Frigid (7 page)

I turned and looked up, and up. An honest-to-goodness guy stood behind me, one
not
wearing a lumberman jacket. Dark brown hair curled along his forehead and temples. He looked nothing like Kyler—stockier and broader.

Perfect.

“You’re a fan of tequila?” I asked, finally finding my voice. An easy smile appeared. “Nothing warms you quite as fast as tequila. You need that around here.”

“You’re a local?”

He nodded. “I work here during the winters.”

“Ski instructor?”

“How’d you guess?”

Thinking about my desire to hook up with a ski instructor earlier, I almost laughed. The shot of tequila landed on the bar top and I took it. I might not be a total lush like everyone else, but I knew how to take a shot. Tipping my head back, I put the small glass to my lips. What I hadn’t expected was for my throat to catch fire.

The tequila coursed down my throat like gasoline and spilled into my insides. Eyes watering, I turned back to the bar, dragging in deep gulps of air, desperately trying to stop my gag reflex. “Holy shit…”

Mr. Ski Instructor laughed as he patted my back. “You okay? The first shot is usually brutal.”

“Yeah,” I gasped, blinking the tears out of my eyes. Once I was sure I wasn’t going to hurl it back up on him, I turned around. “Wow.”

He grinned. “It’s not that bad.”

“Oh no, not at all.” I think I was already flammable.

“I haven’t introduced myself,” he said, sticking out a free hand. A bottle of beer occupied the other. “My name is Zach.”

“Sydney.” I shook his hand. His palm was slightly calloused.

He held onto my hand for a little longer than necessary. When he finally did let go, he propped a hip against the bar. “So, you’re obviously not a local.”

“No.” I tucked my hair back and smiled.

“You with him?” He gestured over his shoulder toward Kyler with a jerk of his chin. When I nodded, he cocked his head to the side. “Friends, or…?”

“Friends,” I answered automatically, and the burn of tequila seemed to lessen the sting of saying that.

Zach’s brows rose. “I don’t think I’ve known Kyler to be just friends with a pretty girl before.”

His compliment was lost in the reality of his statement. “Well, I’ve known Kyler for all my life.” I took a breath and let it slowly. “So you know Kyler?”

He nodded. “I don’t know him very well, just from the times he comes up here. So… is it just you two?”

“We’re up here for a couple of days with some friends. Well, most of them haven’t made it up here yet. I’m from Hagerstown.”

“Oh. Pretty cool town.” He took a sip of his beer. “Where are your friends at?”

“Outside of Frederick,” I told him as I glanced over my shoulder. I couldn’t see Kyler through the mess of people. Not that I was looking for him. “They hit the snow so they’re going to try to come up tomorrow.”

Zach shook his head. “Ah, I don’t know if they’re going to make it. The snow is supposed to move in here overnight and they’re saying it’s going to be a huge storm.”

I was
so
not trying to think about that.

His easy smile spread, and I realized that he was really good looking. “Think it’s time for a second shot? It’s on me.”

My gaze flicked past Zach, to where Kyler was, still with Sexy Sasha. He wasn’t paying any attention to her now, though. Instead he was staring at me like he was seconds away from getting up and storming across the bar and telling me I was up past my bedtime.

He wouldn’t dare.

Kyler’s eyes narrowed.

He would.

A couple of months ago, while out celebrating my birthday and during one of the very rare times I did drink, he’d made me go home before I even got to the second Sex on the Beach, citing something along the lines that the crowd at the club was getting too rowdy.

Anger and frustration swirled, mixing with the shot of tequila. Kyler said I didn’t know how to have fun. I was apparently as interesting as a statistics formula on a Monday. Maybe that was kind of true. At that moment, part of me wanted to go back to the house and pick up the book I was reading. Maybe eat some buttery popcorn, too. Oh, and I’d brought that pair of fuzzy socks that were so toasty and—

“Sydney?”

Out of all the crazy moments to think about Nathan Balers, he popped into my head right then. I hadn’t really thought about him in over a year. He’d been my only real boyfriend, the guy I’d dated for two years in high school and most of my freshman year in college.

Looking back, I couldn’t say if I’d been in love with him or not. At the time, it’d seemed like it. The only guy I’d been interested in other than Nate had been off-limits—still was—and Nate had been it for me. Patient. Funny. Smart. Cute. While we’d done other things—namely me doing other things so I didn’t feel like the crappiest girlfriend in the world—we’d waited until our freshman year in college to have actual sex.

