by Snead,A. M.
Rodney smiled, his eyes cool. “Nasty-ass stench?” He looked at Tonya and they both smirked. “If anyone stinks of nasty ass, it’s Todd.”
Todd started to retaliate and Lane grabbed his arm, halting him. “The only stink here, is yours,” Lane said and the rest of his group nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, why don’t you goose-step on out of here,” Jude told him. “You’re making my eggs rancid.”
Darren snorted. “Mine, too.”
“If you were smart, pretty boy…” Rodney looked at Darren. “You would keep your mouth shut and stay out of the spotlight.”
Darren stared back, uncertainty in his eyes. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Lane frowned and glanced at Darren; what did he mean by that?
With a small shrug, Rodney smiled. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out if you think about it…” His eyes narrowed with cool glee. “…long and hard.” Tonya and those with Rodney snickered.
The obvious sexual innuendo threw Lane for a moment. Why was Rodney attacking Darren?
Darren visibly shrank into his chair, a rigid frown on his face. “Go fuck yourself, Rodney.”
“What the hell do you want, Castle?” Lane interjected. His stomach knotted up as he waited for either Tonya or Rodney to start blurting out shit about Todd.
Todd’s jaw was clenched so hard his facial muscles popped and flexed as he stared down at the table.
“Well, the consensus around the lodge is that people aren’t as upset about the race being cancelled, as they are about not getting to see who would win your little bet.”
Lane shrugged. “Whatever. No race, no bet. Guess they’ll just have to deal with it.”
“Maybe.” Rodney eyed him, the corner of his mouth tugging up.
“What’re you talking about?”
“Maybe you could have a different competition. Something indoors.”
After everything they’d gone through, Lane just wanted to forget about the stupid wager. “No,” he muttered. “The race was the bet.”
Rodney chuckled and glanced around at his buddies. “Told you he’d pussy out. This storm was the best thing to happen to him. He’s too chicken shit to go up against the little queer.”
“I’m not fucking chicken shit,” Lane snapped, hackles raised. “The bet was on who was the better skier. If the weather clears, I guess we’ll find out.” Lane really didn’t care anymore.
Rodney snorted. “This shit isn’t going to clear and you know it. Convenient for you.”
“Fuck off.”
“With everyone cooped up in the lodge,” Rodney said. “They could do with a little entertainment. Something like a…” He shrugged. “…pool tournament. You and Todd against the two queers.” He smirked and winked at Todd. “I’m sure Todd wouldn’t mind going up against the big guy.”
His breath surging through his nostrils, Todd looked up, eyes burning. “Go to fucking hell!”
“Are we going to have trouble again?” Drew appeared suddenly and without notice, his warning stare centered on Rodney. “If you just came in here to stir up shit, you can turn your ass around and get the fuck out.”
“Not trying to cause trouble.” Rodney smiled. “Just suggesting an alternative challenge to fulfill the bet.”
Drew’s eyes narrowed. “The bet’s off.”
“Afraid your boy isn’t up to a new challenge?”
“Not at all,” Drew returned with cool confidence. “But this particular bet was dependent on the race.”
Rodney sighed. “Well, if you’re all too scared…”
“What the fuck do you get out of this?” Drew asked, his tone suspicious and wary. The guy wasn’t stupid not to trust Rodney.
“Nothing really,” Rodney smiled. “Just the fun of watching a friendly little competition. I’d be rooting for you and your little buddy.”
“Like I give a fuck,” Drew said dryly.
Rodney eyed Drew, Lane, and Todd. “I bet I know why you’re no longer interested in the wager,” he murmured, and Lane tensed.
“You don’t know shit,” Drew quickly cut in.
“I know what I saw last night,” Rodney said. “And it doesn’t take much to put two and two together.”
Lane and Todd’s friends were staring at Rodney, curious looks on their faces.
“You don’t know what the fuck you saw,” Drew spoke low. “And you’d be smart to keep your mouth shut concerning shit you know nothing about.”
