Page 37 of Ski You Later (Alpine Glow #1)

This was all part of the plan.

The rest of the race weekend went by without a hitch. On Sunday morning, after I decided to race, the coaches both coldly greeted me. They might as well have held up a sign saying, One more stupid mistake will be your last.

I was able to lock in for my race run, and land myself in fourth place for the slalom event. Being two hundredths of a second off third place usually would have stung, but finishing the race was all I wanted from today.

Aurora won the slalom race on Sunday, making her the female champion for the entire weekend. Whereas Roman just lost the top male to Calvin after taking a time penalty in the Sunday race.

Everyone else placed within their usual standings, and no one on our team placed any lower than the top twenty. The Polar team prides itself on having some of the best Canadian ski racers, and it’s important that every race reflects that.

Now, after a quick awards ceremony and a couple hours of packing, we all huddle around the trailer and get ready to depart. Half the team walks towards the van after cleaning up the rental unit, while the other half is responsible for playing Tetris with everyone’s luggage.

Since the race ended a couple hours ago, it’s essential that all the skis were put away with no snow lingering on the binding. Letting our precious race skis soak in water for the long drive home is a huge no for everyone.

Roman’s deep into the trailer, switching out bags with Landon and Rhys, as the three of them make sure everything will fit. Aurora stands at my side, as the jingle of the medals in her pocket causes a smile to form on her face whenever she moves.

I think my voice is still raw from the sheer amount of cheering I did for my best friend. People looked at me like I was nuts, but that is the price you pay for being supportive.

As our teammates mill around, everyone prepares themselves for the drive home, but I keep my eyes glued to the man in the trailer. Roman barks out orders, pointing so everything’s done in a certain way and ensuring this process gets wrapped up quickly.

While everyone is seeing him as the team grump, I can’t help but see him the way he was last night. The way he kissed me as if it would fix all his problems. The way his touch lingered on me at all times, and the way he wanted it to end as little as I did.

When we kiss again, there’s not going to be one bone in your body that thinks this relationship is fake. Damn him. Getting the last word while simultaneously making me weak in the knees. It’s not fair.

Half of me wants to walk right up to him, give him a good shake, and demand to know what is going on between us. But a bigger part of me relishes in the fact that this isn’t real yet. I can’t get hurt by a relationship that isn’t actually real.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I’m only half listening to Aurora talk, but mostly focusing on Roman work. Kai and Grayson join in and help in passing the bags to Roman and Landon, then the lot of them start arguing over where everything needs to go.

He’s in the middle of yelling at them all and then stops suddenly.

As if sensing my gaze, he looks up and meets my eyes directly.

I lift my brows in his direction and nod towards the bags, as if I had half a mind to go over there and help.

Knowing full well what happened last time I tried to do that, I’m met with an exasperated expression and a quick shake of his head.

Rolling my eyes, I turn back to Aurora, hoping her problems will distract me from mine. “Look at her being completely useless. Go help the team or something, you know?”

I follow her gaze, watching Isla lean against the wall of the house and scroll on her phone.

“I mean, we’re also just kind of standing here,” I counter without thinking. Her sharp glare shoots through me and I throw my hands up in a surrender motion right away. “I mean, she’s so lazy. I can’t even look at her and all that laziness.”

Aurora softens her gaze only a fraction and then promptly returns to glaring in Isla’s direction. As I’m about to open my mouth, hoping Aurora might be open to hearing my thoughts on this matter, the clanging of the trailer doors catches everyone’s attention.

“Polar Athletes, load the vans in the next five minutes. We’re heading right back to Calgary,” Liane yells at the crowd.

Everyone starts to shuffle around, grabbing their personal bags and making their way to the van.

Before I can decide if I want to sit with Roman on this long drive, he takes the decision out of my hands as he walks up to Aurora and I.

With a nod in Rora’s direction, he focuses his attention on me and picks up the backpack I had sitting by my feet. “I’m going to sit in the back of this van, I’m saving you a seat beside me.”

He points to the van on the far side and sends me a kind smile as he walks away.

