Connor laughed. “Savage.” Jenna gave him a wink, and he grinned.
“You’re supposed to be my friend!” Seth huffed. “What if there’s an avalanche?”
They all laughed, and Jun said, “We’re at the top of the hill, and this isn’t a mountain.” He pointed in the distance at the jagged gray peaks, snow covering the Adirondacks. “Those are mountains.”
“Feels like a mountain,” Seth muttered, holding up his round plastic sled. “And we’re supposed to ride down on this?” He rubbed at the back of his neck.
Logan’s smile faded as he realized Seth was actually nervous. More than that—he was afraid. “Hey, it’s okay.” He stepped closer and squeezed Seth’s shoulder through his puffy parka. “You can walk down.”
Seth groaned. “I’ll look like such a wimp in front of everyone. And we’re so…high. It didn’t look this high from down there.”
Shit, was he afraid of heights? Logan said, “I’ll walk down with you.”
“But you want to sled.” Seth sighed. “I’m being a big baby.”
“You’re not.” He rubbed Seth’s back up and down, up and down, and Seth leaned closer to him. “We’ll walk down together.”
“Or sled down together,” Connor said, looking at them with his forehead creased like it did when he was trying to figure out some hard math thing. “Logan knows what he’s doing. Right?”
It was possibly the first time Logan had ever heard Connor say anything like that. He tried not to be too happy since the kid would probably be telling him he was an idiot in a minute. Logan was still rubbing Seth’s back, and he thumped it now.
“I do. Jenna and I grew up with these flying saucers.”
“Flying?” Seth shuddered. “No flying, please.” He kicked at the plastic. “There’s no way two of us can fit.”
“Oh, you totally can,” Jun said. “My brothers and I used to get four of us stacked on one.”
Logan positioned his sled near the edge and flopped down, getting his butt wedged in at the back. He spread his legs. “Come on.”
For a second, Seth just stood there, his face going beet red, breath clouding out in little bursts. Then he mumbled something under his breath, looking up as if saying a prayer.
Gingerly, he squatted and got into place, and Logan yanked him back so he was snug between his thighs. Logan had worn his long johns with waterproof pants over top, and the material squeaked as Seth squirmed into place.
The pom-pom of Seth’s beanie was in Logan’s face, so he hooked his chin over Seth’s shoulder. “Lift your arms over my legs.” Now Logan could wrap his arms tightly around Seth’s middle. “Lean back into me and keep your feet up. That’s really important, okay? Feet up.”
Jenna bent with her hands on Logan’s shoulders, and Logan said, “No spin.”
“Okay, okay,” she grumbled. “Don’t worry, Seth. Logan’ll take care of you. We’re coming right behind!”
Logan tightened his arms, pressing his cheek against Seth’s, the skin freshly shaved and warm with Seth’s blush even in the cold air. “Feet up!”
Then they were sailing down the hill, the wind whipping, Seth’s feet jutting up perfectly straight in the air like a solider obeying orders. The world fell away and everything was the two of them locked together, soaring so fast.
Adrenaline spiked, and Logan made a “Wooooo!” noise as they flew down. Seth dug his gloved hands into Logan’s thighs, making little gasping, squeaking noises that were so fucking cute Logan could hardly take it.
They slowed at the bottom, sliding along the flat ground toward a tall snowbank that had been built up to make sure no one went into the thick pine trees beyond. They skidded to a stop, breathing hard, the shouts of Jenna and Jun and the kids echoing as they neared the bottom as well.
“See?” Logan said, squeezing Seth with his arms. “All in one piece.”
Panting, Seth leaned back against him, his hands gripping Logan’s knees. “That was… Goodness. Wow.”
The others skidded near, Connor spinning and tumbling out with a laugh. More people were coming down all the time, and they needed to get out of the impact zone, but Logan wished he could just stay all snug with Seth for a while longer.
Jenna held up her hand for Jun, who tugged her to her feet. She grinned at Seth. “Well?”
“It was absolutely terrifying.” He turned his head to look at Logan, his blue eyes lit up. “Let’s do it again.”
They all laughed, climbing up the hill and zooming back down several more times. Seth didn’t want to go down alone, and Logan was happy to share his sled.
When they were tired out, it was time for hot chocolate and donut holes set up near their bus on folding tables. Dale really had thought of everything. Logan wanted to tell him he’d done a real good job, but wondered if it would seem like kissing ass since Dale was supposed to be finding work for him.