What We Search For (4 page)

“You my friend are an
idiot.” I said with a smile.

“The women love it.” Brad
replied with his nose in the air.

“How would you know that?
You scare them all away!” Chris said, laughing and slapping Brad on the back. I
couldn’t help but join in on the laughter.

“It’s not my fault if
women are intimidated by my ridiculously handsome features and muscular
physique.” Brad said, as he attempted to highlight his biceps through his snow
gear to little effect.

“Give it up Chris. You
won’t be able to crack his sense of self-worth. It’s like trying to insult a
dog. He’ll just wag his tail and lick you on the face.” I said smiling.

“Good point. There’s a
good boy.” Chris said, petting Brad on the head.

“Say what you will! I’ll
still kick your asses on the hill.” Brad said, as he tried to shake Chris’ hand
off of his head.

“Well! We’re about to find
out! Looks like this is us.” I said, as I pointed to the end of the gondola.

We stepped off the gondola
together and I stopped and looked around. People were everywhere already.
Looking to my left, I watched as a group of people effortlessly floated down
the mountain on their skis and boards. Moving away from the gondola we found
the designated area for lessons, which we had already booked. We had all agreed
jumping on the board with no help would probably be a bad idea to start off
with.

Trekking through the snow
we stood under a colored pole indicating where our instructor would meet us. As
we waited other people were beginning to arrive. It was damn cold up here, and
I was wearing all the right gear but the cold just seemed to seep through.
Leaning from one leg to the other I pulled my beanie, or otherwise known as a
tuque in these parts further over my ears.

“Damn it’s cold up here.”
I said, voicing my thoughts.

“Very interesting
observation.” Brad replied shortly. Leaning down Brad grasped a chunk of snow
and flung it in my direction. “I wonder why that is?” He asked sarcastically.
Laughing, I returned fire.

Brad was wearing a pale
green jacket with black pants and a black tuque while Chris was wearing a gray
jacket and gray pants. He was doing his best to camouflage in with the snow.
Chris watched our exchange in amusement not venturing to join in on the battle.

Looking up from our play
fight, Brad and I noticed a few girls coming to join our training group. One
thing I’d figured out was it’s difficult to determine the age of people when they
are covered head to toe in gear. Goggles, tuque, helmet and often face mask.
The girls I thought, seemed to be around our age by the way they were talking
to each other, and they came to stand next to us while continuing their
conversation.

“I can’t wait for this!”
One of them said, in a distinctly American accent.

“I know! I can’t believe
I’ve never done this. It’s just so beautiful up here!” Another replied, as she
took it all in with one sweeping glance, which for a second I thought lingered
on me, but maybe it was my imagination.

“Oh hey! I think the
instructor is here.” The last said, pointing at a girl dressed all in red.

Waving at us she joined
the group “Hi everyone! My name is Haley, and I’ll be helping you all today
while you learn how to snowboard! Hopefully everyone is ready? It looks like
everyone is here.” She said, as she appeared to tally our numbers. Counting me,
she appeared to recognize me and gave me a small knowing smile and a quick
wink, and continued her count. “Okay numbers are good, so let’s head over here
and have a chat!” She said excitedly. She led the group over to what I could
only assume was the area for the newest people on the hill.

Sitting down in a circle
on top of our boards Haley introduced herself in full which led me to thinking
I hadn’t actually spoken to her since we had our… entertaining night together.
Finally it was time to start our lesson.

The basics came first and
then we slowly progressed into actually going down a hill. If you could really
even call it a hill. I fell over more times than I’d care to admit and Chris
and Brad were the same. Near the end of the lesson, Haley came over to me to
see how I was going.

“Looking good on that
board.” She said, as she brushed up against me.

“Feeling like an idiot to
be honest!” I replied light heartedly.

“You’ll get it.” She
laughed, “It just takes a little bit of time but once you have the feeling,
you’ll be flying down the hills.” She added, glancing around she slapped me on
the ass and took off laughing.

Our encounter had not gone
unnoticed. The group of American girls talked amongst themselves softly while
looking directly at me. Embarrassed for some reason, I looked away and started
my painstakingly slow descent. To my great relief I made it without falling
over once, but the relief was short lived as I came to a stop and fell hard on
my rear.

Chris came up to me after
completing his own descent and gave me a knowing look. “That’s the one isn’t
it? The one you met the same night we met Brad?” He asked with genuine interest.
Nodding slowly, I came to my feet.

“Yes. Guilty as charged.”
I said, watching Haley move away.

“No need to worry about
that. She seems to be nice enough. Not a bad looking girl either!” He said,
slapping me on the back.

“She’s an
attractive lady I won’t deny that.
” I replied, smiling. I returned my attention to
the rest of the class coming down the hill.

Taking my helmet and tuque
off I breathed in the frigid air and looked around slowly. My gaze landed
directly on one of the three American girls. She seemed strikingly familiar but
I couldn’t quite place work out where I had seen her. There was something about
the shape of her face. Something… She must have seen me looking as she suddenly
set off walking in my direction with a smile on her face.

Chris wandered away to go
check on Brad, leaving me alone watching this girl come directly at me with one
of the nicest smiles I had ever seen. That was it! I’d seen that smile before
somewhere. She stopped in front of me and took her goggles and tuque off, and I
stood there staring like an idiot for longer than I would have liked. My mind
raced for her name.

Although our last
encounter had been a short one it was a memorable one. Amanda. It was Amanda
from the LA airport. Of all the people to meet on a snow hill in the middle of
Alberta in the same snowboarding class as me! “Amanda!” I exclaimed happily,
after my moment of staring in shock and wonder. “I can’t believe you’re here!
How are you?” I asked curiously.

