Chapter 12: Rendezvous, Part 2

The class was unendurable, of course. Mr. Wilson's prattling about polynomial and quadratic functions wasn't really clicking in my brain. My neurons only seemed to react to the stimulation generated by Tristan's thoughts.

I hated when people did what Valerie had done minutes ago. They stuffed someone's mind with silly ideas that led to stupid conclusions-like thinking he could be interested in me, even though he had a model as a girlfriend. Or just wanted to be my friend, even though he hadn't shown any sign of it.

I rolled my head, stretching my neck muscles-tense and sore under the skin-and spotted Owen doing some doodles in his binder. We were in the back of the classroom, so it was harder for Mr. Wilson to find out Owen's artistic self-discovery. I peeked out the window next to me. The gray skies still lingered, seeming to mirror my gloomy state. The dreariest day I've seen in Ruidoso so far.

The bell rang. I jumped in my seat and jerked back my head. The most tedious class had finally come to an end. Everybody hustled to escape the room as if an emergency evacuation was going on. I grabbed my tote and joined Valerie and Owen to migrate to our next class.

Only Dean was waiting for me outside, leaning against the wall with crossed arms.

"Hey," he smiled, straightening up and pulling the strap of his backpack over his shoulder. "I need to talk to you."

Valerie eyed me with a small, secret smile. "I'll save you a seat in class."

"See you man." Owen tapped Dean on his back and followed her.

I really didn't have time to chat. "Look Dean, I need to go, maybe-"

"Don't worry. It's not going to take more than two minutes. It's about Saturday. I thought we could go to the Winter Park to do some tubing. It's the last weekend before they close."

"Tubing?" I asked. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it sounded interesting.

He nodded. "It's four miles from downtown-pretty fun stuff."

Fun was something I could definitely use. "Sure."

"Cool." He grinned, staring at me with that odd sparkle flickering in his eyes. "See you at lunch." He paused to look at me one more time and rushed down the hall.

Tubing.

I couldn't help but smile at the thought of it.

The next three eternal days were a hard copy of the first. The morning was the only time where I saw Tristan, and only by a split second. Naturally, he ignored me, his eyes fixed way above me-looking for more cracks on the walls, I supposed.

Chloe was always lurking around, as if on surveillance mode, which must have deepened Tristan's resolve to stay away from me. I still couldn't understand why. He even ditched English classes. It was some type of twisted Hide-and-Seek. I was the one expecting to see him, and he was the one hiding from view-my view.

Still, there'd been one tiny mistake in Tristan's game. We shared the same French class on Thursday-a bombshell for both, really. Since he'd been gone last week, his presence had been as surprising for me as mine surely had been for him. But that hadn't changed anything. He'd just given me a quick glance when I'd passed right beside him and had gone back to look down at the space in the table between his elbows-surely looking for more cracks or scratches. Whatever.

It was clear that any kind of interaction with him or his friends was totally finito. Something inside my chest felt kind of odd because of it, but I was okay with the whole thing. And thank God Saturday came up quickly. I needed it. Only Dad's never-ending questions stopped me from letting relief wrap around me. "And where is this exactly?" he said, trying to look confused.

"I already told you, Dad. It's a winter park four miles away from downtown," I answered, taking the damp clothes from the washer to load them in the dryer.

He looked at me with suspicion. "Since when do you like snow sports?"

"Calm down, detective Hamilton. Tubing is not a sport, it's recreational. Besides, I've never tried it before and it seems really fun."

"Sure it does, but I've never pictured you doing it."

"There's always a first time, right?" I finished with the loading.

"And who's this boy you're going with?"

I closed the dryer and frowned at him. "He's just a friend."

"I've seen how boys look at you, Kalista..."

"It's the truth," I snapped. "Valerie and Owen aren't going because they went to Alamogordo for the weekend. So don't start on me."

He paused and pondered on the situation. "Okay...but remember to be careful." He bent his head forward. "Really careful."

"Don't worry, Dad, I'm not going to kick the bucket on the snow," I assured him. He bent lower, eyes mockingly menacing. "Okay, okay," I raised my hands in surrender. "You don't need to worry about Dean either. Happy?"

He drew back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Satisfied. If he tries to do something, you know what to do. Pull up your knee and kick him in the groin."

"This is ridiculous." I rolled my eyes. "It's not what you're thinking. He's just a friend, really."

"Maybe." We left the laundry room and went into the living area. "Still, you have to understand this is strange for me. It's the first time you're going out alone with a boy-except for Stephen."

Of course, I did understand him. I was surprised, too. But it was more of an act of desperation than an act of enthusiasm. "Leave Steve aside, Dad. He doesn't even count."

"What happened between you two, anyway? You were best friends."

"So now this is about Steve?" I asked, irritated. It was a useless topic. "I don't have time for this. I need to go and change." I headed to the stairs.

"Honey," he called.

I turned back to look at him.

"Please, be careful."

I nodded with a smile and hurried upstairs.

Damn, snow clothing was annoying. Actually, now I remembered why I didn't like snow stuff in the first place-besides the speed factor. I looked like a human balloon. The only thing missing was the helium to make me float in the air. And the rubbing noise of my black pant against my skin when I walked was infuriating. It sounded like I was wearing diapers.

