30. Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

I 'm not sure how the boys managed it, but I have a funny feeling it involved all ten of them. Dean and Mac couldn't have pulled this off by themselves. There's no way. I wonder what made them think of renting the small cabin, so we'd have some alone time together. No. No, this had to involve all ten of them. I have a funny feeling Perri had more to do with it than he let on.

"So the boys are taking you on a trip." Perri grins as he looms over me where I'm sitting on the couch in the common house.

Looking up, I arch a brow when I see Merc, Gilly, and Fenni standing together. The four of them normally don't hang out in the house, saying it's too much like a frat house for their liking. "Boys?"

Gilly grins. "Mac and Dean are taking you on a trip."

"For some alone time," Fenni says as he wiggles his eyebrows,

I cross my arms as I, admittedly unconvincingly, say, "There's nothing going on between me and those two." That's a bold face lie, and everyone knows it.

Merc rolls his eyes. "We all know you have something with those two. We won't tell anyone, but the fucking sexual tension between you three is killing the rest of us."

I choke on my spit as I splutter, "What—no—there's—" My eyes flick between the four of them before I huff. "Is it that obvious?"

Perri laughs. "To the ten of us? Yeah. Definitely. I don't think management has caught on. But, to be honest, I don't think they will care so long as it doesn't affect how you treat the rest of us."

Gilly shrugs. "You're professional at work, not a puck bunny. That's all that matters."

Muttering behind me interrupts my response, and I look over the back of the couch finding the other six members of my group. They quiet down when they notice me eyeing them.

Mac and Dean are pushed to the front of the group, the two of them holding bags at their side. When my eyes meet theirs, I notice both have pink-tinged cheeks.

My gaze flicks to Vicy when he announces, "Alright! Let's go lovebirds!" Furrowing my brow, I point to the extra bag in his hands. "What's that?"

Vicy grins. "Your clothes."

My eyes widen. My clothes? "You went to my apartment and packed clothes for me?"

He shakes his head. "Hell no! That's creepy. I called your mom and said that you were busy. Told her that you needed clothes for our trip this weekend."

"You told her what?" I screech.

He rolls his eyes, like it's totally normal for them to call my mom. "Don't freak out, Roe Roe. I told her it was a team trip. A short getaway to relieve some stress."

I pinch the bridge of my nose as I ask, "And what happens when she finds out that it wasn't the whole team?"

"Who's gonna tell her? No one here will."

I groan, realizing there is no way of getting out of this. "Where are we going?" I ask, resigned.

"I have a small cabin up North," Taz says with a grin.

"And whose idea was this?"

All fingers point at Mac and Dean. Hum… I have my doubts.

I'm standing in front of a frozen pond that sits behind the small cabin. Dean said he'll make sure everything is set up inside, so I dragged Mac with me to explore what's outside. The moment I see the pond I run back inside. "Did you guys grab my skates?"

Dean laughs. "The guys packed them before we left. I think I put them by the front door."

I race from the back of the house to the front, finding my skates next to the front door. Snatching them up, I race back outside.

Mac arches a brow as I make my way back to the pond. There's a small bench, so I sit to switch my shoes for my skates. "What are you doing?"

As I lace up my skates, I say, "I'm going to skate on the pond."

"Not sure that's safe, Liz."

Standing from my spot, I walk over to the ice-covered pond. "It'll be frozen solid by now. I'll be fine."

"Stay away from the center. There's no telling how solid that ice is."

I wave a dismissive hand. "Yeah. Yeah."

He huffs as he watches me glide onto the ice.

After skating for a few minutes, I look up to find Mac watching me. There's a content smile on his face as he tracks me across the ice. I skate past him as I call, "Come out here and skate with me."

He shakes his head. "I'm not getting out on that ice."

I huff as I circle around him again. "Oh, come on. It's not that scary."

"You are small and light; I am large and heavy. I will break that ice, Roe Roe."

Skating backward, I keep my eyes on him. "Don't trust me, Mac?"

His eyes soften. "I trust you with my life on a daily basis. I, on the other hand, do not trust that ice won't break under my weight. If you wanted someone to skate with you, you should have asked Dean while you were inside."

I pout a bit, but I understand. The ice could break under his weight. I slowly get closer and closer to the center of the pond when he yells out, "Too close! Get out of the middle!"

