Chapter 13
Shane
After our conversation on the way around the resort lake, I hadn’t seen Ruben for the rest of the weekend. While I was still in the staff kitchen getting tea, Ruben had long since fallen asleep when I returned.
Since then, he had been working non-stop.
When I got up in the morning, he was already gone.
When I came back in the evening, he wasn’t there yet.
Only at night, when I opened my eyes in my half-sleep, did I see his outline under the blanket, which rose and fell gently with each breath.
Then I took the opportunity to examine the gentle curve of Ruben’s neck over his shoulder.
Or his mouth slightly opened and those soft lips.
In the summer, I had never taken the time to watch Ruben sleep. I hadn’t had the chance. After days in the sun, we had attacked each other like sex-starved animals and had fallen asleep satisfied as soon as we came.
Since I didn’t see him during the day, I took every opportunity to watch him relax.
If I hadn’t had these moments, I would have been convinced that Ruben had moved out.
We hadn’t discussed changing accommodations since my arrival. This circumstance made me extremely happy.
I needed it, too, as we had reached our capacity limit for the first time this season.
There had been an exciting tension hanging over the resort all weekend. It wasn’t just Ruben and the chefs who had their hands full. Our lesson bookings had also skyrocketed. The guests who were here for the weekend to eat also enjoyed a bit of exercise in between meals.
They were certainly not the easiest guests. Their idea of what constituted a good lesson did not necessarily coincide with my own.
A customer who had booked another lesson for Monday morning had already skied with me over the weekend.
Why she hadn’t canceled her additional lesson was a mystery to me, because we didn’t get along at all.
In addition to being a know-it-all, the lady unfortunately suffered from overconfidence when it came to her own abilities on the mountain.
Sighing, I dragged myself out of bed and got ready. I couldn’t explain why Ruben wasn’t here. I thought he would sleep in after his busy weekend. I didn’t believe he had to work again. At least he had told me that other employees were on duty.
I couldn’t dwell on it for too long because I had to get to my appointment.
In front of the hut, I glanced at the path ahead of me. Our footprints from three days ago were still frozen in the snow. Neither Ruben nor I had cleared the path to the main trail of snow.
As if we had agreed on it, we had left the footprints untouched and trampled the snow on the edge.
On the beach, the footprints would have long since been erased by wind and water.
I liked the idea that Ruben would be reminded of our conversation when he saw this sight. At least until the next time it thawed or more snow fell.
I carefully walked past it sideways so as not to destroy it and hurried to the staff kitchen.
The room was already bustling with my colleagues, who were wolfing down their breakfast.
But before I could sit down, I stopped abruptly. Ruben was standing at the small stove, frying eggs.
With the pan in his hand, he turned around and our eyes met.
A smile spread across his face and I couldn’t help but smile back. His eyes looked tired, but overall he had lost all the tension he had shown three days ago. His laugh lines made him even more seductive.
He nodded slightly to me and distributed the contents of his pan onto the plates held out to him.
Finally, he put down his empty kitchen utensil and came back with a huge bowl, which he placed in the middle of the table.
“This is fresh granola to top your yogurt or add to your cereal.”
With these words, he sat next to me.
“Hey. How are you?” I eagerly searched his face for signs of how his weekend had gone.
Ruben grinned even wider than I had ever seen him before. “It was great. That’s why I wanted to thank you. The conversation and the walk tired me out that I immediately fell asleep. And after every day at work, exhaustion made me collapse on my bed.”
“I noticed that,” I interjected. “I didn’t hear a peep from you for two days. Except that you were lying blissfully asleep under your blanket. Were you on your feet the whole time?”
Ruben shook his head. “No. I did have breaks in the afternoon. But you were never in your room. You were always out and about with your students.”
“So it was a success?” Why was I nervous and desperate to know his answer?
“It was a real success. I was even invited to join my boss at a guest’s table once.” I must have shown concern on my face, because Ruben immediately clarified. “To praise the food in my presence. Not to complain.”
Relieved, I laughed.
Before I could reply, Chloe called across the table to Ruben. “Hey, Ruben, this nut stuff is new, right? You’ve got these things in everything now. In bread, in muesli, in pancakes, in cookies.”
Next to me, Ruben turned bright red. He waved his hand dismissively. “They’re not nuts—they’re pistachios.”
