Last Place in the Chalet

by Sue Brown

  “What are you thinking about?” Angel asked. “You’ve got an odd smile.”

  “Poetry,” Noel admitted, color staining his cheeks, more because Angel noticed him than from what he was thinking about.

  Angel’s eyes went comically wide. “You write poetry?”

  “No,” Noel admitted, “but if I did, I could write poems about the view.”

  “It is beautiful,” Angel agreed, looking out at the mountains. He gave a contented sigh, which made Noel want to hug him. Then he felt guilty for even thinking about Angel like that so soon after Adam. Noel closed his eyes to shut out any temptation and focused on the bliss of the hot water relaxing his tired muscles. He’d held himself so tightly since Adam walked away from him that he ached from the tension. Perhaps he could stay in the hot tub for the entire vacation.

  “So good,” Angel moaned as though he’d heard Noel’s thoughts.

  Noel opened his eyes to see Angel, lying back with his eyes shut. He looked like a debauched cherub with his golden curls, or a merman emerging from the sea. Noel hastily pushed that thought away. Mermen? Cherubs? What the hell was wrong with him? After a while, the hot water did its trick and Noel relaxed and didn’t even feel the need to talk to Angel, who was an easy man to be around, not needing to fill the void with mindless chatter. Noel appreciated that. The two men lay there for who knew how long until Noel heard footsteps.

  “You guys look comfortable,” Maria said.

  Noel cracked open one eye to see her grinning at them. She was wrapped in a huge purple cardigan and purple pants. Maria had a serious purple vibe going on.

  Angel opened his eyes and smiled warmly at her. “Are you going to join us? There’s plenty of room.”

  Maria shook her head. “Much as I’d love to, not this time. Although my doctor says it’s all right now, I don’t want to bake the baby. I’d rather wait a few more weeks until I pop.”

  Noel raised an eyebrow. “Pop? Is that how you give birth?”

  “I’d rather pop than spend hours screaming and yelling at Joe.”

  “She has a point,” Angel murmured.

  “Do you want an exploding pregnant mother?” Noel asked him. “I mean who’s going to catch the baby?”

  “Hopefully the father.” Maria grimaced. “He’s promised he’ll be hands-on during the delivery, despite his mama telling me all the Ricci men stay outside the delivery room. I’ve told him if he even thinks of that, he’ll be dragged in by the balls.”

  Noel crossed his legs at the thought and noticed Angel doing the same. Maria smirked at them. “It’s okay, boys. Unless you’re the father of my child, you’re safe. I’m still waiting to hear whether he’ll be able to get here before Christmas.”

  “What will you do if he can’t get here?” Angel asked. “Will you go home for Christmas?”

  Maria shook her head. “If I go home I’ll either be forced to join Mama Ricci to cook for the clan or I’ll be on my own, staring at takeout. At least here I’m surrounded by people and someone else gets to do the cooking.”

  “What about your family?” Noel asked.

  “I love my momma, but she can be intense. I just want to relax before the baby arrives. If I were at home with her, we’d be cooking and cleaning and scrubbing and knitting and an endless list of things she thinks are essential before the baby arrives. It’s Christmas. I just want to sit on my butt and eat chocolate.”

  “That’s a good plan,” Angel said.

  Noel grinned at her. “If Charlie lets you.”

  Maria shuddered. “Don’t. He’s already planning good healthy food for me to eat. He keeps talking about eating for two. I just want useless carbs, you know?”

  “You need to get Don on your side,” Angel suggested.

  “That’s a good point,” she said thoughtfully. “By the way, Charlie says the slopes will definitely be open by lunchtime.”

  Angel grinned at Noel. “Time for us to find out.”

  “Find out what?” Noel asked, confused.

  “Which one of us is the better skier,” Angel said.

  Maria rolled her eyes. “Do you want me to find a ruler, boys, and we can measure it?” They both stared at her blankly. “This is a dick-measuring contest, isn’t it?”

  “I think we already know who’s got the biggest dick,” Angel assured her.

  We do? Noel stared at Angel, who just winked at him.

