Saskia does squats with a medicine ball across the gym, watching us in the mirror. Watched in turn by Julien, I notice, who is on the weights bench beside one of the strapping freestyle skiers I saw him with this afternoon.

“I got some footage of you earlier,” Curtis tells Jacinta when she finishes her set. He brings his video camera to the pipe sometimes and we take turns filming each other. “We’re watching it at my place tonight if you want to come over. In fact, come for dinner.”

Her eyes light up. “Awesome.”

Curtis turns to me. “Are you coming, Milla?”

I can’t bear to see him looking at Jacinta like that for much longer, but I need to speak to Brent, and anyway, I want to watch the footage. “Yeah, sure.”

Brent calls Curtis over to spot him and Curtis gets up, giving me a flash of hairy pale thigh in his gym shorts. I launch into another set of leg presses. I’m regretting making it so heavy—I’ll hardly be able to walk tomorrow—but Jacinta is still going and I can’t give up before she does.

—

Freshly showered, I stretch out on Brent’s bed. I love this feeling—the burn of muscles pushed beyond their limits. My entire body throbs. I’ve pressed every last bit of energy out of me.

The door opens and Brent returns with a towel around his waist, face still flushed from the gym. I lie back, enjoying the view as he dries himself. Now I need to find some way of broaching the topic of our relationship.

“How come Dale wasn’t at the gym tonight?” I ask. “He wasn’t there last night either.”

“He had a fight with Heather yesterday.”

“What about?” I’m so nosy.

Brent laughs. “How would I know?”

“Does she realize how much she’s affecting his training? What’s she even doing here? I’ve seen her snowboard, like, once.”

“She was studying in Lyon for a year for her uni degree. Law and French. Got a job at Glow Bar over her uni holidays and ended up meeting Dale.”

I’m intrigued that Brent knows this. He has a soft spot for Heather, I think. “What about her course?” I say.

“Deferred it, I guess.”

“They’re screwing up their futures, both of them.”

Brent shrugs. “Anyway, tonight was her night off, so he took her out to dinner. They’ll be here later.”

That gives me the perfect opening. “That’s why I swore off relationships this winter.”

Brent gives me a curious look.

“I promised myself I would focus on my snowboarding, nothing else.”

He dries his hair, taking that in.

“Are you okay with that?” It’s a bit late to ask, I guess. I should probably have brought it up earlier. Still, casual sex is what most guys dream about. I shouldn’t feel guilty.