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Ruben turned away and walked to the end of the table.

“What’s for dinner today?” I called after him.

Without lifting his head up, he replied, “Surprise.”

With my cutlery and plate, I joined a small group and introduced myself. Ruben was engrossed in conversation and didn’t acknowledge me.

The potato gratin and the various patties were incredibly delicious. I went back for a third helping. Tammi, also a snowboard instructor who was already in her fourth season at the resort, and Mason, who was here for the second time, told me what I might need to know.

“The guests are different. However, they tend to be beginners. You’ll hardly find any experienced skiers among them. Since we’re not a pure sports hotel here, but also do a lot of wellness and dabble on the slopes, you have to be careful. Even if some of them overestimate their abilities because they go jogging every day.” Tammi thoughtfully speared a cucumber. “When in doubt, I would always play it safe rather than let some smart aleck talk me into something.”

“It’s also good that Adriel is always there for you and leads the team well. Most of us come back here again and again.”

“To be honest, I’m not sure if the food alone isn’t reason enough to spend the winter here.”

Mason laughed. “There’s something to that! That’s also nice. Food and lodging are important here.”

I thought about my living situation and glanced at Ruben. He quickly lowered his gaze. The snippets of conversation that reached us were a foreign language to me. Oysters from France. Green tea from Japan. Ingredients that he and his coworker wanted to use to conjure up something for the kitchen. Who cooked their food with tea?

Normally, such talk left me cold. It wasn’t my life. As long as I was doing okay and could enjoy my life, I was satisfied. I didn’t make that dependent on a stamp in my passport. Or on the stories I could tell about some continent or other. However, this glimpse into Ruben’s reality left a sour taste in my mouth. Once again, I was overcome by the uncertainty that he had run away from me because I bored him. What did I have to say? I could talk for hours about different types of wax. For boards of all kinds.

Irritated with myself, I turned my attention back to Mason and Tammi, who immediately invited me to go floodlight skiing.

“Just for an hour,” Mason said. “So you can get a feel for it.”

“As if I could say no to skiing at night.”

“Then we’ll see you at the lift in an hour.”

The two of them stood, and I cleared away my leftovers. When I looked around, Ruben had already disappeared.

That was fine. I already had plans.

When I arrived at the cabin, Ruben was lying on his bed. One hand was in his black curls, which hung over his forehead. The other was holding a magazine.

I quickly counted to four and back as not to snatch the magazine from his hand and demand a real answer as to what his problem was.

“Too bad you didn’t show me around,” I couldn’t help saying.

But Ruben waved me off without looking at me. “You made friends quickly. You don’t need me.”

His upper lip curled slightly, as if he didn’t approve of what he was saying. His whole body tensed. And he stared at the page without moving his gaze from what he was reading in any way.

Slowly, I sat and took off my jeans. A loud sigh was the answer I got.

“Relax. I’m only getting ready. Mason . . . ” A thought formed in my brain and wouldn’t let go. A nasty thought, if my vague suspicion were true. “Mason invited me.” And Tammi, I added in my mind. But my few words did not fail to have an effect.

Ruben sat up abruptly. “Oh, right. See? No need for my humble self to be present.”

He turned to face the wall. I took off my T-shirt to put on my functional underwear.

I thoughtfully watched Ruben’s back as it rose and fell.

“How do we handle bringing someone here to fuck?” I asked, as if inquiring about the restaurant’s daily special.

A primal scream escaped Ruben as he jumped up, stomped into his boots, and threw on his jacket. “Argh!”

For the second time that day, he disappeared through our cabin door, which slammed shut with a thunderous bang.

Interesting. Was this how someone who thought I was too boring and simple-minded reacted?