“Kase, I know Thayer. And I know he’s one of the good ones. We all do crazy stuff when we’re young. We make mistakes with the wrong people. But that slate gets wiped clean when you find the right one. I’m not concerned with his past. And he’s not holding my past with Gino against me. So, whatever you see when you look at the two of us together, just know, we don’t care about that stuff. We just care about each other.”
He thought about my words for a long time, and I hoped he heard the truth in them. We all have things in our pasts that we’re not proud of. But those things are what shape us and make us better people. He of all people should know that.
“Don’t expect to go on double dates with me and Shay,” he finally said.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“And, I don’t want you sleeping here,” he continued.
“That’s fair. But just know, if we’re not here, we’re at Mom and Dad’s.”
“Let them deal with it,” he said.
I tried not to smile, but I could tell that he’d eventually come around. That’s what siblings did. And, beneath it all, he loved both of us. And, he’d realize that was more important than staying mad at us.
29
GISELLE
I stood beside Thayer as he checked in at the registration table. Steamboat was a gorgeous resort with high peaks and amazing trails—not to mention massive ramps for Slopestyle and Big Air jumps.
“Nice to have you back, bro,” the guy behind the table said.
“Thanks,” Thayer said, looking around at all the people there for the competition this weekend. The place was abuzz with snowboarders, skiers, and fans.
The guy handed Thayer a white bib with the name of the event and a number on it. “I have you down for Big Air.”
“Yep,” Thayer said.
“You’ve got practice today with qualifiers tomorrow. If you make it, the event’s on Sunday.”
“Got it.”
“Hope you kill it, bro.”
“Thanks,” Thayer said before he turned and led me toward the bottom of the mountain, where we could get a good look at the Big Air ramp. I wondered if his nerves were growing as he stared at the massive ramp, outlined in light blue so the snowboarders could see the ground while flipping through the air. He hadn’t competed in over a year, and now he was putting himself out there again. This had to be intense.
“Giselle,” a familiar voice called.
I spun to find Shay walking toward us while Kason trailed behind, stopping for photos with fans. “Hey.”
“Hi,” she said to Thayer, though her voice was clipped as if she’d been warned about speaking to him.
“’Sup, Shay,” Thayer said, likely realizing the same thing.
“We’re just checking out the ramp,” I explained as Thayer turned back to look at it.
“Yeah, Kason wanted to do the same thing.”
“Is he taking practice runs today, too?” I asked.
Shay smirked. “What do you think?”
“I think any chance he gets to show off, he will.”
She laughed.
Kason approached, his eyes jumping between Thayer and me before stepping up to the registration table, where he was greeted by more people who were eager to see him. So much for our conversation making things better.