Surf to Slope

"Ozzy, I haven't been able to surf in months. It's cold, and I need something to keep me busy." I fall back onto the couch as I look over at the massive saltwater aquarium I had built in my home. A mental image flashes between Ozzy and me. "What do you mean, I need a girlfriend? I have you."

Ozzy lets out a huff, and bubbles form and pop to the surface of his tank.

"Ozzy Otterbourne, don't you give me attitude. I'm perfectly fine without a girlfriend. I hang with you, surf at night, and catch up on all the shows and movies I've missed out on." An image of a small boy holding an L on his forehead pops into my head.

"First off, how the hell do you know about Smash Mouth? Secondly, I was going to buy you some special clams today, but now, I don't know if I want to," I huff and turn away from the tank.

Another image flashes of a cartoon laughing. Ozzy can be so damn rude sometimes, but I can't help snickering. For a sea otter, he has an immaculate sense of humor.

Maybe he's right. Since becoming a vampire, I've become pretty reclusive. Sure, I've gone out at night to clubs and bars, and of course, night surfing, but it's January. The water is even too cold for the undead. And of course, there's the sunlight issue.

I need something that can provide the rush of the ocean. It doesn't take long for one thought to steamroll into the next.

"Ozzy, I've got it! We're going snowboarding." I sit upright, and he does a quick spiral in the water.

Thankfully, being covered head to toe won't draw attention, since that's fairly common. What will draw looks will be the large sea otter, but it always makes for good conversation.

I start getting everything I need. I'll have to rent the board and boots, but I have the rest of the snow gear I'll need. A buddy of mine took me skiing once, and I hated it. Having two thin boards was annoying, plus the movements were stiffer than I'm used to.

It's only two, and when I looked up the ski resort, it offers night snowboarding, so I'll have plenty of time to ride the slopes.

"Ready, Ozzy?" I ask, and the sea otter swims to the top of his tank and out onto the rocky path I'd built for him. I lower the ramp to his wagon, then close it behind him once he's comfortable. We've done this enough times to have a routine down.

The last thing is grabbing my isolated fanny pack, which I'll fill with a variety of frozen shellfish for Ozzy. I hand him a pre-cracked clam, and he rolls to his back to eat as I wheel us out of the house.

After nearly a two-hour drive from the beach to the mountains, we've finally arrived. Ozzy has eaten nearly a quarter of the cooler's seafood on the drive. Thank goodness it's winter, so it keeps the smell to a minimum, especially since I don't need the heater on.

After getting all my gear on, I strap Ozzy into the backpack I had specifically made for him. Plus, he has his little goggles and customized helmet with his name on it. I gotta protect the little man's eyes and brain with style, of course.

The slopes were at a lull, with only a few people going up the lift. It's near dinner time, so the shocked expressions and excited chatter were fairly quiet, with no one really having the nerve to come up and chat, which is fine. I needed the adrenaline of riding, anyway.

I hop off the lift. Ozzy makes an excited chirping noise and taps on my shoulder a few times. He's just as much of an adrenaline junkie as I am. Granted, we're going down one of the smallest slopes until I get the hang of the board, which doesn't take long.

Next up, the tallest slope. It's near dark now, so I pull down my face covering to take a proper breath in. Ozzy enjoys a clam as we ride the lift to the top of the hill. The repetitive sound of him hitting the shell with his pit-rock puts me in a meditative trance as I prepare myself for the rush to follow.

When we finally hop off the lift, there's only one other person preparing to ride down. I snap in my back foot, and another squeal of excitement comes from Ozzy. I pull my goggles down, and we pick up speed quickly. The fear twists in my gut, and the adrenaline rushes through me as fast as the wind that blows past us. It's an intoxicating mix of excitement and fear while doing something that could be dangerous. Granted, I'm a vampire and hitting a tree or going off a cliff edge wouldn't exactly kill me, but it would Ozzy. I'm not completely negligent.

I get lost in the feeling of moving side to side with the board as I race down at a speed that's probably dangerous for a beginner. But I can't stop myself, I love it. There are a few jumps on the slope, but I steer clear of those. I may be reckless, but I'm not braindead. I know I'm not ready for that, and trying to deal with broken bones is a damn pain in the ass.

A figure to my right takes the jump, kicking their feet back behind them to grab the board as a trick. It looks sick.

"Did you see that, dude?" I say to Ozzy over my shoulder, who shows me a mental image of a lady from a commercial with their mouth hung open in shock. I trail behind the person the rest of the way down, and I'm impressed with how well they snowboard.

When we finally reach the bottom, I slow to a stop near the racks.

"Your run was pretty steezy," I hear the person say in a muffled voice from behind their balaclava.

"Uh, what's steezy?" I ask, not sure what the word means.

"It means you ride with style. It's hard to beat snowboarding with an otter on your back." They proceed to pull off their goggles to reveal the prettiest hazel eyes I've ever seen, surrounded by thick black lashes.

"Oh, thanks," I say with a chuckle. Ozzy makes another satisfied chirping noise. Then he let out a long whine for food. I unzip my fanny pack and grab a mussel, handing it to him.

What's the deal with the otter? I have to know." It's the question I've been waiting for all night. A loud smacking noise echoes throughout the resort as Ozzy proceeds to smack the mussel against my helmet instead of using his pit-rock. I give him a sideways glance, and the image of a kid sticking their tongue out, then laughing, crosses my mind. Way to be a wingman...

