Jen gave away nothing more, even when I demanded that she show me the video right that minute. She refused to give in until I was at her house and agreed to stay the night despite the fact that I had approximately a thousand photos to edit. She forced me to settle into her expensive couch as soon as I got to her house, leaving me there as she darted around. She returned with comfy sweatpants that would never make it over my hips and two bottles of wine, no glasses. Apparently, we were reverting back to our college days which made me almost laugh. 

But I really started to worry when I saw Richard with his brow furrowed and his eyes apologetic already. He didn't get caught up in emotion often. Nothing swept him off his feet. 

"Oh, this isn't going to be good, is it?" I asked.

"No, it's not. But we will be here for you and you are strong enough to face this head on," Richard assured, coming to sit in the living room as well, opting for an armchair, giving me lots of space with my sister.

"And he promised that he wouldn't give you any therapy talk unless you specifically asked for it," Jen added.

"Um, thank you. But I would really just like to know what is going on."

Jen glanced at Richard once and he gave her a reassuring nod. She sighed and dug through her TV's memory, finding the recording from earlier today.

It started like any normal interview. Tyson was seated across from a guy covered in tattoos, smiling and laughing about everything and nothing to get them both loosened up. They chatted mostly about snowboarding, talking about a new board brand that was trying to make waves. Then, it got a little more personal and I felt my interest zone in.

"So you and Hudson have been snowboarding together for years. It only makes sense that during events you end up side by side on the podium. Do this ever bother you?" the host asked, tipping the sponsor covered microphone towards the snowboarder.

Tyson just laughed like he had been told a joke and shook his head. "Hudson and I have dropped out of helicopters side by side, we have gone over the same jumps together, hell, we have even gone after the same woman before. It can be annoying, but it keeps me at the top of my game. We are both savage when it comes to getting what we want. And there is nothing worse than standing in second place when you know you could be first if you pushed hard. He can act like this sweet, polite Canadian boy, but he hates losing just as much as the next person so it keeps both of us going."

"You think this is about me?" I sighed, melting into the couch. Sure, it was childish, but it wasn't the end of the world. "Jen, we both knew that they were going after me. It was pretty obvious."

My sister just shook her head slowly. "Keep watching."

I turned back to the enthusiastic host and the arrogant athlete."I guess that's one way to get good at insane tricks like the backside 1260 Hudson did just a few weeks ago," the company representative chimed.

"Yeah, competition is pretty important to us. Graydon and Jackson keep us in line for the most part, but it's a sport, you have to want to push yourself. It's our job to inspire others, right?"

"And at your level, when you push yourself, you end up with things like the backside rodeo that you posted on your page last month."

"Exactly. That was one of the wildest tricks I have walked away from."

"Okay, so we'll get back to all the sports stuff in a bit, but I can't get over this. You say you both went after the same woman?"

"Yup, we sure did," Tyson boasted, his eyes gleaming with something like pride. 

"Did you do this knowingly or was it some kind of bizarre accident? Like you were pursuing her and Hudson was too, and you found out after the fact?"

"No, we both knew. I don't want to get into the details too much, but she pretty much presented us with the challenge. She said that she doesn't date, so naturally, one of us had to date her."

My fingernails were creating like craters against my palm as I watching his grin turn smug. "Sexist pig. Treating me like a fucking prize."

"So it was a straight up contest." The tattooed man said this like it was a common occurrence, like Tyson had admitted going to the grocery store.

"It was a bet."

My heart plummeted. No. No, this could not be true. Sure, Tyson was an asshole, but he loved the fame. He would say dumb things if it got him attention. And Hudson would never. He could never. This was just a ploy to get Tyson more eyes on him.

"And who won?" the host inquired.

"You know, I have to admit that I didn't come in first place this time. But, as time went on, I realized that, outside of the bet, it wasn't worth it. I'm sure Hudson is happy and that's what matters."

Hudson winning a bet mattered. Hudson being happy mattered. But I did not. My feelings, my fragile heart, my life, those were all irrelevant.

"Pen," Jen hinted softly as the conversation on the television dipped back into snowboarding. The random woman in question was already forgotten.

I didn't reply to her. Hudson wouldn't do this to me. He wouldn't. He had let me sleep in his bed. He had seen me cry after I confessed that Connor had taken everything from me. He had fought me, saying he didn't want to date because of all the cheating he grew up around. Why would he enter into a bet he had no way of winning?

I pulled out my phone and called him. He would clear everything up for me. He had to. Because there was no way that this was real. Tyson was just being a dick and my sister was overreacting. This was nothing. 

He picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, I can't really talk right now, princess. Is everything okay?" he asked, the sound of snow crunching muffling his voice.

"Was Tyson telling the truth?" I demanded, not hearing his words.

There was a pause. He stopped walking, the air suddenly still on the other end of the phone. "What are you talking about?"

"The interview," I pushed, feeling tears well in my eyes. "The interview when he said that you two made a bet to see who could date me first."

"Fuck, Penelope. It wasn't about dating," he denied.

"Oh, thank god, because I knew that you wouldn't do that to me, but-"

It wasn't about dating.

Oh no.

"Oh my god, it was sex, wasn't it? You wanted to see who could fuck me first?!" My voice was rising. I'm sure that my hysteria could be sensed a kilometer away. 

"Penelope, please-"

"Holy shit. I'm an idiot. You never wanted to date me. You just wanted to sleep with me. All of the offers for supper and dates and drinks! You just wanted to sleep with me! You didn't a fuck about what I thought or what I wanted. You didn't care if you had to tag along with my sister as long as I took you home before I took Tyson home."

"Princess-"

"That's why you didn't want me to talk to Tyson! Because you fucking knew that he would tell me the truth!"

"Where are you? I'm in Banff right now, but I can leave right now-"

I hung up. 

~~~Distraction Section~~~

How are you feeling about Hudson now? What do you think Penelope's reaction should be?

Question of the Day: What is on your bucket list?