by K Webster
His hand lingers on my thigh and my traitorous heart clenches painfully in my chest. It feels like a betrayal to MiMi because I like his hand there.
Friends can touch.
There’s nothing sexual about my friend comforting me.
Then why are you sporting a boner, Ashton?
I rest my bucket of popcorn on my stupid dick and clear my throat. “Your mom excited to see me again?” I ask, turning to waggle my brows at him.
He chuckles, finally removing his hand to dig into the bucket for popcorn, which oddly enough does nothing to calm the state of my dick. “She’s thrilled. Are you sure your parents aren’t going to miss you for Thanksgiving? I mean, Mia’s parents are dicks and Drew’s are gone, but you actually do have family.”
“My parents don’t do Thanksgiving,” I say with a grumble. “Not in the traditional sense. We usually eat Cornish hens at some French restaurant my mom loves, meeting up with my grandparents. Pops interrogates Dad about his accomplishments, while Dad desperately tries to impress him. Mom and Grams get fucked up on wine while I count the minutes until I can leave.”
“No pecan pie?”
“Fuck no.”
“What a waste. You’re in for a treat then. Mom goes all out.”
I laugh. “Sweet Molly knows the way to my heart. Food.”
“Are you sure it’s cool if Drew and I tag along next weekend? I know it’s your parents’ cabin and all, but—”
“Dude,” I cut him off. “The cabin is massive. Plenty of room. Plus, since we all cook for shit, the lodge up the hill from it offers five-star gourmet meals around the clock. The bar is pretty sweet, but I only know that because I go there to escape my parents. I don’t want to escape you guys. The stocked bar in the cabin will be plenty.”
I’m looking forward to the getaway weekend. When Mia mentioned Drew bid on the ski weekend at the auction, I was quick to suggest we use my parents’ place. The ski resort our cabin is on is one of the top-rated resorts in the country. And free. Well, to us it’s free. My parents paid a fuck-ton for that cabin—one they only go to once a year for their anniversary in January.
My phone buzzes and anxiety trickles through me. I dread the thought of it being another message like the one I got last night. A video from an unknown number.
Fucking Travis.
It’s one thing to fuck with me, but that video was something that fucked with the ones I care about. He’d obviously recorded the four of us dancing at the Halloween party. The dancing was fucking hot, but what disturbed me was when Drew lifted his mask. Bray walked over to him and kissed him. It all happened so quickly, but each incriminating second was recorded. The text that followed after said, “Does your daddy know his hockey coach is a very naughty boy?”
It pissed me off so bad.
I sent a shit-ton of threatening texts back to Travis. I told him to stay the fuck away from my friends. He never responded back. As the movie starts, I pull my phone out to check the text. I’m thankful it’s just a text from Mia. Sure enough, she’s cuddled up with Drew and they took a smiling selfie. Fucking cute.
I’ll be damned if I let Travis hurt Drew. Drew deserves to have friends and a fucking boyfriend. Travis threatening to tattle on him pisses me off.
“Our turn,” I murmur to Bray. I hold my phone up. “Pretend you’re sucking my dick.”
He laughs. “Nice try.”
We settle for just cheesing for the camera and then I send the pic. I shove the phone away, willing my nerves to settle. My leg bounces up and down. This time, when Brayden settles his palm on my thigh to calm me, I relax.
“You okay?” he asks, his breath hot and close to my ear.
All I can do is nod.
“Good.” He presses a kiss to my neck and then settles back in his seat.
Stupid, hot, affectionate fucker.
I somehow manage to make it through the entire movie without losing my mind. By the time we’re stepping outside, the assault of the icy wind has all the heat from his subtle, innocent touches pushed away. It’s cold as fuck outside. I wish I’d worn my big coat and not just my leather jacket. I shove my hands in my pockets and complain the whole way back to my car.
As soon as we reach it, I screech to a halt. “What the fuck?”
“Someone slashed your tires,” Brayden growls, his tone dripping with fury. “Who the fuck would do that?”
I grit my teeth as I squat to inspect the damage. “Fucking Travis.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Brayden seethes. “I hate that guy. Call your dad. Get that asshole kicked out of school!”
