5 Minute Romance: The Ski Lift

Anita skated forward clumsily towards the dip in the snow. She heard the grind of the ski lift’s overhead gears and watched anxiously as the chair in front whumped against the skiers before her. This was it, her first time taking the lift by herself. Memories of her first attempt last season resurfaced, warming her skin with embarrassment. She hadn’t been prepared for the lift’s speed and how it knocked her feet out from underneath her. Her skis had gone flying. Everything had to be stopped for several minutes.

It was her turn, and she vowed to herself that fiasco wouldn’t happen again.

Suddenly, someone else was next to her, glancing back over their shoulder as the lift approached.

“Start to sit back,” he muttered, “now.”

Anita did as she was told, letting the lift scoop her up neatly. She scrambled to gather her poles then helped lower the bar onto their laps. Once that was done, it hit her. She was in the air, gradually rising towards the peak of the mountain. A little elated chuckle and whorl of steam left her mouth.

“Thanks for the help back there,” she said, glancing to the stranger next to her.

“No problem. First time on the slopes?”

“Second.”

“You’ll get the hang of it.” He pushed his goggles up onto the gray band of his beanie, revealing light brown eyes and sun-tanned skin. A curl of dark hair peeked out from under his hat. “I’m Kai. You?”

“Anita.”

They shook gloves then looked back to the top of the mountain. Several chairs ahead, skiers and snowboarders were disappearing over the steep rise. Anita fought the urge to look over her shoulder and down the slopes. It wasn’t that she was afraid of heights. The drop itself wasn’t even that far into the fresh powder. She looked back to Kai, finding that he was twisted around, gazing wistfully into the distance. On the upper arm of his black and blue coat was a ski instructor patch.

“You teach here?” she asked.

“Yeah, but I’m off today. This just happens to be the warmest coat I have,” he returned with a shrug and a laugh.

A couple of snowflakes drifted towards them. Anita watched the snow pass between their shoulders and over their heads. The top of the mountain, including the lively ski lodge, was visible now. She could hear live music over the distance instead of their breathing, the groan of the ski lift, and the occasional glide of skis.

Kai cleared his throat. “So you said this was your second time skiing?”

“Yeah, I came last year with my, uh, boyfriend at the time. He was way better than me.” Anita paused, realizing she was headed towards trauma dumping territory with a total stranger. With a sigh, she reined herself in. “Anyway, it’s just me this time around.”

“And do you, by any chance, have a death wish, Anita?”

She blinked, dumbfounded by the question. “No, not particularly. Why?”

“Because,” Kai explained, pointing to the apex, “it’s all double black diamonds from here.”

The chill in the air became impossible to ignore. Anita shuddered, realizing that, in her hurry to get the chair lift over with, she’d taken the wrong one. No wonder it had been so fast! She’d accidentally taken the expert’s lift. Anita grasped the bar against her thighs and let out a wavering breath.

How the hell do I get back down?

A hand touched her arm as lightly as a snowflake. “Hey, just breathe. I’ll help you get to the bottom again, okay?”

“Thanks, but I don’t want to be a bother,” Anita started, barely able to look at Kai’s concerned expression.

“Instructor, remember? I kind of like helping people.”

“I guess that is part of the job description.”

They both shared a chuckle then looked up at the end of the ride. Anita shivered once again.

“I’ll coach you to the bottom,” Kai continued.

Anita secretly hoped so.

Soon it was their turn to get off the lift. Kai lifted the bar. She followed his preparation and found herself gliding out onto the snow to his side without any issues. Stopping next to him, she looked at the entrance to the trail. Kai lowered his goggles and pulled up his neck gaiter over his nose. Anita bobbed her head to let him know she was ready to go. Other skiers shot off down the black diamond all around them at impossible speeds. In contrast, Anita felt like she was frozen stiff, too fearful to point her skis downhill.

Kai started to weave down the slope then waited for her at the first turn. Anita followed closely, keeping her skis in a bit of a wedge.

Slowly, they worked through the double black diamond, evading moguls and other obstacles. Kai patiently skied alongside or slightly ahead of her the whole time, showing her the correct pathing to take. It wasn’t like her previous experience where her ex had abandoned her on the bunny slope out of boredom. Anita started to feel confident that the black diamonds were no big deal. She picked up a bit of speed to close the gap between Kai and her.

Then hit a patch of ice and completely missed a turn towards the intermediate trail.

Anita glanced back, watching Kai go in the opposite direction. She immediately tried to stop but pitched herself sideways too quickly. The left ski dug into ice, her right slid over the left, and Anita toppled over, losing her poles in the process.

“Anita!”

Out of nowhere, Kai was there, jumping out of his skis with practiced ease to pick her up off the ground. He brushed snow away from the collar of her coat and hat. As flustered as she’d been, she suddenly felt steady in his grip.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“I can see your poles down there. Come on.”

Anita had no time to ask what he meant because Kai went sliding down on his back with a pair of skis on either side of him. Following suit, Anita couldn’t help but laugh as she bounced straight into a drift of snow. Kai dusted her off again, laughing as well, before getting her skis reattached and standing her upright. Once he was back on his skis, Kai led them back without any further incident to the base.

Anita stared at the circular field of snow, her heart pounding. She couldn’t believe it, but she wanted to go again. Turning back to look at Kai, she saw him smiling, and she no longer felt the cold.

“I can guess what you’re going to say,” he stated.

“Can we?”

“I’ll race you to the lift. Loser books a ski lesson with me tomorrow.”

Anita skied up beside him. “Guess I’ll let you win.”

—

I love skiing. It was one of the things I looked forward to as a kid, especially meeting the cool instructors. The Ski Lift is pretty much an ode to loving snow and adventure and trying new things. After all, you seldom find love doing the same things you’ve always done.

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