It looks sturdy out here, but I don't want to scare him. As I make my way to the outer part of the circle, I hear a crack. Now, when you hear the ice crack underneath you, you shouldn't stop and freeze where you are. I do, though. I freeze and lock eyes with Mac. He must have heard it too.

"Skate, Liz!"

I begin moving again, but as soon as I do, the ice shatters under me. My eyes meet Mac's as I scream. His eyes widen in horror as he rushes onto the very ice he refused to set foot on a minute ago.

Thankfully, I manage to catch the edge of the ice before I drop straight into the freezing cold water. Mac makes it to my side, falls onto his stomach, and slides closer to me. He reaches out to me as he says, "Grab my hand!"

My hand slaps into his, and he gradually pulls me out, being careful to avoid the ice breaking even more. As soon as I'm out of the icy water, my teeth chatter from the cold. We make it to a thicker patch of ice before Mac stands, pulling me up with him.

His breath fogs around me as he lifts me into his arms and runs toward the house. "Dean!" he shouts.

Dammit, I should have listened. I've already managed to ruin our trip.

His eyes meet mine as he runs. "We'll get you warm, Chérie. Hold on."

My teeth are chattering so badly that my words come out choppy. "I'm…s…s…sorry."

"No need to apologize." He rushes through the backdoor right as Dean opens it.

"What happened?" he questions, following behind us.

Mac moves closer to the fireplace. "She fell through the ice. Get a fire going."

Dean nods, rushing over to start the fire while Mac sets me down. "I need to undress you, Liz. We need to get these wet clothes off."

I nod. "O—okay."

He's gentle but rushed as he removes my wet clothes. He starts with my skates, throwing them to the side, then he peels off my socks.

"Fire's going," Dean says behind Mac.

"Get her some dry clothes," Mac says, and Dean rushes off to grab her clothes as instructed.

Removing my pants, Mac whispers, "I'll have to take off your underwear too."

I nod as he snatches a blanket off the couch to cover me once he has finished undressing me. He takes my shirt off and gives me a questioning look. I nod again as he removes my bra, shifting the blanket up to completely cover me.

Pulling me into his lap, he places me between him and the warmth of the fire. I feel a bulge under me and realize that it's him. He pulls me in closer, rubbing a hand up and down my shoulders, trying to get me warm. "Sorry," he whispers. I look up to find his cheeks bright pink. "Can't control that. Tends to have a mind of its own."

I can't help but tease him. "Ah, so removing a girl's clothes because she fell into a frozen pond is what does it for you."

"Liz," he groans.

"Just wanting clarification. I mean, if that's your thing no judgment."

He growls. "It's not my thing, Liz."

I snicker. "You sure? He seems to have other ideas."

He nips at my ear, making me yelp. "You are my thing."

I duck my head when I feel a blush heat my cheeks. "So it's not the wet clothes," I whisper.

He huffs a laugh. "I mean, the wet clothes certainly didn't help, but no. It's not the wet clothes."

"I've got dry clothes," Dean announces as he makes his way over to us. He sets them on the couch before grabbing another blanket. He sits next to Mac, pulling my exposed feet into his lap. He covers them with the blanket before rubbing a hand up and down my legs as well as over my feet. Trying to get warmth back into my limbs.

After a few minutes of silence Lewi asks, "Are you getting warmer?"

The teeth chattering thankfully stopped, and I can finally feel my toes again. I nod against Mac's chest. "Yeah."

"You want to get into dry clothes now?" Mac asks.

I shake my head. "Not yet. I'm comfortable like this." And surprisingly, that isn't a lie. I am comfortable. Is it weird that I am completely comfortable sitting in Mac's lap, naked under a blanket, while Mac holds me, and Dean massages my legs and feet? Maybe. I can't say I care at the moment, though. My eyes start to feel heavy, now that I am no longer freezing.

"Don't fall asleep yet," Dean's voice jerks me awake.

"Sorry," I whisper. "I don't know why I'm so tired."

"The cold zaps your energy. Should we give you a reason to stay awake?"

My body grows warm at the implication. "What do you have in mind?"

I shiver as his lips brush my ear. "We should check out the bedroom. What do you think, Liz?"

"I would love to check out the bedroom," I say breathily.

He hums before turning to Dean. "To the bedroom?"

Dean's grip on my feet tightens before he releases them and pushes off the ground. "Bedroom."

Maybe I didn't ruin our trip after all.