CHAPTER 2

Eric ignored Calleigh's protests and grabbed her bags. She followed him out to the car and got in the passenger side as he put her bags in the trunk. His smile grew bigger as he climbed in the driver's side of the car to see Calleigh bouncing with excitement in her seat. "I see you're really excited, Cal!" He smiled.

"Yeah." She blushed, an embarrassed smile creeping onto her face. "Aren't you?"

"Sure am." He smiled back at her, glad she was just as excited as he was. This was going to be a trip they'd never forget; he'd make sure of it.

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"I don't like flying on planes very much, you know." Calleigh told Eric through a nervous smile once they were situated on the flight. Eric took this opportunity to take hold of her hand.

"Don't worry Cal, it'll be fine. Before you know it, we'll be hitting the slopes in Ontario." Eric smiled, trying to make her feel more at ease. His smile did work wonders on her, but even it could not fully relieve her anxiety of airplanes.

"I'll try not to worry." She took deep breaths in and out as the flight attendant started explaining the safety procedures for the flight.

"Good." Eric squeezed her hand reassuringly and almost made her completely forget about her anxiety. "Just try and sleep that might make it easier." He suggested. Calleigh nodded, already sleepy from having to wake up so early when she could hardly sleep the night before due to her excitement. Within half an hour of take off both Calleigh and Eric had drifted to sleep. Neither thought it would be possible being in such close proximity to the other, but your level of tiredness can be so easily underestimated.

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Two hours later, Eric awoke to the sound of the pilot announcing they were to be landing in Ontario shortly. He glanced over at Calleigh who was still sleeping and smiled. She looked even more beautiful sleeping than he could have ever imagined. "Cal." He whispered in her ear. She stirred a bit, but didn't wake up. "Cal," He repeated a bit louder this time. She opened one eye, and remembered where she was. On a plane, to Ontario with Eric. "Hey." He smiled, once her other eye opened.

"Hey, are we almost there?" She wondered out loud.

"Yeah, should land in a few minutes." He informed what he'd heard the pilot saying just seconds beforehand. She made what she thought was a disgusted face, but what Eric thought was the cutest thing he'd ever seen.

"I hate landing." She pouted. He couldn't help but let a laugh escape his lips. She was unbelievably cute when she was pouting. "Why is that funny?" She tried not to smile when she heard him laugh, but whenever she heard him laugh, all she wanted to do was smile.

"You're just cute when you pout, that's all." He told her. Her cheeks flushed the slightest tinge of pink and she giggled slightly. Then the pilot announced they were starting their final decent into Ontario, and Calleigh's giggle and smile vanished. "Relax." Eric told her, prying her fingers off the seat handles which she was gripping for her life. He took both of her hands in his and held them there until they were on the ground. Calleigh had been so caught up in the touch of their hands she barley noticed the landing. "See? It wasn't that bad." Eric smiled, unbuckling his seatbelt and standing. Calleigh registered what was really going on around her after realizing Eric had let go of her hands, and quickly undid her seatbelt and stood in the aisle. They got their carryon luggage down from the overhead compartments and headed off the plane.

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An hour later, Eric, Calleigh and all of their luggage were situated in a rental car and were off to find their final destination for the day, the ski lodge. "It's so beautiful up here." Calleigh sighed as she looked out the window, taking in the snow covered scenery of hills and mountains that lined the sides of the country roads.

"We're almost there." Eric announced with an excited smile. He loved coming up to Ontario for these vacations. It was usually a great time, because he love spending time with his sisters because he didn't get a lot of time to catch up on what was going on with them, and he liked to know, protective brother type of thing… but this year, he was with Calleigh which would most likely make it the best trip ever… or the worst, but he didn't want to think about that.

"Oh Eric, I'm so excited!" Calleigh squealed. Eric chuckled, she really was excited.

"Have you ever skied before?" He asked her.

"Nope." She laughed, "But you can teach me, can't you?"

"Most certainly." He nodded. "Here we are." He announced as he turned into the lodge.

"Aw! It's so cute!" Calleigh commented with a smile. She couldn't wait to learn how to ski, and she just couldn't wait for this vacation to really begin in general. All this time with Eric alone… something good would have to come of it, wouldn't it?

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A/N: Yeah, I'm really really behind on my Christmas stories… but I WILL finish it haha. Sorry it's taking me so unbelievably long, I've been having a lot of trouble writing lately… I hope it isn't showing too much!