Page 25 of Head Over Skis

My eyebrows pull together in confusion. ‘You? But I should be apologising to you. I’m the one who fell into you and forced us into that situation in the first place.’

He can’t deny that, bouncing his head from side to side like he’s weighing up who’s to blame here. ‘True, but I shouldn’t have held onto you like that for so long. It was unprofessional of me, regardless of anything we’ve done before.’

Even without going into the details, that acknowledgement alone of our history makes my throat dry out, and I wish I had my refilled drink.

‘What I’m trying to say is, I understand if you want to switch classes. If you want me to arrange an alternative teacher for you and your friends, I will.’

I freeze, blinking slowly. That was not what I was expecting, and I let him know a little too quickly.

‘No, I don’t want— I mean, do you want that?’ I blurt out, hands doing weird little gestures as I point between the two of us.

‘No,’ he says, without any hesitation. ‘I don’t want that.’

‘Okay good, then it’s settled,’ I say, glad that matter’s been put to rest.

‘Good,’ he echoes back, the corners of his mouth twitching at the repetition. Then his focus shifts behind me as he points to one of the ciders on tap.

‘She’ll take a pint of Henry Weston,’ he says, and the bartender jumps into action.

‘How did you know that’s the one I wanted?’ I ask, equal parts confused and curious.

He points towards my old empty glass that still stands on the table with my friends. ‘I’m observant.’

I don’t know how to respond. I hadn’t been able to find him until now, so I thought he must’ve just arrived. But apparently he’s been very aware of where I’ve been.

‘Oh, well thanks, but I can’t let you pay for that,’ I say, reaching for my card from my wallet. I’m stilled when his hand closes over mine, stopping me.

‘It’s nothing, take it as a well done for getting through your first day on the slopes.’

I don’t notice him pay as I turn away from the bar only for my eyes to clash harshly with the icy stare of Adam.

I don’t know how long he’s been looking this way, but a good guess would be long enough for him to suspect something’s going on over here. Not that there is, but when Rory hands me the glass, his fingers brushing over mine in a way that could suggest he’s more than a stranger, I glance over again and see Adam’s frown deepen. I pull the pint in towards me and take a step back, widening the gap between us.

‘Thanks again for this. I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow then?’

‘Bye, Lottie,’ he says, and I can feel his attention on me still as I turn and walk back towards our table.

Even if I didn’t know he was currently watching me from across the room, the fact Tilly’s mouth is open in a silent squeal is indication enough. Once I’m sat back down she won’t stop kicking me under the table, meanwhile Adam’s shifted his whole body to make it obvious he’s avoiding me like the plague. A bit rich coming from him, but I ignore it and focus on the preppy woman with cherry-red hair who has appeared dressed in a staff T-shirt.

I consider telling Adam the truth, that the drink is nothing but an apology for an awkward encounter earlier in class. Then again, I don’t think he’d be pleased to hear the details of the encounter, so I’m glad when the woman starts talking and draws everyone’s attention back to the point of the evening.

‘Welcome, everyone, to this week’s Topaz ski quiz night. I’m going to be kicking us off with our first round, everyone’s favourite…’

‘Musicals,’ I whisper.

‘Sports,’ comes a collective prayer from the boys’ table.

‘K-drama,’ Tilly guesses a little too optimistically.

But it’s Meghan who’s punching the air when the host announces it’ll be geography. ‘Hell yeah! I’m such a National Geographic nerd, we’re going to wipe the floor with the boys.’

Lucas nods. ‘She really is, honestly it’s a little weird how many random facts she knows about the social habits of otters.’

She reaches across the tables to shove his shoulder, leaving him wobbling on his barstool.

‘Don’t act like you don’t love it, I saw you googling photos of otters holding hands after that episode.’

We quieten down so we can hear the first question, which is sadly not about otters but is about postal abbreviations of US states, which is randomly another area of Meghan’s expertise. I renounce ownership of the pen and answer sheet so she can frantically scribble down the answers whilst Tilly and I get to sit back and relax.