Jessica was seated at a long table by the window, gazing at the panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and the people skiing the slopes below. She was sipping her hot chocolate when she noticed movement to her left. Yoona slid her hand over Jessica's shoulder and kissed her lips softly, "mmmm chocolatey kiss" Yoona purred as she pulled away slowly. "Mmmm Yoonay kiss" responded Jessica as she kept her eyes closed and smiled dreamily. The rest of the gang sat down with Jessica, Yoona beside her, Tiffany and Taeyeon together, and Sooyoung with Sunny, pulling out a chair chivalrously. "Hey there new person" Jessica greeted Sunny, causing her to giggle as she went to shake Jessica's hand. "Oh sorry, Jessica this is Sunny, Sunny ... Jessica" Sooyoung introduced them, "Ohhhh the ski hire lady right?" Jessica asked suddenly recognising her. "You got it, it's nice to meet you Jessica" Sunny smiled, "Likewise" Jessica gave Sunny and Sooyoung a grin.

"I have a lot of new names to remember" Sunny commented to Sooyoung. "Well hopefully you know mine by now ..." Sooyoung grinned, "and then we have Tiffany and Taeyeon, they're the cute ones ... "and Yoona and Jessica, the ummm weird ones!". "Hey!" the weird ones exclaimed together, "... that's not true" Yoona declared, "... yeah ... they're not cute!" Jessica added causing everyone to laugh. "See what I mean?" Sooyoung said as Yoona and Jessica pulled faces at each other. "Okay, so what is everyone having for lunch, my treat?" Taeyeon announced. "No way Taeyeon ..." Jessica objected, "you can't pay for us all". She reached into her pocket for some cash, "Put your money away Jessica!" Taeyeon ordered, "Yoona, Tiffany and I had a deal, whoever won the race down the slope just then was to buy lunch".

Sunny was a little confused "That doesn't sound like much of a prize for winning" she commented. Taeyeon smiled sweetly, liking this woman already "Ahh but my prize comes at 5pm, right girls?", she slid her arms around Yoona and Tiffany's shoulders. Sunny reached into her pocket, then slid a $20 note over to Taeyeon who smiled at her and immediately slid it back to her. "That includes you Sunny" Taeyeon declared, "Well at least let me buy the drinks, I insist" Sunny suggested. Taeyeon gave in, nodding to Sunny respectfully, realising that she probably wanted to make sure the others were comfortable with her before she started mooching off everyone. "In that case ..." Yoona started, "I'll have a bottle of Dom Perignon and a long drinking straw". Jessica slapped Yoona's knee playfully and laughed with the others. "Sure ..." Sunny played along "With a beer keg chaser?" she cheekily retorted, drawing surprised laughter from the table. Having taken note of the orders, Taeyeon and Sunny headed over to the counter.

Yoona smiled and nodded at Sunny and the rest of the gigglers, "Good ... she's good!", she was glad to see that Sunny could hold her own and match wits with someone who had an equally acidic tongue. Now, while the Sunny was away ... the others got the chance to ask Sooyoung a few questions. "So ... spill it Stud!" Yoona demanded. Sooyoung cringed at that word "Yoon, please don't call me that okay?" she insisted. "Why the hell not? Yoona pushed, "Because ... cos I'd just rather not be called that right now" Sooyoung reasoned. "Oh come on, don't tell me you're going soft" Yoona replied, drawing a "drop it" look from Tiffany "Okay okay, sorry Sooyoung".

A wry smile tugged at the corner of Sooyoung's mouth as she thought about how this all started. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about her, so today I decided to do something about it" she explained. "How did you end up in a kids skiing class though?" Jessica questioned. "Well ... I asked at the ski hire place if Soonkyu was around, they told me she was taking a ski lesson, so I asked if I could join" came the explanation, her friends hanging on her every word. "Of course when they told me it was a kids class, I had to come up with something, so I said that I'd never skied before so I'm at a kids level anyway. The woman behind the counter must have seen through my intentions and gave me a wink, then booked me in. So there we go". Tiffany, Jessica and Yoona chuckled, knowing that only Sooyoung could get herself into that kinda situation with her charm.

"No prizes for guessing what the discussion is about at the table" Sunny joked. Taeyeon smiled, thinking this girl is smart "Well, they're just curious ... as am I". Sunny laughed softly, knowing that it wouldn't be long before all the questions started. "I'm just as curious ... about Sooyoung" she shyly admitted to Taeyeon, feeling that she could already trust her "... and the rest of you of course". It warmed Taeyeon's heart to see the beginnings of something bloom between two people. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she had a good feeling about Sunny, and knowing where Sooyoung was in her life right now, she could sense that perhaps Sunny is just what Sooyoung needed. They headed back to the table to join the crew who suddenly became very quiet.

