11. The Hills

Logan

The next day started off awkwardly. Hunter and Logan engaged in regular chit-chat, discussing the snow and the boards and whether they should get them waxed, with less enthusiasm than usual. Logan avoided Andrea’s calls—silencing his phone for the day.

The ride up the lift was strange, shoulder to shoulder, and neither speaking a word, making it feel like the shortest and longest two minutes of his life. Things eased up after the first few rounds. They attempted new tricks and maneuvers, taking some tumbles along the way, but ended up laughing about their wipeouts. In the early afternoon, they grabbed burgers from one of the restaurants on the second floor of the ski lodge, where they met a couple of young college girls who invited them to a party at their cabin that night.

Hunter’s parents had a private dinner reserved at the Michelin-star restaurant in town, while he joined the Parkers for dinner at the resort.

“What’s your plan for the evening?” Mrs. Parker asked the snickering duo.

“We’re gonna stay in and keep it low-key. I’m so tired from today I can hardly walk,” Logan said, clutching at his side in pain.

“You’ll feel worse tomorrow,” his father added, chuckling. “Those mountains aren’t for me anymore. What will you be doing, Stacy?”

“I’m getting together with some friends I made snow tubing today,” she said, glancing at her phone.

Logan hated how they’d fall for anything Stacy said. “What are their names?”

She feigned a smile. “What do you care?”

“Your brother is being protective of you,” Mr. Parker explained.

“Right,” she said with a scoff. “You know, college has made you a real dick this year. Maybe Andrea isn’t doing it right. Time for a change.”

Logan gave her a cheeky glare. “You should give her some lessons since you’re such a pro.”

She laughed before taking a sip of her drink and then pursed her lips. “Tell her to start by not messaging me. She’s losing her shit. Did you tell her we were in Idaho at our dying Aunt Tessa’s house? Because I tagged you in a bunch of shit with hashtag SpringBreakAspen.”

“What the fuck? Let me see.” He reached for her phone, but she snatched it away. He dug for his phone in his pockets, but realized it was in one of the many pockets of his snowboarding jacket back at the cabin.

“Did you tell her that?” his father asked, with a concerned look on his face.

“You know what that means, right, Logan?” his mother asked, raising an eyebrow. “You may want to start doing some thinking.”

“What? What do you mean? What are you talking about?” Logan asked, clueless.

“Time to dump her, stupid,” Stacy said, with a disgusted look on her face.

“What? No, that’s not what that means,” Logan said. The thought of the drama of breaking up with Andrea made him sweaty. He’d have to quit Lacrosse, Dylan would never allow it.

“You want to be in a relationship with someone who understands you. Where you can be honest without fear of hurting them or of them hurting you because of the truth,” his father said.

Logan put his hands up and shook his head. “It’s not that. She wanted to go to Florida for spring break, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her we were going to Aspen. I figured making that up would be easier.”

Stacy laughed. “Well, now she’s suicidal.”

“Stacy! Don’t joke that way,” her mother scolded her.

Logan looked worried. “She’s not. She’ll be fine. I’ll tell her she got better, and this came up last minute. Hunter, has she tried to call you?”

“Uhm, she doesn’t have my number, but I haven’t checked my phone.” He pulled out his phone to find thirteen long messages from Andrea waiting for him. “Yeah, she’s freaking out, man.” Hunter handed his phone to Logan.

“Fuck!”

“Time to dump her,” Stacy said, in a mocking tone.

“You should reconsider this relationship,” his mother said. “In my opinion, anyway. You’re free to make your own choice.”

Logan looked at Hunter who stared at his empty plate.

“Do you think Andrea and Logan are good together, Hunter? You’re the only one here who has met her,” Mr. Parker asked.

“I’m not going to answer that.” Hunter chuckled, not looking up. “Logan, do you want to go check on her?”

Logan rose from the table abruptly, making the chair screech against the floor. “I’m not breaking up with her.”

Back at the cabin, Logan opened his phone to find thirty missed calls and over sixty text messages. “Holy fuck, look at this.”

Hunter gave him a cheeky smile and a pat on the shoulder. “So much for becoming a member of their family.”

“Dylan called and texted me a bunch, too. ‘You not answering is fucked up and shows me and my family the kind of person you are’. Great, now I have to quit lacrosse,” Logan whined, sinking his head into his palms on the couch. “I’ll call her now.”

Logan got up and paced around the room while waiting for the phone to ring. “Hey, baby, what’s going on? Why are you freaking out? … I don’t know what you mean, those are probably clips from last year. She’s weird like that … please, stop crying … I know, and I care about you, too … Calm down … You saw me in the sweater you got me on the plane? … Yeah, on the plane to Idaho … Why are you acting so crazy? … We went snowboarding for the day … I’m not in Aspen, no. I wish I were in Aspen … I don’t know why she tagged Aspen. My sister is a loser …”

Hunter turned away and headed to his bedroom.