Rodney stared at him. “Is that a threat?”
“Just sound advice,” Drew murmured through a steely glare.
♠
Regardless how uncomfortable he was about Drew’s effect on him, this was one time that Todd was grateful for Drew’s presence. It was as if he were a literal wall between Todd and Rodney, a protective shield and unyielding force holding Rodney at bay.
Even so, Rodney was clearly determined to push them into a new competition, and didn’t appear willing to leave until he got what he wanted. And the longer he hung around, the more “insinuations” that would tumble out about Todd and Drew, drawing more and more attention and suspicions.
Todd turned to Lane and whispered, “Just do it.” He trembled, feeling like he was about to shake apart. “Please…just give him what he wants and get him out of here.” Todd blinked as his eyes began to sting. “I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”
“Okay,” Lane nodded and looked at Rodney who remained caught in Drew’s challenging stare. “All right,” Lane spoke up. “We’re game if…” He glanced at Drew. “…they are.”
Nolan wandered over cautiously, uncertainty on his face. “Is everything okay?” he asked Drew.
Clearing his throat, Drew explained Rodney’s suggestion. “They’ve agreed to it,” he said. “I guess you make the final call.”
“I…” Nolan glanced at Lane and Todd, then shifted back to Drew. “Maybe we should just make up a new bet. A money wager.”
“No, no, no,” Rodney shook his head. “That’s no fun. Same bet as before.”
Drew drilled him with an icy glare. “Since when do you have anything to do with it? It isn’t your call.”
“Fine.” Rodney looked at his friends dryly. “Guess they’re all too scared to take the wager.”
Todd was well aware of Lane’s aversion to being called chicken. Fuck—everyone was aware of it. And Rodney was using that as his leverage.
♠
“Let the four of us discuss it,” Nolan told Rodney, hating the very sight of the fucker. “In private.” Lane had confessed plenty to him, explaining why he couldn’t take being called a coward, and it pissed Nolan off that Rodney was using it against him now.
Both Lane and Todd seemed a little uncomfortable with Nolan’s proposal of a private chat; Todd, especially.
“Sure, whatever,” Rodney said with a small, irritating smile. Earlier this morning, Drew had mentioned his run-in with Todd, and then Rodney—who had apparently caught them in each other’s arms and was quickly connecting the dots.
Both Drew and Nolan suspected that Todd had overheard Nolan and Lane’s activities. Had he just kept it to himself and not questioned Lane about it?
Exhibiting mild reluctance, Lane and Todd stood up and followed Nolan and Drew over to the counter. Lizzy was busy with the customers and cast them curious glances; she knew nothing of what had taken place between the four of them.
“Look…” Nolan murmured. “The deal’s the same. You guys already upheld your part of the bet, so we’ll throw the game.” He shrugged. “Not that we could necessarily beat you anyway, but whatever, you will be guaranteed the win. So…no one ever has to know about any of the other. As far as everyone will know, you guys won, so they won’t expect anything of you.”
Lane nodded, his eyes evasive. “But they will expect you to…”
“I’ll deal with it,” Nolan said quietly.
“I’ll uphold my part in it, too,” Drew said and looked at Todd. “I’ll be your servant for th
e rest of your time here.”
Todd ducked his head and mumbled, “I don’t need a servant.”
“Even so,” Drew countered. “That was the deal. And I’m a man of my word.”
Nolan couldn’t capture Lane’s eyes. If Lane would just give him one lingering look, Nolan was certain he could tell whether or not Lane remembered being in Nolan’s bed last night.
♠
The longer he spent in Nolan’s immediate presence, the more real last night’s dream felt. Lane was trying to keep it together for Todd, but standing here so close to Nolan, the “dream” details were surfacing fast and with head-spinning force. What if he’d really gone to his room last night? What if they had actually…?
What the fuck did that say about him?
Todd’s urge to puke was beginning to infect Lane. All that stuff was supposed to stay locked up in Nolan’s room. It wasn’t allowed beyond the bedroom door. But if the dream wasn’t really a dream…then it had escaped somehow, latched onto Lane and hitched a ride out into the real world.
