Page 17 of Ski You Later (Alpine Glow #1)

Xander and Landon are too much to handle.

“What do we do? Knock? Holler? Just stroll right in?” Aurora continues to ramble as we walk up the driveway to Roman’s house.

“I don’t know; I’ve only been here once.”

“But you guys are fake-dating now. What if Jasmine’s doing laps around this house right now? Then she sees you knocking from the window of her car.” Aurora starts to increase her talking speed as the ridiculousness of her story grows.

“From that, she can deduce that you aren’t comfortable entering his home on your own. Finally, she finds out you’re both lying your pants off.” She spread her arms wide as if this was some insane revelation.

Per usual, Aurora makes my overthinking look like child’s play. “That’s insane,” I tell her as I raise my fist and knock .

“Your cousin’s the insane one, not me,” Aurora mumbles under her breath. She then slouches against the door frame as she examines the neighbourhood.

Roman texted me after training that I should come over for dinner to discuss our game plan. Naturally, I told Aurora the full story the second we got home, and she insisted on coming along. I sent him a text saying that I’m bringing an unwanted plus one, but I haven’t heard anything back yet.

The temperature’s dropped significantly since this morning, and even though we have a ton of layers on, standing outside isn’t ideal. Aurora’s teeth start to chatter as I pound on the door a couple more times.

I start to jump in place to preserve body heat and contemplate just calling his phone.

A strong gust of icy wind blows in our faces as I reach into my pocket, and I couldn’t be more grateful for my best friend.

She starts to curse under her breath as she tries the door, then lets herself into the house.

I laugh as I quickly shuffle in behind her. We’re met with a gust of warm air as well as multiple voices carrying into the entryway. It sounds as if multiple people are shouting, Roman’s voice being the one I notice first .

“They’re going to be here any second! Get rid of that thing right now!” Roman’s yell carries to our ears from the other room.

“You heartless monster! You can’t make us get rid of them; they’re our babies!” That scream was definitely Xander, and his voice sounds more dramatic than usual.

“You’ve had them for ten minutes!” Roman’s rebuttal has a pleading note to it.

A loud crash echoes through the house, and multiple screams erupt from what I believe to be the kitchen. “Run Xander! Take our kids and run,” Landon yells.

I turn to Aurora with humour and confusion scrawled all over my face. She’s already sporting a huge smile as she points her finger towards the source of the noise with a disbelieving laugh.

“What the hell is going on?” She’s unable to hold back the giggle as she asks the question. A similar-sounding chuckle leaves me at her words.

Before I realize what she’s doing, Aurora confidently strides down the hallway and towards the boys. With a split-second of panic, I quickly jog to catch up. The yelling gets much louder as we interrupt the strangest situation ever .

The wooden hallways turns to cream-coloured floors as we move to the upper landing, which houses the kitchen area. It’s also where all the roommates are currently causing a ruckus.

Landon’s holding Roman back as Xander stands on the table and cradles a box in his hands.

I notice immediately that Landon’s once beautiful blonde curls are now buzzed off.

One of the kindest guys I know looking much more menacing with the new hair.

Although, his matching tracksuit just negates the tough guy look he was going for.

But really, it’s Roman they should fear as he looks at his brother with murder in his eyes. But Xander doesn’t look afraid as he starts cheering on Landon. “Get him, Landon! Show him what happens when you mess with our children!”

I take in the scene again and notice Rhys standing at the back of the kitchen.

His jet-black hair drips water as he pushes it out of his face.

The sides are cropped close to his scalp, while the top is longer and falls to his temples.

The dark hair only accentuates his darker skin, strong brow bone, and almond eyes.

That’s all added to the fact that he’s easily the tallest person I’ve ever seen, dwarfing even Roman by being five inches over six feet .

While all those features are physically appealing, there’s always been something unnerving about him. A certain coldness to his presence.

It could just be his sheer intensity in the sport, but he’s proven time and time again, he’s only here to ski. He never trains with the group, never goes to the team dinners, and even drives himself to the ski hill.

Gas prices are no laughing matter, so we’re all aware that he really doesn’t want to bond with us. I’m pretty certain he only lives in this house because Roman shows an equal distaste for the team.