  “And no, I’m not going to tell you. But back to the skiing—healthy competition never hurt anyone. We have to do something when we’re on the slopes.”

  “I’m better than you.” Noel winked at Maria.

  Angel made a scoffing noise. “You are so on.”

  Maria muttered something incoherent, but Noel was sure it involved men and dicks. Then she shivered.

  “You need to get in the warm,” Angel said with a concerned expression as he sat up.

  The water sloshed around in the hot tub, and Noel had to sit up quickly to avoid getting a mouthful of water.

  “Sorry,” Angel said, giving him an apologetic smile.

  Noel would forgive him just for that smile.

  Maria shivered again and said, “I’m off to find a fire and hot chocolate before I get hypothermia, because I’d never hear the end of it.” She disappeared with a wave.

  “I’m all for hot chocolate,” Angel said. “Are you done here?”

  Noel stood up and let the water roll off him. Then the cold got to him and he quickly sat back down. “It’s freezing!”

  “Duh.” It was Angel’s turn to roll his eyes. He stood up, and Noel was damn glad he was below the waterline, because his body fully appreciated the view Angel gave him.

  Angel stepped out of the tub and wrapped himself in the robe. “Are you coming?”

  Not yet, Noel thought. Then he immediately felt guilty for even thinking such a thing.

  CHARLIE WAS right. The slopes did open in time for lunch, and they spent several hours taking advantage of the new snow. They found Noel was more experienced, having spent childhood vacations skiing with parents who were keen skiers and snowboarders, but Angel had been skiing more recently.

  It took one run down perfect snow for Noel to be as addicted as he had been as a teen. He hadn’t been near the slopes since he met Adam, because they tended to take cruises or Caribbean vacations. Adam was a true sun lover. If Noel hadn’t insisted on a winter vacation in the snow, he wondered whether they’d still be together. Perhaps Adam was angry about that… but Noel had gone on many cruises with Adam, even though he found them tedious.

  He pushed away the angry thoughts and focused instead on following Angel’s clean path on the piste. He made it look easy—not flamboyant, just focused on what he was doing. Once they established that they were both experienced enough to tackle the more difficult runs, they avoided the majority of the crowds on the lower slopes. By the time late afternoon approached, Noel was finding muscles he hadn’t used in years.

  Angel raised one eyebrow as Noel moved and winced at the strain on his inner thighs. “Are you struggling?”

  “I should have done some more preparation,” Noel admitted. “I kept meaning to, but we never got around to it.”

  Adam had kept finding excuses not to practice. Noel wanted him to learn the basics before they started their vacation. It should have warned him something was wrong, but he just put it down to Adam being busy with book launches. Hindsight was a real bitch.

  “I’m tired too,” Angel confessed. “Why don’t we give up for the afternoon and have a drink?”

  That sounded like an excellent idea to Noel, who had reached the limit of his endurance for the day, and they headed back. As they reached the path that led up to the chalet, they met the wise guys. Noel realized they would forever be the wise guys in his head. He noticed the guy whose name he couldn’t remember had a bright red nose and cheeks.

  “Someone forgot the sunblock,” he said, touching his nose self-consciously when he caught Noel looking his way.

&nb
sp; “I did warn you, Frankie,” Goldie murmured.

  At least now Noel had his name.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Frankie snapped, but there was no heat behind it.

  “Did you have a good time?” Marv asked. He looked relaxed and happy.

  Noel nodded. “I’d forgotten how much I loved skiing. It’s been a while.”

  “There’s nothing like it,” Marv agreed.

  “Did you go shopping?” Angel asked.

  Goldie smacked his forehead. “Don’t get him started on that, please,” he begged. “We’d have been at the stores all day if I hadn’t forced the issue.”

  Marv shoved him and they had a minor tussle, as though they were kids.

  “You guys look happy,” Maria said.

  They all turned to see her grinning at them. Don stood behind like a silent bodyguard.

  “I thought you were going to enjoy a roaring fire,” Angel teased.

  “There’s only so much sitting down I can take before I get bored,” she admitted. “Charlie volunteered Don to take me into town and show me around the villages.”

  “The joys of being the right-hand man,” Noel said.

