“Oh, right!” Keaton said, and grinned. “Remember the extra cash I asked you all to put towards the trip? Well, I got us a cooler per cabin with some emergency supplies. Snacks and bottled water. You can take them with you when we’re hiking or skiing, or eat them in your rooms between meals, whatever you need. Just getting organized! We’ve divided it up between everyone already.”
“Nice,” I said with a chuckle. “You want my beer to add to the pot?”
Keaton shook his head. “Everyone’s got beer, it sounds like. We can share if someone runs out. I guess we’ll all be drinking together, anyway!”
“I brought some food as well,” Cade spoke up. “Um. Do you want to take some?”
Keaton shook his head again, but this time he smiled at Cade. Why didn’t I get a nice smile? “I brought enough for everyone,” he said. “Just enjoy yourself.”
Huh. I got the feeling that ifIhad brought food it would be going in the pot and getting divided up amongst everyone.
Was everyone just going easy on Cade, like Caleb asked?
He was kinda cute. And sweet with all his shyness and blushes. I guessed everyone was probably nice to him all the time just because of that.
I wondered what kind of a hard time he’d been through when it was obviously so hard for anyone to treat him badly.
“Right,” Harvey said. “Settling in. See you all later for dinner.”
I nodded vaguely – I hadn’t yet bothered to read Keaton’s itinerary, so I just pretended I knew what he was talking about. Everyone else started to move away, grabbing a cooler and heading back to their cabins. I stepped forward, thinking I was the obvious choice to carry it out of myself and Cade. By the time I’d grabbed it, everyone but the residents of this cabin and their ‘volunteer’ cleaners had already set off.
Leaving me alone with Cade.
We started to walk down the slope back towards our cabin, the cooler of food clinking gently by my side with each step. Silence fell down between us like a blanket of the snow we were surrounded by.
I felt instantly bereft. I was going to miss my buddies while I was in the cabin. It wasn’t like being on team trips, when we were all on the bus together or hanging out in locker rooms, or sharing hotel rooms. I was going to be mostly alone.
I was just going to have to try to enjoy all the time we were spending together on activities.
Or – maybe the best idea – get to know Cade a little better so he could be one of my buddies with me.
That would be the best option, right?
I turned around at the door, determined to turn Cade into a friend right there and then.
Cade
“Looks like we’re going to have plenty of snacks.”
I turned from opening the door to see what Aiden was talking about. He set the cooler that Oliver had given us down just inside and started digging through the packets of chips and protein bars and even some fresh fruit. I was glad to see at least one person on the trip was smart enough to think about that.
“Even more than that,” I said with a wry smile, opening up one of my bags and carrying it over, moving slowly. I wasn’t sure about how he was going to take my approach, but I figured I had to at least try to make friends with him since we were staying together – and we could share my stash. It was full of more of the same – as well as some chocolate and cookies I’d brought for comfort food.
“Wow,” Aiden grinned. He clapped me on the shoulder like football guys always did to their teammates, making me wince under the sheer weight and pressure of his hand. I tried not to let it show on my face. “Now I’m glad I got you as my roomie.”
So, he wasn’t before…? I couldn’t say I blamed him. I didn’t know anyone here except Caleb, and I would have given just about anything to stay with him instead of being with a stranger – except for the fact that I would have been an unwelcome third wheel for Aubrey.
I was stuck being an outsider, so I had to at least try to make the most of it.
“Thanks,” I said, which was about all I could think of to say. I cringed at the thought of how desperate it probably sounded – like I needed him to approve of me.
But I kind of did.
He was tall and big and strong, everything I wasn’t. And he was definitely attractive. He had a football player’s body and the kind of face that would sell tickets to games. It was a shame he wasn’t planning on carrying on with the sport. I hadn’t seen him play, though – or if I had seen him in one of Caleb’s games, I didn’t remember, what with the helmets and all. Maybe he was right about his skill level.
“Do you want to divide this stuff up between us or just leave it here?” Aiden asked. He shot an apologetic glance at me. “I have to warn you – I’m a college sports guy, so I will eat any and every piece of food left unattended for too long.”
I chuckled. “I grew up with Caleb in my house,” I pointed out. “It’s fine. So long as you don’t eat my chocolate, we won’t fall out.”
