"I'm fine. So we're flying out tomorrow, right? On your dad's jet?" she asks, shifting the subject.
"Early tomorrow, as in four in the morning. My dad loves to be the first on the slopes."
I'll drop it for now, but she's going to have to tell me some time, because I'll be damned if I'm going anywhere. She has no idea how stuck with me she is.
"I've never skied before. Is it hard?"
Whoa. This is priceless. Something Raya won't be good at. It's going to be hilarious. I'm sure my shit-eating grin is plastered to my face right now.
"You've never skied? At all?" I ask, possibly enjoying the fact I'll be teaching her how to.
My hands on her hips, her body close to mine... all day. This could be good.
She lets out a laugh, but there's no humor. It actually sounds a little bitter.
"Don't sound so surprised. You saw my home. I lived there from twelve until I moved out here. People from Springton trailer parks don't spend much time in Aspen."
Ah, hell. I didn't even think about the fact she's never had the opportunity to go. I keep forgetting and putting my foot in my mouth. But a chance to learn more about her has presented itself.
"So you didn't always live there?" I ask, devoting my full attention to her.
Her eyes come back up to meet mine, but it's hard to read her right now. She looks torn about what to feel.
"I had a house once, with my father. It was nice. We were happy. But we lost it later on."
I can't let this go. I have to make it better, because I don't like that s
ad smile she's forcing.
"Did he leave you and your mom?"
She frowns before shrugging. "Yes and no. He left because he had to—not because he wanted to. It's a long story I don't want to delve into tonight."
I nod slowly, trying to read between the lines, but none of this is making any sense.
"Did... did he do something to hurt one of you? I'm trying to understand, Raya, but I'm starting to feel like I should hate him. I don't see how someone just runs off, no matter what the reason."
He sounds like he's messing with her head, making it okay that he left her. Raya is too damn sweet and understanding, so it pisses me off that someone could be manipulating her.
She's fragile. I remind myself of that all the time. Too fragile for someone to handle wrong.
"My dad isn't a bad man. He's good man who made some bad mistakes. Believe me, I know the difference. I promise I'll explain one day. Right now, you need to help me learn to ski. I don't want to look like an idiot."
One day. So she's not always going to shut me out, because she's considering letting me in. I can work with that. And I doubt she could look like an idiot, but she'll look pretty damn funny. The image of her trying to keep from doing the splits on skis pops into my head, and I start laughing.
"You're going to look as goofy as a baby deer learning to walk. Get over it, Raya. You can't always be perfect," I joke.
"Perfect," she scoffs, shaking her head as though I've said something preposterous.
She has no idea. I've been begging for a flaw for a while. Something tells me her being unable to ski won't even come close to helping with my obsession.
Chapter Eleven
My laughter roars out as Raya lets free a string of curses, glaring at the snow like it's supposed to tremble in fear. I've already heard her condone global warming—in fact, she was praying for it.
I've never laughed so much in my life, and I've never seen anyone struggle so much to learn how to ski. Sadly, it's only made me want her more, because it's too fucking adorable.
Another squeal erupts when she crashes to the ground for the hundredth time, and I double over, heaving out my laughter while clutching my aching side. I'm in physical pain from the hilarity of this process.