It hadn’t been something to write home about. And apparently it hadn’t been for him either. The sex hurt, and when it stopped hurting and had started to
almost
feel good, it was over. Nate had broken up with me a week later.

Over text message.

A few days after the text, Kyler had overheard Nate running his mouth at a frat party. He’d supposedly been telling the guys that I was so frigid he could barely keep it hard.

And that was the fight that ended with Kyler having a broken nose and Nate with a broken jaw and a severe limp that lasted several weeks.

Nathan Balers could go screw himself.

I knew how to have fun. I knew how to lose control. And I wasn’t frigid.

Smiling, I turned back to Zach and said, “Another shot would be great.”

Another shot turned into several more and I honestly lost track of them. At some point, I learned that Zach was the most hilarious person on the face of this Earth, or at least it seemed that way, because I couldn’t stop laughing. Then again, I’m pretty sure I would’ve laughed at a massive car pileup on the interstate.

When someone kicked on the jukebox and “County Roads” started playing, I had no idea what the lyrics were, but I sang along anyway. And when Zachie Boy caught my hand and started to pull me toward a little dance floor near the hall leading to the restrooms, I didn’t protest.

Though the bartender did. “You might want to sit this one out, honey.”

“I’m fine.” A big old smile was plastered on my face.

Zach tugged on my hand. “You heard her. She’s fine.”

The bartender’s gaze moved from me to him. “She’s not a local, Zach.”

“He knows that,” I pointed out.

“Keep that in mind, Zach.” The words sounded like a warning to me, but that didn’t make sense, and Zach was pulling me over to the square patch of floor anyway.

We started dancing, and our legs brushed. When I turned around, his hands landed on my hips. I didn’t mind. I don’t think I cared about anything. Music thrummed through my veins. Or maybe it was the tequila. Either way, it didn’t matter. Within minutes, sweat dotted my brow and I lifted my hair off my neck. The movement tugged my shirt up, exposing a slice of skin.

Fingers whispered along my stomach, startling me. “You’re so incredibly hot,” Zach said, his palm flattening against my belly, fingers climbing further up my stomach. “Seriously.”

My brows rose at that statement. Then again, besides Sasha, there weren’t a lot of prime pickings, and I did feel hot as I swayed my hips to the beat of the music.

Zach lowered his head, rubbing his chin along the side of my face. The slight stubble made me shiver. “We should get—”

My butt vibrated, distracting me. “Hold on a sec,” I said, stepping away as I pulled my cell from my back pocket. It was a text from Andrea. I glanced up. “I’ll be right back. It’s my friend.”

Zach’s smile slipped a little, but he nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”

Slipping back into the hallway, it was a little cooler and quieter. Her message read: Bored. U?

At a bar. Dancing with ski instructor. I sent that with a big, goofy smile.

Rly? Where is Kyler?

That knocked the smile off my face. With some chick named Sasha.

We exchanged a couple of texts while I used the girl’s room, and I was happy that I only stumbled a little bit. By the time I was back in the hallway, Andrea wanted to know what else I was planning to do with Zach.

IDK. Dance more?

Show him your Tiya
.

“Show him your Tiya?” I said out loud. I couldn’t be that drunk. Shaking my head, I sent her a quick text back saying,
Tiya?

A second later:
Tits! Damn U autocorrect!

“Oh. Tits. That makes sense,” I mumbled, sliding my phone into my back pocket. Andrea gave such great advice.

“You’re standing by yourself talking about tits?” Kyler asked from behind me.

I gave a little shriek and spun around. “God…”

A sexy half-grin appeared. “I need to keep a better eye on you, if that’s what you talk about when you’re alone.”

Could I just crawl under a bar stool and die? “It’s Andrea.”

He cocked his head to the side. “You’re talking about Andrea’s tits?”

“No. My tits.”

Interest flared in his eyes, darkening the hue. “Well, this keeps getting better.”

I clamped my mouth shut, wanting to physically hurt myself. “No—never mind. I have to go.”

“Go where?” He caught my arm as I brushed past him, bringing me to an unexpected stop. In the cramped hallway, our thighs brushed. He lowered his head, eyes narrowing. A slow grin split his lips. “You’re drunk.”

