Chapter 4
THAYER
“Why couldn’t Gino do this for her?” I asked, struggling to hold my end of the sofa that Kason and I carried up the flight of stairs to Giselle’s second-floor condo.
“He went back to Florida,” Kason explained, having no trouble holding the sofa even with his wrist in a cast.
“I’m shocked he’d take time out of his busy schedule to come here,” I said, trying not to sound as disgusted as the guy made me.
“Same.”
“They do have these things called delivery guys,” I said, readjusting the sofa in my arms. “Isn’t Gino supposed to be loaded?”
“Yeah,” Kason said. “But you should know from your father, rich guys are always the cheapest.”
“And the biggest assholes.”
We shifted the sofa to get it through the open doorway and carried it to the vacant spot in Giselle’s living room.
I’d never been to her condo before. Never had a reason to.
She’d only been in it for a year and never once during that time had she invited me over.
I guess, when she thought I was gonna try to make out with her at any given moment, avoiding me was easy.
I walked around, taking in the cozy living room with family photos on the coffee table. The connected kitchen was equipped with brand-new appliances, white cabinets, and gray marble countertops. I could see Giselle in this place. It fit her.
“Don’t go getting pervy and look in her bedroom next.” Kason was sprawled out on the sofa we just delivered. “She’ll kick my ass.”
“You’re already here,” Giselle said, floating through the doorway in super high heels and a long flowy coat.
I froze, not expecting her to show up. Kason said she was working.
She froze, too, noticing me in her kitchen. “Oh. Thayer. I didn’t know you were helping.” She looked disappointed to see me. The last time we’d spoken had been in the hotel hallway before Gino interrupted us.
Kason finally sat up from his spot on the sofa. “I thought you were working?”
She slipped off her coat revealing a tight green dress that accentuated all her curves. “Shay’s helping out today so I could make sure you got in,” she explained, tossing her coat down on a chair. “But it looks like you managed just fine.”
Kason held up a key. “Mom gave it to me.”
“I should’ve figured.” Giselle snatched it from his hand. “You guys want a drink?”
“No,” I said as Kason said, “What do you have?”
She moved to her refrigerator, maneuvering around me to avoid touching any part of me, and pulled open the door. “Beer or water.”
“Is it even a question?” he asked, moving to her and grabbing a bottle of beer from her hand.
“You want one, Thayer?” Giselle asked me.
I shook my head as I leaned against her counter.
“He’s trying to be good before his date,” Kason explained, taking a seat at her kitchen table.
Giselle glanced to me. “Date?”
“Yup,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Do I know her?” she asked.
“She’s in one of his classes,” Kason explained.
“Where’re you taking her?” Giselle asked.
What the fuck? These were a lot of questions from someone who barely even spoke to me anymore.
“Snowboarding,” Kason answered for me.
“Romantic,” Giselle said.
“She asked me to give her a lesson,” I explained, pissed that she was knocking my date. “Do you have a better idea?”
Her eyes widened. Was she surprised I’d challenge her in front of Kason? “Oh, I don’t know.”
“No, I’m curious. What would be a better date?” I insisted.
“Dinner at a nice restaurant,” she said.
“Boring,” I clipped.
Her head hitched back.
“A sleigh ride?” she tried again.
“Cliché,” I said matter-of-factly.
Her tight lips told me she was pissed that I was making this difficult. Hey. She was the one with all the questions.
“She’s probably hoping Thayer will put his hands all over her on the mountain,” Kason added.
“I’m sure you won’t have a problem doing that,” Giselle said.
“I plan to take full advantage of the opportunity,” I assured her.
“I don’t doubt it,” Giselle said before she turned toward Kason. “Hey, Kase. Did Thayer tell you about his wild night after your victory?”
Kason looked at me. “Wild night?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Giselle cut me off.
“Oh yeah. He had like five or six girls in his hotel room.”
“What?” Kason asked. “Why don’t I know this?”
Again, I tried to respond, but Giselle spoke first.
“Great question, Thayer. Why wouldn’t you tell your best friend about your wild escapades?” she probed.
“It never really came up,” I said, wondering why she was pushing my buttons like this.
“He told me they were gonna have pillow fights and everything,” she continued.
“No shit?” Kason asked me.
“I was beyond wasted,” I explained. “I barely even remember that night.”
Giselle’s eyes narrowed, calling bullshit on my story.
“Oh, actually, now that you mention it, I do remember Gino showing up. That was nice of him. He’s a hell of a guy,” I said, never wanting to push her buttons more than I did in that moment.
“He was in your room, too?” Kason asked, completely not following.
“That definitely would’ve been interesting,” I mused. “No, he just showed up when Giselle was reading me the riot act. You know. Safe sex and all that.”
Kason looked to her. “Seriously? You don’t think Thayer can handle himself? Of all my friends, he’s the least likely to have a threesome.”
“Dude, it was like a six-some,” I corrected, completely for Giselle’s benefit. In all honesty, I passed out after fighting with her, and the girls were gone when I woke up in the morning.
Kason laughed. “Of course it was.”
Giselle chugged her water, seemingly at a loss for words.
Ironic.
“I gotta bounce,” I said, pushing off the counter.
“Go get her, bro,” Kason urged.
“I intend to.” I expected one last cheap shot from Giselle, but she said nothing as I walked out.
Giselle
“What do we know about this girl?” I asked Kason as I slipped into a seat across from him at my kitchen table.
