There had been some early dumps and the slopes already had a good covering, but the runs were surprisingly quiet. The recent economic downturn across most of the world meant pretty much only Russians, Brazilians and Australians could still afford to ski in Aspen. Nik’s friends didn’t strictly fall into any of those categories – but Nik was paying. Galen, a minor European royal, had gladly accepted Nik’s invitation to Aspen to get away from his disgrace in his home country. He’d just faced court for kicking a photographer and got slapped with a hefty fine. ‘That sucks, man,’ Zed commiserated. ‘The paparazzi deserves a good kicking.’ Nik laughed at that, not necessarily because he agreed (although he did hate the paparazzi), but because Zed – the moderately talented son of an English rock star – was on a good behaviour bond for punching a photographer. The unlucky snapper had needed twenty stitches and a new camera after Zed had finished with him. ‘Hey, did you hear about You-Know-Who?’ Antonia said, eyes shining with gossip.
What do You think about Tall, Dark & Distant (2013)?