“I am only a little tipsy.” I tried to pull my arm free, but he held on. “I have to get back to Zach. We were dancing. And he said I was incredibly hot, so I would like to dance with him more.”

“Come again?” he said, eyes widening.

“He said I was hot.” I stared up at him. “What? Does that sound so hard to believe?”

With his free hand, Kyler reached over and tugged my sweater down past my waistline. I squirmed further away. “I’m not saying that. Sasha knows him. Said he’s a creep and I have to agree.”

“Oh.” I started laughing. “Does Sasha know him? How?”

Kyler frowned. “Because Sasha is from here and yes, they used to date or something, Syd. I told you I knew her.”

“I bet you know her,
know her.”

His lips pursed and he didn’t respond for a few seconds. “Not like that, Syd. Sasha and I aren’t like that.”

He hadn’t had sex with Sasha? Wow, we must be the last two women on the face of the Earth. “Well, you should get back to Sasha. I will get back to the creep.”

He sighed and tipped his head back. With his hair falling back from his face like that, he looked like an angel staring up at the heavens.

All right. Quite possibly I was really drunk.

“Why don’t you come over and sit with me?” He tugged me closer, and for a moment I stopped trying getting away. My thighs bounced off his legs, and I was staring at his chest again. Unfortunately, he was wearing his hoodie.

I leaned in, pressing my cheek against his chest. He smelled
amazing
. I closed my eyes and breathed him in.

Kyler chuckled softly. “How much did you drink, baby?”

“I don’t know,” I mumbled. “A couple.”

He let go of my arm and dropped his over my shoulders. “What were you taking shots of?”

“Tequila.” I sighed.

He let out a surprised laugh. “Ta-kill-ya? Oh, shit.”

I giggled. “It’s not that bad. Kind of burned, but ya know, now I don’t feel anything at all.”

Kyler laughed again. “I bet you don’t.”

“Mmm…”

He got a hand between his chest and my face, placing his fingers on the tip of my chin. He lifted my head up. “Are you going to come back and sit with Sasha and me?”

I jerked away and stumbled back a step. He had me right up until the whole “Sasha and me” bit. Disappointment seeped in, threatening to kill my buzz. I knew I shouldn’t feel bad—or feel anything at all—but I did.

“I’m going to dance some more. See ya.”

Kyler’s atrocity of curse words were lost in the pounding of my heart. As soon as I exited the hallway, Zach was there, grabbing my hand. “I thought you’d gotten lost.”

“Nah,” I said, letting him pull me toward the dance floor. “I was—”

An arm snaked around my waist, pulling me to a stop. For the first time in my life I was literally stuck between two boys. Huh. And here I thought it would be more fun than this.

“Hey now.” Kyler’s breath stirred the hair around my temple. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Good question.

Zach turned around, frowning when he saw Kyler. “And I was having such a good night. What do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s not really any of your business.” Kyler’s arm tightened around my waist.

Oh dear…

Zach’s grip was firm. “Well, nice to see you again, but we’re about to go dancing.”

“I think she needs to sit down.” Kyler stepped around, so that he partially blocked me. “All right?”

Indignation rose. “I don’t need to sit down.”

“Well, you heard your
friend,”
Zach replied, tugging me forward. “She doesn’t want to sit down, so I think you should just let her do what she wants.”

Kyler laughed—a cold, nasty laugh that warned trouble as he caught my other arm, holding me in place. “Yeah, I don’t give a fuck what you think, and I’m sure you already know that, but I can tell you right now, what’s on your mind is
not
going to happen.”

Whoa. This was weird. For two people who barely knew each other, there was a lot of hostility here.

“Excuse me?” Zach said, eyes narrowing.

“Yeah, you heard me just right.”

I don’t know what happened next. Zach’s grip on my hand tightened, and I yelped out of surprise. The next thing I knew, Kyler had let go of my arm and his hands had slammed into Zack’s chest, knocking him back several steps.

“You don’t touch her,” Kyler growled. “You get that? Not now. Not ever.”

I was pretty positive Kyler was overreacting.

“You don’t know who the fuck you’re dealing with,” Zach warned, taking a step forward.

“He’s a ski instructor,” I felt the need to explain. Yep. Fountain of helpful knowledge right here.