I couldn't hold back a happy sigh as I flicked through my pictures. I couldn't remember the last time I had taken photographs of something just for me. Hell, I couldn't remember the last time I had hopped on a plane for the sake of making myself happy.

But, after I had sprained my knee and received my diagnosis from my doctor, I had to opt out of traveling with Jen and Richard. For four weeks I had to sit in my apartment and sulk. Mostly, I just replayed what had happened between Hudson and I over and over again, until I felt sick with longing and hatred.

When my knee was finally healed I decided that I needed to do something. Not something for Jen, not something that would convince Richard I was okay or something that was the financially savvy thing to so. I had to do something that I wanted, no matter how crazy or costly.

I booked a last minute trip to Costa Rica and started packing right away.

It was only a week. I wished it would last a decade, but I knew that I would remember it for a lifetime. I spent my mornings snorkeling with other women from my tour group. We gawked at impressive volcanoes, soaked in hot springs, went of grueling hikes that took us to stunning waterfalls, and even went zip lining over the lush landscape. I bonded with people from all over the world and stayed up too late and woke up too early, but it had been so worth it.

I had been home for one week and already missed the smell of fresh coffee beans in the morning and the sun on my skin. It seemed that once the travel bug had bitten it was impossible to be sated with a single itch.

I immediately opened up a web browser, thinking that I would be okay if I had another trip on the horizon. It would give me a goal to look forward to, something to be excited about. Maybe Asia this time. Thailand or Japan seemed promising, but I had heard wonderful things about Vietnam and India just the same. Could I take two months off? I was sure I could fill it with incredible adventures.

But, before I could even enter anything in the search bar, a headline caught my attention.

"Snowboarder swaps sponsors, defeats old friend, becomes Western Canada's new champion"

And there was a picture of Hudson, standing on a podium with some strange trophy and a bottle of champagne in the other hand. His goggles were propped up on his helmet and his grin was massive as he held the champagne above his head. His jacket was different than before, a the brand name Evergreen Apparel across his chest.

On the podium beside him, in second place, was Tyson, still sporting the same Rush jacket.

I should have taken the victory for what it was and moved on to travel plans. I should have started researching new places to explore. I should have been moving on.

I clicked on the link to the video instead.

I watched Tyson race down a hill with outstanding speed and hit massive jumps, larger than anything I had ever seen him conquer. Between grabbing the board and twisting and rolling his body, he completed a few backflips, a couple 720s, and some other things that I couldn't even begin to identify. When he hit the bottom of his run, he was grinning from ear to ear, oozing arrogance and waving to the crowd who screamed in delight.

The scene quickly cut to Hudson on the top of the slope, taking a deep breath before descending. I couldn't identify many differences in their runs. After spending so much time with them, I still knew almost nothing about their sport. I was able to point out spins and flips, but nothing else.

However, when he hit the bottom of the hill, the crowd absolutely lost it. There was screaming and shouting and fist pumping. And Hudson just looked like he was letting out a breathless laugh, doubling over with exhaustion, but still able to smile a little.

The camera then cut to a scene of an interview. Hudson was still breathless and still smiling, but had been moved away from the closed course and was inside a lodge I didn't recognize.

A man off camera spoke first. "That was an incredible run, that backside cork was incredible. How did you get up the courage to do something like that?"

"It's all about practice and timing. If the conditions had been different or I had been too unpracticed, I wouldn't have even tried it, but the snow was perfect, my board felt awesome, and I knew that I could complete that without any real risk."

"It's not something we have ever seen from you before. Are you changing your style?"

"No, I started branching out with my style, but you can't scrap it overnight. I thought it was time for something new. The same tricks and the same risks get you the same titles. I wanted more."

"Is wanting more the reason that you left Rush behind? You and Tyson were an iconic duo just a month ago."

Hudson's smile tightened with tension. "I needed to find a company that suited me better and pushed me harder. Tyson and I were always competing against each other, but I wanted more than that. I didn't want to be better than him. I wanted to be the best. Evergreen was able to match me with top trainers that I didn't have access to before."

"So you and Tyson are still close?"

"No," Hudson said coldly, something in his eyes changing.

"So you really did have a falling out over this woman that the winter-sport world is talking about?"

Hudson sucked in a breath and looked like he just wanted the world to swallow him whole. I fully expected him to bail out at this point, but I still leaned in closer, desperate to hear what he would say.

"I'm really lucky that snowboarding has become a career for me, but the ski bum mentality isn't always a good one. It's almost like we don't have to face the real world. And for me, I don't know what it's like to have a normal nine-to-five. What I'm trying to say is that a really talented woman lost her job for something unfair. Personal feelings aside, we tampered with someone's livelihood. I'm not saying that I didn't play a role, but having a company that covered for me while hurting someone else isn't okay. And having a friend who didn't seem too bothered by the whole instance wasn't okay either. Part of me undoing my wrongs was moving away from anything and anyone who let me get away with acting like a high school kid."

Before the interviewer could get another question in , a hand appeared on Hudson's shoulder, pulling him away from the camera crew.

"Excuse me," he murmured with an apologetic smile.

For a moment, I could do nothing but stare at my computer screen. Even after the video had ended and another had started.

Then, I typed in Hudson's name and found out that his next big event was in Telluride.

I didn't even think about it. I pulled up a website for cheap vacations and booked a flight down to Colorado.

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What popular book do you dislike?

I'm personally not a big fan of the After series. No hate, it just doesn't jive with me.