And risk Travis showing that video to him?
Fuck no.
“It’s fine. It’s just tires,” I grumble.
“He vandalized your car, Ashton,” he snaps. “He’s already framed you for drug possession, tried to poison you with bleach, and put his fucking hands on you! I’ll be damned if I let him hurt you anymore!”
I grab his coat, jerking him to me. “I can handle it.”
His brown eyes flash with murderous intent. “Apparently not because you let this piece of shit walk all over you!”
I shove him away from me. “You don’t understand.”
“Then make me,” he bellows.
Ignoring him, I lean my ass against the car and text Mia to let her know we need them to pick us up. I don’t give her the details so she won’t worry. Just a vague “car trouble” is all I wrote. I’m just pocketing my phone when snow slams into my chest.
“You can’t ignore me,” Brayden says, bending to ball up more snow.
He launches another snowball at me, nailing me in the forehead. Oh, it’s on now, buddy. I start chucking snowballs at him as fast as I can make them. We go from pissed off to laughing as we chase each other between cars. I get stuck in a snow drift up against a storefront, slowing me down enough that Brayden’s able to tackle me. We roll around on the snow until the brute fucker has me pinned. Our breathing is heavy and we’re both grinning.
Reminders of that night in the locker room filter through my mind.
The fight. The taunt. The kiss.
My self-destructive ass kissed him and sent my world exploding around me. I won’t make that mistake again. But… something feels different about our proximity now. There’s no anger or jealousy or confusion. Just two friends. Enjoying each other. My heart races in my chest, slowing to a stop when he pulls his beanie off his head.
“You’re cold,” he murmurs, shoving it down over my head. His eyes grow sad, making my chest tighten in response.
It’s not the first time I’ve seen him do this.
“What’s up with the beanies?” I ask, frowning at him.
His eyes slam closed. “You just looked cold.”
“Brayden,” I rumble. “Talk to me.”
He lets out a heavy sigh before meeting my stare. “I don’t know. I guess I just think that since I couldn’t save him, I could save others. Maybe if he’d been dressed warmer…” He trails off, his eyes watering. “Maybe he would have lived.”
When we were at Brayden’s for dinner, where I met his parents, his dad let on that they’d lost their son when he was nine. Sad as fuck. I didn’t realize how badly it eats up Brayden until now.
“You can’t save everyone,” I murmur.
“I should have saved him.” He falls against me, his face against my neck. “I should have saved him.”
I can’t help but hug him because he feels like he’s breaking apart. Maybe I can hold him together.
“You were probably a kid yourself, right?” I say, patting his back.
“It’s no excuse.”
“Despite what Drew calls you in bed, you’re not God,” I say, thankful when he chuckles.
His lips press to my neck. It’s then I realize that his little kisses aren’t sexual. They’re thank-you kisses. I don’t think he even realizes he does it.
I can’t wait to jabber about what this means to my therapist.
“We leav
e them alone for two hours and they decide to have sex in the snow,” Mia says, a teasing lilt to her voice.
Brayden lifts up and wipes at his eye with the palm of his hand. Drew zeroes in on the fact he’s upset and tugs him to his feet. I climb to mine, dusting off the snow, and then hug Mia.
“Hey, girlfriend,” I say, kissing the top of her head.
“Hey, boyfriend. Your car won’t start?”
Brayden’s sad moment melts away to fury once more. “Travis slashed his tires.”
“He what?” Drew snarls, stomping over to my car. “What the fuck, Ashton?”
“It’s fine,” I snap back. “I’ll call a tow truck and have tires put back on before the end of the week.”
“It’s not fine,” Drew spits out. “This is so fucked-up!”
“Let it go,” I warn.
He pulls out his phone and starts dialing. “Non-emergency. Thank you.”
I grit my teeth, shooting Drew daggers with my eyes, but he ignores me.
“I’d like to report a vandalism,” Drew says and then rattles off the address.
As soon as he hangs up, I flip him off. “I said I handled it, Daddy.”
