Turning the Page (14 page)

“See, I knew you could do it,” Hans said when he reached the bottom. “The last part is to use your legs as shock absorbers. Bend them so when you go over a bump, you don’t shake your entire body.”

Hans showed him, and Malcolm went down one more time, feeling confident.

“That’s it. You have the basics. Now let’s go have some fun.”

“Okay, where?” Malcolm asked, and Hans looked at the lift that went halfway to heaven. “You have to be crazy. You want me to go all the way up there?”

“Yeah. There are easier runs off to the side. We’ll go down those. They’re faster than this one and longer, but not as steep as that one.”

Hans went over, and Malcolm reluctantly followed, wondering if he was putting his life in Hans’s hands.

They rode up in the lift together. That part he liked. Hans pointed things out, and the two of them held hands like naughty teenagers. Hell, if he’d had his way they might have done other things like teenagers, but they ended up at the top before Malcolm really knew it. With a stroke of luck, Malcolm was able to get off without falling and followed Hans as they skied down a trail to a lower portion of the mountain.

“This is it,” Hans said, and Malcolm looked down toward the bottom of the cliff they were standing on top of. Okay, it wasn’t that steep or tall, but dang…. “Just use your skis to control your descent and go from side to side, and you’ll be awesome. It’s just a little steeper than the hill you were just on and only a bit longer. I’ll stay behind you and watch.”

“Okay,” Malcolm said and pushed off at an angle. He turned and started going straight down, picking up speed. He turned again and slowed. That was awesome. So he turned back and was going straight downhill. This time he kept going and went faster and faster. He was now too scared to turn, so he hoped like hell everyone was out of the way. Malcolm was doing great, and the bottom of the hill was in sight. He adjusted his skis, and his legs flew out from under him. He did his best to go down onto his butt but ended up on his side, rolling like a log. All he could think to do was keep his arms in because he didn’t want to snap them. He lost both skis, and his poles went flying.

Malcolm was never so grateful to come to a stop in his life. The first thing he did was take inventory. His legs and arms worked. His head wasn’t aching and didn’t seem to have been split open. His face was cold as hell, but that was because his head was in the snow. He lifted his neck and slowly got his knees under him.

“Are you hurt?” Hans asked as he raced up to him.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I broke anything.”

“I’ll get your stuff,” Hans said, and Malcolm secretly hoped he couldn’t find everything. Of course, he brought the skis and poles over. “You were doing great until you crossed your skis.”

“You mean until I rolled down the hill like a lump and landed in a pile?” He looked up toward the top as they got their things and moved out of the way.

“I’ll help you get the skis on, and then we can try it again.”

“Oh God,” Malcolm groaned under his breath. Hans helped him with the skis, and they glided over to the lift once again, waiting in line for their turn. Malcolm was starting to wonder if hell was actually in an upward direction, especially the closer they got to the top once again.

Somehow, by sheer will he got to the bottom without falling. Hans was thrilled, but Malcolm’s hip was aching. He didn’t want to disappoint Hans, so he followed him up again, and after a few more runs, he was getting better and falling less.

“Are you ready to warm up?” Hans asked.

Malcolm nodded, and they skied over to the lodge, took off their skis, propped them in the place provided, and went inside. It was warm, and they were lucky enough to find empty chairs in the large hotel lobby, near the fireplace. A huge fire burned in the hearth, and Malcolm sighed as he took off his boots and put his feet up.

“Did you have a good time?” Hans asked, scooting his chair close enough that he could touch Malcolm’s hand.

“It was different than what I remembered. I actually did it,” Malcolm said and shifted slightly in the chair. His hip ached, and the pain was increasing. But he didn’t want to dampen Hans’s fun, so he kept quiet. “When is dinner?”

“We have a reservation for seven. That’s an hour and a half from now. Are you warmed up enough for another run?” Hans was clearly anxious to get back out.

“Not really.” He was thawing out, but the thought of going back into the cold made him shiver. “If you want to go back out, you can, and I’ll head down to the room.” Malcolm levered himself onto his feet. He tried not to make a face, but his hip ached something awful. “I’m fine,” he lied when Hans helped him up.