  Maria winked at Marv. “Fancy taking a girl shopping next time?”

  Marv squealed, and Goldie groaned again.

  “We’d better get back to the chalet before Charlie starts shouting,” Don suggested. “He can get irate if people aren’t there for dinner on time.”

  Noel had a hard time thinking of sweet Charlie ever being irate, but Don must know his boyfriend. So when Don made a shooing motion, they obediently tramped up the path to the chalet. As soon as Goldie, who was in the lead, opened the door, Charlie popped his head out from the kitchen.

  “Oh good, you’re all back. I was wondering where you were. Dinner will be at seven, but there are pre-dinner drinks before that.” Charlie looked at Noel. “Are you all right to eat with us today?”

  Noel flushed and nodded his head. Then he felt Angel’s hand brush his lower back. It was just a fleeting touch, but for some reason, it grounded him, made him feel wanted, part of the small group of strangers.

  Or maybe you just like Angel touching you.

  Yeah, there was a bit of that too.

  Marv looked at his two companions. “We’ve got time for a quick dip in the hot tub before drinks.”

  Frankie’s eyes lit up, and they hurried off, Goldie following at a slower pace.

  “Do you want to join them?” Angel asked.

  Noel shook his head. He didn’t think he could take the wise guys in such close and near-naked proximity. Angel was the exception.

  Maria yawned loudly and swayed, and Noel stepped closer to prop her up. She leaned against him for a moment. “Sorry. Just tired. I’m going for a nap before dinner.”

  “Do you need an escort?” he asked.

  “I can manage the ten feet to my room,” she assured him, with a tired grin. She shuffled away and Noel watched, just in case she needed help. She turned and gave him a thumbs-up when she reached her door.

  Angel snorted at his side. “Only Maria could make a thumbs-up seem like the middle finger.”

  “I thought that too.” He followed Angel to the bedroom, and once inside, he shed his ‘I’m fine, no, nothing hurts attitude’ with a feeling of relief and tottered the few steps to collapse onto the bed.

  “Don still hasn’t delivered the cot,” Angel said with a worried frown.

  “If you don’t make me move you can share my bed again,” Noel offered.

  Angel chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes for the first shower then.”

  Noel managed a groan and closed his eyes. He didn’t feel like moving for the next thousand years, let alone to clean up. And he must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he remembered was Angel standing over him, shaking his shoulder, and telling him he would have to move his lazy butt if he wanted a shower.

  He cracked open one eye enough to glare at Angel. “I’m up. I’m up.”

  “Sure you are.”

  Angel leaned over him, just wearing a towel around his waist and a smaller towel around his neck. Water droplets peppered his shoulders and pecs.

  “Ugh!” Noel rolled out of the way as he got dripped on from Angel’s hair. “I don’t need a shower here.”

  “Sorry.” Angel’s snort made Noel smile.

  He tried to sit up, but his brain and body were not on board with that plan and he flopped back onto the bed. “Do you think Charlie would mind if I just rolled over and went back to sleep?”

  He meant it lightheartedly, but Angel frowned. “I can bring food here if you want. You don’t have to face everybody again.”

  Noel got to his feet with a tired groan, every muscle in his legs protesting at having to work again. “I’m fine, just lazy. Last night was the exception after a bad day. I’m not normally such a washout.”

  “You had a terrible day,” Angel said. “You can be forgiven for not wanting to be around people.”

  “That was yesterday. Today I need to make an effort. Besides, I’m rank.” He sniffed his armpit and winced. He definitely needed to wash away the exertions of the day.

  Noel staggered into the bathroom and stripped off the rest of his clothes. He set the water to the hottest he could bear and stepped in. The pounding hot water was almost orgasmic on his tired body. He stood there for a long time and let the heat seep through him.

  Next time he was going to work out before skiing. He couldn’t help the grin as he thought about the sheer experience of flying down the slopes at speed under the blazing blue sky. It made the sore muscles all worthwhile. It occurred to Noel that if he’d been with Adam, he would have had to stay on the beginners’ slopes and he never would have felt the rush he got from tackling the more difficult runs.