The mix of butterflies and throat clenching fear mix in my stomach as I watch him walk away. Whatever is going on between us needs to be sorted out now, and I think this van ride will have to be the time to do it.

“Are you guys actually dating now?” The hurt that laces her voice makes me turn her way, and I can’t help but feel guilt mix with all my other emotions.

“No. I mean, not exactly. It has just gotten really complicated lately.” I use my hands to talk as I scramble to find the right words to describe my situation. Never in my life would I want Aurora to think I’m not telling her something, but I don’t even understand what’s going on between us.

She cuts off my scrambling with her hand on my forearm, and I see true understanding shiny in her eyes. “I won’t force you to talk about something you don’t understand. If anything, I am ten times more guilty about that then you.”

Her gaze looks behind me, I can only assume that Liam’s standing there.

“The only advice I can give you is to not waste your time. Either this is something you want, or you don’t.

You can’t be afraid of getting hurt because that is no way to live Rho.

You need to untangle these strings and figure out what will make you happy. ”

She promptly grabs both my shoulders and pulls me into a crushing Aurora hug. A hug I desperately needed to ground myself as I wrap my arms right back around her. “But, if you aren’t ready for this, I’m going to save you a seat beside me.” My best friend gives me a smile and walks towards the van.

Taking a deep breath, I steady myself and prepare to do the scariest thing I can imagine. Put myself out there again. For real.

I start walking toward the van with a newfound determination in my step when the laugh that sounds behind me makes me startle. Xander has been standing behind me the whole time, talking to Landon about who knows what. But more importantly, I can’t see Liam anywhere near here .

Was Aurora looking at Xander when she was talking about tangled strings? I contemplate if I should dig deeper into this revelation, but I just let it drop. Shaking my head, I need to sort out my own love life before I meddle into the business of others.

Grabbing the handles of the van, I pull myself up and look at the options before me. Aurora’s in the second row with Charles, Isla, and Liam surrounding her. Making eye contact, she motions towards the empty seat between her and the window.

Looking at the back rows, Landon and Xander occupy the third one.

Leaving Roman in the very back row, his long legs stretching across the walkway.

Looking up those legs, I see his toned arms smartly crossed over his chest, as the tight, athletic shirt strains on his biceps.

Then using all my internal strength, I lift my eyes to his face and meet the darkest brown eyes I’ve ever seen.

He raises his eyebrow at me, the challenge there making mine narrow slightly. I smile back at him, and against my better judgement, grab the handles on the ceiling and walk towards the back of the van.

My heart feels as though each beat is pumping out of my chest as I pass Aurora, who gives me two thumbs up.

I give her a shaky smile as I make my way to the back and sit in the seat Roman was just occupying.

I watch him move to the corner of the van, one leg bending onto the seat while the other stretches out horizontally.

While the back is the best place to have a quiet conversation, due to the trailer hitch rattling the whole drive, it’s the worst for the guys and their long legs.

“We can switch seats if you want,” I say and promptly cringe as his knees bends awkwardly to give me some room.

“No, don’t worry. I don’t care about space, I just really wanted to talk to you for a minute.” My body tenses as I look at him and then send a pointed glance at all of our friends taking up the rest of the van.

Without taking his eyes off me, he puts his fist in front of his mouth and coughs pointedly. A few groans sound in front of us, but slowly everyone puts their ear buds into their ears.

Xander has the audacity to turn to Roman with pleading eyes, only to receive a withering glare in return.

Finally, he also turns around and reluctantly putting his headphones in. Roman doesn’t give him a second before leaning over the seat, grabbing the phone out of Xander’s hand, and pressing the play button. He then passes the phone to Landon and turns back to face me again .

He must see the full smile on my face because he seems surprised for a split second before he smiles back. It’s moments like this when giving Roman a chance seems like the most natural thing in the world.

In the past, I kept relating the guys I liked to Daniel, and then lose interest in them. But the way Roman treats me, the way he speaks with his actions and the way he always put me first. That couldn’t be more unlike my ex-boyfriend.

“Look, Rhodes, I know the last night I was out of line. You had just had a long, difficult day and that thing between us was probably overwhelming.”