Page 43 of Taking Chances

Slick with sweat, her thermal turtleneck sticks to her body even more. There’s even a hint of nipples poking out. My cock stirs beneath the layers of snow clothes.

After seeing her full body, naked and wanting, it’s hard to not imagine it every time I see her. Clearing my throat, I turn to the others.

“What about you, guys?”

“We did a few pretty good runs.” Noah shrugs before Natalie interrupts him.

“I won. I’ve only been skiing for a year, and I won.” Her dark eyes gleam with success. It doesn’t surprise me to know she’s a competitive person.

“It was only one run. You were by far the slowest on the other,” Alex adds, taking a sip of their drink. Natalie bumps them in the shoulder, making them laugh.

“What are we drinking?” I ask.

“Hot Toddy,” Alex responds with a smirk.

I guess ski trips have different rules since they’re all drinking whiskey and it’s barely past noon. Waving to the bartender, I gesture to bring us two more of those and take off my jacket.

“How was he? How many times did he fall?” Connor asks Anne, dying to tease me.

“Just once. He was pretty good.”

Connor groans, disappointed by the answer.

“Wishing bad luck on someone? That’s in really poor taste, man.”

“Yeah, well, everything in life always goes your way, so it would only be fair to have you fail at this one thing.”

I force a smile, but my face is wooden. To him, it may look that way, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. What good does any of it do when the one thing I want to go my way, Ineedto go my way, won’t happen?

I space out as thoughts of my mom fill me. Is she OK? Would she even tell me if she wasn’t?

Truth is, I know she wouldn’t. She doesn’t admit it to herself, let alone someone else.

Downing the rest of my drink, I join the conversation. Three drinks later, we’re hitting the slopes again. I’d be worried if it’s a good idea, but the cold air sobers us up as soon as we exit the warmth of the bar.

This time, everyone except for Rina and Matt, who returned to the cabin, comes along with us. We ski for a couple more hours, until we’re all spent.

Entering the cabin, I inhale a delicious scent, eliciting a grumble from my stomach.

Fuck, I’m hungry.

Connor pulls Rina into a lingering kiss, while Natalie jumps into Matt’s arms, ski gear and all. He barely catches her, and after a passionate kiss, sets her down.

“Go wash up quickly, then we’ll eat,” Matt orders us as he and Rina get back to work on the dinner.

Matt and Rinaprepared an actual feast for us. The sticky ribs with a bunch of sides and salads are to die for. I watch Anne as she moans around a rib, licking her sauce-stained fingers. A knot in my chest unravels, noticing she’s eating properly. Enjoyingherself. Drinks are flowing, and after we all help to clear out the table, Natalie decides it’s time for the hot tub.

“Not taking no for an answer.” She points a threatening finger to each of us before stopping on Rina. “Fine, you can say no.”

“And I will keep my lady company.” Connor scoops her up in his hands. “You better take your swim shorts now, because the room will be busy.” He shoots me a pointed look.

“Oh, I didn’t bring my swim shorts.” I shrug. “But you better change the sheets, man.”

He chuckles as he rushes the two of them upstairs.

“Don’t worry, I can lend you a pair.” Noah puts a hand on my shoulder, and I follow him to the bedroom to change.

17

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