  When he got out of the shower, he wrapped the towel around himself and went back into the bedroom to find Angel lying on his bed, dressed only in black boxer briefs and playing on his phone.

  “Going for the dressed-down look tonight?” he drawled. At Angel’s blank look he said, “Going to dinner dressed like that?” He took pleasure in the blush that spread up from Angel’s chest.

  “Ass,” Angel muttered with a grin.

  “I’m sure most of the guests wouldn’t mind,” Noel assured him earnestly. He felt it was only fair after the crack about the dick T-shirt.

  Angel flipped him off and went back to focusing on his phone.

  “What are you playing?” Noel asked.

  “Candy Crush. It’s mindless and helps me relax,” Angel said as he put the phone down and focused his attention on Noel. “Do you want to go for a walk before dinner?”

  “I want to sit down in front of the fire with a drink and do absolutely nothing,” Noel confessed.

  Angel grinned. “I’m so glad you said that, because I’m exhausted.”

  “Do I have time for another nap?”

  Angel squinted at the time on his phone. “Not if we’re going to make pre-dinner drinks.”

  Noel grimaced and held back a sigh. This was like all the events he’d been forced to attend on the cruises Adam loved. The gay ones weren’t so bad, but the literary cruises made Noel’s brains dribble out of his ears. “This is all part of the chalet experience,” he muttered as he hunted out fresh clothes from his suitcase. He wore black jeans and a burgundy sweater with a black dress shirt underneath. As he combed his hair, he noticed Angel had dressed similarly, in a green sweater that brought out the color of his eyes and a pale gray shirt and light-colored dress pants.

  “You scrub up nice,” Angel said.

  Noel did a twirl. “Am I good enough for drinks?”

  Angel made an incoherent noise. Noel was sure there were words in there, but the only one he made out was edible. He took that as yes, he was good enough.

  “Let’s face the horde,” he suggested.

  “You’re going for drinks, not off to face the Vikings.”

  “At least if I were facing the Vikings, I’d be a
rmed. And Don could be a Viking. He’s tall and scary enough.”

  Angel rolled his eyes. “You’re ridiculous, you know that, right?”

  Noel had heard that before.

  Angel snatched up the key and pushed Noel out the door. “You’ll be fine. I’ll hold your hand if they get scary.”

  “Promise?” Noel wasn’t above begging.

  “I promise,” Angel said. “Now get out of here.”

  Noel could live with that.

  MARIA THREW them an “oh my God, thank you for being here” look when they walked in.

  “I thought I was going to have to entertain the wise guys by myself. If I have to listen to one more discussion on car engines, I think I might shove the engine where the sun don’t shine,” she hissed.

  Angel grinned at her. “Car engines don’t rock your boat?”

  “They don’t spark for me or light my fire or anything else,” she snapped. “I’m only interested in cars in as much as they can get me from A to B. Anything else I don’t care about.”

  “Me too,” he admitted. “My dad was a mechanic, but none of his skill got passed down to me or my brother.”

  “I have no interest in engines,” Noel assured them when they both turned to look at him. “I’m only interested in if it starts when I want it to. I don’t really drive that much because I can walk to work.”

  The wise guys didn’t seem to be bothered about Maria’s sudden lack of attention. Noel noticed again how completely absorbed in each other they were. It was almost creepy but at the same time quite sweet. They were a clique of three and didn’t need anybody else to be happy. He wondered if they were like that around their families. Maybe their families were just as close too. They could be part of a cult of car enthusiasts who only socialized with each other. Okay, that was ridiculous.

  Angel sat down next to Maria, which left a large chair for Noel, who sat back with a sigh of relief. The fire crackled, and with the heat from the flames, Noel got warm and sleepy again. He listened to Angel and Maria talk about a TV show they were both huge fans of. They had discovered a mutual love of horror the previous night, Angel told him, and when Maria discovered he was also a fan of The Walking Dead, his status as favorite chaletmate was sealed. Noel had also watched The Walking Dead because it was one of Adam’s favorites, but he didn’t feel the need to join in the conversation. He was just content to listen to them talk.