“So where are you off to next?” I asked Kevin as we neared the top of the hill.

“Who knows. We likely won’t decide until next year.”

“Love the spontaneity,” I said.

I angled my body as we arrived at the top of the lift and leaned forward to easily exit and move out of the way of the rotating chairs. Kevin followed behind. Even though he said he’d only had one beginner lesson prior to today, I hardly believed the guy. He’d picked up everything right away and was already cruising down intermediate runs.

Although, come to think of it, that was how I had been when I first got started snowboarding. I hadn’t grown up doing the activity, but I had gotten a skateboard for my tenth birthday after I’d begged my mom. I used to drag my best friend, Harrison, to the skate park two blocks away from my house. It had taken me awhile to pick it up, but I was naturally pretty good at learning a new skill. When I first came out to Colorado, I’d bought a secondhand snowboard and drove out to the mountains to give it a try. The next season, I was already trying my hand at a competition. Granted, I didn’t win—not by a long shot—but I had a good time. It was actually that competition where I’d first met Giles.

“Alright, you sure you’re good to go down this hill?” I asked Kevin. “If you stay to the left, it’s groomed, but the right does have some moguls.”

“You lead, and I’ll see what I can manage,” Kevin said.

I pulled down my goggles, grateful I had remembered to grab the ones for darker days. The sun was still nowhere in sight.

Cruising down the mountain, I kept my right foot forward to practice my switch riding. I did this a lot when teaching lessons—the beginner terrain wasn’t very challenging for me, so it was good to practice the skill.

I kept right to hit the moguls, weaving in and out of them as I careened down the hill. There were a few spots of fresh snow that had just fallen and I let out a loud “Whoop!” as I cruised through some especially soft spots. Boarding all day every day like this was a dream—one which I absolutely did not want to wake up from.

It only took about five minutes for us to reach the bottom. I’d slowed a few times on the way down to check on Kevin, but he hadn’t fallen once. He honestly barely even looked shaken anymore. Damn. He was goals. He was who I wanted to be in ten years—bumming around different mountains, learning new skills, being an all-around badass. It was comforting to see someone not conforming to the typical wife-and-kids route. Gave me hope that my current lifestyle didn’t really need adjusting after all.

“You killed that.” I held up a hand for another high five, and Kevin met it. We both slipped off our helmets, and I tucked mine underneath my left arm, shaking out my hair in the process.