Page 45 of Bachelor

“Me too.” Jessica passed out paper plates and napkins.

Tyler poured me a beer, and I gratefully accepted it, taking a long drink before setting it down and making myself a plate of the saltiest food I could have ordered. I needed it after the morning I’d had. I’d put all of my energy, and all of my strength, into going hard and fast until my mind was blissfully and utterly blank.

“How’d it go?” I asked my friends between bites.

“Tyler isn’t all talk after all.” Jessica’s mouth lifted in a smile. “He can ride, I’ll give him that.”

“I am very talented,” Tyler insisted, giving us a devilish smirk before inhaling two pieces of fried shrimp at once.

I crinkled my nose at him and topped off my beer. “Let’s all ride together after lunch, then.”

“I don’t know if I’m quite on your level,” Jessica replied as she squeezed ketchup onto her plate. “And I sure as hell know Tyler isn’t.”

“Who am I supposed to ski with, then?” I frowned and reached for a piece of chicken, swirling it in ranch dressing.

“What about Rhys? Where’d he end up?” Tyler looked around, but in the crowd it was impossible to see much beyond our table.

“I saw him briefly,” I said slowly, smiling at the memory of whitewashing him. It had been an intrusive thought that came to fruition. I didn’t regret it, not after seeing the look on his face when he realized it was me.

“Well, we should find him before Cassandra does,” Tyler said over the buzz of conversation all around us.

I agreed with him. Cassandra was really pulling out the stops to corner Rhys, and it was becoming increasingly uncomfortable to be in her presence. “I’m shocked the administration is allowing her to act like this.” I sipped my beer, deciding I wouldn’t mention her by name in the event I summoned her. “I actually really liked her until she started getting weird about Rhys.”

“She’s cornered you a few times about him now, hasn’t she?” Jessica reached up and took off her hat, her hair sticking up at odd angles and steaming in the warmth of the fire behind us.

“Yeah, at least three times,” I answered, swallowing hard. “You’d think she’d take the hint he’s not interested.”

“I don’t think she cares,” Tyler cut in, his jaw flexed as he poured himself a second beer from the pitcher. “Shit, I should probably order another one of these, huh?”

“Sure,” I sighed, leaning back in my chair.

Tyler rose from the table and disappeared in the crowd, leaving me and Jessica alone.

“Are you going to night ski?” she asked, popping a shrimp into her mouth.

“I’m thinking about it, but there’s a party tonight at the lodge, isn’t there?”

“Yep. Dinner, drinks, the whole shebang,” Jessia replied with a shrug. “I’m going to have to go because I don’t think I’ll be able to move after we get off the mountain this afternoon.”

I smiled to myself and sipped my beer, closing my eyes for a moment against the racket in the crowded day lodge.

But then Tyler’s voice cut over the fray, and I opened my eyes to find him moving toward us with a fresh pitcher of beer and a flustered Rhys in tow holding a tray of food.

“Found him fighting for his life at the bar!”

“This burger better be worth it,” Rhys practically growled as he dropped his tray on the table and began taking off his hat and outerwear. His cheeks were red from the cold and exertion, and he had a wild look in his eyes that made my heart quicken as I watched him strip down to his undershirt. “It’s hotter than hell in here.”

“It feels nice once you settle down for a bit,” I said without meaning to even open my mouth.

He glanced up at me as he poured himself a beer, a playful glimmer in his eyes.

“How were your first few runs?” Jessica asked him, and he leaned back in his chair, pursing his lips.

“Fine, except I was wet from the neck down for several hours. I got sprayed with snow by some degenerate after my third run down the bowl.”

“Degenerate?” I snorted. “You poor thing.”

“Poor thing indeed,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me. “It would be a shame if I found them and gave them a taste of their own medicine.”

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