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Xavier held his beer out to cheers, and we happily clinked glasses, settling in to watch the remaining competitors as they zoomed down the mountain, spinning and jumping as they went. We booed as Liv eventually slid out of the top ten, but Xavier and Luca were firmly locked into the final, which was coming up. They wouldn’t be able to see straight at this rate.
‘Guys are you sure you’ll be alright on your final run after all these beers?’ I said in alarm. They both laughed.
‘The beer is only loosening us up. It is oiling my knees, Holly, don’t worry,’ Xavier said, putting his arm around me and smiling.
This was obviously where I was going wrong. Way too sober at 10 a.m. and relying on turbo-powered coffee to get me through. If I had a hip flask full of schnapps, it might get my snake hips moving.
‘You’ll see our optimum performance after all this preparation,’ Luca said, raising his glass, ‘although my first jump was pretty optimum, wasn’t it, Holly? You missed it, Xavier?’
‘I saw it, my friend,’ Xavier said coolly. ‘Very impressive, but it’s the final that counts.’
‘We saw you on the big screen at the top of the mountain,’ Liv said. ‘I’ll film you both coming down this time.’
‘I can show you how it’s done, eh?’ Luca said, putting his arm around Xavier.
‘Let’s see, shall we?’ Xavier replied, with a smile.
‘Well, there we have it, ladies and gentlemen. Each of our competitors have shot their shot and we can now confirm the top ten for the final. If your name is on the board behind me, then please make your way back up the mountain for theXtreme Home Run.’
Luca was sitting pretty in second place and Xavier had just made it through in tenth. They finished their beers in unison and stood up to go. Luca held his hand out to Xavier, who shook it heartily.
‘May the best man win,’ Liv said, raising her glass, ‘and please don’t kill yourselves.’
‘Yes, be careful,’ I said nervously. ‘You are both winners, remember.’ There was no doubt a chest-beating contest was about to commence but the vibe didn’t seem to be about the home run. The boys zipped up their jackets and pulled on their gloves. Xavier gave a wave as he headed to his snowboard and Luca clicked on his skis to glide over to the lift. His tanned skin in sharp contrast to the bright-pink stripes on his cheeks. A modern-day Tarzan.
‘Good luck,’ I said, and he gave me a sultry half-nod.
‘Alright, alright, stop staring at them,’ Liv said, ruining my daydream as I watched Luca head off after Xavier.
‘I’m not! Well, maybe I am a little bit. I’d forgotten what it feels like to check out a man,’ I said, giggling, the alcohol taking over my brain and mouth.
‘Don’t worry, it’ll come back to you in no time, babes; it’s animal instinct.’
‘I still don’t know how it will play out with George, but either way, I’ve got a lot of making up to do.’
‘Look around you, mate; there are literally thousands of men here –thousands. Choose whichever one you like,’ Liv said, pointing at the sea of men surrounding us. She was right, there were men as far as the eye could see. French, English, German, blond, bald, short, tall, fit, fat. You could design the exact man you wanted and find him somewhere in the crowd. Yet that conversation with Luca had sent me a bit funny inside. Was it his devastating good looks, his limitless wealth, his skiing talent, his air of entitlement? Was it any of those things? Or just the look he gave me that sent me off kilter? It was the first time in a long time a man had looked at me like that. He would be the perfect revenge boyfriend. That’d show George. When I was hanging out with the Blanchets, jetting in for a weekend at the chalet. Luca was everything George wanted to be. Imagine how annoyed he’d be if I ended up with the fully-fledged version, having nearly married the wannabe prototype.
‘Our competitors are now ready to go. Areyouready to watch them flyyy?’ the commentator shouted. The crowd cheered and rang their cowbells as the guy in first place skied down the mountain, casually spraying snow left and right, until he hit the jump and spun like a helicopter, effortlessly delivering a classic 1080. His landing was soft and relaxed as he lifted one leg in the air and gracefully ground to a halt. What. A. Pro.
‘Nowhe’s hot,’ Liv said. ‘Go and chase after him?’ We watched as he skied to the barrier to wait for his score and kissed his boyfriend on the lips.
‘Looks like he’s taken,’ I said.
Luca flew out of the starting blocks and bulleted down the mountain for maximum speed. He was going to kill himself. He hit the jump at a frightening pace, flying off the front and flipping himself backwards, followed by a clean 360 before landing sharply and swooshing to a stop. It was unbelievable. The first guy had been awarded ninety-two points, but Luca’s performance earnt him ninety-four, putting him straight back into the top spot.
The next seven competitors came down, one by one, performing various jumps and grabs. One faceplanted and another was stretchered off with a dislocated knee. Xavier was up last, and I hoped he hadn’t seen the medical van beeping into action; we needed him to stay strong and not be spooked. There was only one snowboarder in the top ten and Xavier moved differently to the others as he snaked his way down the mountain, carving up the snow. He was doing little jumps as he went, to get into position for the big jump at the end. He hit the kicker and flew into the air, rolling like a gymnast as he bent forward and held onto his board. He went so fast, I couldn’t count the turns, but the commentator was quick to confirm.
‘Wowwww, that was Xavier Lavedrine, with an impressive 1440 in mid-air. I’ve never seen anything like it! Let’s hear it for him, ladies and gentlemen!’ The cowbells jangled as Xavier unstrapped his board and walked out to the exit, punching the air as he went. There was a much longer pause ahead of Xavier’s score being announced and the crowd had started a disgruntled slow clap.
‘The final score is in and it’s going to disrupt things, as number five-four-oh, Xavier Lavedrine, has been awarded a total of ninety-five from the judges. It’s a mighty win for the snowboarders today,’ he boomed, dragging Xavier over and holding his hand in the air.
Liv and I were standing on our seats and cheering.
‘Go on Xavier!’ Liv whooped.
‘Wooohoooo, yes, Xavier! Winner!’ I shouted.
We ordered a round of celebratory beers and Jägerbombs, but the boys took ages to come back, so we had to drink ours followed by theirs while the awards ceremony took place. Xavier took his position on the gold podium, with Luca winning silver and a ballerina-esque woman winning bronze, and then they eventually made their way back to us.
