new ways to tease me by the minute, and he was over here wanting to have a full-out conversation.

"Collins," he hummed beneath his breath, sing-songy in the way that said it. "Come on, baby girl, talk to me."

"Everything. I like everything," I managed to get out right before he pinched my nipple lightly, making me moan. My legs trembled a bit, and I was thankful that Beau had such a strong hold on me.

Especially considering how he was doing it—cupping me between my legs firmly.

"Everything, huh?" Beau chuckled in my ear before pressing me tighter to his chest. I felt his erection brush against the underside of my ass, and I wondered how the hell he was acting so calm considering how hard he was. I felt damn ready to explode. "I think I'm gonna need more specifics."

Specifics? I didn't have specifics. My experience with sex was pretty limited to the basics, and I didn't need Beau—who was apparently far more confident in bed than I ever would have guessed—to find out.

"I just want you to touch me, Beau," I groaned. "I don't care how."

Beau enthusiastically responded by slipping a finger inside me and curling it with a single stroke. Pleasure blossomed in the deepest part of me.

"I want to touch you, too, though," I added.

That was the only thing I cared about, really. I wanted a bit of my own taste, my own touch. Beyond that, he could take the lead. I was his for the taking.

"Okay," he murmured. "Touch me how you want, sweetheart. And then I'm going to return whatever favor you give me."

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized this was special. Beau was giving me power over the situation and taking control all in one move, and I couldn't be more comfortable letting my guard down. It hurt knowing how good this felt, though, knowing it was fleeting.

Releasing me slowly, Beau backed away, giving me a chance to turn around. Standing, I let my dress fall the rest of the way to the floor and enjoyed how Beau's eyes lit up before raking me over.

I pointed where I wanted him.

"On the bed, Beau."

____

I did not expect there to be such a huge crowd at the base of the mountain when we drove over there after breakfast.

The half-pipe was larger than life. Even more intimidating than last night when Beau had shown me from his bedroom. Nerves and excitement bubbled up in my stomach at the thought of watching the competition. Or, more specifically, watching Beau. College students from all over California roamed the landing area, most of them geared up for the slopes. But not all. Some were clearly just here to watch, like us.

"I'm so excited," Madie said, clapping her hands together as her gaze sparkled, taking in the mountain. "This makes me want to go rent some skis and jump on the lift."

"So you can run into a tree like Beau and hit that pretty head of yours?" Bren started shaking his head back and forth rapidly. "No. Nope. Not happening."

I knew from spending most of last summer hanging in the same vicinity as Bren and Madie that she easily grew exasperated with his overprotectiveness—like right now. And it was especially worse when it came to her head.

She probably didn't realize, though, that Bren knew from what happened to my dad how deadly brain injuries could be. And Bren had already watched Madie live through one horrid blow to the head. I saw the worry in his eyes constantly, and I honestly couldn't blame him for it.

Madie gave Bren a little shove. "Oh, stop. I'm good at it, baby. I'm from South Lake Tahoe, remember? I grew up skiing." She stuck her hand on her hip. "And it's just a fact that snowboarders tend to fall way more than skiers, but don't tell Beau I said that."

When Bren rolled his eyes, Madie said, "You know, I could teach you."

"Please no. Spare me from being bad at something else."

That got a glare out of Madie, which Bren smoothed over by pulling her in for a tight tug and whispering something in her ear.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Nessa's voice, so close to my ear, startled me. I turned around to find her brown eyes watching me with a bit of concern and curiosity. I felt my cheeks flush, even in the cold mountain air.

"Oh, yeah." I shook my head, dismissing the question. "I'm fine."

But everything about Nessa's expression told me she didn't believe me, so I mumbled, "I'm just a little worried about Beau."

Nessa's gaze grew wide before she pulled back with a cheeky grin. "Yeah, he was acting a little weird this morning. Did you notice?"

Weird wasn't the word I'd use to describe this morning, Nessa.

The things Beau had said in bed hadn't exactly surprised me; I knew what he was like when he flipped that switch. God yes, I knew what he was like. But the things he'd said before walking away from me earlier? Yeah, weird didn't cut it.

This was a new Beau, and I didn't know how to handle him yet.

When I couldn't seem to find the same amusement she did, her smile faltered. "What are you worried about?"

Words failing me, I jabbed my finger toward the monstrosity on the hill before us. Understanding dawned on Nessa's face, and I was quick to elaborate on my concerns.

"He really shouldn't be competing today after his injury yesterday."

Nessa sighed before looking back over her shoulder. I assumed it was in search of Grayson, who had gone off searching for something hot to drink like ten minutes ago. When her boyfriend was nowhere to be found, she leaned in closer to me again.

"Trust me, I understand exactly how you're feeling. Men are freaking stubborn and act like fools when it comes to sports."

"I heard that, darling."

Nessa jumped, whipping around to scowl at Grayson. He sported a crooked grin that I recognized as one he always used while teasing his girlfriend. And I could tell how much it drove her wild, in more ways than one.

"I also saw you searching for me a second ago," he added, yanking on one of her long brown braids that popped out from beneath a mustard-colored hat. "But you weren't even close to looking in the right direction."

