Just to fuck with him, I gasp. “Not a T-shirt! What will your rich brethren think? Howdarethat cotton be allowed to touch your skin!”
He reaches over his head to slap me playfully on mine.
“Are you done? We need to go,” he says, closing the doors to the fully stocked fridge. I’ve learned that in really high-end places, they offer a grocery stocking service so you don’t have to go back out once you get to your rental, and if there’s one thing Damon hates, it’s having to go grocery shopping as soon as he arrives at his destination.
“Lead the way,” I smirk, pinching Damon on the ass as he turns toward the door.
“Ohmygod, how did I manage to forget how obnoxious you are on vacation?” he groans to my delight.
I waggle my eyebrows at him suggestively. “Because it’s been too long. Just wait until I’m the reason you get laid. You’ll remember why having me on vacation isso much fun.”
Damon stops dead in his tracks, causing me to run into his back.
“Not that again, Li.Please. I can manage my own sex life just fine,” he says, truly pleading as he steps over the threshold into the frigid air and hits the button to lock the front door.
“Bro, having sex once every three weeks withyour own handdoesnotcount as a sex life.”
“Did you decide which slope you wanted to start with tomorrow?” he asks, changing the subject. I take the hint and answer his question, letting him off the hook this once because we’ve only been here an hour.
But come hell or high water, Damon’s getting laid before we come down off this mountain. Nobody knows his type better than me.
Chapter 3
Damon
We make it three days into our fourteen-day trip before Liam tries getting girls back to our house. We’ve just come in from the slopes, still have all our gear on, including our snow-covered boots, and grab a seat at a table in Meltdown, a ski-in/ski-out bar set right at the bottom of the run we just finished.
It’s a little less crowded here than it is at the base of the mountain. The terrain to get here is ninety percent black-diamond slopes, which appears to keep most of the tourist traffic to a minimum, and the vibe is on point.
“Ohmygod, check those girls out, D. They’re so hot they’re melting the snow right off this mountain.”
I look where he’s nodding—only because if I don’t, he’ll become louder and more persistent—and sure enough, there are two very attractive women smiling in our direction.
I groan inwardly, selfishly wishing I could be enough for Liam for these two weeks. That our friendship would be enough, and he wouldn’t constantly feel the need to invite others into our orbit.
I’m a total introvert. My social battery runs low incredibly quickly, which is why my career in cybersecurity fits me sowell. Liam, though? He’s like a car battery. He charges while he’s interacting, and if he’s interacting with beautiful women, he charges very,veryquickly.
Normally, it doesn’t bother me…as much.After all, Liam has always been this way, and I’ve known him his whole life. I think I’m just noticing it more now because I know I have to come clean about the shit with his dad at some point, so it feels like our time together is limited.
Maybe even coming to an end.
There’s a distinct possibility that he’ll be so mad at the messenger, he won’t fully process the message. But other than the secret I’m keeping fromeveryone, I’ve never lied to him.
That’s his sticking point. And I know that.
“Oh, they are totally interested,” he continues, as I let out a soft sigh.
“You should invite them over,” I tell him. It’ll kill me, of course, if he brings them back to our cabin, but I love it when he’s happy.
Some people would say that’s toxic, but I call bullshit. It isn’t like he’s gutting me on purpose to get a reaction out of me. He doesn’tknowI’m gay. Or that I’m in love with him, for that matter.
No one does.
And that’s my own fault.
“Yeah?” he asks excitedly, whipping his head toward me.
“Yeah,” I nod, preparing to be the wingman I always am.
