Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

THE ENTRANCE TO THE GYM looked like a hotel. A sign in large white letters sat on the side of a white building. An orange awning denoted some sort of cafe next door. If it weren't for the map on Ty's phone, he'd be positive he was in the wrong place.

"This is it?" he said.

"Yeah," Jude said.

"It looks like a clothing store or something."

Jude just laughed. "There isn't as much space to build in South Korea. It isn't like the States where you can just slap down a big warehouse somewhere and put a gym in it. But trust me, this is the place. I've been here before."

It was Ty's first trip to Seoul, but, fortunately, not Jude's. He was only a year older than Ty, but that was an extra year of traveling for comps.

Jude's experience had come in handy during their recent trip to Seoul. The team sent fewer climbers this time. Aside from Jude and Ty, it was just a couple of the top women climbers. The four of them were sharing a place with a couple of their coaches.

International comps were expensive, especially for American climbers, who often had to travel the farthest. Way more comps took place in Asia and Europe than the U.S. Ty and the others were lucky to have this shot at all; it wasn't so long ago that Americans wanting to travel for a comp were pretty much on their own.

Ty wondered what Elijah would have to say about that.

He kept his smile to himself. He was supposed to be focusing on training with his teammate today, not fantasizing about Elijah.

"Let's head in. It's downstairs," Jude said.

They entered what looked for all the world like a gear shop. They found shoes, shirts, pants, rope, chalk, everything you could want for whatever your favorite style of climbing was. Jude led the way past it and to a narrow flight of stairs that went downward into what seemed like a basement.

Ty nearly stopped breathing when they reached the bottom.

The stairs opened out into a whole gym hidden under that storefront. Huge pads covered most of the floor, aside from narrow lanes for walking between the walls. Ty spied huge, slanted overhangs and caves and balance-intensive slabs and everything in between.

Someone addressed them in accented English and Ty snapped his mouth shut. Jude took care of paying their entrance fees and explaining they already had shoes and chalk. The man at the desk nodded and gestured them into the gym.

"Not bad, huh?" Jude said as they sat on the mats getting their shoes on.

"This is amazing," Ty said.

"It's a pretty famous gym. The siblings who started it are big-name climbers. The whole family has a history with the sport."

A tingle of excitement broke through the jet lag at last. They'd landed yesterday and only had a couple days to try to adjust before the competition started. South Korea, Japan and China had a ton of strong climbers they'd all be sending to Seoul for this. It would be a hell of a fight just to make finals. And Ty couldn't wait.

He and Jude warmed up quickly and got right into climbing. It wasn't what their coaches might think of as an ideal training session, but Ty was just trying to get his body back to its usual rhythm after traveling halfway around the world.

Tape marked the routes. Ty followed the colors, mentally mapping out an overhanging climb before hopping on it. Being partially upside down forced him to work harder for every move. The rush of blood and adrenaline perked up sluggish muscles. By the time he dropped back down to the mats, he was feeling more alert than he had in the past twenty-four hours.

"Nice send on that," Jude said.

Ty nudged his shoulder. "You're next."

Jude chalked up his hands and stood under the climb. He and Ty made good climbing partners, not only because they competed at roughly the same level, but also because they had similar body types. Jude was nearly as long and lanky as Ty. His pale complexion provided a stark contrast, as well as the tidy, dark hair cropped close to his head.

The differences were mostly superficial, however. Jude had almost instantly taken Ty under his wing, despite having only a year on him. They did more than just train and compete together. They ate together, partied together, explored new cities together.

Ty had even come to trust him enough to confide in Jude about his sexuality. He wasn't ashamed or anything. But bringing that stuff onto the climbing wall seemed like an unnecessary burden. He wanted to be a good climber, not a good gay climber. In that, he and Elijah were very much aligned.

Jude had figured it out quickly however, thanks in part to a slurred confession after too many drinks at a party. He hadn't said anything of it the next day while Ty sweated over whether he'd just ostracized his new climbing team friend. Jude hadn't said anything about it since, either, unless it was a passing good-natured joke or an offer to vacate their shared room for the night. Of course, Ty did the same for Jude in return, but they were often so busy and exhausted during comps that it wasn't a huge concern. The whole incident with Elijah had been a delightful surprise, one Jude hadn't asked any nosy questions about in the weeks since.

