Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Gary and Hayden turn their gazes to each other, shrugging. They lean down and scoop some ice off the ground.
“What? No! We aren’t that bad!”
“I’m sorry,” Gary says, and Hayden follows with, “You’re making us do this.”
“You bunch of assholes!” I shout as they step to me, and I realize it’s definitely time for me to run.
“Fucking hate you, assholes,” I call out as I make my getaway.
6
Jackson
It’s a madhouse of a day. We all head out to the slopes for skiing and snowboarding. It’s something Zane and I have been doing together for years, and we’ve gotten Derek into it as well. He had no interest in killing himself on the slopes as he’d said when we first got together, but since then the little shit has become a bit of an expert. He’s fast and nimble, loving the fact that he can now out-ski me anytime he wants.
Today I want him to, but of course, that’s not what I’m telling him.
It’s the perfect weather for hitting the slopes, which I say a silent prayer for. We don’t need anything else to go wrong and for Derek to worry. When we were here before, a large storm came in, but then the weather had been as incredible as it is now. We’d done a lot of skiing in between fucking each other and hanging out with the new people we’d met.
Evan is a mess, just as he was when we were ice-skating, but it’s obvious Frankie finds it cute as hell. He likes coming to Evan’s rescue, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think that sometimes Evan fakes it some just so Frankie can save him.
After a while, my muscles are achy, and I’m ready for a break. Yeah, I don’t like admitting too much around all these young pups.
“Is Daddy tired?” Derek teases, and I cock a brow at him. “Oh, that look is sexy. I won’t make fun of you anymore.”
“Yeah, right.” I laugh, and I wouldn’t want him to stop, either. This is who we are.
“Want to go inside and grab some coffee or something?” Travis asks.
“Yeah, let’s do it.” At least I’m not the only one who wants to relax. I let myself appreciate Travis for a moment.
“I’m going to take the old man in,” Travis tells them.
I spoke too soon. “Hey, fuck off. You want to go in as much as I do.” He said so himself before we were joined by everyone else.
“What do you mean? I could stay out here all day. I’m going in for you,” Travis jokes.
“Then I’ll go chill with Jackson,” Cody says. “You can hang out and ski.” Travis flips him off, making everyone laugh.
“Yeah, break time for me too,” Evan adds.
“You guys all suck,” Derek says. “I don’t care what the rest of you do as long as Gary and Hayden stay out here with me. At least they love me.”
“I’m not an old ass. I’ll go with you guys,” Frankie replies.
My son adds, “Me too.”
Derek, Frankie, Hayden, Zane, and Gary head back to the slopes as Travis, Evan, Cody, and I go inside. We order coffees and sit at a table by the fireplace.
“Nerves kicking in?” Cody asks.
“Nah, I’m good. I have no reason to be nervous.” I can understand why people get that way. It doesn’t mean you don’t want to get married. It’s a big-ass decision, but definitely one I’m ready for. “You and Hayden ever consider it?”
“We’ve talked about it, but we just… We understand why others choose to get married, but it’s not important to us. He knows I’m his and he’s mine. There’s no one else for me, but neither of us feels the need right now.”
I nod because that makes sense. Marriage isn’t for everyone, and that doesn’t mean people who get married are more committed than those who aren’t.
“What I don’t get is…what does Hayden see in you?” Travis says, and Cody punches him in the arm.
“Yeah, I’ve been wondering the same thing about Gary, asshole.”
We laugh, and a moment later I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out to see Frankie’s name on the screen, which surprises the shit out of me since they’re supposed to be skiing. “Hey, man. What’s up?”
“Um…there was a little boo-boo,” he replies, and my heart drops to my gut.
“What do you mean? What happened?” My words are enough to get Trav, Evan, and Cody all looking at me.
“Hayden took a little spill. He hurt his ankle. I’m positive it’s not broken, but…”
“Fuck,” I curse, hating that Hayden got hurt, but also hating what it’s going to do to Derek. He’ll lose his shit. It’s one more thing for him to worry about this weekend when he shouldn’t have to focus on anything other than getting married.
“We’ll be right out there.” I end the call and say, “Hayden hurt his ankle.”