Thursday was a day of packing and cleaning. I didn't have a chance to leave the house all day as Lilly was determined to make the entire house spotless before anyone set a foot outside. Somehow she'd gotten Ben to stay home, too. He certainly wasn't happy about it, but he was there, polishing furniture and dusting pictures.

Jimmy texted me off and on throughout the day, and I somehow managed to find time to reply between waxing my board, vacuuming, packing, cleaning my bathroom, and shoveling the drive so we wouldn't have to in the morning (hopefully). We planned for him to be there first thing so we could all leave by eight. 

"We could just have him over for breakfast, actually," Lilly said when she read one of his texts over my shoulder while I was vacuuming. So I invited him over for breakfast.

Friday morning, we were all gathered downstairs with our luggage and an unusual breakfast for us of eggs, bacon, and biscuits - the canned kind, of course - when Jimmy's mom pulled into the driveway. Ben went outside to help put his stuff in our SUV. While he was out, I sipped my orange juice to keep myself from fidgeting. My heart was going wild, but I forced myself to stay calm. Lilly kept looking at me like she was expecting me to do something. "What?" I finally asked.

She pursed her lips at me before scraping the eggs out of the frying pan onto a plate. "Nothing! I'm just looking forward to getting to spend time with this guy is all," she said. 

I raised a suspicious eyebrow at her, but before I could say anything, Jimmy walked into the kitchen and sat next to me. "Hey, Lilly," he said. Then, ignoring her reply, he turned to me and said in a quieter voice, "Hey."

"Hey," I said, unable to stop myself from smiling. Having all of his attention focused on me like this was a lot, but I liked it. I just wasn't used to it. "Looking forward to this weekend?"

He put his arm on the back of my chair awkwardly. "I'm looking forward to hitting the slopes with you," he said. I knew he was trying to be smooth, but he wasn't exactly pulling it off, and it was so cute that he was trying. It was hard to not giggle, even though I'm not a giggler. 

"Me, too." I smiled at him for a moment before turning back to Ben, who was watching us very closely from across the table. "Are we gonna hit the double black diamond trails this year, too? I'd love to do that again."

He shrugged, eyeing Jimmy. "Sure, if you want to." Lilly brought over the platters of food then and we began breakfast. 

Twenty minutes later, Ben was finishing up tying the boards and skis to the roof of our car and I was putting the last little bit of my stuff in my bag while Jimmy stood in the bathroom doorway, watching. "I can't believe girls need so much stuff," he commented for the hundredth time.

For the hundredth time, I rolled my eyes. I stuffed the last of my stuff in the bag and turned to him. "We like to smell good," I said with a shrug. "Now, let me pass - I need to put this in my suitcase."

He moved and, like he'd been doing this whole time, followed me to my bag and watched me put it in. The moment I'd zipped it shut he grabbed the handle. "I got it," he said and walked out the door.

Hmm. I could get used to this.

---

The ride to the lodge didn't produce any interesting conversation - mostly Ben and Lilly trying to plan who was going to ski where with who while me and Jimmy held hands in the back. We arrived about lunch, so we ate in the lodge with the rest of the people staying there before we brought our stuff inside. 

About two that afternoon, Ben and I were ready to head off to one of the harder slopes - not the double black diamond just yet - while Lilly and Jimmy stayed on one of the easy slopes to ski.

I checked my board when me and Ben got out of the lift and he did the same. Sure it was fine, I strapped in and we began our ride. 

It'd been a year since I last rode down a mountain on the snow. I'd missed it. Just the feeling of freedom, like I'm soaring when I go over a jump. I loved every moment of it. It felt like I was in control of my own free-fall, which made me feel like I was in control of my own life even if only for a short time. Trees rushed past in a blur, the wind whipping by my ears that I hadn't put any earmuffs on because I wanted to hear it. 

Ben rode just as hard as me, but with considerably more grace. I hadn't quite learned how to do the jumps with the same flair. I wanted to, though. Somehow, Ben had always been more fluid than me with all physical activities we did together: snowboarding, skateboarding, basketball, and ice skating. I couldn't quite match him in that department. 

By the time we reached the end of the trail where it came out near the lifts, we were panting and slightly tired but exhilarated. We went to find Lilly and Jimmy, which didn't take long. They were racing each other down the slope we'd left them on. Jimmy slid to a stop that sprayed me with snow. 

I shrieked and jumped back, but laughed at him. "You know I'm gonna get you back for that one," I told him with a mock serious look. He just grinned at me.

For the rest of the afternoon, all of us stuck to the simpler slopes so we could go down with our partners. About five, when it began getting dark, we headed back to the lodge. While we sat at the fire place, Jimmy said he wanted to try one of the harder slopes, so we all agreed that in the morning me and Jimmy would go to the harder slopes while Lilly and Ben stuck to the easier ones.  

