabbing my sweater sleeve, she sends her pleading puppy eyes directly at me before she puts her head on my sleeve.

My delicate little heart swells and I reach to pull my best friend into a well needed hug.

But, before I can even get one arm around her, she shoots up and starts to pace in front of the couch.

“We haven’t had enough training, you know! It has been such a warm winter, with only five weeks of gate training this season! That isn’t nearly enough!” My eyes move back and forth as if I’m watching a tennis match, her steps erratic and her voice rising as each new point pops into her head.

I try to counter some of her arguments, since they are ridiculous, but it seems that she has just hit her stride.

“I should’ve lifted heavier this summer. Lifted heavier weights, bulked, and then brought that strength into my skiing. I wasted so much time!” She stops her pacing and hangs her head in shame.

“Rora, that’s ridiculous.”

“Also! The chairlift has been faulty this year, so do you know how much time was wasted because I was stuck on it. I bet Roman didn’t factor that in when he decided to book us in for the earliest race of the season!

” My mood instantly shifts at the casual insult towards Roman, the sympathy I had quickly turning into defense .

“Alright, let’s not go blaming Roman for this. You know that isn’t fair.” I send her my most pointed glance and I see the fight leave her body.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just not ready yet Rho. All the scouts are going to be there, and if they aren’t then they will definitely watch the results online.” She slumps on the couch beside me, stealing half my blanket and finally resting her head on my shoulder.

Her admission dissipates my anger, and I give her the hug she is in desperate need of.

“How about we just try and get a good night sleep before we leave tomorrow? There’s no need to stay up all night and stress.

” She sighs heavily from beside me, and I wrap my arms around her in a comforting hug.

“Don’t worry. It’s all going to work itself out. ”

“GET UP! GET UP AND RUN!” Light floods into my room and I’m visually disoriented as I try and fail to comprehend what’s happening.

After rapidly blinking for a couple seconds, I squint my eyes greatly and see Aurora’s panicked face looking back at me.

After my eyes adjust to the light, I can’t help but notice that she has on two pairs of pants, which is obvious because the second pair is only pulled up to her knees.

Then there’s her sports bra that’s on top of her shirt, as well as the one sleeve of her hoodie that made it onto her body.

This is all accented by her hair that rests in a horrid-looking ponytail.

She begins to hurl my once neat-folded clothes at my face, as I still struggle to understand what’s happening. As my rolled-up leggings hit me in the nose, I gain enough consciousness to question Aurora’s actions.

“What on earth is happening?” I ask groggily, my eyes falling closed again on their own accord. I hear Aurora rambling, but the warm sheets lull me back into a daze, and I slowly slip back into my bedding cocoon.

Getting smacked in the face with the last piece of my clothing finally wakes me up enough to say goodbye to the idea of getting anymore sleep.

Slipping out of bed before Rora starts throwing more things at me, I register voices coming from the other room.

but my brain is too tired to think anything of it.