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Chapter 7: Snowboarding Lessons

Chapter 7: Snowboarding Lessons

That night I slept as soon as my head hit the pillow. For once, it was a dreamless sleep, and I woke up the next day feeling very refreshed. A bright light was illuminating the room from the slightly opened curtain, and I guessed it was going to be a sunny day. I looked at the sofa and noticed that Chris wasn't lying there. I checked around me once more, and that's when I heard the bathroom door opens. Chris strolled out and raised his eyebrows when he noticed me sitting on the bed.

"Good morning! You're awake!" he said, his voice laced with enthusiasm.

"Morning! Did you sleep well?"

"I did. It's gonna be a full day; I hope you're prepared."

"As much as I can," I sighed and walked to the bathroom.

"My dad called me a few minutes ago; he said we should get ready for breakfast."

I nodded, and finally, once in the bathroom, I followed my morning routine. It'd be a lie to say that I wasn't nervous. Snowboarding was considered one of the winter's extreme sports, and it was very likely for a beginner to get injured. I silently prayed to get back home in one piece, thought a small part of me was excited about what was coming.

I walked into the room again to find Christopher dressed and seated at the edge of my bed.

"I'm ready. I'll go check on my dad and your mom," he said, as soon as he sensed my presence.

"Okay. I'll join you when I get dressed."

He walked out of the room, and I started getting ready. I wore an isothermal T-shirt and leggings under my oversized sweater and jeans. I quickly braided my hair, wore my boots, and grabbed my phone. I was looking at Izzie's unread messages when I almost bumped into my mom, who was standing outside our room.

"Hello, angel! I was about to knock," my mom said and hugged me.

"Good morning, mom. You almost gave me a heart attack," I chuckled.

"You were the one looking at your phone. Did you contact your grandparents?"

"No, since last night, but we can call them after breakfast. Izzie sent me a couple of messages I have to reply," I answered.

She nodded and smiled. David joined us with Chris following suit.

We had breakfast and discussed our day's plan. We were going to be all day outside skiing or snowboarding. I thanked my lucky stars because I was in good physical shape; all the training and the hours I've spent at the gym would come in handy for once. I ate as much as I could and drank a cup of tea while the other enjoyed their morning coffee.

After breakfast, we headed back to our rooms to wear more appropriate clothes. The waterproof jacket and pants I had bought with mom were perfect. Since I hadn't snowboarded before, I had to rent the rest of the gear, but thankfully Chris had a spare helmet and snowboard goggles to lend me. Chris and David had their equipment, so when mom and I had rented ours, we parted ways.

I looked around, and all I could see was people skiing or snowboarding and kids playing with the snow.

Chris led me to a quieter area, and once there, he asked me if I had been snowboarding before.

"You mean if I had strapped both my legs on a snowboard and descended a snow-covered slope? I didn't have a death wish…"

"You're so optimistic," he said, rolling his eyes at me.

"And you better…" I didn't have the chance to finish my sentence because Chris gave me a push from behind, and I ended up almost falling. I looked at him with pure shock covering my face.

"You're a goofy-footed," he said casually.

"I'm what? We didn't even start, and you are trying to make me fall," I almost yelled at him.

"Relax! I just wanted to see with which foot you're gonna lead your snowboard; your dominant foot is your right," he exclaimed, and I didn't dare to add anything else.

Christopher was an excellent tutor; he checked my protection gear and then started explaining to me the basics. He showed me how to carry my snowboard, to properly fall without risking a severe injury, how to stop and control my speed. It was a bit more complex to learn how to turn, but Chris was very patient with me, and eventually, I got better at that, too.

"Congrats, you have successfully learned the basics," Chris exclaimed when we slid down together once more.

I had fallen more times than I care to count, but I didn't get any serious injury, although I was sure that bruises would form on my buttocks and knees. For the first time, I wished I had fast healing like some other supernaturals.

"Thank you! You're a great instructor," I said, and he smiled proudly.

"Remember to always look where you want to go," he said once more, and before I could understand what happened, he pushed me, and I started sliding down by myself.

"I hate you," I yelled at him, and I tried to apply all these things I've been learning. Usually, he was gliding down with me, but now thanks to my enhanced hearing, I could hear him chuckling and observing me from the little hill we were on.

Once I reached a flat area, I stopped and turned around to see Chris. He slid downhill on his snowboard while he showed off some of the tricks he knew.

"Not bad; I bet you'd have fallen," he said to me when he stopped a few meters away from me.

"You weren't that bad yourself, too," I complimented him back.

"I know, darling. To master these tricks needs years of practice," Chris boasted.

"Show off," I muttered under my breath with an eye roll.