She laughs, then pulls off her balaclava, and what she looks like beneath makes my eyes nearly bulge out of my head. I swear, if I were an animation, love hearts would twinkle in my eyes.

She has black hair, neck tats, and her snake bite piercings accentuate her full black lips. She's like the alternative girl of my dreams. I stutter over my words as she looks at me expectantly. I'm sure she thinks I'm a big dummy now that I can't even get a word out.

She smirks and scoffs at me as she pulls off her gloves. "Sorry if that was a personal question," she says with a bit of snark, and my heart flutters.

"It's not. I just... you're really pretty." I blurt out, and Ozzy smacks my helmet with the mussel shell again. I can't even be mad, because I sound like a bumbling idiot. I hand him another clam to keep him busy, but of course, that came with more helmet smacks. If he jostles my brain any more, it may turn to soup as I take in the beautiful woman before me.

She laughs from her belly, and it's adorable.

"I rescued him." I finally get out.

"Aw, that's so sweet. What kind of otter is he or she?" she asks as she steps close to get a better look.

"Ozzy Otterbourne is a boy. A mischievous one at that, but he's a southern sea otter." Another round of helmet slaps follows. "Ozzy, I know you have your pit-rock. Stop hitting me, or no more clams." I scold him, only half serious about my threat.

She laughs again, and my heart beats a bit faster. This rivals the rush of snowboarding down the mountain.

"That's a sick name. How did you come to rescue him?" she asks.

"When I was at one of my surfing competitions, a fellow surfer caught him with his board when he was just a pup. I tried to find a rehabilitation center, but they were at capacity. I went through the legal channels to get the correct permits to keep him. Now he's legally my pet, but don't tell him that, or I may get more head smacks," I whisper the last sentence, but I know Ozzy still heard me.

She laughs again, and I can't stop myself from staring deeply into her eyes. They're just so damn pretty. The silence stretches on, but neither of us leaves.

"Did you want to get a drink?" she asks.

"Of course! I would love that," I say, too eagerly. "If you don't mind coming back outside to drink them. It's too warm in the resort for Ozzy," I say.

"I think I can manage that. I'm Faye, by the way," she says, and I try following behind her but nearly topple over, completely forgetting I'm still clipped into my board. Of course, she would be named after the creature of untold beauty. She's a gothic goddess, and I wouldn't mind praying at her altar.

"I'm Nate." I smile up at her as my dirty blonde hair falls in front of my eyes. Then I get my board off, place it into the rack, and we head inside for a cold beer.

We find a place next to the heater that's in a quiet corner so I can let Ozzy lounge in the snow and finish off the snacks I had stashed away in my fanny pack.

"What brought you up the hill?" Faye asks as she gets comfortable in her chair.

I chuckle to myself. "I wanted something to do, but Ozzy told me I needed a girlfriend."

Ozzy squeaks a few times in response, his little hand gesturing toward me. A clip of a woman saying, "I wasn't wrong." Flashes in my mind.

"Maybe if you don't scare her off," I say before thinking. I'm so used to having unfiltered conversations with him that I sometimes forget I'm in public and look absolutely insane.

"How could a cute otter like Ozzy scare me off?" she says as she looks at him adoringly. She takes a swig of her beer and smiles.

Damn, there goes that rapid heartbeat again. It feels so odd because my heart isn't actually beating, but it definitely feels like it. Being a vampire with phantom heartbeats over a girl is wild work.

"He has his ways," I joke.

"Soooo... Ozzy told you that you need a girlfriend? How did he manage that?" she asks curiously, quirking up a brow as a smirk tugs at her lips. My god, if she keeps looking at me like that, I might melt into her lap and ask her to pet me.

"How open-minded are you?" I ask. She tilts her head and takes me in completely. I take a swig of my beer, and her eyes narrow mischievously.

"Hit me with your best shot," she taunts. I've never wanted to spill my dark secret to anyone before now, but talking to her makes me want to risk it all.

"What if I told you I can telepathically speak to Ozzy?" Being able to read someone's mind might be a bit easier to swallow than, 'hey, I'm a vampire.'

"I would say that's pretty dope. How are you able to do that, though?" Her eyes twinkle with curiosity, and damn it, I want to indulge her with the truth.

"If I tell you, do you promise to stay and chat with me after?" It's a loaded question, and I realize that it could be a red flag. It may even come off super fucking creepy, but I'm hoping I'm judging her right. Even if I didn't, and I have to bolt with Ozzy, at least I got to spend some time in the presence of this goddess.

She sizes me up again, this time, her eyes lingering on areas that are either to see if I'm a threat or if I've got something underneath she may like. "I'm willing to take the risk." Faye takes another drink.

Holy shit, the way my phantom heart skips a beat or two. I lean in, and she does the same, then I whisper, "I'm a vampire."

She leans back, taking in the information and looking me over again. "Not the sparkly kind, right?" she asks.

My jaw nearly hits the floor before a laugh bursts out of me. "Definitely not that kind."

"Sweet. Tell me how you turned then. I can't say I've ever met a vampire before, so this is all new for me." Her brow quirks up again at me.

Holy shit, I think I just fell in love.