The soup was delicious, as usual, courtesy of Dylan’s mum. She always packed them up with frozen soup or chilli. Something they could just heat up when they got there. Lunch was loud, exactly how Alex liked it, all his friends laughing and joking—taking the piss out of each other with no exception. Without realising it, his mood lifted, the constant back and forth round the table a balm to his ruffled feathers. Even Riley seemed like his old self, pointing his spoon at Nick and accusing him of farting in his sleep on the journey up.
Nick choked on his mouthful of soup. “Fuck off. I didn’t close my eyes once.”
Riley grinned. “But you did fart, then?”
“Nope.” He took another spoonful of soup, then pointed a figure at Abi. “She did.”
Everyone laughed, including Abi, before she turned to glare at Nick. “The sofa has your name on it for tonight, babe.”
Nick put his hand on his heart and gave her his best sad look. “But it’s cold down here.”
“Oh, trust me.” She patted his cheek and smirked at him. “It’ll be much colder in our bed.”
This sparked more laughter, and Alex sat back in his chair soaking it all in. Thank God his dad had given him time off. A long weekend with his friends was just what he needed. And maybe he could get Riley to talk about the prospect of moving in together. The run-up to Christmas was never easy to get some time on their own, and Alex was serious about this idea.
They finished eating and Nick, obviously trying to get back into Abi’s good books, cleared the pots away and offered to wash up.
Of course, Abi saw right through him. “We have a dishwasher, Nick. Use it.”
He blew her a kiss but did as he was told. Alex got up to help him, while Riley put the kettle on for another round of coffee.
“Surely it’s beer o’clock?” Dylan leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs and looking seconds away from tipping backwards. “Those in the freezer must be cold by now.”
“Oh shit!” Nick abandoned the dishwasher and rushed over to the fridge. “I forgot all about them. Well done, Dylan.”
Dylan let his chair fall forward. “See, not just a pretty face.” He quickly pointed a finger at the rest of them. “Not a word.”
Alex finished loading the rest of the pots while Nick transferred the thankfully not-frozen beers into the fridge.
“Why are you putting them in there?” Dylan asked.
Nick glanced over the fridge door at him. “So they don’t immediately freeze up when we open them.”
“A man could die of thirst here.” Dylan happily accepted a mug of tea from Riley, though.
“Right.” Abi stood in the middle of them all with her hands on her hips. “Who wants to help me get the decorations out of the car?”
Everyone looked at Nick, who laughed and raised his hands. “Me! I’d love to.”
Abi smiled at him and patted his cheek. “Thought so.”
No one said a word about only being there for a few days. They all knew better. As soon as Abi and Nick went outside to Abi’s car, both Jake and Dylan were on their way up the stairs.
“Bagsy not helping decorate,” they called.
“Bastards!” Riley shouted after them as they ran off to the safety of their rooms. He turned to Alex with a put-upon expression. “I suppose we’ll have to do it.”
Alex grinned at him, then moved close enough to sling an arm around his shoulders. “Like you don’t love every second of it.” A small part of him half expected Riley to ease out from under him, but he reached up to rub at Alex’s hair instead.
“Lies. I hate everything to do with Christmas, and you know it.” His huge smile said otherwise, and his eyes positively lit up when Abi and Nick came back in carrying a small artificial tree and a big box of fairy lights. “Great, let’s get started.”
An hour later the lodge looked far more festive. Well, the downstairs did anyway.
The three-foot tree stood proudly in the corner, adorned with three sets of lights and a slightly crooked star on top. Between them, Abi and Riley had strung lights in the kitchen, the windows, and looped them around the banister on the stairs. Nick and Alex were relegated to putting candles in the kitchen and on the table. Apparently that was all they could be trusted with.
Riley stepped back from where he’d fixed some of the lights on the tree, and he elbowed Alex. “I love Christmas.”
Alex snorted. “You don’t say.”