When we each went to our rooms, Jimmy and Ben to theirs, me and Lilly to ours, Lilly told me all about riding with Jimmy. She was practically gushing when she was telling me everything he told her about me. I acted like it was irritating, but, when we were in our beds and the lights were off, I couldn't stop the smile that tried to take over my face.

---

"Okay, plans," Ben said when we were regrouping in the lobby. He rubbed his hands together and glanced at each of us in turn.

"Jimmy and I are going to the black diamond trail we went down yesterday," I told him. "We're going there when we leave here, and we're planning on doing the run twice before coming back here for lunch."

Ben nodded. "Good. Lilly and I are going to the red slope and are planning to run it until lunch. We'll meet back here in the lobby. You have emergency numbers?"

The question was directed at both me and Jimmy, but I nodded. "On my phone."

"Good."

"Um, why do we need emergency numbers?" Jimmy asked. "She has your number and we all know 911."

He shook his head. "If something happens, it's unlikely you'll need 911. Call the lodge and they'll call the ski patrol or send someone from here up to you to help out. I trust you guys to know which you'll need. If you can make it down to the lodge, do it and then get some help. You'll probably be fine, though. It's supposed to be good weather today. Okay, anything you need to do before heading out?"

"Restroom," I explained to Jimmy. "He's too polite to say it." I made a face at Ben and he rolled his eyes at me. "I'll be right back." Lilly and Jimmy followed me back towards the bathrooms after Ben volunteered to stay with our stuff. I stopped at the bathroom mirror as I was only in there to check my outfit and my hat and hair.

About the time Lilly was ready to go I was satisfied. She gave me a knowing look as we left, but left it at that. I was actually kind of relieved, especially since Jimmy was waiting for us in the hallway. 

Together, we headed back to Ben and suited up properly for the cold. We went as a group as far as the lift, but split up since me and Jimmy were going up higher than they were. About halfway up he put his arm around me. I smiled and slid a little closer to him. This was possibly the best moment of the day. I breathed in deeply and got a nose-full of his cologne. It was a light scent, but I loved it. 

We got off the lift near the slope we were taking and dropped our boards. I stepped into mine and strapped in while standing. The straps were looking a little worse for wear, but they were kind of old - I supposed I would need to buy more soon. In the meantime, if they broke, I had a few zip-ties in my small backpack I always carried - along with a few bandages, a small shovel, and some water.

Jimmy sat on the snow to strap in, so I gave him a hand up and we started down the slope. The bindings on my board felt a little funny, but I pushed it out of my mind. I knew I'd have to be careful to not take too big of a jump on the way down. 

"I'll race you!" he shouted, going a little faster. 

"You're going down, then!" I shouted back, making myself a little more compact.

He went over a jump, yelling as he did, clearly surprising himself. When he landed without falling, I laughed at him. "Oh, come on!" he shouted at me, grinning. "As if you could do better!"

"With my eyes closed!" I laughed as I approached another jump at the edge of the forest. When I was in the air, I attempted a trick I'd only managed to pull off a couple of times: a frontside 180. Coming off the jump, I'd have to twist in midair, landing with my back foot in front. Not too bad - I could lead with either foot. I successfully did the trick, landing with most of my weight to the leading end of my board. 

That's when everything went wrong.

That binding was the one with bad straps, and they broke. I felt my foot coming out of my binding and screamed. It was my first reaction. Not too far from the jump was another edge where the mountain dropped. That was where I was heading with only one foot attached to my board. 

Praying I wouldn't get too badly hurt, knowing I couldn't stop what was coming, I made myself go limp as I went headfirst over the edge. I heard Jimmy shouting at me as I fell. What felt like a moment later, I landed in the snow. It wasn't very deep, and I could feel the impact like I was hitting a hard floor - which, in a way, I had. At least it hadn't been much of a drop.

I took a deep breath and took stock of myself. Nothing felt like it was broken. I hurt where I hit, and I knew I'd have some pretty good bruises, but that was it.

Snow flew up around me and someone dropped to their knees next to my head. "Brenda? Are you okay?" Jimmy asked frantically.

I groaned as I pushed myself up to a sitting position. "I will be." He helped me sit all the way up and brushed a gloved hand across my cheek. I touched his wrist, stilling his hand. "Jim," I said softer. "I'm all right. I promise. I'm just going to have some bruises." He slowly retracted his hand as he shakily nodded. I gave him a brief smile before checking the damage to my board. 

It seemed to be okay. The straps weren't broken, but they'd come out. I frowned as I took off my backpack. That was weird. I put on a couple of zips, knowing they'd hold me until I got to the lodge. With great effort, I got to my feet and gave Jimmy a hand up. "What happened?" he asked.

"The straps came loose - all of them." I shook my head. "Something's not right. I'm going to head to the lodge when we get down there so I can check them."