Angel scoffs behind the SUV. “Oh, please. Look at his eyes. Fucker can’t stay sober long enough tofindthe mountain, let alone board down it.”
“Hey, that’s not true,” Eric argues.
“Whatever,” Angel says. “Vox, can you tell me where I’m headed with this shit?” Shooting a look at the guy still staring at me from the sidewalk, she adds, “On my own, apparently, since my useless brother is too busy drooling over you?”
I look at Eric and shrug, clapping him on the shoulder. “Hey, man, everyone does it. It’s cool.”
“Greeeaaatt. Another arrogant asshole. Way to be original,” Angel says, coming around the side of her car with her arms loaded.
I move to take the load of shit from her. “I like you,” I tell her.
“And just like that, all my dreams have come true,” she deadpans, causing me to let out an honest-to-God laugh.
Over the next hour, I meet a couple of the others joining the team and help them find their way to the athlete housing. I’ve competed against a few of them before, so their faces and names are familiar to me, but I never stuck around long enough to get to know them…or cared enough to grab a meal with my competition or anything.
The group isn’t bad. Two chicks, four guys, for a team of six.
“You guys want to grab a beer once I get this shit unpacked?” A guy named Renner calls over to another guy named Gibson and me.
Renner is objectively hot, and his face has more settings than ’sup bro, which would be enough to make him attractive on its own, but he’s also got nice hair, a straight nose, straight teeth, and a killer body.
And he’s competing in the same events I am, so he’ll be a lot of fun to watch. Might even be enough to keep me entertained this season. Unfortunately, the way he keeps checking Angel’s ass out tells me everything I need to know, but honestly, that just makes him safe territory to flirt with. My mind takes a dive down a debauched rabbit hole, envisioning a night with them both sweating and panting my name, but the no-fraternization rules Grey has in place are there for a reason.
“Yeah, sure,” I finally answer, realizing no one else will know where to go. “There’s a bar on the eastern boundary called Meltdown. A lot of tourists avoid it because it’s not part of the base village. Let’s go there.”
We all exchange numbers, and just like that, we’re bonding.
I’mthe first one here. Kat is working the bar tonight, so I let her know to expect the group.
“Thanks for the heads up. I’ll take a group of professional boarders who have something to lose over the frat guy, wannabeboarders who think the world should bow down to them because they hit an intermediate slope without breaking their neck, any day of the week.”
I hear that.
Moving to a table by the window, I start pulling chairs up to accommodate everyone. Shockingly, Gibson, Trent, and the other girl, Tasha, all arrive on time. The others aren’t far behind.
When Kat comes out from behind the bar, I introduce her and make sure these guys know they’ll answer to me if they give her shit. Kat and Stone are the closest things I have to friends here. Fuck-buddy is actually the term Kat chose, but she started seeing someone a few months back, and I’ve been in a dry spell ever since.
Nonetheless, I take my turfvery seriously. And Kat definitely falls under the purview of ‘mine.’
“Listen up, fuckers. This is Kat. She’s the best bartender this mountain has ever seen. She and I will be here long after you’ve moved on, so be kind to her, or I’ll make sure you regret it.”
Everyone fist-bumps her and offers high-fives as they place their orders.
Renner even addresses her asYour Royal Highness, earning a smirk from Kat and a head nod from me.
Kat laughs as she moves around the table, and a pang of loss moves through my chest.
A few minutes later, once everyone has been served, I’m pleasantly surprised by how well the conversation flows. Halfway through my beer, Renner switches places with Angel and asks for the seat next to me.
“Hey man, nice to finally have a conversation with you. Never got the chance to congratulate you for kicking my ass in the West Coast Trailblazers Competition last year.”
I turn toward him, offering my best media smile. The one that makes my dimples pop. I also take the opportunity to clap him on the back. Knowing he’s off-limits makes me want to flirt with him even more, and I have to admit, it feels fucking good to have my hands on a man again. It’s been too fucking long.
“Thanks. You made me work for it. It was a fun competition,” I tell him, even though I don’t remember much about it.
He throws his head back in laughter. “Dude, I didn’t make you work forshit. I didn’t even podium in that competition.”
Oh. Oops.