"I didn't get that?" he asked and, before I knew it, a snowball was flying my way.

Call it instinct or good reflexes, my hands extended at the last moment, but the snowball never hit me. I opened my eyes to see a startled Christopher, while some snow was floating around us.

"What on earth was that?" he exclaimed, with a perplexed look on his face.

"That was one of my tricks; it took me years of practice to master it," I mimicked his previous words, and I internally facepalmed myself.

How can I be so dumb to make a snowball burst into snowflakes without even touch it in front of a human who has no idea about supernaturals? And how on earth was I even capable of doing that? I was pretty sure it wasn't a part of my superpowers.

"You need to teach me that trick," he said, still looking fascinated by what had just happened.

"Shall we go grab a snack or a hot chocolate?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I should call my dad or your mother."

"I'll call my mom."

I was relieved when I heard she didn't get any injuries, too. We decided to meet and eat something for lunch. I have to admit that all this exercise was very exhausting. That little break was all I needed for my sore muscles to relax a bit. We ate sandwiches and salads, and I drank a lot of water to avoid dehydration. I was a bit sweaty from all the workout and the bright sun. Thankfully I had applied some sunscreen on my face; sunburn was the last thing I wanted...

After lunch, we decided to use the chairlift. I stared around me, amazed by nature once more; everything was white and covered with soft snow, the blue sky, and the gleaming sun, the small clouds that looked like cotton candy. I took in the scenery around me, and I tried to engrave every little detail on my mind; so I could paint it when I was back home.

We slid down the slope, and for the first time, I felt so many emotions at once; excitement mixed with fear, freedom, and happiness. We were going faster than I'd thought; the adrenaline pumping into my veins made my senses even more heightened. Chris had the chance to show us plenty of the tricks he knew, and I watched him fascinated. My mother was better than I expected; she could glide down without falling and control her speed flawlessly. David must have been a good instructor like Chris was. We used the chairlift a couple more times that day, and we took different roots each time.

When we headed back to our rooms, we were exhausted. We showered and wore clean clothes, so we can have dinner. We talked about our adventures while we separated and made a quick plan for the next day. If we were still tired, we could spend the day indoors. Once in our room, Chris and I watched a film, and then I drifted into a deep slumber.

After all, it wasn't that bad idea to visit that winter resort…

The next morning, we woke up to realize that it had been snowing all night. The soft layer of snow-covered everything around us and made the scenery even more white- if that's possible. We had breakfast like the previous day, but we decided to stay indoors since it was still snowing.

Chris and I hit the gym. I couldn't stay still, although my muscles were aching. Chris took the role of my personal trainer, and he instructed me to do a few exercises that would help my sore muscles relax. The workout made me feel better, not only physically but mentally, too. There was an unsettling emotion slowly building inside me. I couldn't understand the reason, as everything was looking good for the first time after a very long time.

Once in our room, I took a shower and tried to relax a bit. If I've learned one thing after all this, it was that I couldn't fight fate; what was bound to happen, it'd happen. Maybe I was about to see one of these visions again, something reassuring since I'd had a rough idea of what was about to happen.

I exited the en suite bathroom with my bathrobe tied around my body. Chris was supposed to spend more time at the gym, so I had the room to myself. Or that's what I thought. It turned out that Chris had returned; he was standing only with his briefs and checking his phone. My eyes traveled from his broad shoulders to his well-defined biceps and deltoids and then roamed down his bare torso to stop at his four-pack. I involuntarily licked my lips, and when I forced my eyes to concentrate on his face, I found him staring back at me with a dark look.

"You like what you see?" he taunted me.

"Oh, please. Don't flatter yourself. I've seen better," I replied, my voice a bit hoarser than usual, and I silently cursed my traitorous body.

He eyed me up and down with a raised eyebrow, and I tightened my bathrobe around my body. I wasn't wearing anything else underneath, but I was unsure if Chris knew that.

"Are you gonna take a shower?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

He nodded and then asked, "Are you gonna get dressed?"

"Nope, I'll walk around with my undergarments," I replied, rolling my eyes at him.

"That would be very interesting," he muttered with an amused smirk.

I ignored him and walked to the wardrobe in search of clean clothes to wear. When I heard the bathroom's door closing, I sighed in relief. I waited a few more seconds, and thanks to my enhanced hearing, I caught the water falling in the shower. I dressed up as quickly as I could and blow dry my hair.

I texted my mom and discovered that she was at the spa with David. There was no way I'd join them and ruin their lovey-dovey atmosphere, so I was stuck with Chris. I checked my messages once again, and since Izzie was active, I video called her. My best friend was all excited and wanted to learn more about Christopher. These two were definitely going to be good friends, but to be honest, I'd love to see them as something more…

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