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Finally, they made their way out of the thick crowd and to the long table at the back of the bar where Annie sat with Ian, Jake, and Lena. They were all enthralled in a conversation, Jake and Lena vivaciously describing something to Annie and Ian. When Annie saw them approaching, though, she broke away, rising from her seat and waving them forward.
“Sadie!” Annie greeted Sadie enthusiastically, wrapping her in a tight hug. The rest of the group broke away from their conversation to wave at them both distractedly, but quickly returned to whatever they’d been talking about.
Pulling away from Sadie, Annie looked Liam up and down and narrowed her eyes on him before greeting him with a short “Liam.”
Annie was still a little wary of his and Sadie’s relationship. He supposed he should be happy that she had such a friend, looking out for her best interests and making sure she wasn’t getting taken advantage of by her all-powerful elementary school principal.
The bar was a bit quieter in this spot despite the muffled noise of the thick crowd. Sadie sat down on the bench against the wall next to Annie and Ian. Not wanting to crowd her and seeing more space on the opposite side of the table next to Jake and Lena, Liam sat across from her.
Her mouth stretched in a bright smile as she looked at the group expectantly, but they continued chatting happily with each other. Lena dissolved into giggles at something Jake said, and Ian wrapped his arm around Annie, pulling her close into their fold.
He saw the light in Sadie’s eyes dim a bit as she continued to sit there in nervous expectation, her hands folded casually on her lap.
Leaning over the table, Liam looked at Annie questioningly. “Is there a server or should we get our drinks from the bar?”
“Definitely go to the bar,” Annie answered, her face fixed with a grim look. “Morgan’s our waitress and she’s….” Annie trailed off, her eyes searching the bar behind him, as if she was unsure how to best identify Morgan’s location or her particular brand of waitressing.
“Doing a pretty terrible job,” Ian said, finishing her sentence. Annie shot him a reprimanding look, but he just shrugged, unapologetic. “What? You know it’s true. She'smycousin, and I can definitely say that multitasking is not her forte.”
Annie leaned back in her seat, glaring at Ian, which caused Jake to bark out a loud laugh. “Ian, Liam, how about we go up to the bar to get some drinks?” he suggested.
“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” said Lena, reaching her arm around Jake's shoulder and squeezing. “Get me a white wine?”
The guys quickly got everyone’s orders and made their way back through the sea of people, squeezing into a free corner at the end of the bar.
Liam was pretty miserable. Was being crammed into such a crowded, confined space supposed to be fun? Looking over his shoulder at Sadie at the table against the wall, her features lively as she conversed with Annie and Lena, Liam begrudgingly admitted that if she had enough fun for the both of them, then he could suck it up.
The bartender walked over, and Jake quickly recited the table’s drink orders before asking Ian a question that Liam couldn’t hear. Liam was happy to settle in for the wait, studying all the people crowded around the bar and spread out throughout the room.
Since they were firmly entrenched in ski season at this point, most of the clientele were stereotypical skiing and snowboarding “bro brahs.” Still wearing the bright, baggy snow clothes from the hill, they stood around in clusters, holding half-empty pint glasses while loudly recounting tales from the day shredding that sick gnar.
Looking up at one bro brah in particular, Liam was struck by how familiar he looked. His shaggy blond hair was pulled back from his face, which was sporting a pretty severe goggle tan line, and he had a bandana tied around his forehead with the nameHarperprinted on it.
“Oh, man,” he finally said, nudging Jake. “Is that Seth Harper?” Seth Harper was a world-famous snowboarder; he’d medaled in the recent X Games and was a sure thing to participate in the next Winter Olympics.
Jake looked up, nodding his head tightly as he made brief eye contact with Ian. “That’s him,” he said shortly. He paused for a beat as if considering whether or not he wanted to pontificate. Seemingly unable to resist, he added, “He’s an obnoxious bastard … just in case you were wondering.”
“You know him?”
“Yeah, we do,” Jake answered, looking over at Ian again. “Ian and I got him signed on to represent our new company, Explore Lake Conrad, when it opens in March. He’s got a lot of visibility, so he’ll be a great addition. It’s too bad he fucking sucks, though.”
Ian scowled at Jake. “He’s not that bad, Jake, and this is abusiness arrangement. You don’t have to like him as long as he does his job.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jake said dismissively.
Ian chortled. “You’ll soon discover, Liam, that Jake is pretty damn judgmental for a cowboy.”
“What are you talking about?” Jake asked, affronted. “I like everyone.”
“Yeah, everyone except the people you don’t like,” Ian laughed, shifting his attention to Liam. “You’re a skier, Liam, you know the type of guy snowboarders are … they’re a different breed. Especially a professional like Seth—he eats, sleeps, and breathes life on the mountain.”
Liam nodded in understanding. Hedidknow the type. For people like him, skiing was a fun hobby, an added benefit to living in a mountain town. But for a lot of people in a town like Lake Conrad, skiing, snowboarding, and the life and culture on the mountain encompassed their whole personality.
“Have you been doing a lot of skiing, Liam?” Jake asked. “You should come out with me and Ian sometime.”
“Yeah,” Liam answered with a nod. “Sadie and I have gone up the Mount Rose gondola pretty much every weekend since it opened.”
There was a weighted silence as Jake looked over at him, considering him. “Are you and Sadie a thing now?” he asked with hesitation.