No. It can’t be out here. I told him I couldn’t take it with me—and I can’t!
Lane was starting to feel dizzy and needed to sit down again. Cold sweats began to grip his body, enhancing his lightheadedness. “All right,” he said quietly, a thickness to his voice. “If you guys are free, we can just do the game this afternoon, or tonight, and get all this shit over with once and for all.”
The finality of that statement made him feel even sicker—when it should have been comforting; a relief. Didn’t he want it over with? No more obligatory ties to bind him and Todd to Nolan and Lane? Wasn’t that what both he and Todd wanted more than anything else?
Is it?
Lane fought the need to vacate the premises and flee to the privacy of his room. But even if he could do so without drawing attention and questions…he was too fucking scared to be alone with his thoughts.
I need to get away from here, he thought in near panic. He needed to get away from Winterhaven—away from Nolan. He couldn’t think straight when, at every turn, he encountered Nolan—and the memories that were attached to him.
A troubling sensation quivered through Lane. Therein lay the problem; he couldn’t think “straight” in Nolan’s presence.
–8–
“Let’s just get through today.” Lane sat down on his bed and rubbed his face. “Then, day after tomorrow, we can get the hell out of here and forget any of this ever happened.”
Todd dropped on his bed and shoved his hands through his hair, his pulse pounding in his temples. “How do we just…forget?” he swallowed and blinked as the ceiling above him began to shimmer and distort. “Rodney and Tonya aren’t going to forget what they know. You don’t think they’re going to spread shit around out there?”
“What do they know, really?” Lane raised his head. “Even if Tonya overheard you, it’s still just her word against yours. And Rodney is just going on speculation. He doesn’t really know anything.”
Todd dragged a shaky hand across his mouth. “What about the Hamptons? If he starts spreading that around…”
“That’s bullshit,” Lane said tightly. “Fuck, he probably got drunk and came on to you, and you turned him down, pissed him off, so he made up that bullshit story to save face. You were drunk, too, so he’s probably just distorting the facts because he knows you don’t remember what happened. Or he just made it all up out of thin air.”
Turning his head, Todd stared at him, frowning. “Drunk or not, why would he come on to me? Or any guy? He doesn’t have a queer bone in his body.”
Lane stared at him and Todd read his thoughts loud and clear; that’s what we thought, too.
Suddenly uncomfortable, Todd looked away.
“Don’t sweat it,” Lane murmured. “This’ll all be over soon enough.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Todd mumbled. “You’re not the one he’s trying to expose.”
Lane was quiet a moment, then spoke in a low, chipped tone. “Easy for me to say? You’re my best friend, Todd. I had your back down there today. You act like I’m not going through this shit with you, like I’m fucking free and clear.” Lane stood up and walked to the door, then paused before opening it. “And just so you know, if Rodney does manage to expose you and what you did with Drew—I’ll expose myself as well. I would never turn my back on you and leave you to face it alone.” He jerked open the door and walked out.
The door closed hard and Todd flinched. “You’re such a dick,” he berated himself, his throat constricting. He would never find a better friend than Lane, and that was a fact he’d known for a hell of a long time. So stop being an ass. You know he’s struggling with all this shit just like you.
He thought about last night and Lane going straight to Nolan as soon as he was drunk enough not to care that he was fucking a guy. Did Nolan provide the same sense of security that Todd felt with Drew?
Todd rubbed his eyes, his fingertips coming back damp. With each passing second, it seemed that thoughts of Drew were coming to him with more and more ease. And not thoughts of wanting to get away from him…but warm, memorable thoughts of the short time spent in his room…his bed…his arms.
Todd trembled and rolled onto his side, hugging his pillow, fear webbing his heart. You have to get away from this place, it’s fucking with your mind.
And his body, he thought anxiously as, even now, yesterday’s memories heated his loins and filled him with an ache so strong it caused him literal physical pain.