When Sunny sat down she felt all eyes on her, "So ... who's going to get the interrogation lamp out?" she joked. The others nervously giggled, all wanting to ask so much, but not willing to take that first step. Finally Tiffany started the ball rolling, realising she was probably the only one brave enough to. "So Sunny, since none of these other chickens want to open their beaks, I'll do it", "Shoot!" Sunny responded, shifting in her seat slightly as she settled in for the impending questions.

"Well, ok ... we're all from Cali ... where are you from?", Sunny relaxed, Tiffany's demeanor helping to ease her into the conversation. "Wow, I'm a Cali girl too ..." Sooyoung's eyes lit up, a sight not lost on Sunny "I'm originally from San Diego, but I'm kind of a seasonal traveller. I float around here or Europe in winter, then I head down to New Zealand or Australia for their winter". The gang were hanging on her every word.

“So do you get back to San Diego much?" Taeyeon asked, she wanted to know, for Sooyoung's sake, whether Sunny would be in California much. "I do ... in between ski stints I head back there. I stay at my sister's place, she has a room over the garage that I can hang in. She owns a bookstore and I work there to raise cash for my next adventure". Sooyoung was smiling softly as she heard Sunny talking about her life, there was something promising about her answers, but something daunting about them too. She tried not to think about that too much. Yoona had the next question, and she was never one to hold back. "Okay, let's get this over with ..." she began. Sooyoung's expression dropped, unsure where exactly Yoona was headed with that beginning. She braced herself for major embarrassment.

"Are you married ... divorced ... single ... taken ... gay ... straight ... undecided?" Yoona put her best investigative skills to the fore. "Okay, wow, not backward in coming forward huh ..." Sunny commented, "I'm single and gay, how's that?". "Very good answers" Sooyoung thought to herself, she was about to ask a question however Yoona butted in with her interrogation. "For how long?", "Umm how long what? Gay or single?" Sunny asked confused, "Both" Yoona confirmed. "Alright .. gay since high school, single for almost a year" came Sunny's answer. "Reason?" Yoona continued to pester, "Ummm it's complicated" Sunny retorted, trying to keep some things private, or at least only to her and Sooyoung. "Okay okay I think that's enough questions ..." Sooyoung butted in, rescuing Sunny from Yoona's onslaught, "leave me some things to find out for myself" she smiled at Sunny who mouthed a "thankyou" for the rescue, softly patting Sooyoung's arm in gratitude, causing the others to smile at the simple contact and Sooyoung's glowing grin.

Lunch arrived right on cue, saving Sunny from further questions, for now. The women chatted over lunch about what a great time they're having so far, a little about themselves by way of introduction to Sunny, and about their plans for the week. When they'd finished their meals, they talked about what to do for the rest of the day. Sunny knew this moment had to end sooner or later, and she'd had such a good time, she wanted to do it again. But how to ask, without intruding on such a close knit group. "Well I guess I'd better head off" Sunny began, "Sooyoung, if you want any more tuition, let me know okay? Here's my card, my cell is on the back". Sooyoung took the card and was a little disappointed that Sunny was leaving after she thought they'd gotten on really well. "At least she gave me her number though, that's a good start" Sooyoung reasoned with herself silently.

"Ladies ... it was an absolute pleasure meeting you all. I hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation" Sunny continued, shaking everyone's hand and giving them a genuine smile. Tiffany glanced over at Sooyoung and could tell by the look in her eye that she was coming down from the high that she'd experienced ever since meeting Sunny. "Hey Sunny, why don't you come by our cabin sometime for dinner, we'd love to have you" Tiffany extended the invitation, sure that Sooyoung would most definitely "love to HAVE you". "Okay, sure that'd be fun. Sooyoung has my number, give me a call, bye girls" Sunny grinned as she walked away, swaying her hips a little as she knew that Sooyoung would be watching.

Sooyoung was indeed watching, and as she did so, she leaned her head on Taeyeon's shoulder and groaned a little, causing the others to giggle at this rare display by Sooyoung. Taeyeon gave Sooyoung a playful pat on her knee "I know hun ... I've been there" she admitted, giving Tiffany a knowing glance. "She's sooo nice Sooyoung, and she seems to be into you" Tiffany commented. "Then why did she up and go ... and why am I being so passive and stupid?" Sooyoung tortured herself with these questions. "Sooyoung, maybe she didn't wanna intrude ya know. She's staff here, she probably felt like it wasn't her place to be socialising or something" Jessica reasoned, making a lot of sense. "I didn't have a problem with it ..." Sooyoung questioned, "did any of you?" she looked around at her friends for a response.