I peeled off my puffy ivory jacket and stayed only with a baby blue hoodie.

At least, I look less pumped up.

The sound of rubber against gravel reached my ears. Dean. I hurried to close the balcony doors and galloped down the stairs with the jacket in my arms. I didn't want Detective Hamilton to open the door and start attacking him with awkward questions.

"Bye, Dad!" I shouted, scampering out the doorway.

"Have fun!" he said from the couch. "And-" I opened the door. Dean was climbing the steps-"I'll be waiting for you for dinner!" my dad called.

I smiled at Dean, blushing. "Okay!" I said embarrassed, closing the door behind me. I felt like a little girl with a silly curfew.

Dean grinned, holding his car keys in one hand. "Ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." I wanted to leave my dad's territory as soon as possible.

Before climbing inside his white SUV however, I had a moment of hesitation. That prickly fear I had every time I got into a new car was crawling its way to the top. I hoped he wasn't one of those speedy demons who left dark tracks on the roadway. I couldn't stand that. But I decided to give it a try anyway and slipped inside the car.

"By the way," he said. "You look really nice." He smiled and twisted the keys on the ignition.

"Thanks," I said, bowled over. If this aerostatic costume was nice for him, then he was really easy to please. But a friend could say that, right?

Winter Park was located inside a complex named Eagle Creek Sports. Big tourist buses filled the parking lot along with other vehicles-a bit more crowded than I'd expected.

Dean picked a double tube for us. Being so close to him bothered me. And his stare wasn't encouraging either. I was beginning to think my dad had been right all along. I enjoyed Dean's company, but not in the way he seemed to enjoy mine. He clearly wanted something more than a friendship with me and I'd completely ignored it. The signs had been obvious, but I'd told myself that maybe things were different this time.

Well, they weren't. Now I was going to be trapped with him in a super tight tube because of my stupid stubbornness.

But it didn't go so bad after all. I did get nervous when we propelled down the hill the first time, but once we started with the twists, the excitement took over and the adrenaline flowed through my bloodstream. There was no Tristan thumping in my head, just the sound of the tube against the snow vibrating in my ears. It was like a drug-which is why I agreed to go on a second round of slides with him.

The second round though, turned into more rounds. It wasn't until the hill became boring that we decided to go somewhere else for more exciting slides.

"Where are we going exactly?" I asked Dean as he started the engine.

"Ski Apache. It's not too far away from here."

My dad had told me about that place. It belonged to the Mescalero Apache Tribe and it was one of the main attractions for tourists around here. "Isn't that only for skiers and snowboarders?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "But there's one spot where I go sometimes that is great to slide."

"Like a secret place, you mean?"

He nodded. "I have a deal with a guy that works there. He lets me take the lift for free."

Even if it was somewhat illegal to do this, my mind screamed at me to give it a try "Okay, but...how steep is the slope?"

"Don't worry. I'm not doing a black one with you. We're going for an intermediate slope."

The black ones, as the name itself implied, were the advanced trails. Their spooky vertical angle was only for people who enjoyed bloodcurdling speed. I couldn't even imagine how fast a tube could slide down a trail like that.

"Let's do it." I said.

Why not?

"You're gonna love it." He smiled.

Ski Apache had a large parking area, dotted with several ponds of melted snow. Ticket booths, rental shops, ski schools, bars and sport shops crowded the edges. Blue and yellow gondolas moved up the colossal Sierra Blanca, drawing black rails against the white snow on the mountain.

Many skiers were already leaving, which meant it was definitely a good time to do this. At least it was until I spotted a sharp orange car near a snow bank. My breath caught in my throat. The sight knotted my stomach in thousand sturdy loops.

"No way," I whispered to myself under Dean's loudmouth music. "No way." It had to be Tristan's. There wasn't another car like his around here-or anywhere for that matter.

Dean parked five spaces away from it, boosting the heartbeats in my chest. The dearth of snow adventurers made the probabilities of an uncomfortable encounter likely. That, plus my one-million-dollar-worthy luck.

"Let's go and take out the sleds," Dean said and climbed out. "We have to hurry."

"Sleds?" I shook my head in confusion and followed him. My worry was now in full bloom. "I thought we were going to use tubes."

"No." He pulled open the trunk's door. "It would be too eye-catching." He gave me a black plastic seat. "This is better than a tube if you're going for deep slides. Besides, how were you planning to break?" He twisted the sled to show the steel brakes underneath.

"Good point," I admitted.

We headed to the blue chairlift, my boots sloshing through water, until a thick layer of snow welcomed my soles. A few skiers were still snaking down the trail on my right. None of them Tristan. Maybe the stars were shinning on me and he was on the other side of the mountain.

"Hey man, what's up?" Dean said, slapping a guy's hand in a manly gesture.

The deal guy, I supposed.

"Cool man. Going for a slide?" he asked Dean, looking at our sleds.

"Yeah, we're going to use Elk line and..." Dean's voice faded as I turned my head and focused on my surroundings. A glossy black snowboard with a bright green pattern stood out in the middle of the snowy field.

Cool board.

I lifted my eyes to look at the person holding it and...I couldn't believe my eyes. I just couldn't believe it.