Page 34 of Frost Bitten
When we all meet Dom and Cameron downstairs, we do some quick stretches as Dom loads the golf cart. Cait stretches slightly too, but she obviously doesn’t have as many concerns about getting hurt like we do. An injury can ruin our whole season, or career – look what happened to Dom. When it’s time to take off, Dominic invites her to ride in the cart, and I grumble. Not so much because she is spending time with Dom; but because she’s special and doesn’t have to run.
Once we all get to the ski lift, Dom guides Cait to the various trails. “I’m going to take Cait out to some lighter backcountry trails. We won’t be long, because I want to monitor your training. We’ll be ending around five for dinner, and then I figured we could hit one of the local bars tonight.”
Cam, Bast, and I swivel our heads immediately in Dominic’s direction. Dude was all about the early nights in on training weekends.
“I don’t want to hear it, guys,” he rants. “We’ll be staying later than normal tomorrow to make up for the time we sleep in.”
The guys and I exchange glances, knowing we all want to tease him for trying to show off for Cait, but for once, we cut him some slack. I slip on my gloves, pick up my board, and sneak over to steal a kiss from my Sunshine. As I pull her body into mine, it’s hard to hold back because she’s so responsive. When I finally pull away slightly, we are both panting, wishing we were anywhere but here. I back away, and as I pass Bast, I nod my head back to her.Go get your Angel,I say with my gesture. I don’t even look back. Yeah, it would be hot to watch them, but now isn’t the time. Encouraging them now will lead to lots of opportunities to watch in the future.
I pass Dom with a head nod, and this time I approach Cam. I’m hitting the halfpipe with him this time. Since I compete in both events, I need to train for both. Last time, I only trained on the downhill tracks as a warm up. This time, I’m splitting my days. Today, I’ll hit the halfpipe, and tomorrow I’ll train on the slopes with Bast.
As I stop beside Cameron, I watch him as he glares at Bast and Cait. I can tell he’s jealous. He’s writhing with an energy filled with envy and contempt, but he won’t do anything about it. Ever since the night of the dinner, he’s been different. He’s not objected to her being involved, as he did before, which has definitely caught our attention. His change in attitude toward her is remarkable enough to draw attention to the unusual behavior.
After I pause next to him, he turns to me and nods. His resolute demeanor toward ignoring the affection shared between Bast and Cait tells me he’s not quite there yet. He’s almost there; I think he’s at least internally recognized his attraction to her, but he’s not ready to do anything about it yet.
As we turn and head to the conveyor to the halfpipe launching point, I begin to wonder. What exactly will it take for Cam to give in?
* * *
After we spend the morning warming up with smaller jumps, we break for lunch. The resort we are at has a heated patio where people can store their gear next to the table as they eat lunch or a random snack. Dom made sure to have the resort cook our dietician-approved lunch, and the servers brought it out once he checked in with the kitchen. We have a fun time joking around while we eat the sausage and pasta soup – a surprise, but I guess it is supposed to keep us warm as well as give us energy.
Cait has goggles and a balaclava to protect her mouth, thanks to Dom, but her hair is wind-swept and blowing in the breeze. As she tilts her head back in laughter at Bast’s joke, I smile. It’s nice to see her so happy after the issues she’s had. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the guilt of leaving her, but I’m trying; moments like this help.
After everyone has finished, I hold my hand out for Cait. “Will you join me for a ride or two while I train for my second discipline?” I ask with a brilliant smile on my face. Immediately, she mimics my facial expression, and my heart lifts like a helium balloon.
“Of course! Are you going to show me the ropes?” Oh, that little temptress. She’s playing around, but I’d love to tie her up and have my way with her.
“Sunshine, you didn’t tell me you were into that, so I didn’t bring any rope with me. Give me a heads-up, next time,” I say with a wink. The laughter that spills from her throat widens my grin, and I can’t help but chuckle. I have her show me that she learned how to click into one of her bindings and scoot along with one foot to propel herself, and she does look pretty adept at the hard skill to master. Once we’ve practiced that, we scoot over to the lift to head up the mountain.