♠
The billiard room was empty when Nolan entered. He racked the balls on the center table then broke with a sharp crack of the cue ball, exploding the triangle and scattering the colored orbs in every direction. He and Drew and Lizzy, and a few others at the lodge, played often. Nolan was one of the best pool players in the area. He wondered if Rodney had discovered this fact and purposely chosen billiards as the new competition; he would want Nolan and Drew to have the upper hand to ensure their win.
Well, asshole, the joke’s on you ‘cause we’re going to lose.
Not two seconds following his sardonic thought, Rodney entered the room.
Speak of the devil and he appears, he thought sourly and, rather than acknowledge his presence, began shooting balls into the pockets.
“Think you can win?” Rodney walked over and leaned against the table.
“Guess we’ll see,” Nolan mumbled and made another shot. He straightened up and chalked the tip of his stick.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Rodney watched Nolan line up his next shot. “Why do you think Todd was looking for Lane in the west wing last night?”
The guy put Nolan on edge. “How should I know?” He took his shot but was off a few centimeters and the ball ricocheted off the corner of the pocket, spinning back out across the center of the table.
“Todd seems pretty chummy with your buddy.”
Nolan didn’t miss the slight emphasis he put on buddy. “And you seem awful interested in who Todd associates with,” Nolan murmured as he leaned down and steadied his cue stick. “Jealous?”
“Why would I be jealous?” he scoffed.
Nolan’s mouth twitched. “You tell me.”
Rodney huffed and pushed off the table but made no move to leave and continued to watch Nolan’s solo game. “You know what I think?”
“God only knows,” Nolan muttered and this time sank his ball.
“I think Todd and your boy are already nailing each other.”
Standing up straight, Nolan shrugged as he moved around the far side of the table, studying the layout of the balls. “It’s a free country. Think what you want.”
“I saw them together in the west wing hallway last night,” Rodney said. “Arms around each other, about to start making out.”
Nolan shot him a dry glance. “So you say.” Nolan was trying his best to follow Drew’s example and remain calm, cool, and collected, but he sensed Rodney was working up to something and he had a sinki
ng feeling he knew what it was.
“After Todd took off looking all guilty,” Rodney said and rested his hip against the table. “I followed your boy.”
Fuck. Nolan started to feel sick, but maintained a disinterested air. “Yeah, so?”
“So…I saw him knock on one of the doors and warn whoever was inside that I was trolling the hallways, and that they should keep it down.” He exhaled slowly and stared at Nolan. “My guess is that that was your room and you weren’t alone.”
“I have the occasional overnight guest,” Nolan said without looking at him.
“Why would your friend warn you about me, though?” Rodney wondered with interest. “Unless…”
Nolan paused and looked at him coolly, gripping the top end of his stick, wanting badly to whack the guy in the head. “Unless what?”
A smile curved Rodney’s lips. “Unless you were harboring the elusive Lane Cassiter.”
♠
As soon as Lane had heard Rodney’s voice filtering out of the billiard room, he’d halted outside the doorway. When he heard Nolan speak, he’d tensed up, stomach muscles clenching, head pounding.
Rodney’s last words punched at Lane viciously—unless you were harboring the elusive Lane Cassiter. Lane couldn’t breathe; it hadn’t been a dream. He didn’t remember Drew knocking on the door, but he suspected Rodney was telling the truth about that. There would be no reason to warn Nolan about Rodney—unless Lane had been in the bedroom as well.
You really went to his room and fucked him “again”! This time because you wanted it—not because you had to!
Lane leaned against the wall and pressed his hand over his eyes as his head started to spin. The tension within was knotting up every muscle in his body, tightening his chest. What would Nolan tell Rodney?
He won’t out you. He won’t!
The fear remained as he waited in strained silence, trying to hear Nolan’s every word.
“Why the hell would Lane Cassiter be in my room?” Nolan asked with just the right amount of incredulousness. “The guy hates me. You really think he’s going to willingly come to my room and fuck me? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”