“She’s hot.”
“I figured that.” Even in high school, Thayer always dated the prettiest girls. Kason would never admit it, but he was always jealous of Thayer. “I meant, where’s she from? What’s her major?”
“You want her resume, too?” Kason asked.
“I’m just curious. Thayer doesn’t go on many dates, right?”
“Most girls just come to the house. He doesn’t really have to take them out. But great ideas for dates,” he said, making fun of my suggestions.
“What was wrong with them?”
“After all these years, do you know him at all?” he asked me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You guys argue like you’re siblings, yet you have no idea that bringing a girl snowboarding is his perfect idea of a night out.”
“We do not argue like siblings.”
“You do. Always have.”
“Well, he’s stupid,” I said, unable to come up with a more mature explanation for why Kason thought we bickered like siblings.
“You should be happy for him,” Kason said.
“Why?”
“Cuz the guy is the best guy I know. He should find someone who likes him for him.”
“What happens if this girl only likes him because he’s a rad snowboarder?”
Kason burst out laughing. “Rad snowboarder?”
“What?” I asked.
“That sounds so funny coming out of your mouth.” He laughed again.
“Well, he is rad. Always has been.”
He shook his head. “He’s gonna laugh when I tell him you said that.”
“Don’t you dare tell him!”
“Why not?” he asked.
“I don’t want it going to his head,” I lied.
“Whatever.”
I pegged him with a dead-serious stare. “Don’t tell him.”
“Fine.”
“Do you think he’s really gonna compete in Switzerland?” I asked.
“I do.”
“You scared he’s gonna give you a run for your money?”
He tilted his head. “Seriously?”
“You two were pretty even when he was snowboarding daily. If he practices, he might actually beat you out there. How would you feel then?”
He contemplated my words for a long beat before he said, “Couldn’t get beaten by a better guy.”
Wow. The old Kason would’ve said something like, ‘That’s never gonna happen.’ But he didn’t. His honesty actually made me love him more.
After Kason left, I sat on my new sofa with my sock-clad feet on the ottoman.
I’d been scrolling on my phone for hours, trying to get lost in the mindless videos.
A video of my brother led to more videos of snowboarders pulling off amazing tricks, soaring through the air like they could fly.
Another one popped up, and it was Thayer.
And even though this video had my brother’s name hash-tagged, I could tell the difference between them any day.
While my brother’s tricks were big and showy, Thayer’s were always flawless, pulling off every trick he attempted.
Even back when they were young, he just always had what it took.
I hated that he threw it all away once his mom died.
She would’ve hated to know that he quit competing.
She loved watching him and was always right there in the front row, eager to hug him when he finished.
And, he never failed to seek her out first. I loved that about him.
I was completely in awe of the love he felt for her.
I could only imagine the void her death had left in him.
Maybe finding the right girl could fill that void. I wondered how his date was going. Had she been able to snowboard? Had she fallen on her ass? Did he plan to take her home with him? Ugh. Why did I care?
A text from Gino popped up on my phone.
Gino
How’s the new sofa?
Me
Comfy.
Gino
It would be comfier with me next to you.
Back when we started dating, he would have done something crazy like be on the other side of the door when he sent that text. Now I knew better.
Me
I guess we’ll have to find out next time you’re in town.
Gino
I tossed down my phone. I was used to being disappointed.
Thayer
Masie and I made it down the bunny hill twice before she asked if we were almost done. I realized quickly that she was more interested in spending time with me than learning to snowboard. It was nice to be wanted. Because I knew all too well what the alternative felt like.
“You seriously competed?” Masie asked over a beer in the lodge.
Our seat overlooked the mountain, and snow had started to fall. “Yeah. I took a year off, but I’m getting back into it.”
“That’s so cool,” she said. “Does that mean you’re gonna drop out of school?”
“Nah. Gotta finish that for my mom,” I said, leaving out the fact that she wouldn’t actually know I finished.
“I’m in class with you,” she reminded me. “I get the feeling you’re not always there.”
I laughed. “Teachers tend to overlook stuff like attendance when you tell them you’re traveling for sports.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, you should try it,” I teased. “But seriously. I’ll miss some classes when I fly out to compete.”
“I’d love to watch you.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m local.”
That earned me an excited smile, and I wondered if she thought that meant we’d be seeing each other again—outside of class.
“Well, you clearly know what I like to do in my free time. What do you like to do?” I asked, realizing I didn’t really know anything about her.
“I’m an influencer.”
“What type?”
“Oh, you know, makeup, beauty, travel, food.”
“Sounds like you do it all,” I said.
She shrugged. “I love all the beautiful things in life.”
“Do you have a lot of followers?”
“You could say that.”
“How many?”
She shrugged.
“How many?” I repeated.
“Three million.”
“Shut up,” I said, knowing it wasn’t easy to get that many followers.
She laughed. “I’m serious. People like to see what I’m posting.”
“More like they like looking at you,” I said, instantly regretting the fact that I didn’t filter that one.
She stifled a smile, but the twinkle in her eyes told me she liked knowing that I thought she was beautiful.
I stared at her across the high-top table, wondering if I could actually date a girl like her. Someone who enjoyed good food and seeing the world. Someone who jumped on a snowboard just to be with me. Someone who would definitely go home with me tonight. “You ever been to Switzerland?”
She smiled. “Not yet.”