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“Stop embarrassing him,” Xander warns me.
“I’m not the one who brought up licking.” I hold my hands up innocently. “If anyone’s embarrassing him it’s you two with the way Niko’s fingers are this close to slipping under your shorts. Go christen something and let me and Noah suffer heat stroke in peace.”
My friend fixes me with a blank stare—the one he gets when he’s asking himself why he tolerates me—but I catch Niko’s sly smile just before he brings his mouth to Xander’s neck and pump my fist in my head. I knew at least one of them wouldn’t be able to resist the suggestion they christen something in this new house of theirs.
“We have company,” Xander lifts his shoulders and leans forward, attempting to be more good-mannered than the company—me—cares for.
“We can go,” Noah offers.
“See, they can go. And you and I can try out our new shower.” Niko doesn’t offer any polite excuses in front of Noah. Interesting.
“Tripp is rubbing off on you,” Xander grunts. “It would make us horrible hosts.”
“At least here we’ve got the option to leave. On road trips we’re all on the same floor, and not all hotel walls are as thick as you’d want them to be.” Noah’s head drifts from side to side as if he’s reliving what must be a salacious memory.
“Ooh, I need to hear more about thin walls in hotels.” I waggle my eyebrows at Noah, loving the way it makes his cheeks flush.
“What happens on road trips stays on road trips. Team rules.” Niko shrugs his shoulders with a sorry, not sorry look.
“Fine. Go test out your shower and we’ll tell you how soundproof the walls here are.”
Noah clears his throat as he shakes his head. “I’d rather not know if they’re soundproof. I’m gonna take off.”
“Buzzkill,” I huff. “Fine, I’ll go too since my car is at your house.”
“Why is your car at his house?” Xander asks.
“It’d have ruined Niko’s ‘I bought you a house’ surprise if you pulled up to this place and saw my car here, so I hid it at Noah’s.” I might’ve pouted a bit when Niko told me I couldn’t park here since it would make Xander suspicious, but since it forces me to leave with Noah that’s not a bad turn of events.
I grab my shirt from the pool deck and tuck it into the waistband of my shorts while Noah puts his on—pooh—and we say goodbye to our horny friends.
“You can leave your board here if you want,” Xander offers as we cut through the house to the front door. “Then you’ve always got one to ride.”
“Dorothy stays with me at all times.” I drop my prized possession on the ground and hop on, riding in small circles on the drive as I wait for Noah to lead the way. He gives the guys a final nod and starts walking toward the street while I zigzag back and forth behind him.
“Dorothy?” He casts a curious glance in my direction.
“Wizard of Oz. I always figured she should’ve had a skateboard instead of red heels on that yellow brick road.”
“You’re a fan of ‘The Wizard of Oz?’”
“The old lady who raised me loved it.” I glide up next to him and put my hand on his shoulder, so he pulls me along without me having to push. He doesn’t even break stride, like it’s perfectly natural for him to be my engine, which makes my chest do that weird zinging thing again.
“You call your mom, old lady?”
“I call the old lady who raised me old lady. I call my mom… Actually, I don’t call her anything.” It’s been years since I even said the word mom, and I’m not sure why I did it just now. I’d rather not think on that too hard.
“I’m sorry. When did she pass?”
“I don’t know if she has.” I rock my weight back and forth so the board weaves slightly as it moves forward. “This would be a good training exercise for you and Niko. Jogging while you pull Xander and I on our boards. I think you should add it to your morning routine.”
Usually, I’m much more subtle at changing the topic of conversation, but to his credit Noah doesn’t dwell on that. “Hockey players shouldn't train near anything on wheels. That’s a broken ankle waiting to happen.”
“Why haven’t you pushed me away, then?”
“You’d just come right back.”
I put my free hand over my heart. “You get me. You know what that means?”