Chloe continued talking. “Anyway, whatever. It’s fine. But I don’t need them in my pancakes. Just wanted to let you know.”
“Good to know, Chloe. Do you want to cook tomorrow?” Chris interjected with a wink.
Chloe quickly shook her head. “Oh no. Forget I said anything.”
“It was only a test. To see what they go with,” Ruben muttered.
“Don’t get me wrong—they’re delicious, Ruben,” Chloe insisted. “I just noticed.”
I leaned slightly against Ruben. “I like them. No matter what form they come in.”
He smiled slightly. “I know.” He spoke softly so that I could barely hear him. He had said the same thing on the beach. What was I doing with this guy?
He cleared his throat and turned back to me. “Anyway. That trip to the highlands on Friday.”
I laughed out loud. “That was hardly it.”
“Whatever. Anyway, it was exactly what I needed. Even though my thighs are still hurting. That was a different kind of pain.” He put his hand on my thigh and continued, lost in thought.
“I can’t even imagine how hard you had to work to get where you are in your profession.
It’s not a joke. You have to stay physically fit all the time. ”
Surprise shot through me, and my eyes zoned in on his hand on my thigh. As if he had burned himself, Ruben pulled his hand away. Too bad. Too, too bad.
But I couldn’t let him get away with it that easily. “A massage helps with sore muscles. Or a hot bath. Maybe some time in a Jacuzzi.”
“Hmm.” The tips of Ruben’s ears turned red. “We’ll see.”
“Maybe I can help you with that.”
Ruben didn’t wait to hear how I wanted to help but instead checked the table with excitement. “I really have to get going now. I’ve been sitting here long enough.”
It definitely wasn’t long enough for me.
I could only guess what Ruben was thinking. But slowly I got the idea that he might not find me as repulsive and uninteresting as I had assumed.
I was sweating. I never sweat when I was out with beginners.
Normally, I had to make sure I didn’t get cold while the newbies hoisted their heavy behinds out of the snow again, only to land back in it every other turn.
The turning point always came when they lost their sense of body awareness, leaving them unable to carry their momentum.
Instead, they fell back onto their backsides, while I stood there and offered words of encouragement.
It didn’t bother me much. Hopping up the mountain with a board attached to my feet was excellent training.
Today, however, I had a different problem. My mid-forties adrenaline junkie had no problems with turns. Or Maria didn’t let them become a problem for her. Without regard for the consequences, she raced across the entire width of the slope, paying no attention to other snowboarders or skiers.
“Fuck!” I cursed under my breath as I apologized to a piqued skier whom Maria had cut off, while at the same time chasing after my student, who wasn’t following any of my instructions.
“Edge!” Damn it. “Edge! Slow down.” But my words went unheard. Or they were ignored. The panic of what she could do sent a new wave of sweat over me.
With her butt sticking out far behind her and her arms rowing in front of her, Maria managed at the last second to avoid crashing into a group of children.
I braked sharply beside her that snow sprayed up.
“You have to listen to me! Speed isn’t everything. Especially when you’re out of control.”
Normally, I chose my words more carefully and sensitively. But I’d had enough.
My student sat up unsteadily. “That’s hardly my fault. Why did I hire you? If I’m doing something wrong, it must be because of my bad teacher.”
Her board slid further, and she stuck her butt in the air again.
It took more energy than a day of competitive surfing to keep from responding in kind. Why the hell didn’t she fall and my words would be backed up? But of course, the magic of physics failed me today.
The sun had long since disappeared behind the treetops, and it was quickly getting dark.
All the arrivals crowded into the middle station in front of us and took the gondola down to the valley.
Annoyed, I shook my head and bent down to release my binding.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maria jerk her board toward the mountain.
“Where are you going?”
She pointed to the slope in front of her.
The slope on which a banner was clearly displayed on two mobile posts.
It featured a yellow sign with black squares around the edge and a white spot with a red border.
Even if she didn’t know that this was the sign indicating that the slope was closed, the word was written in every conceivable language in the world: Closed, Fermé, Chiuso, Geschlossen.
Even if she couldn’t read, the signs on the banner clearly indicated that this slope was off-limits. And certainly not when no one else was around because it was already getting dark.
“Stop!” I shouted after her. “It’s closed.”