CHAPTER FIVE
“I can’t believe he let you take his car.”
Jake smoothed his hands over the leather seats after he strapped himself in, and Alex smiled. His dad was the best.
“I had to swear I’d be extra careful—not speed, not drink and drive, and not let anyone eat in it.” Not that Alex would do the first two, anyway, but he was definitely guilty of eating in it. The last time he’d borrowed his dad’s Audi TT, he’d had to clean all the crumbs out of it before his dad was satisfied. This time he just wouldn’t risk it.
Jake held his can of Coke up, with a slightly worried expression. “Is drinking okay? Your dad’s kind of scary.”
That made Alex laugh out loud. His dad was a big bloke and might look intimidating, but he was as soft as grease at home. “You’re fine as long as you don’t spill anything. But seriously, J, how can you drink Coke so early in the morning?”
“I was thirsty.”
Alex smiled and shook his head. Each to his own. “Thanks for driving with me. I’d have been bored stiff travelling on my own.”
Abi’s dad’s lodge was about ten miles from the Snowdonia National Park, and it would take them about three hours to get there. This car maybe wasn’t the most practical one to take if there was a chance of heavy snow, but his Fiesta needed a bit of work to get through its MOT test and was still in the garage. With any luck his dad might work on in it this weekend if he got the chance.
“No worries.” Jake glanced over as he stretched out his legs. “It’s got to be cramped in the back of Abi’s car with Riley and Dylan. You know how much room they take up.”
“True.” Alex agreed.
When Alex called Abi to check it was still okay to go, she’d suggested he pick Jake up. Jake lived nearer to Alex than to Abi, so it kinda made sense.
He’d only had chance to send a quick text to Riley while he waited for Jake to get in, having been too busy rushing round packing to do it earlier. His dad had only given him the time off at half past six that morning—one of the other mechanics had needed to change his holidays at the last minute, and suddenly Alex wasn’t needed at work. Thank God for that. It would have sucked to think of them all up at the lodge without him.
Jake settled back in his seat with a sigh. “So, how come you got out of work?”
Alex waited to answer until he’d gone through the traffic lights. “Apparently I have three days’ holiday that I need to take before the end of the year. Dad said I can either take them now—since Mike will now be working—or carry them over. So here I am.”
“Which is awesome, because now we won’t have to watch Riley pine all weekend without you.”
“He’s not that bad.” Alex grinned at the thought of Riley missing him, and something warm and comforting settled inside him. “I’ve just known him a long time. We’re used to having each other around.”
“Mm-hmm. Sure.”
Alex frowned and spared Jake a quick glance. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” Jake leaned forward to fiddle with the radio; he turned up the sound when he found a song he liked.
Distracted by the music, Alex hummed along as he drove, hoping the traffic wouldn’t be bad.
Three hours later, the familiar excitement began to build as they got nearer to their destination. They only ever came for a few days at a time, but it always felt like a mini holiday. The surroundings were so different from where Alex lived, the stunning scenery a beautiful escape from everyday life. The snow-covered mountains provided a perfect backdrop at this time of year, but Alex was grateful the land lower down had yet to see any winter weather. The worst they’d driven through so far was about ten minutes of rain, but the clouds had cleared and the sun now shone brightly overhead.
“Can you text one of the others and see how far away they are?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Jake tapped away on his phone for a bit, his messy blond hair falling over his forehead as he concentrated. After a minute or so, he set it back on his lap. “Dylan says they’re almost there, maybe ten minutes tops.”
“Great. They can get the heating turned up for when we arrive.”
The rest of the journey flew by, and Alex grinned as the sign for the lodge park came into view. He followed the curving road past the first few lodges until they reached number 10, halfway up the hill on the left-hand side. Abi’s Polo sat in one of the parking spaces, and Alex pulled up next to it. Then, with a sigh and a stretch, he turned the engine off.
It felt good to get out and walk around after sitting for so long. The crisp fresh air filled his lungs, and he rested his arms on the roof of the car, grinning at Jake. “I’d have been so pissed off to think of you lot up here while I was stuck at work.”
Jake smiled back at him. “I can imagine. And you wouldn’t have been the only one.”
“Nice to know I’d be missed.” Alex laughed, feeling the effects of the place already lightening his mood. He popped the boot to get their bags out and passed Jake’s to him. The pair of them walked up the wooden steps to the front of the lodge.
