Snow Job by Tara Wyatt (best large ereader .txt) 📗

Two sets of eyes landed on Sebastian, pulling him into a conversation he really didn’t want to be a part of. He sipped his coffee and then shrugged. “I dunno. She did blush when you winked at her. Plus you’re old and bald,” he said to Patrick, barely ducking out of the way in time when Patrick’s arm swung out at him in a playful swipe.

“First of all, I’m the same age as you, smartass. Second, some women like the shaved head. And third, I’m your boss, so either take my side or shut up.”

Ignoring them, Lane rubbed her hands together, her eyes bright with excitement. She smoothed a hand over her short blond hair and then stood. “I’m going in.”

“Godspeed,” said Patrick in a monotone, shaking his head.

Sebastian leaned back in his chair, kicking at Patrick’s boot. “You were gonna ask her out, weren’t you?”

Patrick shrugged again, his main mode of communication. “Maybe. Looks like it doesn’t matter.” And he was right, because Kendra was blushing and giggling as she put her number in Lane’s phone. After a moment, Lane sauntered back over and dropped back down into her chair.

“And that, boys, is how you score a date for Friday night.”

Patrick leaned forward on his elbows. “Maybe she just has a thing for Justin Bieber lookalikes.”

Lane threw back her head and laughed. “Aw, Patty. You’re cute when you’re jealous that I’m getting laid and you’re not.”

Sebastian laughed. God, it felt good to just sit and joke and shoot the shit and not feel like his life was imploding around him. Like the sky was always on the verge of falling because he’d spent the past decade trying to knock it down.

Patrick finished his coffee, crumpled up his cup and tossed it into a nearby trash can. “While I’ve got you two here, I wanted to run something by you.”

“Okay,” said Sebastian, taking another sip of his coffee, not even caring that it was lukewarm and stale. Sitting here, in the mountains, with these people, beat the hell out of the eight-dollar espresso he used to fuel himself with every morning.

“First, here are your lesson cards for today,” he said, reaching into his pocket and fishing out two pieces of paper containing that day’s assignments. Sebastian quickly scanned his eyes over the card. He had a private lesson with an adult beginner from 9-12, a Little Mountain Riders class at 1, and then an intermediate adult group lesson at 2:30. Sweet. He’d be done for the day by 4, leaving him a solid hour and half to ride on his own. And the Little Mountain Riders were always his favorite. There was nothing more adorable in the world than watching a group of four-year-olds on snowboards. Nothing. There wasn’t a puppy, kitten, or furry creature alive that could hold a candle to those little dudes and dudettes.

“Second,” said Patrick after he’d given them a minute to look over their lesson cards, “we’ve got a big corporate retreat coming in tomorrow, and I want you two to take the lead on any snowboarding sessions they want to book.”

“Sure,” said Lane, frowning at her card. “Did you give me a full day private lesson with a twelve-year-old douche because I hit on your crush?”

Patrick grinned. “Nope. Made these up yesterday.” He stood and tugged his beanie on over his shaved head. “Maybe it’s karma.”

Lane grumbled something that sounded like “karma my ass” but plastered a smile on her face. “Okay. You’re the boss.”

With the word karma bouncing around his skull, Sebastian tipped his chin in Lane’s direction. “I’ll take him. I was a twelve-year-old douche once upon a time. Maybe I’ll have an easier time with him.”

Lane flashed him a grateful smile. “Seriously? Man, I should buy a lottery ticket. A date with Kendra and I don’t have to spend the day with Chase Van Whitney? It’s definitely my lucky day.”

“Is he that bad?” he asked, swapping his lesson card with hers.

She made a face. “Nah, he’s not that bad if you don’t mind eye-rolling, tantrums, entitled behavior and just being a total privileged asshat in general.”

He grinned. “Oh, cool, he’s basically me twenty years ago.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Really? I know we haven’t been friends long, but you don’t strike me as a douche.”

“Ha. Well. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, but yeah. I was a douche with a capital D.”

“Maybe you’ll be able to connect with him better than me, then. Because I’ve never been anything but an angel.” Her mischievous grin told another story, but he just laughed.

He pushed to his feet, finished his coffee, and headed out with a wave, tossing out his cup along the way. After he’d stopped by the pro room to grab his gear, he headed to the area at the top of the mountain where all the instructors met up with their students. He spotted Chase Van Whitney almost immediately. Kitted out in the most expensive snowboarding gear available, he was idly cruising back and forth, spraying up snow as he did.

Plastering a smile on his face, Sebastian approached and tipped his chin at him. “Hey, man, are you Chase?”

“Yeah.” The tone was somehow both defiant and sullen.

“Cool. I’m Sebastian. I’ll be your instructor today.”

Chase gave him a once over, his lip curling slightly. “You’re, like, mega old.”

Sebastian shrugged. “I’m experienced. Which will benefit you.”

“Uh huh,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“How long you been riding?” he asked, aiming for a casual tone. Yeah, this kid was clearly a little asshole, but Sebastian felt himself wanting to connect with him.

“Since I was five,” he said. “I’m pretty good.”

Sebastian grinned. “I bet. You warmed up?”

Chase squinted at him and tossed his head to flick his hair out of his eyes. “No. I’m not old. I don’t need to warm up.”

“Yeah, well, I do, and today I’m the boss, so I say we’re warming up.”

Chase rolled his eyes and let out the sigh to end all sighs, and Sebastian laughed.

“What’s