Dreaming of Cheers (Standing Up to Life Book 3)

Chapter 24:

WE WOKE UP, got dressed in our new ski clothes, ate breakfast, and hit the slopes as soon as the ski lifts opened the next morning. Amy and I both started off with some easier trails before working progressively harder trails. "Do you think you're ready for something harder?" She asked me as we finished off the hardest blue trail at the resort.

"You mean like a black diamond?" I asked her.

"Uh-huh," she said with a smile.

"Umm... what if I kill myself?"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine... what's the worst that can happen?" She asked me.

"I break a leg, arm, or my neck?"

"Come on they're not that bad," she told me.

"I guess I can always slide down on my butt if I have to..." I agreed grudgingly.

"Yay, let's go!" she said and led us off to the direction of a ski lift that went to some of the harder trails. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, but I was prepared to go down the hill on my bottom if I had to. At the top of the ski lift we followed the signs to a black-diamond she swore wasn't that hard. 'Right,' I said to myself pessimistically.

"Ready?" she asked me as she waited for me by the beginning of the trail.

"Not really?"

"It'll be fun, I promise!" she told me. "Let's go!" she said with every bit of cheerleading spirit thrown in there. With that I followed her down the slope. At first it didn't seem too bad at all, definitely not as bad as the last blue trail we'd been on, but out of nowhere a set of moguls popped up! 'The last time I did moguls I didn't do so hot,' I thought to myself in that brief moment.

'Just stay calm,' I told myself and began making my way through the miniature snow hills. I had slowed down a bit to give myself more time to think through the obstacle, and did really well through that section! Amy had stopped a little way down from there and was looking back up at me.

"Come on slow poke!" she told me.

My only response to that was to stick my tongue out. That started the two of us giggling as I caught up to her and we continued down the slope. We actually made it down the black part of the trail with no problems and continued down it as it merged into a blue down the back side of the mountain.

"Now see that was fun!" she told me.

"It was," I agreed. "What time is it?" I asked as I looked down at my own watch too.

"Ooops... we're supposed to meet my parents in five minutes!"

We quickly hurried to the ski lift to take us back as close to the restaurant as we could. It took a long ten minutes to get up to the restaurant and we could see her parents as we skied up waiting for us. "We thought maybe you forgot," her mom told us.

"Umm... we just were stuck in between trails," Amy said for us as we put our skis on a ski rack and walked into the restaurant. It felt really good to sit down, and the four of us sat and ate for a long while before Amy and I hit the bathroom before continuing. I don't know how many times we had ridden up and down the mountain, but by about four I was really tired.

"Would you be okay with calling it a day?" Amy asked me as we came down the hill into the main ski village.

"I was getting ready to ask you the same thing," I told her with a smile.

"My parents are supposed to meet us at the car in about a half-hour, why don't we go get a cup of hot chocolate first and then we'll walk over there," she was saying to me as I felt an arm go around my shoulder.