Leaning in closer, he kissed her cheek and placed a cup of coffee in her hands. "Enjoy your caramel macchiato, Adler."

The words I love you went unspoken in that sentence, but with that secret, sweet tone he used to talk to her, I could more than hear the implication.

Annoyance, amusement, and adoration all flew through Nessa's eyes within a matter of seconds. The last feeling seemed to stick around the longest, especially as she cupped both of her hands around the cup and took a sip, humming in satisfaction.

"And a vanilla latte for you," Grayson added, and it took me a second to realize who he was talking to—me. "Nessa said you like vanilla cold brews, but I didn't think that something cold was the way to go at the moment."

He punctuated that comment by sniffing slightly, his nose growing red in the cold, wintery air. I took the warm drink from him, thinking that sometimes these people that Bren had introduced me to were so nice that it made me want to cry.

"Thank you, Grayson. You didn't have to do that."

He just shrugged. "It's not a problem."

Taking a sip, I relished the delicious warmth of the drink and then was pulled back to reality when Nessa seemed to wake up from her own coffee dream.

"Anyway, Beau will be okay. He's been doing this since he was really little, right? I'm sure he's more experienced than we realize."

I barely withheld a groan.

He's definitely more experienced than I realized, Nessa. But that has nothing to do with snowboarding.

With a deep breath, I nodded and tried to push away all the butterflies in my stomach. He would be fine. Everything would be fine.

****

Everything would not be fine.

Eight contestants in, and nearly every single one of them had wiped out in some way or another. I heard the word ice and conditions thrown around by the commentator, and I didn't like the sound of it at all.

I had no clue why Beau did this shit for fun.

When they finally announced that it was his turn, I bounced up on my toes, and Nessa grabbed my gloved hand with hers, giving it a squeeze. I knew I was probably acting overly worried, but I also knew that sometimes shitty things happened to good people, and Beau was the very best of people.

I held my breath as Beau pushed off the landing, gliding around to the top and getting ready to drop into the half-pipe. His stance was every bit relaxed, every bit the casual guy I knew. If there was any fear in him about flying down the steep side...he didn't show it.

When he popped back up the other end and spun off the top in some kind of trick that got screams and cheers out of the crowd, my grip tightened around Nessa's hand. And then he was back on the snow again, sticking the landing like he hadn't just been God knows how many feet up in the air.

Around me, people hollered even louder. Bren let loose a whoop that hurled excitement into my veins. Well, at least until Beau dipped down and back up into another wild mid-air twist. He landed that one, too, and I smiled, biting down on my lip with less nervousness and more anticipation. Eagerness.

But holy shit. He was going so fast. Did he realize he was going so fast?

On his next upswing, he grabbed the edge of the snowy pipe with one hand and whipped his board in the air above him. Popped off—literally. His body curved easily, like none of this was a big deal. And that was when something twisted in my stomach. Like lower in my stomach.

Fuck, I wasn't worried about him anymore.

I was worried about myself.

Beau was so fucking hot. And he was still my roommate. And my friend. And someone I couldn't have.

Dropping down again, he flew out of the pipe, skimming over the snow like it was water. His jacket ruffled in the wind, proof of how fast he was moving through the goddamn air. He seemed to spot us even before he started to slow, curving his board so that when he cut to a stop close by, snow sprayed in front of him like an icy wave. In the same motion, he dropped down and flicked his bindings off his feet. Casually, as if he hadn't just stuck every landing like a professional.

And when he stepped out of his bindings, he didn't hesitate. He whipped off his goggles and his helmet before flashing a giant smile at us.

At me.

Because when he walked over, snowboard under one arm, it was straight in my direction. And when he reached me, he leaned in to whisper, husky and out of breath, in my ear.

"Just so you know, all I could think about during that was how I could still taste your sweet little pussy. It's a fucking miracle I landed anything."

Heat whipped through me. Beau was right. Adrenaline was powerful. And addictive like a drug.

Before I could fathom a reply, Beau pulled back and walked over to Bren and Grayson, slapping their palms together in a total dude greeting before he took off for the sidelines, clearing the landing area. A girl with reddish hair bounced up, wearing ski boots and the cutest baby-blue ski jacket. But when she threw her arms around Beau, my stomach soured. My gaping mouth snapped shut, quickly forming a frown.

"I have so many questions I want to ask right now."

"Same," I heard Madie pipe in.

"Tell me about it," I echoed.

But then, when I tore my eyes away and looked between Madie and Nessa, I realized they weren't looking at Beau. Or the other girl. They were staring at me.

"The look on your face, Collins." Nessa's eyebrows rose so freaking high. "I want to know what he just said to you so bad. So bad."

Clearing my throat to manage a response wasn't easy, and I had to take a sip of my drink before I found my voice. "It was just an...inside joke."

Madie narrowed her eyes at me. "And I suppose how you're staring at that girl for daring to touch Beau... that's an inside joke, too, huh?"

"I'm not staring at anyone," I protested.

Nessa took a long sip of her caramel macchiato in response while Madie simply raised a brow.

When I looked back to find Beau, he was gone. And so was the other girl.

✨

collins, beau might be kinda funny

but you know he ain't no joke

lol pls ignore me

tysm for reading

xoxo amelie