Was Nick flirting with me?
Or had I sunk so low I was hoping for the possibility?
NOELLE
“Wow,” Felicity gasped as she stepped from the taxi and looked around.
I could only nod because I had to concur.
The ski resort we’d be spending the Christmas holiday was top-notch. I didn’t even want to know how much it cost because I could never afford it. Nick and Paxton’s parents were both high-powered attorneys, so they’d grown up around money, and each had sizable trust funds.
Nick attended university with us for two years before dropping out and starting his own business, while Paxton chose to follow in his parents’ footsteps and study law.
I was the only one out of the four of us who didn’t come from money, so I was grateful for Fel’s reaction, making me feel less out of place.
“What do you think?” Nick asked as he came to stand beside me. Since the airport, he hasn’t been too far away.
“I think I could live here if it weren’t for the cold.”
“Yeah, I’d choose sand and hot sun over snow and frostbite any day, but baby bro loves the slopes.” He shrugged.
“You’re six minutes older than him.”
“And I made every second count.” Then, winking, he turned to Paxton, who was paying the cab driver, and said he’d check us in before jogging inside.
Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I watched him go.
He wore jeans, boots, and a black wool overcoat, identical to Paxton’s gray coat, over his black sweater, and I couldn’t help but admire how much better he filled out his clothes.
Pax spent more of his time in the library than the gym.
One time, after more begging than I care to admit, I convinced him to fuck me in the stacks. I promised to be quiet, but after knocking nearly all the books off the shelf and screaming through my orgasm, we ended up having to make a run for it.
It was the most fun I ever remember having with him.
As usual, sadness swept over me when I wondered how much longer he’d be mine.
I loved Paxton and didn’t want to lose him, but…I wasn’t in love with him, and I didn’t think he was in love with me.
“Ready to go?”
I was startled from my thoughts when I realized Paxton was standing next to me. He hadn’t spoken to me since the plane, and I’d pretty much resigned myself to being ignored the entire weekend.
I shouldn’t have. That was weak shit. It was just that I no longer knew what I was fighting for.
“Yup. Ready to go.” I smiled at him, and he surprisingly smiled back.
The three of us headed inside, and then Paxton told us to wait before joining Nick at the check-in counter. Spotting the bar, I grabbed Felicity’s hand and led her across the lobby.
I needed a drink, and I needed it now.
“Is it me, or are they up to something?” Felicity asked me while looking over her shoulder and chewing her lip.
“Oh, definitely, but the question is what?”
“Hmmm…maybe they want to have a freaky threesome with you,” Felicity whispered before giggling at the perplexed look on my face.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s it. Paxton’s pretty possessive.”
“I bet Nick is, too,” she mused. “They’re twins, after all.”
“Yeah, but only in looks.” Their personalities were like night and day.
Nick was the bad boy womanizer who liked to take risks and live in the moment but seemed deathly allergic to commitment.
Pax was the scholar. He was ambitious and disciplined yet demanding. I used to get off on it, but now it was just a drag.
“So, do you think you and Paxton can fix whatever’s going on with you two this weekend?” Fel asked me. “I think you should. You guys were great together once, and I think you can be again.”
“Sorry, but I think that ship has sailed.” Which meant we were all up for one hell of an awkward weekend.
“Think about what you’d be throwing away, Noelle. Paxton may have high expectations of himself and everyone around him, but he can be kind and sweet and generous when he wants to be. He’s also smarter than anyone I know and reliable. You’ll never have to worry if you can count on him to be there. You’d never have to worry at all.” Fel was practically gushing with stars in her eyes as she blushed. “Not to mention he’s sexy too,” she added in a whisper.
That he was.
I pursed my lips as I considered her words though perhaps not in the way she had intended.
I almost did it.
I almost suggested that she date him if she thought he was so great, but I didn’t. I knew she was only trying to help. She felt she was looking out for me, and that was okay. I just needed her to understand that no one knew what was best for me better than I did.