“No, you’re not.” Hans picked up his boots. “I’ll get the skis and things.” He went back to the door they’d come in, and Malcolm got his boots and slowly walked to the elevator and then down to their room.

Once inside, Malcolm carefully stripped off his snow gear and sweater. Then he pulled off his jeans and groaned. His right hip was turning purple. He’d bruised himself really badly. Ice was probably best, but the thought of being cold again was too much. Malcolm lay back on the bed, resting his hip and back, breathing deeply and trying to relax. He closed his eyes.

Hans came in carrying everything with him. He set the skis out on the balcony and came back in. “Tired?”

Malcolm tugged at the band of his boxer briefs, and Hans hissed. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because I didn’t want to stop you from having a good time.” He lay still as Hans gently touched his hip.

“Is it broken?”

“No. I think I just bruised it. I’ll take something for the pain and inflammation and get dressed in a little while.” He sighed as Hans sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t want you to stop having fun. If you want to go back out after dinner, please do.”

“Nope. After dinner we’ll get you comfortable and see what we can do to make you forget about your hip.”

Malcolm wasn’t sure he wanted to move at all. Hans brought him his kit and a glass of water. Malcolm took a couple of ibuprofen and then lay back again to wait for them to kick in. Half an hour later, the pain began to recede, and Malcolm moved slowly, getting dressed and waiting for Hans to do the same. Then they left the room and gingerly went down for dinner.

In the dining room, he and Hans were shown to their table. Malcolm put the injury out of his mind as best he could.

“I’m sorry you’re hurt.”

“I think I was starting to get the hang of it,” Malcolm said before ordering a glass of wine. Outside the huge windows that lined one wall, skiers continued going up and down the slopes under powerful lights that shone over the entire area. “After dinner if you want to go back out, I think you should. I’ll rest in the room for a while, and when you come back in we can spend some time in the hot tub.”

Hans was obviously torn and said nothing, but Malcolm knew he’d come here to ski and have a good time. Sitting with Malcolm in the room or in front of the fire wasn’t what an active guy like Hans was interested in.

“I’ll be fine.” Hans reached across the table. “I came here to be with you.” He squeezed Malcolm’s hand. “Have you decided what you’re going to have for dinner?”

“I’m thinking of the chicken.” He’d already decided to have something simple. That was usually safest. The food coming out of the kitchen looked good and made Malcolm hungry. “How about you?”

“I was thinking steak,” Hans said with a grin. When the server brought their drinks, they placed their orders.

“What else do you like to do with your time besides ski?” Malcolm asked before sipping his wine.

“I’m certified for open-water and deep-water diving. I love riding horses and racing dune buggies, though I haven’t done that in a while. I used to have my own buggy but gave that up a few years ago. So I took up sailing. I’d love to be part of a competitive team, but that hasn’t happened yet. I think I might be a little too old, but I’d really like to explore it.”

“You probably live in the wrong place for that. Don’t most of the races take place off the East and West Coast?”

“There are plenty of Great Lakes races.”

Hans sipped his water, eyes lighting up with excitement. Malcolm drank most of his glass of wine. Then he flagged down the server for another. There was no way in hell he could keep up with Hans. Scuba diving, competitive sailing, racing. Heck, he went skiing with him once and hurt himself. If he tried the other things Hans did, he’d probably end up dead. Getting drunk wasn’t going to help, but the warmth of the wine felt good.

“How do you get to be on one of those teams?” he asked Hans.

“Sometimes they have calls for members, but mostly you have to know someone and get a reputation within the community. I’m just starting out, so a top race team is probably out of the question, but I think it would be an awesome challenge and make the premise for a really good book. I love to include my activities in my books. The things that happen have to feel real even if they aren’t possible outside of my imagination.”

“I never thought of that.”

“In my next book, I’m going after Atlantis. So many other writers have tackled the same idea, so I want to try something different. There’s a team who believes they have actually discovered Atlantis, close to where Plato described it. Believe it or not, they think it’s in Spain, and there is evidence of a great wall of water that would have covered the city. The whole thing is really cool, and I’d like to explore that in a book. Of course, there will be more to it than that, and I’ll glam it up a bit, because there has to be something there that needs to be found to save the world from complete destruction.”

