Filed to story: The One That Got Away
I always think I could like skiing and then I go on a ski trip and I remember, oh yeah, I hate it. All the other kids are on the black diamond slopes and I’m on green circle, aka the bunny slope. I pizza-wedge down the whole way, and little kids keep zooming by me, which makes me lose my concentration because I’m terrified they’re going to run into me. They whoosh back and forth like Olympic skiers. Some of them aren’t even using poles. They’re like Kitty. She can go down black diamond slopes. She and my dad love it. Alice too, though Alice prefers snowboarding to skiing now.
I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for Louis but I haven’t seen him yet, and it’s starting to feel a bit bleak out here all alone.
I’m considering giving the intermediate slope a try, just for kicks, when I spot Louis and all his friends carrying their snowboards. No Genevivian in sight. “Louis!” I call out, feeling very relieved.
He turns his head and I think he sees me, but he keeps walking.
Huh.
He saw me. I know he saw me.
After dinner, Chris goes back to the slopes to snowboard. She says she’s addicted to the rush. I’m heading back to the room when I run into Louis again, this time in swimming trunks and a hoodie. He’s with Gabe and Darrell. They have towels around their necks. “Hey, Large,” Gabe says, flicking me with his towel. “Where you been all day?”
“I’ve been around.” I look over at Louis, but he won’t meet my eyes. “I saw you guys on the slopes.”
Darrell says, “Then why didn’t you holler at us? I wanted to show off my ollies for you.”
Teasingly I say, “Well, I called Louis’s name, but I guess he didn’t hear me.”
Louis finally looks me in the eyes. “Nope. I didn’t hear you.” His voice is cold and indifferent and so un-Louis-like, the smile fades from my face.
Gabe and Darrell exchange looks, like, Oooh and Gabe says to Louis, “We’re gonna head out to the hot tub,” and they trot off.
Louis and I are left standing in the lobby, neither of us saying anything. I finally ask, “Are you mad at me or something?”
“Why would I be mad?”
And then it’s back to quiet again.
I say, “You know, you’re the one who talked me into coming on this trip. The least you could do is talk to me.”
“The least you could do was sit next to me on the bus!” he bursts out.
My mouth hangs open. “Are you really that mad that I didn’t sit next to you on the bus?”
Louis lets out an impatient breath of air. “Bella, when you’re dating someone, there are just … certain things you do, OK? Like sit next to each other on a school trip. That’s pretty much expected.”
“I just don’t see what the big deal is,” I say. How can he be this mad over such a tiny thing?
“Forget it.” He turns like he’s going to leave, and I grab his sweatshirt sleeve. I don’t want to be in a fight with him; I just want it to be fun and light the way it always is with us. I want him to at least still be my friend. Especially now that we’re at the end.
I say, “Come on, don’t be mad. I didn’t realize it was that big of a deal. I swear I’ll sit next to you on the way home, OK?”
He purses his lips. “But do you get why I was pissed?”
I nod back. “Mm-hmm.”
“All right then, you should know that you missed out on mocha sugar doughnuts.”
My mouth falls open. “How’d you get those? I thought the shop didn’t open that early!”
“I went out and got them last night specifically for the bus ride,” Louis says. “For you and me.”
Aw. I’m touched. “Well, are there any left?”
“Nope. I ate them all.”
He looks so smug that I reach out and swat at his hoodie strings. “You creep,” I say, but I mean it affectionately.
Louis grabs my hand mid-swat and says, “Wanna hear something funny?”
“What?”
“I think I started liking you.”
I go completely still. Then I pull my hand away from his, and I start to gather my hair into a ponytail, and then I remember I don’t have a hair tie. My heart is thudding in my chest and it’s hard to think all of a sudden. “Stop teasing.”
“I’m not teasing. Why do you think I kissed you that day at McClaren’s house back in seventh grade? It’s why I went along with this thing in the first place. I’ve always thought you were cute.”
My face feels hot. “In a quirky way.”
Louis grins his perfect grin. “So? I guess I must like quirky then.”
Then he leans his head closer to mine, and I blurt out, “But aren’t you still in love with Genevivian?”
Louis frowns.
“Why are you always bringing up Gen? I’m trying to talk about us, and all you want to do is talk about her. Yeah, Vivian and I have history. I’m always going to care about her.” He shrugs. “But now … I like you.”
People are walking in and out of the lodge; a guy from school walks by and claps Louis on the shoulder. “What up,” Louis says. When he’s gone, Louis says to me, “So what do you say?” He’s looking at me expectantly. He’s expecting me to say yes.
I want to say yes, but I don’t want to be with a boy whose heart belongs to somebody else. Just once, I want to be somebody’s first choice. “You might think you like me, but you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t still like her.”