The thump of Jude returning to the mats knocked Ty out of his daze. Jude panted to catch his breath while Ty scanned the gym for their next climb.

They tried a few more burly overhangs, the type of physical climbing they both enjoyed. Slowly, the South Korean climbers around them took more and more notice of the obvious foreigners in the room. Ty and Jude ignored the curious appraisals. Just climbing while half his brain was stuck in a jet lag-induced fog was hard enough.

It was also draining. Ty's muscles ached with exhaustion far more quickly than usual. He settled on the mats to take a longer break and try to squeeze a bit more out of his body. Jude plopped down beside him.

They'd barely caught their breath when Jude nudged Ty's shoulder and said, "Hey, did you see who's registered for the comp? It's your favorite climber."

Ty didn't manage to smother the smile this time around. "Yeah, I know. "

"Wait, you know? What do you mean you know?"

Even in a gym full of people who mostly spoke Korean, Ty wasn't ready for this conversation to happen in public. He jumped back to his feet and hopped on the nearest climb, which turned out to be far too easy. He didn't care. He concentrated on following the colored tape like he was on the final climb of a huge comp.

That only deterred Jude for so long. When Ty hopped back down to the mats, Jude was still watching him with a question written plainly across his face. So much for Jude not prying. Though Ty couldn't really blame him in this instance. He was the only one who understood that there was something going on between Ty and Elijah, and he'd never given Ty a reason not to trust him.

Ty sighed and conceded defeat. "I'll tell you when we're done here. Not in public."

Jude didn't push. They went back to their climbing session as though neither of them had ever brought up the topic of Elijah. A jittery buzz chased Ty up the rest of his climbs, but at least it gave him a burst of fresh energy. He had to climb enough to get hungry. He'd heard eating could help reset your internal clock when it got out of whack from traveling.

He and Jude climbed until they could barely hang onto an easy jug any more. Then they switched from their climbing shoes to street shoes, thanked the front desk staff with nods and mumbled "kamshamnida"s, and trekked back out onto the street.

The sun was setting, the failing light clawing its way through the sprawl of Seoul. They'd taken a train here. It was an easy walk back to the station to return via the same exact train. But even as they wound through busy streets full of pedestrians Jude still didn't prod. That single startled question was all he uttered as they walked silently back to the station and boarded a train headed into the heart of the metropolis.

Only once they disembarked did Jude speak again. Ty reflexively tensed, but all Jude said was, "You wanna grab food? I'm actually hungry after that."

"Yeah, definitely," Ty said.

"Sweet. I know a place on our way."

Then it was back to silence as Jude led the way. How he remembered this kind of stuff about a city he'd only been to once before was beyond Ty, but Ty was grateful to have an experienced tour guide for this journey.

Jude took them to a place that served rice soup dishes. They heaped food onto their trays themselves, then fumbled to find the right amount of won to match the number on the register.

Ty dove into the meal. He wasn't as hungry as he should have been, but the warm soup felt good as it heated up his stomach. And it meant he couldn't talk.

Why was he so afraid of this conversation? Hadn't he just been thinking about what a good friend and confidant Jude had always been to him, especially when it came to stuff like this? It wasn't like the guy was going to suddenly turn homophobic out of nowhere.

Maybe the problem wasn't Jude.

Ty set his spoon down, his stomach suddenly full of rocks. And now the words came bubbling up to drown out his thoughts. He couldn't run from both forever.

"So, yeah, I knew," Ty said.

Jude looked up from where he was practically inhaling his soup. Despite the long lag in their conversation, understanding dawned on his face. He didn't speak, just set his spoon down and waited for Ty to continue.

"I, um, I might have talked Elijah into registering for the comp," Ty said.

Jude raised an eyebrow. He knew as well as Ty there was more to this explanation than Ty was letting on. Dragging Elijah Reed out of retirement wasn't something that happened thanks to a single fun night in Vail.

