Better Than Milkshakes, Better Than Boys (girlxgirl)

[35]

The morning was beautiful.

The crisp white snow, the cloudless sky, and the sun that kissed the uncovered parts of my skin.

Skiing is a thrilling activity. The speed you can collect as you fly down the slopes, the sharp wind that blows across your cheeks, the laughter that follows the adrenaline. I have always loved bombing down the slopes, but hearing her laughter as she trailed behind me, attempting to keep up, and the joyously bright tones of her voice...

Skiing with Mack only made the morning better.

We spent part of the morning sitting at the top of the mountain with our skis off as we let our feet dangle off the sharp drop at the top. We laughed and joked with one another, stealing kisses and throwing loose snow as we sat and talked. Talked about football, the weather, the fun we were going to have together. I remember blushing for most of the conversation, the way she was looking at me making me feel hot, the teasing comments about getting me alone making me hotter.

We snuck off-piste as it crept closer to midday, hiding outside under the thick clusters of pine trees that dotted the mountainside. We kissed under a lot of those trees, frozen fingers sneaking under coats and burning at the touch of warm skin, our puffs of breathlessness mingling in the air due to proximity, shrieking as we'd get carried away and fall into the compact snow at our feet.

The realisation that my feelings for Mackenzie are well past the line of 'like' is hitting me like a freight train, but the fear of admitting it to myself is no longer there. I feel at peace with knowing.

I love Mackenzie Daniels.

I love her, and I know I've loved her for a very long time. I've loved her smile for as long as I can remember, I've loved the way she's looked at me since we kissed in the game of truth or dare. I love the familiarity she brings, the way she makes me feel at ease, at home.

Mackenzie is starting to feel like home to me.

The only thing about it that makes me nervous is telling her. Finding the right time, the right place, and the possibility that she might not love me back. I'm terrible at opening up; I always have been. I struggled to tell Clay way back when. I couldn't tell my friends I like girls. I couldn't tell Mackenzie I liked her, let alone the thought of admitting I'd fallen head over heels for her.

I'll end up just blurting it out at a random and probably inappropriate time, embarrassing myself in the process, then running away and throwing myself in the deepest, darkest hole I can find and living there for the rest of my life.

I chuckle inwardly. That sounds exactly like the way I asked her to be my girlfriend.

We both slide to a stop just outside the mountainside cafe, a chalet built halfway up the slopes with a south-facing beer garden built over the drop of the mountain. The sun is high in the sky, so I don't feel the chilly air when I pull my hat off my head and stuff my thick gloves into the pocket of my coat.

I spot the rest of our school's skis piled on top of one another just next to where they were sitting, on the other side of the plastic orange netting they'd put up to separate the bar from the slopes. All of the students are squeezed into one long table, groups that wouldn't normally sit together at school now laughing and chatting amongst one another.

Tina is sat across from Freya and her group, chatting inaudibly whilst swatting away hands and food being sent her way. I recognise one of Clay's friends from football, a giant transfer student from Hawaii called Kekoa, who is a mean linebacker and a brick wall, yet a total softie. He has a thick mop of curly dark hair and a brilliant smile, and I know that he's crushing on Faye's cheer captain, Devon. He's crushing on her badly; it's actually kind of sweet.