FALLING FOR MR SNOWFLAKE

i

ite like the quiet

stretching out like a canvas waiting for the first brushstroke. The air is so crisp it stings the tip of my

responding like second nature. I've skied this mountain since I was old enough to stand, and even

hear t

l morning air like a sna

the slope and

hill like an out-of-control shopping cart. Arms flailing. Legs be

" I yell before I e

doe

mach drops. His left ski lands first, catches on something

r

s speed. Not exactly instructor protocol, but I'm n

at looks like a very undignified snow angel. His skis are still attached, bu

sk, dropping to

mself up slowly. "I thi

y laugh. "Happens

are. Icy, glacier-blue like something out of a travel magazine. He

ssibly

itting." I hold out

as dignified as one can be while half-buried in a snowdrift. He's tall and broad-shouldered under hi

ed on the bunny h

uess...fi

that o

someone who knows what they're doing and t

from his sleeves. "I wat

y Grail of s

ish and my chest does a

t to Die While Skiin

Rescued by the Local Instructor Who

y jacket. "Oh, right. It say

k. "Bu

d the right sn

nding. "I happen to speci

t, his balance still questiona

escue." I tease. "But the

nuine sound that makes

ake" h

ving you a free lesson before you

reason

en worse at skiing than I

re, balance, weight shifts, how to fall without dying. He listens with t

tening doesn't

ans dramatically. "I swea

ed. They just don

o his back.

d pink from the cold, his lashes dusted with snow, and there's something... endearing about how h

t?" he asks. "Am I you

e was this guy last winter who

"And here I thoug

ut in a 'needs a helme

and it's honest a

thout falling, I throw my hands in t

ry!" I

e we sure it wa

We take our win

I move too fast and somehow end up h

and the contact makes my breath hitch. He smells lik

e, then step

his voice awkwardl

ird things to p

he says. "Definite

My heart

Wha

next lesson. He's quiet on the way up, staring out over the val

is one alone." he

u s

he declares, then

member what

form is messy, but controlled. Not terrible. Until the

the fire. Jake shakes snow from his

made entirely

e not

is gloves into his coat pocket. "Tha

for the tragicall

to say something else

d give you a real lesson. Schedule

anded him hot cocoa and a winnin

er and scribble my number. "Te

et with exaggerated care. "I'll k

butterflies into full-blown flight, he

a blanket with my favorite cocoa mu

a

he way he made me laugh but something beneath the surface. Like he wasn't

m about to head to b

in your ski package? Asking for a fri

gr

omises not to ski int

d sip my cocoa, heart warm

isn't going to be