"Okay, first question," Jude said, "you're still seeing him?"

"I've seen him again since Vail, if that's what you mean," Ty said.

Jude rolled his eyes. "You know exactly what I mean."

"Okay, fine, yes," Ty conceded. "We climbed the day after. Back in Vail. And then he visited me in Salt Lake City. "

"Dude."

"But it was mostly for training!" Ty said. "I really wanted to show him he could get back into comps. He thinks he's too old. I told him that's nuts, but he insists on acting like he's some washed up old timer."

"I mean, he is older than most pro climbers," Jude said.

"Yeah, sure, but that doesn't mean he's not still strong. You only have to climb four boulders in a comp."

"After climbing through qualies and semi-finals."

"You are sounding a lot like Elijah right now, you know that?" Ty said.

Jude shrugged. "I'm just saying, climbers have a short shelf-life. We all know it. Climbing in the comps past thirty is pretty rare. How are you supposed to compete with teenagers at that point? It's not that he's a bad climber or out of shape, but thirty is different from seventeen, you know?"

Ty sighed. He'd had this same conversation about a dozen times with Elijah over that short weekend they'd spent together in Salt Lake City. He knew all the arguments forward and back.

"There have been plenty of people who have competed past age thirty," Ty said. "If you train for it, there's no reason you can't get on the podium."

Jude put up his hands. "Hey, I agree with you, man. I'm just trying to explain Elijah's point of view. He had a strong career. I get why he wouldn't want to come back and find out he can't even get to semi-finals. "

"He'll get to semi-finals," Ty said.

"I hope so," Jude said. "It'll be super cool to climb with him, either way. Are you excited?"

"Of course."

Climbing alongside Elijah Reed had been a dream of Ty's for as long as he'd been into climbing, practically. He'd never imagined it happening like this, but he'd sure as hell take it.

Jude kicked Ty playfully under the table. "You better not go easy on him because he's your boyfriend."

Ty froze. Was Elijah his boyfriend? They'd climbed together, slept together, traveled to see each other. They'd gone out to eat and hung around sharing a pizza and watching movies. On paper, that was all boyfriend stuff. So why did something inside Ty hesitate to put that label on it?

"Sorry." Jude's tone was suddenly more somber. "Did I hit a nerve there?"

Ty shook himself. "No, it's just … we haven't really put a label on things, you know? So I don't know what I'd really call it. I've seen him more and we've certainly done all the, uh, boyfriend kind of stuff, but I don't know if that's what he'd call it. Sometimes I think…"

Jude waited, his silence a stronger nudge than that kick under the table had been.

"Sometimes I think," Ty said, "that he doesn't take me seriously because I'm younger than him. That he'd never consider me a serious partner, you know? "

Something darkened Jude's face. "Well, if that's the case then I should be kicking him for answers and not you." He lowered his voice and leaned closer. "If you're about to tell me that he's taking advantage of having a hot younger fan…"

Ty quickly waved his hands. "No, dude, it's not like that. I'm the one chasing him, pretty much. I just think he believes there's no way this won't end, like I'll just wander off to the next shiny thing or something."

Jude narrowed his eyes and sat back a little. "You don't strike me as the wandering off type. To be honest, when you set your sights on something you get kind of scary, man."

Ty swallowed at that piercing observation. Aside from Elijah, all Jude had ever witnessed of Ty's love life was sporadic flings, but Ty tended to approach them with an intensity that sometimes scared off partners. Elijah was sticking around, though, and Ty was clearly focused intensely on the guy.

Jude reached across the table and gripped Ty by the wrist. "You better not get distracted by all this in the comp. I don't want to beat you because some guy is messing with your head, all right?"

Ty forced a smile. "No chance are you getting that lucky. Don't worry. Elijah will get me hyped, if anything."

"Yeah, I bet. I've heard doing that can make you perform better in athletics afterward. Just a friendly tip. "

Jude's wink was completely ridiculous, but Ty couldn't help laughing at it. It eased away some of the worries the conversation had forced into the spotlight. Whatever Elijah and Ty were off the wall, all that mattered for the next few days was what they were on the wall — world-class climbers.