"Sooyoung, honey, she was wonderful, right guys?" Yoona confirmed, the others nodding in agreeance, "but Jessica's right, maybe she felt uncomfortable butting in on us, I mean this is our vacation". "Well then, we have to let her know that she can hang with us" Sooyoung suggested, almost begging for the help. "I think that's up to you hun, you need to show her you're interested in her" Taeyeon advised her. "God, why am I suddenly such a bumbling passive idiot? This is sooooo not my style" Sooyoung looked down at her feet, running her fingers through her hair. "Then why are you doing it this way?" Jessica questioned, "why isn't she a notch on your bedpost already?". Something about Jessica's phrasing took Sooyoung by surprise. "Is that all you think of me? Is that what I am to all of you?" Sooyoung asked defensively. Was she really that much of an uncaring, unfeeling player to her so called friends?

"No, God I'm sorry Sooyoung" Jessica immediately apologised, "it's just ... we're not used to seeing this side of you, you're usually so confident and forward with women. The irresistible Choi Sooyoung, charming, seductive, brooding and mysterious. And well, now you're like one of us!"

Jessica giggled. "But Sooyoung, we love you, you know that, and we know that you went through a rough time with Victoria ..." Yoona comforted her. "But that's just it Yoon ... after Victoria I went right back to my old bed-hopping ways" Sooyoung began, "ya know what, it just hasn't been the same, I don't know why, and I sure as hell haven't the foggiest clue why I'm feeling like this goofy smitten teenager when it comes to Sunny".

"I think it's fairly simple to understand ..." Tiffany chimed in, "Whatever happened with you and Victoria ... you opened up your heart and now you've discovered some feelings that you hadn't allowed to come out before". "Sunny is definitely stirring up those feelings in you, and honey that's a good thing, embrace it" Taeyeon reassured her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and giving her a hug. "And just because you don't want Sunny to be a one night stand, doesn't mean you can't be just as confident and seductive in trying to win her over" Yoona added. "Are we doing anything together tonight?" Sooyoung asked, a grin curling at her lips. "Go, call her, ask her out, take her to dinner, no though" Tiffany ordered in a motherly way, "Yes Mom" Sooyoung cheekily responded.

Sooyoung got up to make the call outside, where she wouldn't be overheard. She reached into her pocket and pulling out her cell phone, flipped it open and dialed the numbers as she held Sunny's card in her other hand. She felt a smile spread across her face as she saw Sunny's name. "Oh Sooyoung, ask her if she can come teach us to ski or something, that way Yoona can get some decent skiing in with Tiffany and Taeyeon". Sooyoung pointed at Jessica with her cell phone, giving her a wink "good thinking Jessica, I'll do that", she walked out the doors taking deep breaths as she hit Dial on her phone.

"Hello, Sunny speaking" came the sweet voice, "Hey there Sunny speaking, this is Sooyoung talking" Sooyoung laughed. "Well hey there Sooyoung talking" Sunny retorted, "I wasn't expecting to hear from you quite this soon I must say". Sooyoung blushed a little, wondering now if she was being too forward "Well I wanted to catch you before you got too far away ... Jessica and I were wondering if you had an hour or so to help us out with our technique ... that is if you're not busy already". "I'll be there in ten minutes, just gotta do something, meet me at that bench again, okay?" Sunny told her, smiling at this opportunity to see Sooyoung again. What she hadn't quite expected was what she heard next.

"And I was also wondering ... if maybe you'd like to have dinner or something tonight" Sooyoung asked clearly and with apparent confidence. "Sure, that'd be nice" Sunny answered, a little surprised but growing more excited the more she thought about it. "Alright ... well I'll see ya when ya get here then" Sooyoung responded as she ran her hand over her hair and softly bit her lip. "You will indeed, cya soon Sooyoung" said Sunny as she hung up after Sooyoung said a soft "Bye".

Meanwhile inside Blizzard, Tiffany, Taeyeon, Yoona and Jessica were all watching Sooyoung and making their own assumptions about the conversation taking place. Sooyoung was pacing nervously, shuffling her booted feet, kicking snow and scuffing in a circle. When they saw Sooyoung flip her phone closed then kiss it before putting it back in her pocket, the gang knew the conversation must have gone very well. Sooyoung's big smile only served to confirm their suspicions as she strutted to the table.

"So? Do we have a date?" Jessica asked, giving Sooyoung a wink, "We do ... and I have a second one later tonight" she proudly declared, drawing congratulations from her friends. Tiffany raised her glass "To the start of something new for Sooyoung", they clinked glasses and said cheers, the double meaning of Tiffany's toast not lost on Sooyoung who smiled appreciatively back.

**********

~tbc~