Steam (Homecoming Hearts #4)(28)

Ashby was so innocent, but Trent couldn’t help but raise his hackles. His dad wouldn’t talk to him, but he’d talk to Ashby? Fine. “No,” he said. “I’ve not been here in a while.”

He didn’t want to go into why he was back or talk about his mom. He didn’t want to admit that Ashby had probably exchanged more kind words with his dad than he had in years. So instead he sipped his wine and mustered up his best smile.

“It’s nice to be back,” he said. He wasn’t entirely lying. His cabin was nice and quiet, and he hadn’t expected to make a friend. Even if Ashby was so completely different from him. Trent leaned his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand, arching an eyebrow. “What about you? You seem like the kind of guy to have lots of friends. Why come here alone?”

Ashby closed his menu. Their eager waiter spotted the gesture and zipped over to ask if they were ready to order. Trent already knew he wanted the steak, so he let Ashby go first as he was also decided, choosing the ravioli. The waiter took their menus once they were done, leaving them one less thing to fiddle with.

“I do,” said Ashby. “Have a lot of friends, I mean. I went to school abroad and didn’t really stay in touch with a lot of those people. But I’ve met loads of people on the London scene.” He laughed and rolled his eyes. “The trouble is, you meet each other through partying and dating and shagging. Then you’re in this strange bubble where most of you know what everyone else looks like when they orgasm.” He smiled and touched his thumb to his lower lip before knocking back the rest of his wine. “They are a lovely lot, though,” he concluded while he topped up both their glasses. “Sorry, that was probably more information than you were expecting.”

Trent shrugged. It took a lot to surprise him. “So, what? You got bored of them?”

“Oh, no,” said Ashby, his eyes wide and earnest. “No, if anything, they were sick of me, and, well…I guess I just needed a break from everyone.” Trent raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed in response. “I was dating this guy for a while. Gordon. He was absolutely rubbish, but I was too stubborn to see it, even when my friends tried to save me from myself. I…may have said some unkind things to them.”

Trent could sympathize with that. He’d accidentally burned far too many bridges in his life. It was a miracle he was still as close with Blake, Joey and Raiden as he was. “But you broke up with the asshole?” he prompted. He found he was curious to know.

Ashby’s eyes darkened and he took another big gulp of wine. Did he realize how the altitude would affect him up here? He’d get drunk pretty fast if he kept that up. Normally, Trent was the first to start a party, but he was strangely worried for Ashby’s well-being. So he took a sip from his own water, hoping to drop a hint.

“Yes,” said Ashby firmly. “I should have done it ages ago. He…well, I found him cheating on me. So I finally got enough backbone to break it off.” He sounded disgusted with himself.

Trent scowled. “It takes a lot of guts to end a long-term thing,” he said. His co-star on The Fixer had been in the midst of a divorce during filming and Trent had supported her through a lot of shit. Hell, Barry had been divorced three times. Trent knew what kind of toll that could take on a person.

Ashby offered him a small smile. “I guess,” he said.

Their food arrived and distracted them for a few minutes while they ate. Trent kept glancing at Ashby though, just every now and again. Who could cheat on such a nice guy? He was gorgeous, too, objectively speaking. His ex must have been a real piece of work.

“You feel like more boarding tomorrow?” Trent asked before he could consider the implications. But as soon as he said it, he thought he’d like that a lot. Who else was he going to hang out with, after all? He’d just spend the rest of the week getting more annoyed that he didn’t have a date to Blake and Elion’s wedding.

Ashby blinked, then grinned. “I’d love to,” he said. He placed his cutlery down on his ravioli and drank a little more of his wine. “I can’t believe how much I enjoyed it! I was actually not half bad, I thought, once we got going. You’re a pretty good teacher, you know.” He frowned. “But you’re sure you don’t mind?”

Trent took a drink, not wanting Ashby to feel like he was the only one enjoying the wine. He and Darnell had certainly picked a good one. “What else am I gonna do?” he asked, although the question was kind of rhetorical. He already knew he didn’t have much else other than his TV to keep him entertained. Plus, Ashby was fun. He didn’t mind spending time together. In fact, he thought he could maybe call Ashby a real friend if they gave it time. He got a good vibe from him despite them only knowing each other a day.

Ashby’s smile was somewhat coy. “Well, I’d love to, in that case,” he said. Then he sighed, swirling his wine around in his glass. “I never thought hurtling down a mountain would be so peaceful at the same time as being so exhilarating. That’s a contradiction, isn’t it?”

“It’s right, though,” Trent pointed out. That was exactly how he’d always felt about snowboarding.

For a second Trent held Ashby’s gaze as they grinned. Then Ashby swallowed and blinked rapidly, a pink tinge rising on his cheeks. “Yes, um, I’d love to meet up again and practice. If you really don’t mind.”