“Pretending it didn’t happen isn’t handling it,” he throws back. “You better tell them it was Travis or I will.”
All I can think about is the goddamn video.
Drew definitely doesn’t need to be the one to tell them.
“Fine,” I grit out. “I’ll tell them I think it might be him. Happy?”
He nods, some of the tension melting away. “How did the date go?”
“It was fine until you two interrupted the happy ending.” I smack Mia’s ass. “Take us for ice cream after the cops show up, Daddy Drew. You owe us.”
He flips me off.
“Holy shit,” Brayden says, staring up at the front of Ashton’s family’s cabin. “If this is your vacation house, I’m afraid to see what your home looks like.”
The authentic, three-story, log cabin with forest green shutters is situated on what appears to be several acres of land and looks like it’s part of a movie set for a Christmas movie.
“It’s as pretentious as this one,” Ashton says, grabbing my luggage and his own out of the back of the SUV he rented since his car is out of commission. “This was my mom’s anniversary present to my dad,” he adds. “Nothing says ‘Happy Anniversary, sorry for fucking my twenty-year-old trainer’ like a vacation house at his favorite ski resort.”
The bitterness dripping in his words has me reaching over and squeezing his bicep. Ashton’s way of handling pain is by being sarcastic, but I know him well enough to know that he uses his smart-ass comments to push down the hurt and resentment he feels toward the way his parents behave. The funny thing is, they both love him, but he can’t see past their imperfections to understand that.
Once we’re inside, I glance around in awe. I’ve lived a life of luxury. My parents have a sky-rise condo in New York, a beach house in The Hamptons, and my childhood home was on a documentary about the most expensive homes of the rich and famous, but this cabin… Wow! I knew Ashton came from old money, but I had no idea just how wealthy he is. It makes my parents’ beach house look like a shack. The walls are all real wood, the ceilings vaulted. I expected the inside to be gaudy, similarly to the way Wendy dresses, but it’s actually beautiful. With rustic wood furniture, a massive floor-to-ceiling double-sided fireplace, and cozy looking plush, leather couches, it makes me want to cuddle up with Ashton by the fireplace and drink hot chocolate.
“Mia and I get the master bedroom,” Ashton says. “There are eight other rooms, pick whichever one you guys want, but you might want to pick a different floor.”
He smirks devilishly and I know something sexual is about to come from his mouth. I’ve given up on trying to stop him, and instead just embrace the fact my boyfriend wants me all the damn time and isn’t afraid to show it. “You’ve heard how loud my girl is, and this weekend I plan to stay buried inside her as much as possible…” He pauses, tilting his head slightly in mock thought. “On second thought, feel free to room next to us. I know how much you like listening.” He winks at Brayden, who groans, his face and neck slightly turning pink, and I stifle my laugh, not wanting to encourage Ashton.
“Let’s go, MiMi. I only have three days to fuck you without the neighbors complaining.” I don’t remind him I am one of the neighbors, and I’m certainly not complaining. Ashton rolls our luggage down the expansive hallway and into the master bedroom. I groan, remembering the other night when he was deep inside me, making me come so hard, I was seeing stars behind my lids, and the neighbors started banging on the wall. Of course, that only made Ashton even more determined to make me scream, and then the next morning Curtis came over and told Ashton he needs to keep it down because he can’t have his tenants complaining. He didn’t mention why they were complaining, but he could barely look me in the eyes.
When we step inside, there’s a huge four-poster king-sized bed in the center of the room. An armoire in the corner and a dresser and mirror facing the bed. It’s all very rustic-chic and cozy.
“Don’t worry,” Ashton says, dropping the luggage and pulling me into his arms. “My parents haven’t fucked in years, so the bed hasn’t been jizzed on, but just in case, I had all the sheets changed and the place cleaned before we got here.”
I laugh, threading my fingers through his hair and tugging him toward me for a quick kiss, before I pull back. “As much as I can’t wait to break the bed in, I want to explore.”
Ashton’s face curls into a wide grin. “That’s what I’m talking about. You want to start with the shower or on the balcony first. It’s a little cold outside, but I bet I could keep you warm.” He waggles his eyebrows.
