Page 1 of Mountain Challenge

1

Ry

“Are you both sure that’s okay?” Alex asked. “I’m sorry it’s all happened so quickly. I’ll help you find a new housemate, of course.” Ry exchanged a quick look with Hugo before they both burst out laughing. “What?” Alex asked, looking affronted.

“We’re not laughingatyou, mate,” Ry explained. “We’re laughingwithyou.”

“Really? Because I feel like I’m not in on the joke,” Alex said.

“Ry and I have had a bet going on this for a while now, is all,” Hugo answered while shrugging into his uniform jacket.

Ry looked around, looking for his own jacket, which was nowhere to be found.Shit.He and Hugo had an evening shift starting soon.

Finally, he saw it, on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. He’d forgotten to put it away once again. Though he’d been doing his best now that he was living with his colleagues, he’dalways been messy with his personal things. The exact opposite of the way he behaved at work. But then, he was the team medic. Being organized was one of the most important parts of his job.

Alex took a step forward. “You bet on my moving out?”

“Yes,” Hugo said unapologetically. “The same day we met Yvette.”

“Yeah, mate, we knew your life as a single man was over long before you did.” Ry was almost sorry to give his friend such a hard time about it, when the truth was, Alex and Yvette made a great couple. But the temptation was hard to resist.

Alex’s forehead crinkled as he processed the news. “Okay. So you had a bet going on how soon Yvette and I would move in together. Who won?”

“Hugo did,” Ry said, sighing. “I had hopes you’d hold out longer, to tell you the truth.”

“You make it sound like it’s something bad.”

Ry raised his hands, palms up. “No, no. Yvette is great, and for some unfathomable reason, she likes you. I’m certain the two of you are going to be very happy together.”

“Your voice is shaking, Ry. Why are you so afraid of relationships?”

“Me? Afraid? I’m not afraid. I think relationships are great.”

For other people.

“Right. Except Ry’s idea of a long-term relationship is seeing the same woman twice,” Hugo laughed.

“That’s not fair,” Ry said. Maybe that’d been true in his early twenties, but now, in his early thirties, he was more mature. He’d had plenty of third and fourth and probably even a few fifth dates.

“Are you still seeing the optician?” Alex asked, curiously. “She seemed nice.”

Sophia.

She was nice.

Really nice.

“Uh. No. We … we broke it off last week.”

On their third date. She’d wanted something more regular than Ry was comfortable with. Something exclusive.

“You know, Ry, one day those surfer boy looks of yours will not work on women anymore, and then you’ll be sorry.”

Ry had heard multiple variations of this warning before, most often during his weekly call with his mother. She still lived in Perth, and she wanted grandchildren more than anything in the world. Thankfully, Ry's younger sister had stepped up to the plate and recently given birth to a beautiful baby girl, so hopefully that should take some of the pressure off him.

He sighed. “Come on, mate. I’m happy you’ve found love, but that doesn’t mean you need to push married life on the rest of us.”Particularly on those of us who have no intention of ever settling down.

Hugo chuckled. His friend was also happily single. A dwindling club among their colleagues. It wasn’t even like Ry had anything against long-term relationships. Hell, his parents had been married for thirty-five years, and still couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Ry had seen it work for other people as well, and he was honestly happy for them. That kind of thing just wasn’t for him.

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