I only said it to see if it elicited a reaction from Giselle, but still her attention remained on Gino, the lame ass.
“Dude,” Kason said, nearly bouncing out of his seat. “It’d be epic if the two of us placed in Switzerland.”
“I’d have to get my feet wet again at Steamboat Springs before I even think about Switzerland.”
“If you could just place there, then the next legitimate step is Switzerland. You think you’ll be ready?” Kason persisted.
“I have no clue.”
“Giselle said you don’t snowboard anymore, Thayer,” Gino interjected.
My eyes narrowed as I looked to Giselle who was avoiding my stare. “I took some time off. But despite what some people think, I can do whatever I wanna do.”
“Whoa, dude, I meant no disrespect,” Gino said, not knowing my words were a subtle dig at Giselle.
“Got you a ticket,” Kason interrupted as he placed his phone down on the table.
“For what?” I asked.
“Switzerland.”
I blinked hard. Had I seriously just agreed to compete in Switzerland to prove a point? I glanced to Giselle who was finally looking right at me. “Great.”
Some distance would do me good.
And, who knew, maybe getting back on my board to compete would be exactly what I needed.
I carried my laptop into the small classroom, sliding into an empty seat next to a pretty blonde.
“Hey,” she said as soon as I was seated.
“Hey,” I said, curious if she knew me. But I’d like to think I would’ve remembered her. She was beautiful with a great smile.
“Are you in the wrong class?” she asked.
“What?”:
“We’re already a week into the semester, and you weren’t here last week. I figured you might’ve come into the wrong class by mistake.”
I shook my head. “I was in Aspen for the X Games.”
“Oh. Do you ski?”
“Snowboard,” I explained. “But I wasn’t competing. My best friend was. He actually took the gold.”
“Kason McCloud?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Can you do all those jumps and flips too?” She leaned in like she was really interested in what I had to say.
“Depends on the day.”
“I’d love to learn. It looks so cool,” she said.
“You should. They give lessons at all the mountains.”
She flashed a tight smile before reaching into her bag for her laptop.