AllFreeNovel
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Summer and Hudson saunter up to us, her slung under his massive arm.
“Hi, I’m Olivia,” I introduce myself to the girl next to Rhys.
She beams a smile at me. “Maddie,” she returns the introduction. “I’m Lane’s sister. Nice to meet you.”
She seems super nice. I don’t miss the way Rhys can’t keep his gaze from hovering on her, and the way his cheeks color every time their eyes lock.
“Where’s Lane?” Summer asks.
Maddie sticks the tip of her tongue out and blows a raspberry. “He wanted to sleep in.”
“Who could sleep in on a day like this?” Tuck exclaims, flaring his arms at his side and spinning around demonstratively. “That guy’s gotta learn to wake up and smell the roses.”
Maddie tut-tuts and shakes her head. “That’s what I’m always telling him.”
Tuck’s eyes sparkle with inspiration. “Snowman competition!”
“Huh?” Rhys asks, a bemused tone in his voice that he probably often uses around Tuck.
“We need to have a snowman competition,” Tuck says, animatedly. “Two on two on two.” He steps next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulders, tugging me close. “I call Olivia on my team.”
Summer looks at me with a raised brow. I know she’s just waiting for me to protest.
Her head tilts, and a questioning gleam lights in her eyes when I don’t.
“How do you have a snowman competition?” Hudson asks.
Tuck looks at him like he’s stupid. “Uh, by who builds the best snowman, duh.”
“And who decides whose snowman is best?” Rhys asks.
Tuck keeps looking at him the same way. “Uh, me, duh.”
Maddie purses her lips at Tuck. “Seems like a conflict of interest.”
Tuck’s expression pinches. “I don’t see how.”
Summer rolls her eyes. “Let’s just build the best snowmen we can and then worry about how we’ll decide a winner.”
Hudson nuzzles his face into the crown of Summer’s head. “Mmm, my girl’s so smart.”
For some reason, seeing Hudson and Summer all lovey-dovey warms my heart in a way that it just hasn’t before. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been incredibly happy for my friend, and I’ve always loved seeing her happy with Hudson. But with things going well with Tuck—even if we’re keeping it quiet for now—seeing them affectionate with each other strikes a different chord.
When Summer giggles and turns her head for a kiss, I can’t help but let my over-curious gaze flit to Rhys and Maddie. Rhys watches Summer and Hudson before dipping his eyes to Maddie when she isn’t looking, and an unmissable longing suffuses through his hazel eyes.
“Alright,” Tuck claps his gloved hands, “half-hour time limit! Go!”
We all get busy trying to construct the biggest, best snowmen of our lives.
While we’re rolling a giant snowball to serve as the base, Tuck gasps with inspiration. “Our snowman should be a hockey player!” he whispers to me. “You keep working on rolling the balls, I’m going to run back to my place and get some supplies.”
Hudson throws a crooked expression at Tuck as he dashes off campus at a full sprint. “Where is he going?” he shouts to me from where he and Summer are constructing their snowman.
I just shrug, a glib look on my face. “Trade secret.”
I have three perfectly proportioned spheres of snow stacked on top of each other by the time Tuck comes racing back, his arms loaded with a chest protector, helmet, hockey stick, and skates.
“Hey!” Maddie protests. “I didn’t know we were allowed to use props!”