“James! So great to see
you! I thought it was you earlier, but I was a bit shy to come say hello
because I couldn’t tell for sure.” She said, as laughter came to her lips.

Her laugh was like a
gentle breeze and it gave me goosebumps. Her hair was shining in the sunlight
amplified by the snow, and her smile a radiant white. I couldn’t help but
admire her beauty. Time stopped for a split second as I soaked it all in.

“How long has it been?” I
asked, as I went to give her a hug.

“Well. It would have been
a couple of months or so, I can’t believe you even remember me!” She said as we
hugged.

“How could I forget such a
beautiful face? Also falling on your ass right in front of me is pretty
memorable.” I replied, grinning at her the whole time.

“Ha! Well aren’t you the
smooth talker. That was so embarrassing, but I’m glad you were there to help me
up!” She said, returning my smile and pointing up the hill, “I’m here on
holiday with my two girlfriends up there. Sally and Jane. What about you? Have
you found somewhere to settle in or are you still traveling?” She asked.

“I’m actually living in
Banff. It’s a beautiful part of the world and I’ve met some very cool people.”
I started, “So far I’m loving it, and this snow is just too much to pass up.” I
replied.

“I completely understand!
Snow can be so beautiful and these mountains are breathtaking.” Amanda
remarked, as she emphasized with her hand in a sweeping motion taking in the
surroundings.

“Absolutely agree with
you. It was love at first sight! I haven’t felt this good in years. Who would
have thought this traveling stuff would be so amazing? It only took me twenty
seven years to do any of it!” I said, my smile still plastered on my face.

“Oh definitely. I’ve only
recently started traveling too, and I can’t get enough of it. There’s so much
in the world out there to discover.” Her voice was full of passion, “While
we’re young we may as well go and see it right?” She said. Nodding my agreement,
I watched as Amanda’s friends approached from the top of the beginner hill.

“Are you staying in town?”
I asked, after a moment of silence.

“Yes. We’re sharing a
place for a week.” She replied.

“Fantastic. Would you like
to catch up for some drinks sometime? Bring along your girlfriends, and I’ll
bring a couple of my friends along and we can make an evening of it if you’d
like.” I said, hoping she would agree.

“That would be great I’d
like that. I’ll talk to the girls about it but I’m sure they would be up for
it.” She said.

“Do you have a phone
number that works here so I can get in touch with you?” I asked hurriedly.

“Sure do!” She replied.
After reading off her number we said our goodbyes and went to finish the
lesson.

Heading back up the hill I
joined Chris and Brad. “Well that was interesting.” I said, puffing from the
exertion of walking through the snow.

“What was that about?”
Brad asked slowly, drawing his head closer to mine to look me in the eye.

“An old friend.” I replied
with a wink.

“Suspicious!” Brad yelled,
throwing his hands in the air.

“I’ll tell you later.
Let’s finish up here first.” I said, as I held my hands up defensively.

“You better!” He said, leaning
forward he pushed me over into the snow. “Or else!” He added with a laugh and
kicked off away from me.

Chris watched and shook
his head slowly, “Children.” He said, with a fond smile creasing his lips.

Shaking myself free of
snow, we continued our efforts of trying to get down the hill. We inevitably
fell over a few more times, but it was worth it. I was having a hell of a lot
of fun and I couldn’t wipe my newfound smile off of my face. Haley called
everyone together at the end to discuss today’s lesson.

“Hopefully everyone was
able to learn some new things today, and had fun in the process.” She started,
“If you’re interested in a follow up class I’d recommend having a chat to the
folks at the ticketing area and they can organize that for you. Snowboarding is
easy once you know how. It’s just the learning phase that can be quite tricky.”
She said with a smile, “Thanks very much for coming along today and I hope you
have a great remainder of the day!” She added, and as she turned to leave she
caught my eye again and whispered something I couldn't quite make out. With
that she walked away.

Turning back
to the lads with a slightly puzzled look on my face I decided to explain what
had happened earlier with Amanda.

“I said I’d
tell you so here goes.” I started, looking at each in turn.

“Her name is
Amanda. I actually met her in transit. I was coming through LA to get the
connecting flight to Calgary.” I said, “There I was just sitting in the airport
reading when suddenly this stunning girl falls flat on her ass in front of me,”
I continued, smiling. “Hilarious, but I didn’t have time to laugh as I sprang
into action, helping this poor damsel in distress to her feet was my first
priority. Our eyes met and fireworks ensued. There was a pause in time as we
drank in each other’s gaze. Until finally the silence was broken. We spoke of
things men and women speak of.” I paused and looked over at Brad, “Things
you’re not quite old enough to hear just yet,” I said with a smirk. “Anyway.
One thing led to another, and… We exchanged names. It was a hot, steamy, and
saucy encounter.” I finished, with a longing look towards the sky.

“You my friend
have problems.” Brad said slowly, “Why didn’t you hook up with her right
there?” He asked, clearly upset with the ending of my story.

“What was I
meant to do? Flex at her? We can’t all be as attractive as you Brad.” I said,
with a hint of a smile touching my lips.

“Well you
should damn well try. Shit man you had me going there for a minute.” Brad replied
with a grin.

“Me too.”
Chris added, “That’s pretty crazy you would find her here of all places.
Actually she found you! I think she might be interested!” Chris finished,
smiling at me.

“Well you say
that...” I started, “I’ve actually already signed both of you up to coming out
with the girls. She has two girlfriends that came with her, so it’s your jobs
to look after them!” I said, grinning at each in turn.

“Are they
hot?” Brad asked.

“How the hell
should I know? I saw them in their snow gear from a distance.” I replied with a
sigh.