Page 141 of What Are The Odds?
“Should we head over?” I asked, standing as I slipped on my jacket.
Tripp glanced at the door. “Nah. Let’s give it another five. I haven’t finished my beer yet.”
There was barely a mouthful left, but whatever. I sat back down.
Anna scooped up her bag. “I’m gonna pee. Be right back.”
Another NHL game was being cast on a large TV. I focussed on that while Tripp rotated his practically empty glass. He was wearing an Eagles beanie, white button up and denim jacket. He continuously cast his gaze to the door, as though waiting for someone to walk in. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Are you waiting for a girl?”
He jerked to attention. “What? No.”
I snickered. “You are.”
“Am not.”
I raised a sceptical eyebrow. “So, there’s no girl?”
“No. Well. Not here. But maybe at the resort.”
When he’d moved in with Levi and me, Tripp had secured a job as a snowboarding instructor at a close-by ski resort. The tips he made off wealthy travellers literally took my breath away. I’ll bet the women were the most generous. He certainly knew when to turn on the charm.
“She’s one of Morrison’s roommates,” Tripp went on. “And she works at the bar we always seem to end up at.”
As it turns out, Morrison was also from Colorado. He’d returned home after graduation and started managing the bar the ski resort workers most frequented. I’d gone a few times. I’d managed to convince him to add some Australian music to the juke box. Tripp pulled up a girl’s Instagram account and showed me a picture. She was gorgeous. Of course she was. All the girls he liked were.
“She’s cute,” I said.
“She’s not cute. She’s fucking hot. And she’s snarky as all hell.”
Sounds like a match made in heaven for Tripp.
“Anything going to happen?”
He shrugged. “We’ll see.”
“I’ll stay tuned. Now finish your last mouthful of backwash so we can get out of here.”
Tripp’s eyes widened. “Another five.”
“The game starts in twenty minutes. And I told Levi’s parents I would–”
“This seat taken?” a voice drawled from behind me.
“No actually. None of them are. Because we’re leaving and–”
I stilled as my brain kicked into gear.This seat taken?I knew that voice. I knew that accent. Whipping around, my gaze collided with Seth’s, my eldest brother. Dylan was a few steps behind him, clad in winter clothing. They were both beaming at me, their bright smiles offset by their tanned skin. I shook my head, waiting for them to dissolve into thin air. After months and months of FaceTime calls, seeing them in person was too strange to fathom. They weren’t here really. Were they?
Dylan stepped forward. “Get in here and give me a hug, Gracie.”
I reached out, touching his forearm. It was as solid as mine. Holy shit. They were here. I jumped from my seat, throwing my arms around both of them at the same time. Two firm arms wrapped around my body, pulling me closer. It was a rib crushing group hug. But I didn’t want to let go. When I finally did, I shook my head in disbelief.
“How – what – when.”
I wasn’t sure which question I was trying to ask.
“We teed things up with Levi,” Seth explained. “He mentioned he’d be away for most of January, so we figured we may as well head over now and get Christmas in too.”