We quickly find our chair lift, and the ride up settles into a comfortable silence. I glance over, and Cait is observing the gorgeous view. The mountain set out before us is blanketed in snow, and even though the resort is pumping fresh snow nightly, we did have a quick storm pass through this morning, and the low-slung clouds still cling heavily to the peaks. The overcast sky casts a dreary, almost sleepy shade over the landscape, and a warm belly, full from lunch, is only aiding in the effect.
“Sunshine, are you alright?” I ask.
She turns to me, her serene expression brightening with a smile, and I beam back at her. “Of course,” she replies. “I’m just enjoying all of this while I can. I’m truly blessed to have you all in my life.”
While she sounds pleasant, I can’t help but hear the meaning behind her words. She’s still afraid, and she’s trying not to let herself get too close. She still thinks he’ll come for her.
“Sunshine, I know this weekend has only just begun,” I start, “but I’d love for you to come with us for our Thanksgiving trip. While we will be snowboarding, it’s mostly a retreat before going hard into competition season. We go away to Dom’s cabin and do no work for four days. We leave and have a makeshift Thanksgiving dinner in the cabin. Ms. Sally might even pack us leftovers from the St. Claire’s lunch. But I need more time with you. It’s only a two-bedroom cabin, but there are four beds, so it’s not much different from what we have this weekend. Would you consider it?”
The peaceful look on her face slowly transitions to a curious gaze, followed by a small smirk. “I’d love to, Corey,” she begins, “but I have to check with Mom. We always eat together, and I moved out here with her to be here to help her. I don’t want to agree to something without speaking to her first.”
I grin back at her, her words full of promise. “That’s fine, Sunshine. I totally understand.” By this time, we are approaching the mountaintop lift station. “Let’s go have a fun run down the mountain. We can worry about next weekend later.”
We both dismount and push-glide to the side to lock in the other binding, and then I propel myself to lead her onto the trail. I take the lesser backcountry trail that is offered, and Cait and I have a blast cruisin’ through the meadows alight with snow from this morning. Her giggles as she avoids tree branches lift me, and I think to myself again how I’m so glad Dom took the initiative to invite her along this weekend.
We took several runs together before I left her with Dom, and I went off to train on faster, more skilled runs with Bast. Rushing through the straights, swerving around the rocks and drops, even the jumps, and catching the huge airs drew breath into my lungs, refreshing me. The more runs I took, though, the faster I got back to my Sunshine. After the last run, we waited for Cait and Dom and started removing our gear.
Just as I pull off my goggles, I see them slide forward to meet us. They’d just come from a moderate course, and it impressed me that Cait made it through with laughter. Those can be challenging if you aren’t prepared.
“What’s so funny?” I ask, a smile pulling at the corners of my mouth.
“Dom fell at one point, near the end of the run,” Cait exclaims with a fit of giggles, “and just as I was laughing at him, I fell in nearly the same spot.” Giggles erupt from her again, and I laugh along with her. It was fun having her along. She fit into our group, alongside each of us. It’s like she was the puzzle piece that connected each of us; she fit us each differently, and yet she was the perfect fit for us all.
“Come on, Sunshine. Let’s go get you showered. Dom promised to wine and dine us tonight,” I say with a smirk in his direction. He scoffs but smirks back at me. I also can’t help but notice the sweep of his eyes over her delectable ass, because damn, those snow pants fit her like a glove.
We get up to the room, and Cait dawdles a bit, struggling with which outfit to wear out tonight. “Hey man, why don’t you go hop into the shower now? I know it won’t take you that long,” I suggest to Bast.
“Yeah, alright,” he says, gathering a pair of lounge shorts to put on after. Once he’s started the water, I slip over to my Sunshine, sliding right up against her ass as she evaluates what she has to wear.
