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“Having kids,” Max says with a smirk.
Ethan smiles as he takes a sip. “Yeah, one day sure.”
“See, he gets it,” I add, jerking a thumb at him. “There’s no rush.”
“Well, sure,” Max says, still smiling. “And I mean, first you and Elissa would have to get back together, anyway. Right?”
Alex bursts out laughing at Max’s words, and I roll my eyes as I say, “Okay, can we stop talking about the me and Elissa thing, please. I know what you’re doing here.”
“And what’s that?” Alex asks.
I take another sip of my beer. “You’re trying to get me to admit shit,” I say.
“Oh, so you’re admitting there is stuff to admit then,” Alex says with a laugh.
“Oh, jesus, please can we change the subject?” I plead, turning to Max and then Ethan.
Ethan sits back in the booth as he loosens his tie, undoing the top button on his shirt. “Any word on when you can get back to skiing?” he asks.
I shrug. “Don’t know yet, but I have a meeting with my PT and coach tomorrow, so I might find out more then.”
“You should go skiing with him when he first gets back out there,” Alex says, gesturing to first Ethan and then me with his beer. “He’ll be super rusty, so perfect for you too,” he adds, with a grin.
Ethan chuckles even as I throw another coaster at Alex. “Zoey has been teaching Ethan to ski,” Max adds, clarifying.
“Wait, what?” I ask, turning to Ethan. “You bought a ski resort and you don’t know how to ski?”
Now it’s Ethan shrugging as he grins. “I bought the place for the summer outdoor stuff,” he says. “The skiing part was a bonus, I guess.”
“A bonus,” Max says, laughing.
Ethan turns to Max, his grin widening as he says, “Well, it was certainly a bonus when it comes to your sister.”
“Whoa, burn,” Alex shouts, slapping Max on the back as Max just shakes his head laughing at Ethan.
I don’t really know this guy well, but from everything Lis has told me, he definitely sounds like a pretty cool guy. And watching him hang out here with us, giving Max shit about the fact he’s hooking up with his sister, makes me think that even more.
“Feels different when the shoe is on the other foot, doesn’t it?” I tease, smiling at my friend.
“Fuck you all,” Max mutters, before changing the subject.
While the conversation continues on around me, I pull my phone from my pocket to text Lis. She only left an hour ago, but like the pathetic sap none of these guys know I am, I already miss her.
Me:Hey, how’s Judy, did she have a nice Christmas? Say hi to her from me. I’m just having drinks with the guys and they are already fishing for info on us. We gotta tell everyone soon!
She doesn’t answer right away, soI put my phone down on the table before I join the conversation again, Alex and Ethan discussing the ski academy they’re opening at Badger Creek. It apparently opens in the new year and while they still have some staff to hire, everything looks to be on track.
“Maybe you’ll be able to come train here sometimes?” Ethan suddenly says, turning to me.
“Yeah, that’d be cool,” I say, draining the last of my beer. “It certainly looks like an awesome set up.”
“Dude, you gotta suggest that to your coach,” Alex chimes in. “Maybe the team could move here, that way you could be home more?”
“I mean sure, that’d be cool,” I say, knowing it would solve so many of mine and Lis’ problems. “But I’m not sure that’s possible. The team has links and everything in Park City, it’s where they’ve always been, so…” I trail off as I gesture to them with my empty beer bottle. “Another round?”
The guys nod, so I slide out of the booth, taking my phone with me as I make my way up to the bar to get us some more drinks. Just as I place my order, my phone finally chimes out with a text. Smiling, I glance down at it, but my smile disappears when I see Lis’ message to me. The sliver of fear that still lingers, only waking up whenever I start to think about Lis and me and something going wrong between us again, once again rearing its ugly head.
Lis:She’s all good and she did. Says hi back. Have fun with the guys. I think I’m going to stay here tonight.
