“Where do these people get all their money?” Joey asked.
“Ridge told me his agent had budgeted funds to get him prepared for his tryouts. The other NFL hopefuls have similar arrangements. The girls all live in a dorm that’s full of rich kids. Why? Am I charging them too much?” Cassidy asked.
“I honestly don’t know, but I’m coming to you if I ever need a loan. Hell, David charges me rent for space at the strip mall where I have my business,” Greg teased.
“What should I do about finding someone to do massages?” Cassidy asked.
“Hire me,” Greg said, half-seriously. “But for now, let’s talk after breakfast.”
Greg found a moment to talk to Joey before they headed out to go ski.
“About what you said last night,” he began.
“You’re against it?” Joey asked.
“I didn’t say that. But I do know my brother. To get him to accept your ‘thank you,’ you need to talk to Lexi first and get her okay.”
“I thought they were just hooking up.”
“That may be, but she set this up so she roomed with him. From what I’ve overheard from Tim and Wolf, it sounds like she spent most nights with him while he was making his movies after he graduated from high school. He may think of it as just a hookup, but he likes her enough that he wouldn’t want her feelings hurt,” Greg explained.
“What about you? Have you thought about what I asked?”
“I have some questions. Like, what are we to each other?” Greg asked.
“You made it clear that you didn’t want to get into anything serious for a while. Has that changed?”
Greg sighed.
“No. Angie did a number on me. While I don’t want to get married anytime soon, I do want to spend time with you,” he conceded.
“You know me. I’m not one to run off and hook up with some random guy. But I’m not ready to settle down, either. I do believe that down the road, we might become more to each other. However, I’ll admit I want to have fun before that day comes.
“Look, I honestly don’t intend to go wild. David is the only guy I would consider being with right now besides you, and I don’t want to feel like I owe him. I want the happily ever after, and I think that when you’re ready, we should talk about that,” Joey said.
“Before I married Angie, I was a serial dater. I would date a girl for four to six weeks and then move on.”
“Are you saying you miss the variety?” Joey asked.
“Does it make me sound terrible if I say I do? You know I’m happy with what we have,” Greg added, hoping he hadn’t stepped in it.
“I’m not into girls,” Joey said.
Greg smiled.
“And I’m not into guys.”
“Let me talk to Lexi. If I’m going to play, then you should get to as well. This might come to nothing if she balks. What you said about David not being willing to hurt her makes perfect sense. If she’s not on board, I’ll figure some other way to thank him,” Joey said.
“Okay.”
Greg wasn’t sure how he really felt about all this. While he trusted David implicitly, he had to decide whether or not he trusted Joey that much. Greg was torn as to whether he should say ‘no’ to the whole idea. He knew that if David suspected he wasn’t entirely on board, Joey wouldn’t get anywhere with him. For now, Greg decided to keep quiet.
The resort offered more than just skiing. Lexi had arranged for everyone to go snowmobiling that evening. In the meantime, they planned to hit the slopes again. The late-night group passed since they hadn’t gotten much sleep. With full tummies, they were down for the count.
While skiing, Greg spent some time talking to Tami. She got him up to speed on what had happened the night before.
“It was a lot of fun. The place we went to had a DJ and drink specials on Moosehead Lager and snakebite shots.”
“What’s a snakebite shot?” he asked.
“You have to try it. It’s made from Yukon Jack, a honey-flavored whiskey that’s sickly sweet tasting. They add lime juice to give it tartness. When you drink it, it makes you pucker, shake your head, and leaves you wondering what the heck you just drank,” she shared.
“That doesn’t sound good at all.”
“It does get you drunk, though. It was fun to watch people pair up.”
“Do tell.”
“After Alyssa had a few, she opened up about her ex and what a horse’s ass he was. Tim and Wolf offered to help her create a revenge porn video to send him. I think she might have done it if she hadn’t fallen for Seamus,” Tami shared.
“That’s such a bad idea on so many levels. I could see Alyssa’s ex sending that video to everyone they knew.”
“That’s what I thought, but you know how people get.”
“Unfortunately, I do,” Greg admitted.
“Then there was Kirk and Jamie. Cassidy told me that they were two of the people who got to know David when he moved into The Palace. They’ve been friends for a couple of years. Last night, they figured out they might want to be more.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Lindsey got a voicemail from her boyfriend while we were out, and she played it for Jamie, Lauren, and Kirk. I guess he has an issue with her weight. Lindsey’s put on a couple of pounds since coming to college. She planned to go home and surprise him in a few weeks. Cassidy has been helping her firm up,” Tami said.
“What a dick.”
“They convinced Lindsey that she should quit her long-distance arrangement and find someone at USC. It looked like she might have done that. I spotted her kissing Allard on the dance floor,” she said.
“What was the deal with the wedding party?” Greg asked.
“This girl is getting married in a few weeks, and her maid of honor planned a ski trip. I guess they asked her what her biggest fantasy was, and she said she wanted to hook up with a quote-unquote ‘big guy.’ They invited everyone back to their place for an after-party. I don’t know if Wolf went through with it or not, but I could see where they were headed. Unlike some of the others, I didn’t want to risk dealing with a hangover this morning,” Tami explained.
“I haven’t ever really done that,” he said.
He’d gotten married right out of high school, and he and Angie had Kyle to raise. It had put a crimp in them going out partying.
“This might be your chance. I would suggest that you don’t make the mistake I did and mix liquors. My worst hangover ever was caused by vodka and Southern Comfort. I find it’s not nearly as bad if I stick with just one,” Tami said.
Greg chuckled because he was getting drinking advice from one of the most responsible people he knew growing up. Tami had hung out with David and two of his other friends. She was the one who kept them from doing any permanent damage. She was also the one who told David what to do. If left to his own devices, who knew what trouble he would have gotten into?
“Maybe you can show me the ropes,” Greg suggested.
“I’ll keep you out of too much trouble,” she promised.
He put that on his bucket list for this trip.
Lexi had planned for an evening adventure. The resort offered a snowcat or snowmobile ride up the mountain to a restaurant called the Crystal Hut Fondue, which provided a candlelit dinner at 6,000 feet.
Half the group decided to go, including the three brothers, Lexi, Joey, Cassidy, Tami, and Lauren. Everyone going opted for the snowmobiles as well. The party group, on the other hand, felt their money would be better spent hitting the bars again.
Greg was glad to see that David didn’t pick up the tab. Everyone had to pony up $200 for the package. The highlight was the snowmobiling. It was about an hour and a half to reach the restaurant. Granted, the majority of the time was spent going about five miles per hour playing follow the leader up the hill. The guide did let everyone play for about twenty minutes, racing around a circuit.