Page 27 of Pucking Snowed In With My Ex

“Geez, it was a joke, don’t be such a fucking girl. You used to be so much cooler. Maybe you need that pickle fucked out of your ass. I can help you with that again if you want,” he drawled as he called out the indiscretion, or at least the vague retelling, for everyone to hear.

My hands shook with rage, but worse was feeling the eyes on us. Worse was the underlying threat. He was goading me, and I knew he didn’t like that he was losing his control over me. The longer Cal and I spent time together the likelihood that I told him everything grew. Alex might be a dick, but he wasn’t stupid and it made me sick to my stomach. Alex was smiling like the cool guy who fucked the girl, and I was just the stupid bitch who had cheated on her man.

He leaned toward me and smirked. “I’m not sure why you’re acting all uptight anyway, we all know you freely put out. You’re just that type.”

The searing rage was instant andI reacted, smacking him across the face so hard his head snapped to the side. The sharp sting in my hand felt good. I’d wanted to do that for so long.

Sick of him, his comments, threats, and jokes, I pushed him in the chest, and he stepped back. “Don’t you ever talk to me like that again, and don’t you dare bring that shit up, or you won’t like what I have to say about it. I can’t believe you still have the nerve to call yourself Cal’s friend. You’re revolting,” I snarled, my hands itching to hit him again.

“Bitch,” Alex growled and tried to step in close to intimidate me or maybe hurt me, it was hard to say anymore. Before he could, Tyler stepped in between us and pushed Alex back so hard that he crashed into the refrigerator with a thud.

“If you say anything rude or touch her again, you’ll lose your fucking hand and tongue. I promise you that,” Tyler threatened, and my eyebrows shot up. I’d never heard Tyler mad. He was the sweet and fun-loving guy, but there was none of that right now, and I’d never been more relieved.

“What the hell, Ty, why are you tripping? I was joking, and you’re all acting like you don’t say shit like that all the time,” Alex said.

I glanced around the room, expecting at least one smile or snicker, agreeing with what Alex said, but no one was laughing.

“I wouldn’t talk to any girl that way, let alone one who’s supposed to be my friend,” Cale said.

“If you talked to my girl like that, they’d never find your body,” Aaron said.

“Truth, and whether you two had a thing or not is none of our fucking business. That’s between you, Cal, and Skye. They seem to be moving on, but you keep dropping hints and jokes like Skye is a raging slut.” Nathan lifted his shoulder and let it drop as he looked Alex up and down. “All I’ve seen is your eyes on her, not the other way around,” Nathan added.

“Looks to me like you’re trying to start a fight with Cal. Is that what you’re doing?” Alex’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t answer. “Cause you’ve been fucking weird, man,” Austin said. “And if that’s what you’re after, maybe you should fuck off on out of here.”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but if you’re trying to divide us, it won’t work. We’ll always back Cal and Skye. The shit you just said to her, I wouldn’t say to a dog….” Tyler shook his head. “Stay the fuck away from Skye, or deal with all of us,” Tyler said, his hands clenched into fists like he was ready for a fight.

Relief washed over me. All this time, I was worried that I would be the one blamed, and I hadn’t realized how much those feelings affected me. But this group of guys, most of whom I didn’t know before getting snowed in here, stuck up for me. They had no reason to, yet it was validating not to feel like I was the girl who asked for it and deserved what happened.

“Fuck all of you. You know nothing, and I don’t need to take this shit.” Just as Cal stepped into the room, Alex marched out, and he turned to watch Alex storm off.

“Do I want to know?”

“No,” was the resounding chorus from the guys, and one of the small weights that had been sitting on my chest lifted. It felt incredible to have backup and not face Alex alone. I would stand up to him every day of the week, but it didn’t mean I liked having to do it by myself.

I grabbed Tyler’s arm before he could walk away. “Thanks,” I said softly.

His face brightened. “Of course, Sugar. Anytime. Now let’s eat, I’m starved, and this smells incredible.” He laughed. “My nutritionist is going to faint when I tell him what all I ate up here.”

“Anything I need to know about?” Cal wrapped his arm around my waist as he reached me.

“Nope, it’s all taken care of.” I smiled at him even though his face remained skeptical.

“Where’s the ketchup,” Aaron asked.

“Yuck, you put ketchup on pasta,” Cale responded.

“This is like macaroni and cheese. Do you not put ketchup on that?” Aaron defended himself.

“No,” the group said again, and I laughed.

“I was thinking we could use the hot tub later,” Cal whispered in my ear, and I smiled. “It’s already warming back up.” Things were looking brighter, and I still needed to figure out the whole Alex issue, but it didn’t feel so insurmountable now. Taking a deep breath, I held a bowl out to Cal.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SKYE

Being this giddy over something so small was silly, but the twinkling white lights wrapped around the banister made me smile. A dusting of snow had landed on them, and they looked like they were dipped in powdered sugar. This had always been my favorite time of year, and being here with Cal after everything was a gift. Mind you, half a bottle of wine probably contributed to the fuzzy, happy feeling.