“So, you don’t believe me? … The location in that app has my avatar where? … Whatever, Andrea … I’m tired of you. I’m tired of this relationship, and you’re always acting crazy … Believe whatever you want … I have to go back to my family now … No, I’m not going to stay and chat with you acting like this … Believe whatever you’d like … Great. Stop calling me while you’re at it … You’re going to burn my stuff at your house? Sure, that’s not crazy at all … Have fun torching my shit … And you’re going to what? I made you do what? … I have a clip of you perfectly willing … You blew him right in front of me … I’m done talking to you … Yep, good luck with that. See ya.”

Logan hung up the call and quickly browsed through his videos, finding the one he took of Andrea and Hunter in his room and him getting her from behind. He almost sent it to her but was unsure if she’d use it as ammo against him.

“Are you alright?” Hunter asked, entering the living room with a towel wrapped around his waist.

Logan went speechless for a second, his mind freezing as he admired Hunter’s wet body. “Uh, yes, yeah. I mean, she’s nuts.”

“You guys will work it out,” Hunter said, used to hearing fights between Logan and Andrea. “Get ready for the party. Let’s leave in an hour.”

The thought of Hunter with another woman made Logan’s heart drop. He didn’t have the stomach for it, not tonight. Not when it had been over twenty-four hours since their last kiss and all he wanted to do was be held in Hunter’s arms. “Do you mind if we skip the party? I’m just dead tired and want to chill out here tonight.” A sense of relief washed over Hunter’s face that gave Logan hope.

“Can we still drink? I snagged a bottle of sake from my dad’s liquor cabinet.”

“Sake? Fuck yes, we can,” Logan said, rushing to the couch to put on the television. “Look what’s on tonight … Kung Fu movie marathon. Drink for each kick?”

Hunter laughed, still in his towel. “You have a death wish. Kung Fu and sake, the perfect pairing.”

“Actually, Kung Fu is Chinese and sake is from Japan.” Logan’s eyes fell to Hunter’s chest and abs then back up to his face.

“I’ll put some clothes on,” Hunter said and left the room.

Hunter

They split a bottle of sake into two red plastic cups and sipped on it over the next couple of hours as they watched old Kung Fu movies on television. Although now speaking, they sat at opposite ends of the couch, Logan with his feet up under a blanket and on his phone most of the time.

“Is Andrea still texting you?” Hunter asked, eager for engagement.

“She’s in full-blown psycho mode. Deleted all our pictures and shit,” Logan said with a shrug.

“Are you alright? I know you liked her,” Hunter said.

“I mean, I did. But she’s too much. Did you ever like her? As a person?”

“Honestly? I was in love with her,” Hunter said, deadpan.

“Really?”

He chuckled, feeling buzzed from the alcohol. “No, I hate that bitch.”

Logan laughed loudly, throwing his head back. “Damn. Straight-up hate? You should’ve told me. I mean, you’re my best friend. I want you to like the person I’m with.”

The words took Hunter’s breath away, realizing that whoever Logan ended up with wouldn’t be him. “It’s not like you’ll marry anyone you know right now. These aren’t forever relationships we’re forming. We’re young, ya know? Time to explore.” Hunter sank lower on the couch and rested his head on a pillow against the armrest.

“Fuck, I’m going to be sore tomorrow,” was the last thing Hunter heard Logan say before drifting off to sleep.

Acouple of hours later, Hunter’s head throbbed violently, and a high-pitched ringing resonated in his ears. His eyelids fluttered open as he sat in the dark living room, thinking he had woken from a strange erotic dream he couldn’t remember. Incredibly aroused, a soft moan escaped his mouth. Movement around his legs forced his eyes open to find Logan between his legs with Hunter’s semi-hard dick in his mouth. It took him a second to process what was happening. He wasn’t sure if he was awake or still dreaming.

“Logan?”

Logan glanced up at Hunter and sucked even harder, fitting more and more of him in his mouth as he stroked the base of his thick cock.

“Mhh.” Hunter threw his head back and thrust his hips slightly forward as he blinked hard, trying to get his head straight. He knew he couldn’t let Logan continue after their talk the night before. “Hey, man,” he whispered. “Stop … get off … ohh, mhhh …”

Logan sucking on his dick felt more intense than any blow job he had ever received from a woman. Logan’s mouth was bigger, and his tongue was stronger than what he was used to.

“Fuck,” Hunter muttered in pure ecstasy and frustration as he rubbed his face. “Logan, hey … stop.” Hunter leaned forward, scooting his bottom back on the couch and away from Logan.

“Logan, Logan, hey. Come on, man,” he said with more bass in his voice. He grabbed the sides of Logan’s face with both hands and leaned forward, touching their foreheads. Logan gazed up at him and let Hunter’s penis flop out of his mouth.

“I want you,” Logan whispered, drunk and breathless.

“I know,” Hunter said, clenching his hand into a fist, their noses pressed against one another. “I know.” They could both feel the other’s breath in their parted mouths. Hunter wanted nothing more than to feel his tongue on his best friend’s tongue.

“Please,” Logan said, brushing his lips against Hunter’s. He gently pulled on Hunter’s bottom lip with his own.

“No, we can’t. You’re drunk.” Hunter pulled away and stroked the side of Logan’s face tenderly. “Let’s get you to bed.”