Free Love 'Em or Leave 'Em by Angie Stanton Page A

out of her boots as well.
    The waitress arrived to collect their orders for beverages.
    Lunch turned out to be the highlight of the day, with a fun combination of people. Some of the women vied heavily for Luke's attention, but Ashley and Liz weren't concerned. Ashley didn't want his attention. The joking and teasing about each person's skiing ability went on as they enjoyed a relaxing and entertaining lunch.
    They returned to the slopes in great spirits, Ashley and Liz in especially fine form. It was Liz's turn to sit with Luke on the chairlift, since he picked a different woman each time. Ashley gave her the thumbs-up as she joined Luke. Liz looked stunning, and Ashley was sure Luke would be entranced by her striking beauty and great personality.
    The ski runs became longer, and the one they skied now was a blue intermediate run. When the group approached the end of the run, Ashley held back. She felt a bit of false bravado and decided to spray the group at the bottom of the hill with snow. She came straight down the hill without slowing; the faster the speed, the better the effect would be. As she neared the waiting group at full speed, panic lit their faces. She leaned hard into a tight turn at the last second and skidded expertly toward them. The spray created a huge arc of snow crystals shooting in all directions. She covered them literally from head to toe. Usually when she pulled this trick, she managed to stop directly in front of the skier. Not this time. She slid right into Liz.
    Okay, maybe it was more of a slam.
    Ashley tried not to hit too hard, but didn't want to spear Liz with a ski pole in the process. Her momen turn caused Liz to fall into Cricket, and then Cricket into Kate, and so on, until she wiped out the entire group, including Luke. In moments, the whole group lay in a giant snow-covered heap at the base of the hill. Passing skiers didn't bother to stop. Instead of being horrified, Ashley began to laugh. Liz joined her, laughing as though it was the funniest thing that had ever happened.
    Getting up, Kate tangled her skis with Megan's. Ashley, the only one not trapped under another skier, couldn't move because she was laughing so hard and trying not to wet her fancy ski pants. Luke lay buried under a couple of bodies, numerous skis, poles, and spandex-covered legs.
    It took a couple of attempts, but finally they stopped giggling long enough to get untangled. Of course, the camera crew recorded the entire escapade and laughed right along with them. Once they were back on their feet, skis reattached, Luke motioned for the others to move ahead to the chairlift, then slid up to Ashley.
    "Your turn," he said, piercing her with a knowing stare. He gestured her to join him on the chairlift.
    Ashley felt like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She gave him an innocent smile as she slid smoothly past him into the lift line, acting like nothing was amiss.
    "So, what's up?" He gazed down at her from only a few inches away, his firm mouth curled.
    "Sorry, I guess I lost control back there," she replied, looking straight ahead.
    "No, I mean what's going on?" He looked at her conspiratorially.
    Ashley feigned innocence.
    Luke gave her a sideways glance. "Your turn" He held his arm out to direct her toward the chairlift.
    Ashley glided forward smoothly to the lift. She could feel Luke's eyes admiring her sexy ski outfit.
    He joined her, and together they turned toward the approaching chair and sat. As Ashley settled herself, Luke examined her closely, then reached into her tight little jacket and pulled the leather strap to the flask.
    "Okay, now I understand" He gave her an accusatory stare.
    "It's not for me"
    "Is that so?"
    "Really, it's for Liz. She was afraid to ski and I knew a little boost would loosen her up"
    "Well she's not the only one loosened up" He'd just discovered a new angle to her personality.
    She nodded. "Yup, did you notice how relaxed she is now compared to her first run?" Luke