The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols Read Free Book Online

lyrics from the stereo. But the roomwas empty.
    “Hello?” I called, my voice echoing above the music.
    There was a scream, and then a door opened. Chloe stepped out of the pantry, smoothing her hands through her mussed blond hair. “Hey girl! Oh my God, you look so awesome in those jeans!”
    “Thanks. Josh let me borrow them. You’ll never see them again unless I find something else to coerce him with, but it’ll be two years before he’s old enough to drive down to Denver and buy crack.”
    “I’m serious.” She looked me up and down. “You could be a model.”
    “Selling what? Hamburgers, like the Wendy’s girl? I have red hair and freckles.”
    “Think about Lindsay Lohan.”
    “I’d rather not,” I muttered as Chloe turned me around backward and lifted up my coat to admire my ass.
    Then she gasped. “Oh my God, ‘ BOY TOY’ ?”
    “That’s me, fast and loose.” This came out sounding more wistful than I’d intended, and I hoped she didn’t guess I was thinking about Nick. “Speaking of which, I take it you and Gavin are rearranging the soupcans?” I nodded toward the pantry.
    “Ah … yeah.” Her cheeks tinged pink. “We’re almost through with our inventory.”
    “You
are
?” I exclaimed.
    “I mean, that didn’t come out right.” She blushed more deeply. It was hilarious to see Chloe flustered, which happened only once a year or so. She must
really
like Gavin, which I still found bizarre.
    “We’ll be out in a sec,” she said. “Liz and Davis are in the hot tub.”
    They certainly were. The back of the kitchen was a wall of windows overlooking the hotel’s heated pool and hot tub. Steam rose from the water and wisped into the night.
    Over Chloe’s shoulder I could see Liz and Davis deep in the hot tub, seeking refuge from the frigid winter air, kissing slowly. I didn’t have the heart to interrupt. Knowing them, it had taken them half an hour to work up the courage to touch each other at all.
    “No hurry.” I winked to show Chloe my support for taking inventory with Gavin. It was very important that a winter resort hotel never run out of soup. She backed into the pantry and closed the door.
    I examined my cake on the counter again. CONGRATULATIONS HAYDEN! The only thing worse than being abandoned at my own victory party was letting my friends know I cared about this, and making them feel bad about it so they stayed with me instead of stealing the alone-time they really wanted with their boyfriends. You know what it was like? It was exactly like being grateful to my friends in Tennessee for continuing to hang out with me when I was in a wheelchair, but knowing all along that they’d rather ditch me.
    I missed Everett Walsh for the first time since we’d broken up last week.
    Suddenly I realized I was staring at Liz and Davis again, his dark hand stroking her porcelain complexion. Okay, I would
not
stare at my friends making out like I was love-starved. From the hot tub my gaze traveled up, over the faux-rustic shops of downtown Snowfall, and the white lights strung in the bare trees. The dark mountain looming over the town was visible in the night only because starlight reflected on the snowy slopes. I’d always regarded that mountain as my friend. It had given me years of highs induced by sun and speed. It had helped meregain so much of the confidence I’d lost when I’d broken my leg. Tonight, for the first time ever, the mountain looked cold and menacing. I shivered.
    I knew one way to warm up, besides the hot tub and the pool. I hurried to the locker room to change into the bikini and flip-flops I’d brought to enjoy the hotel amenities. Then I dashed back through the cold banquet room. The door into the hallway squealed, letting anyone in the sauna know I was coming.
    A few times over the years, Chloe and I had surprised hotel guests in compromising situations in the sauna. Tonight I might walk in on a beer-fueled boys’ night out for a group of middle-aged men, in