Page 40 of Mostly Loathing You

Also, I like my privacy.

The plan for the evening has been to head over to one of the villages and hit the bar for a while, but the last thing I want right now is to leave the house again. My body is sore as it is, but now that my foot is throbbing thanks to Hannah’s stupidity in leaving her suitcase in the doorway, I feel like a mess.

“Why don’t we just have a party?” I ask Jackson as I shuck off my outer layers and reach for a mug from the cabinet.

Jackson turns to Gen, who shrugs in response, appearing indifferent to the matter.

This trip is to celebrate with friends before the big day. With their wedding the second week in December and only a few weeks to go, it was important to the two of them for us to get out of Atlanta as a group.

“Sounds good to me—anything not to have to layer up again.” Savannah’s voice carries from behind me, essentially securing Gen’s vote.

“I’m down for a party,” Gen finally responds, looking up at Jackson.

We’ve had parties at my parents’ house in Vail before, but not since we were old enough to drink…or at least old enough to drink legally. Such an occasion was always contingent on bribing some idiot at the resort to buy a bunch of teenagers alcohol.

Lucky for us, now we’re all full-grown adults and can order alcohol for delivery and not have to go back out into the cold.

I send out a text blast to the locals and seasonal guests I know are in the area right now, then head to my room to get cleaned up for the night.

Hopping in the shower, the hot water sears into my flesh, prickling my chilled skin. It takes a minute or two, but I finally find a comfortable temperature. I towel off before walking into my bedroom, thankful that I was able to keep hold of my room and, with it, my private bathroom.

As I knew we would be out on the slopes for most of our time here, I packed simple clothes—we’re only here for one night as it is. No rest for the wicked, or whatever they say. It’s mostly because Wes has to get back to the hospital.

I pull on my dark wash jeans before pairing them with a heather gray Henley, thankful to be dressed. Though it has modern amenities, the house is older and doesn’t have the best insulation, so, despite the heat being on, there is still a bite in the air.

When I finally venture out into the house, people are starting to trickle in, and I calculate that I know at least 90% of the guests.

“Hey man, it’s been a while!” I plaster on a grin before smacking a guy I know on the back, not allowing myself to be distracted when I’m on a mission.

Hannah.

My eyes find her in what I would call an unseasonably short yellow dress. It hugs her perfectly, and if we weren’t in a room now nearly filled with twenty-somethings, most of whom are single, I’d enjoy the vision.

“Little cold to be dressing like that, no?” I reach past her, grabbing a red cup from the stack and pouring myself a serving from the keg. You really can order anything for delivery these days. When she doesn’t answer me, I look up to find her eyes fixed on me. “Cat got your tongue?”

As if something shakes her out of her trance, her expression shifts from perplexed to irritated. “Just trying to figure out what made you think you could talk to me.”

There is the Hannah I know.

“Noted.” I lift my beer in a toast before walking away from her, but I can’t manage to pry my eyes away entirely.

Cold or not, that yellow dress is doing things to me. I’ve always noticed the way her body looks, but it’s as if the other day flipped a switch in me, making it impossible to ignore. The cotton fabric hugs her ass perfectly, stretching to barely coverit. If she bent over, I wouldn’t be shocked if I got a full view of what’s underneath.

I adjust my pants at the thought of what that could be.

“You’re staring at her.” Sage once again appears out of nowhere, earning herself a glare. “Hey there, killer, I just call ’em like I see ’em.”

“I was not staring at her.” I drink the rest of my beer right as Gabe appears, giving me the opportunity to push the plastic cup into his palm to avoid going back over to Hannah, who is still leaning against the keg on the other side of the room.

“Okay, so I guess I’m getting you a beer.” If Gabe is irritated, he doesn’t show it.

He’s been in a foul mood the past few days because of Kara. I was hoping that this trip would pull him out of it, but I’m starting to think it might just make it worse. Yeah, they fight all the time, but every time they fight and break up, he’s sure it’s for good.

However, it never is.

“Pong?” Sage asks as Gabe reappears with my beer in his hand. I nod toward her and we head over to the table.

Thankfully, my night begins to ramp up. Sage and I win not one round of beer pong, but two. Gabe played against us with this local named Justin for the first game, but ended up bowing out for the second. Justin seems to want to keep going as we approach our third round, but the girl he was partnered with didn’t want to play anymore.

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