Everyone knows his goal is to be drafted by the Canadian team and make the next Winter Olympics. But he’ll need to improve his social skills if he’s serious about this goal.

Aurora’s loud clap breaks me out of my thoughts, and I quickly turn to see her standing right in front of the guys. “Is this how you treat two beautiful women that you invited over for dinner?”

Her presence freezes them all in their places. Even Rhys shows his surprise with a slight lift of his brow. I subtly place my hand over my mouth to cover my smile. It’s obvious the boys aren’t used to such a commanding female presence as they stare questioningly at Aurora .

“Well?” She drawls, placing a hand on her hip as she stares at them.

This seems to snap them out of their shock, and everyone changes tactics. Rhys remains relaxed, his hands resting on the granite counters as he watches the event unfold. Roman is finally able to throw off Landon as he approaches me, but it’s Xander that I keep my gaze fixed on.

He lightly places the box down as he hops off the table, and quickly strides up to Aurora. Xander’s dark wavy hair seems to bounce with him as he makes his way over. He’s wearing a white hoodie and sweats, both a little rumpled after closer inspection.

“I forgot how well you cleaned up, Princess,” he murmurs as he stands before her. An attractive smile slowly grows on his face; his eyes betray the emotion swimming there.

“Ugh, you need to drop that. We were nine,” Aurora states dismissively as she shoulders past him and sits at the table. Xander quickly turns tail to follow her just as Roman approaches me.

“Hey,” he says softly, catching his breath as he takes me in. “Wow, you look lovely.” His voice's slight note of awe doesn’t go unnoticed, and I politely thank him .

Aurora and I wear matching maroon sweater dresses. Both of us decided to complete the look with hair bows of the same colour, and a darker lipstick. The whole ensemble is very season-appropriate but provides us both with drastically different results.

Aurora’s curly black hair falls to her mid-back, and the darker makeup choices aid in sharpening her already accented features.

Whereas my naturally blonde hair is in stark contrast to the colour and is on the verge of washing me out completely.

I had my doubts about wearing the outfit, but Aurora’s insistence was the only reason it made it out of the house.

Taking in the man before me, I realize that Roman’s sporting a dashing outfit yet again.

His cream-coloured cable knit sits over a dark navy collared shirt.

Navy-corduroy pants connect the ensemble, and I can’t help but feel he deserves a compliment in turn.

“Well, you look quite smart yourself, Huxley.”

His smile is gentle, the usual tension lacking from his face as he thanks me in return.

Maybe it’s being within the walls of his own home, but he seems so peaceful as he looks down at me.

Just being able to see this side of him causes a warm feeling to grow in my chest, and I can’t help but smile back at him .

He starts to open his mouth, but a loud gasp catches both of our attention. Xander has that box in his hand again, holding it out as Aurora and Landon look inside. “Aw, that’s so cute,” Aurora coos as her eyes move rapidly around the box.

I take a step towards the group as curiosity gets the better of me, but Roman’s hand latches onto my upper arm and he holds me in place. All that tension I’m used to has flooded back into him, and his eyes stay glued on his brothers.

“I told you both this already. Get that out of the house right now,” Roman grits out. His tone’s lethal as he carefully pulls me closer to him. Both boys promptly ignore him, and Roman lets me go as he runs his hands through his hair.

As much as I feel for him, the suspense of what’s in the box is killing me, and I quickly rush over while Roman’s distracted.

His yell of protest reaches my ears at the same moment an inhuman scream rips from my throat. The noise causes everyone to startle, their hands all moving to their ears at the sheer volume of my yell.

Unfortunately, Xander conducts the same motion as the group and lets the small box fall to the floor. I watch in mute horror as the corner lands on the ground and pops the lid from the base.

The only thing that goes through my mind as the box opens is that feeling when I watch a scary movie. The frustration when the main character’s just standing there as their murderer slowly approaches them. Then all I can do is yell at the moron for not moving a muscle as this is happening.

Well, I’m that horror movie moron as two giant wolf spiders spill out of the box and start to run around. Shrieks pierce the air. I recognize Aurora’s, but the other feminine sound is all Xander’s doing.