Page 28 of The Mountain
I roll my eyes, sharing a knowing look with Liam. His shoulder brushes mine, heat rushing through me when he pauses to take my coat from my arms, his lips curving in a gentle smirk. “Go on. You better save him from himself,” he murmurs. “I’ll put this away for you.”
Dinner is almost peaceful, the six of us pressed close around the table, elbows bumping as we eat. It feels like home and family, like the little tastes of domesticity I glimpsed at my grandmother’s table before she passed.
I’m so caught up in it that I forget about Seth’s ominous text from earlier as I smile at my plate, a gentle warmth settling through me.
“How was teaching?” Seth asks, his elbow knocking my own teasingly, and the memory of his text message comes flooding back. “Were the kids good today?”
I give him a narrow-eyed look. He knows my dislike of small talk is nearly equal to my general aversion to children. “I only had one today,dieu merci,” I say dryly. “And she bought me one of the best steaks I’ve eaten in this country, so I’d say that was a win.”
Seth chuckles, his smile becoming more genuine as he shakes his head at me in bemusement. “You made a kid buy you lunch?”
“I didn’t make her, she offered. Besides, it’s not like it was her money.”
Across from me, Lily stiffens and I frown, remembering how uncomfortable she’d been when her student bought her and Eddie lunch. The way her cheeks flushed when the waiter brought the check.
I can’t count the amount of times my own parents handed me a wad of cash—or when I was older, a credit card—and told me to buy myself and my instructor lunch. And that was just the few times they’d come toVillarsto visit me. The rest of the time, I was just given an allowance and expected to know how to appropriately tip and compensate people for their time.
“It’s pretty normal.” Liam’s voice has me instantly relaxing and I find myself leaning into him, my knee pressing against his beneath the table. “Doesn’t happen all the time, of course. But it’s definitely a perk of teaching private lessons.” He gives me a soft smile, then turns his attention to Lily. “It was your first time teaching a private lesson, right Lil? How did it go?”
“Okay, I think.” Lily’s brow furrows. “She was really nervous, but I got her making S turns by the end of the day.” She purses her lips, tapping them with one finger, then adds: “I’m not sure how much she enjoyed it though. I think… maybe I was a little hardon her? Like, I pushed her too much. She’s going to be here two weeks, and I’d just feel terrible if I put her off snowboarding, you know.”
Liam nods in understanding and Eddie makes a muffled sound of protest around a mouthful of lasagna. I stare between the three of them and wonder—not for the first time—if maybe being a ski instructor isn’t my calling after all. They actually seem to care about this stuff, about teaching. About their students. I don’t think I’ve ever been concerned with whether I sparked a love of learning in my students. Most days, I can barely tolerate interacting with them at all.
“She seemed pretty stoked when we saw you at lunch,” Eddie interjects, then makes a face. “Well, okay, notstoked. I doubt that woman has ever been stoked in her life.” He chuckles, then gives me a knowing glance. “But definitely wasn’t unhappy. Right, Antoine?”
I blink in surprise, because I’m pretty sure it’s the first time Eddie has ever called me by my full name. Normally, he calls me Ant, simply for the pleasure of annoying me. Or, more often than not, ignores me entirely.
“Hmm,” I agree around a mouthful.
“Wait.” Seth raises one hand. “You guysallhad lunch together? Did your student buy you lunch too?”
Lily gives a forced laugh. “Oh. Yeah. My student was the mom of Eddie’s student, and Antoine’s student was her best friend from school or something, and they all bought us lunch. Us instructors, I mean.” Her words run together in a breathy ramble. “It was super nice—I wasn’t expecting it.”
Matty stares longingly at me, then Eddie and Lily before giving a forlorn sigh. “That is so unfair. I had to eat chicken nuggets down in the kids’ school. It was terrible.”
Eddie chuckles. “That sucks, mate. I’ve had to eat those plenty of times. Pretty sure our dogs back home wouldn’t eat that shit.”
Matty grimaces and Lily shoots him a sympathetic smile. Seth, meanwhile, is watching all of us, a tight smile on his face and worry lining his eyes. He cuts a piece of lasagna but doesn’t eat it, then shuffles a few remaining lettuce leaves around his plate.
Guilt coils low in my belly as I recall his text, unanswered in our newly formed group chat.
“What did you want to talk to us about?” I ask him, dropping my voice and tilting my head closer to his. “You said in your text you wanted to have a flat meeting.”
Lily’s eyes snap up, locking on me and Seth from across the table. “That’s right,” she says. “I saw that. You made a new group chat for all of us.” She gives a brittle smile, one that says what none of us want to say. The reason why there is a new group chat in the first place.Tom.
Seth nods, offering Lily a tentative smile, then dropping his gaze to his half-empty plate, his cheeks flaring pink. “I… uh…” He clears his throat, then squares his shoulders, lifting his gaze to meet Eddie’s questioning stare. “So, I hear we’re all dating Lily now.”
Silence follows his words. I blink in surprise. When had that happened? Last night, Eddie had barely been speaking to Lily.
“What?” Matty asks, his brow dipping as he looks between Eddie and Lily. “Since when?”
Liam stares pointedly at his plate, and I feel my throat tighten in silent indignation.He knew. He knew and didn’t tell me.
Lily slumps down in her chair, her face going pale. “Since last night,” she whispers. “I went to Liam and Eddie’s room and, well… uh… sorry. I forgot to tell you guys…”
“Oh.” Matty forces a smile, then reaches across to rub Lily’s arm. “That’s okay, baby.”
My brow dips, betrayal rushing through me at the thought of Lily in Eddie’s room last night. Yes, we all knew that Eddie was interested in her. And we’d all more or less agreed that it would be okay to date her. But…