“I meant explore the main resort. I looked it up on the way here and it’s so adorable. They have these cute fireplaces and—”
Ashton’s shakes his head. “There are seven here,” he says, cutting me off. “And I can fuck you in front of each one.”
“And they serve hot chocolate with marshmallows,” I add, knowing he can’t resist sweets. “Please.” I hit him with my puppy dog eyes I’ve learned he can’t resist.
“Fine,” he says with a sigh. “But when we get back here, I’m fucking you on that balcony.”
“Yay!” I clap then throw my arms around him. “Let’s go drag Brayden and Drew along.”
We go in search of the boys. We don’t find them on the first floor, but when we get to the second floor, we come across a closed door, whereas all the other doors are open.
Ashton, like his typical self, barges in without knocking. “Let’s go, lover boys. MiMi wants to have hot chocolate by the fireplace at the resort, and she wants you to go.”
I peek around him and find Brayden and Drew lying on the queen-sized bed, both with their clothes still on, wrapped up in each other. They look up at the same time and their lips are red and puffy from kissing.
“We’re a little busy.” Brayden pouts like a little baby.
I almost feel bad for disrupting them, but they’ll have plenty of alone time. I want to have some fun while we’re here, and if I don’t drag them out, they’ll stay holed up in this house. Drew mentioned the other night when we were hanging out that it’s been hard for them not being able to go in public together, but here, hours away from Hawk’s Landing, they can go out and be together without having to hide.
“Get busy later,” Ashton volleys. “If I have to be cockblocked, so do you. Let’s go.”
“Please,” I say. “It’ll be fun.”
“Don’t give us that look.” Drew points his finger at me. “You know we can’t say no to that look.”
I bat my lashes playfully and they both groan but roll off the bed. “Thank you!” I give them each a hug, ignoring the hard bulge they’re each sporting.
Since the cabin is a few miles from the main resort and it’s snowing outside, we hop back into the SUV and drive over. The resort is even cuter than
in the pictures on the website. Twinkling white lights are intricately strewn across the outside beams, and several wreaths are hanging in the center of each of the windows.
We step inside, shaking off the flutters of snow that landed on us during our walk from the vehicle to the resort, and I take a look around. It’s like a Hallmark Christmas movie. At the entrance is a massive Christmas tree, decorated with colorful lights and large ornaments. I stop and take the place in. Families are sitting together, talking and laughing, enjoying the holiday. Couples are cuddled up by the fireplaces, drinking hot chocolate.
Tears of contentment prick my eyes at the beautiful sight in front of me. When I was younger I would watch all those Christmas movies and pretend it was my family in those movies, laughing and drinking hot chocolate. And when I got older and knew it would never happen, I would then hope that one day I’d have a family of my own so I could make those movies my reality.
“Mia, what’s wrong?” Brayden asks, noticing that my eyes are glassy.
“Nothing,” I tell him truthfully, because for once everything is perfect. “It’s just… it looks like what a home is supposed to look like. What I always imagined…” I let my words trail off, but Brayden gets what I mean without me having to finish my thought. He saw the home I grew up in.
He pulls me into his side and kisses my temple. “You don’t need them.”
“That’s right,” Drew adds. “You have us.”
“Damn right, she has us,” Ashton says, taking my hand in his. He lowers his mouth to my ear. “You’ll always have me, MiMi.”
Their words plug each of the holes in my heart that my parents have made over the years. I never realized how much I was craving love and affection. Earlier today, when we spent Thanksgiving with Brayden’s parents, was the first holiday I actually felt like I was part of a real family. Molly and I cooked and baked all day while the guys watched football. Then we sat together and ate, going around the table and telling everyone what we were thankful for. I’d seen scenes like that in movies, but never in real life, and it made me despise my mom that much more. Holidays for our family were spent on a movie set with catered food brought in, or if we were home, she’d have the chef make us some healthy meal. We would spend maybe ten minutes together at most before she and my dad would retreat back to their rooms. But today… today it felt like I was part of a real family.