“Will you go to Spain?” Malcolm asked.

“I went last year to see the location. It doesn’t look like much, but the contours of the land are interesting, and satellite photographs show the entire layout. So I can probably work from what I have. But I may need to go back. Sometimes I don’t know until I start writing. I plot out the books to a point, but then I need to write to see what else I need.”

Malcolm shifted in his chair, his hip aching once again. The painkiller was only doing so much. Thankfully the server brought their meals. They continued talking while they ate, but Malcolm’s mind kept wandering to his hip and the ache that didn’t seem to go away. Once dinner was over, Malcolm had a difficult time getting up. His hip didn’t want to move, which was just awesome. They went back to the room, and Malcolm lay on the bed while Hans hovered.

“Go on and ski for a while if you want. The slopes are open for another few hours, and you may as well have some fun,” Malcolm told him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Go have some fun, and I’ll be right here waiting for you.” He felt so damn old at the moment.

“Are you sure it’s just a bruise?” Hans asked, and Malcolm nodded. “You really want me to go?”

“You want the truth? I want you to stay right here with me. But I know you want to be out there having fun. You spent most of the time we were out there with me, and you need some time to let loose. I’m not going anywhere, though if I can get my hip to cooperate, I might see if there’s a chair by the fire.”

“If you’re sure,” Hans said, biting his lower lip. He was clearly conflicted.

“There’s no use having both of us cooped up in here. Go and have fun. I’ll go to the lodge and watch for you.” Malcolm got up, hobbled over to Hans, and closed him in his arms. “I mean it.” He kissed him, and Hans hugged him tight, deepening the kiss and groaning softly. The pain in Malcolm’s hip receded as he thought of fun things they could do right in the room.

“I’m going to get my things,” Hans said, and Malcolm released him and let him get ready before heading slowly down to the lodge. He had trouble finding a seat but managed one near the windows. It wasn’t close to the fire, but he had an ottoman to put his feet up on, and one of the hotel staff offered him a plaid blanket. He put it over his legs, ordered a hot chocolate with a splash of rum, and sat back to relax and watch outside.

He saw Hans wave as he passed, and he waved back, following him with his eyes until Hans melded into the line waiting for the lift.

“Do you mind if I join you?” a handsome man about Malcolm’s age asked.

Malcolm motioned to the other chair. “That would be nice.”

“I saw you with your friend.” He smiled and signaled the waiter, ordering a martini. “Have you been dating long?”

Malcolm paused for a second. “A few weeks. He’s an active kind of guy.”
And I’m feeling every bit my age at the moment.
He kept that last part to himself.

“I see that.”

He grinned wryly, and Malcolm wondered what that was all about.

“Why aren’t you out there with him?” The server brought their drinks, and he took a sip. “I’m James, by the way.”

“Malcolm.” He sipped from his glass. “Are you here with someone?”

“Yes. Mine’s out on the slopes as well. He’ll spend the evening on the slopes and then be raring to go all night long.” James had this wicked look. “That’s him there,” James said.

Malcolm followed his gaze and blinked a few times. The guy looked like he was fifteen. That was an exaggeration, but he was young.

“He’s gorgeous, and at that age they have so much energy.”

“Were you out skiing?” Malcolm asked.

James shook his head. “Good God, no. I’d break my neck.” He leaned forward. “Gregory loves to go skiing and all that. He’s as active as they come, and I’ve stopped trying to keep up. So I take him where he wants to go, have my own fun while he’s out, and then when he comes in, we get to play.” James sat back, as happy as anything.

“What do you talk about?” Malcolm asked.

James laughed. “A lot of talking isn’t usually what we do when we’re together.”

“How long have you been seeing each other?” Malcolm understood pretty clearly what type of relationship James was talking about.

“Four months now, and things seem to be working out fine.” James sipped his drink, looking out the window. After a few moments he waved and raised his glass. “He makes me feel young. They all do.”

“All?” Malcolm asked.