Page 18 of Ski You Later
“Well, watch me, buddy!” Patting his shoulder, I confidently stride away from him, not letting my limp deter my confidence. I can feel the anger radiating from the man behind me, but I don’t stop as I reach the road and keep walking. A loud groan echoes through the air behind me, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of turning around.
Usually, this walk would be an easy ten minutes, so I figure the limp should only add another seven to my time.
It doesn’t take another thirty steps before a black truck pulls up beside me.
The window rolls down, and the closest thing to an apology comes out of Roman’s mouth. “If you’re going to be insane and go out, then the least I can do is give you a ride.”
“Are you going to come?” I question as I stop walking and cross my arms. Raising my brow at him, I can’t help but mentally chuckle as I act like I have the upper hand in this situation.
“No, not tonight. But I’ll be driving you there,” he immediately responds.
“Why won’t you come?” I ask, with more than a little frustration in my voice.
“Rhodes, I –.”
“Roman, just come out for a little while!”
“Rhodes, I wasn’t invited. The team doesn’t want me there, and I have no intention of forcing them.”
His admission startles me a fraction, only because I didn’t expect such honesty from him. It’s been obvious to me that the team has a problem with him, but the fact that he knows as well fills me with sadness.
I start to question whether Landon or Xander invited their own brother, but they must have just given up by now.
Roman probably sees their invitation as pity, and both brothers just stopped trying.
“Well, that’s insane.” I reach for the door, plop into the seat beside him, and look him dead in the eyes. “I’m inviting you, and your attendance is mandatory.”
CHAPTER 8
I can’t believe I’m actually here… I want to leave.
When we finally arrive, the bar is packed. Convincing Roman to come along took longer than I expected. Nothing had worked, not asking repeatedly, pretending to cry, or attempting to drag him out of the car.
The winning ticket was when I added more of a limp to my walk and told him that I would be fine on my own. He stared at me with a withering glare, only to sigh in defeat and lock his truck. I had to suppress my smile as we walked into The Cave together.
I try and fail to part the crowd, attempting to make my way to the basement where the Polar team always sets up camp. Unfortunately, we got here pretty late into the evening, and the drinking is well underway for the winter sports athletes.
Peering around the space, I notice the ski cross team is present, as the lot of them chant with each otherand take shots. I spy the top two figure skaters in the country near the back, both ladies not shy as they make their bodies well known to the other. At the pool tables, half the men’s hockey team is playing a game against half the women’s hockey team, and everyone is screaming at each other.
As I try to squeeze past another group of athletes, they don’t budge when I attempt to push through. Huffing out a breath, I prepare my nicestexcuse me,when an arm parts the crowd directly in front of me. Roman’s at my side now, one hand making a path as the other hovers over my lower back.
People turn in annoyance but quickly go back to what they were doing when they notice Roman. While being over six feet tall helps his case, it’s his build that makes people leave him alone. Due to our insane training schedules, there isn’t a single part of us that isn’t rock-hard muscle. But in Romans case, it makes him look like a Greek god and people have no problem with giving him a wide berth.
I manage to limp my way to the banister all on my own as the glaring man behind me helps keep my path clear. I look down into the basement and find the dance floor is electric tonight. The lights under the dance floor highlight everyone’s movements as the musicpounds in my ears. Leaning farther over the railing, I spot the team scattered about in groups.
I see Aurora in the middle of the floor, dancing her heart out with Charles, Isla, and Liam at her side. Calvin’s group is right beside them, all four guys bobbing their heads as they search the floor for a partner.
Looking further over, long, caramel-coloured waves of hair swaying to the music and catch my attention. Jasmine Flores dances as if she was born for it, moving to the music in the perfect rhythm. She’s three inches taller than me which is the perfect height to distribute her curves. I can’t help but watch her in envy, as her darker skin sparkles under the dance floor lights.
A guy with sandy brown hair starts to make his way towards her, grabbing her from behind as she emits a shriek of joy. My stomach drops as her arms wrap around the man’s neck, his wrapping around her in return. The pair immediately pulls each other close and they start to dance.
I white-knuckle the banister in front of me, horror and fear worming its way into my body. The captain of the Polar hockey team, six feet of pure muscle and the only man who’s ever cheated on me, has decided to come tonight.
He hasn’t shown his face here since we broke up, and I hate all the feelings that suddenly come flooding back.
It was just another Thursday night going out with the team, and he told me how sorry he was that he couldn’t make it. His text went on about his stress over this random assignment, and he had to work late. Since it was about school, I understood completely and went out with my friends while he worked.
Later that night, when I let myself into his place with my arms full of study snacks, the last thing I expected to see was my cousin. Daniel and Jasmine were entangled in each other on the couch, the pair making their mouths well acquainted.
