Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

TY FLEW UP ANOTHER CLIMB, making a fantastic leap for the final hold. His body swung. The crowd gasped. But there was never any doubt those strong hands would keep him on the wall. He started pumping a fist in victory before the judges even signaled that he got the top.

Ty dropped to the mats, beaming and waving with both hands. The crowd adored him, and why wouldn't they? He was strong, charismatic, exciting … beautiful. Elijah's eyes trailed Ty all the way off the mats, until the curtains separating the isolation area concealed him from view.

Had Elijah ever been that young, that fit, that strong? He must have been, but when he watched Ty, that younger self felt like a distant dream.

The clock still had a minute left, but in the finals the timer didn't need to run out before they called on the next climber. Since there was only one climber on the wall at a time, the judges could simply send out the next climber if someone finished early, as Ty just had. Of course, this let all the climbers know that the person on the wall had completed the climb. You only returned to isolation early if you got the top with time to spare.

So when Jeong Kim, the South Korean climber, jogged out for his turn at the wall, he took his time sizing up the route. He had to know that Ty, his closest competitor, had reached the top of it. Jeong was less explosive than Ty, more methodical. He took his time chalking up his hands and reading the route with his eyes, mapping out each move in his mind before his body every tried it. The best climbers could visualize a route so clearly that they were practically teaching themselves how to climb it before they ever touched a hold.

Jeong seemed to be doing just that. He used nearly thirty seconds just sizing up the holds before he approached the wall. And all that careful study paid off. Though he ultimately used roughly the same amount of time as Ty — three minutes, give or take — he got the top in fewer attempts.

There was only one climb left. Elijah glanced nervously at the climbing website on his phone that was updating the rankings in real time. Ty was fighting hard, but Jeong had first place firmly in his grasp right now. And that German climber, Lukas — he was right on Ty's heels. The top three could shake out in any order.

Jude came out first. He gave the final climb a good go, but balance just wasn't his thing and his four minutes passed without him even getting to the second zone hold that awarded partial points for the route. The next two climbers also struggled. One very nearly reached the top, barely running out of time. The spectators groaned in sympathy. Only a couple seconds had separated the climber from a potential third-place finish.

Lukas came out next. He was definitely strong. That much was clear in every single inch of the guy. Dark stubble clung to his hard jawline. Even when he shook out his arms, they seemed to flex somehow. His black Team Germany jersey left the bulk of his shoulders fully exposed.

He couldn't have been shaped much more differently than Ty. And they'd certainly approached several of the problems in the finals very differently, with Ty relying on his height and dynamic ability where Lukas relied on raw power. Yet they both got to the top more often than not. They were both going to land among the top three. Despite their differences in height, age, weight, climbing philosophy, basically everything, they both had the capacity to win this.

Elijah was sure there was a lesson for him in there somewhere, but he didn't relish the idea of reflecting on it right now. Better to leave that to later, after the ache of the loss had had more time to heal.

Cheering jolted Elijah from his self-reflection. Lukas was at the top of the wall and offering a stoic little wave before he let go and fell to the mats. Shit. Elijah hadn't even seen how many attempts it had taken him to get to the top. He watched the leader board on his phone anxiously, waiting for it to update. When it finally did, it didn't offer much relief. If Elijah was doing the math right, Lukas had gotten up that climb in only two tries. Meaning Ty did not have a lot of wiggle room. He needed a top in as few tries as possible to achieve a final score that would beat Lukas's.

Ty didn't know all this when he came out, of course. He wasn't allowed to know it. But he probably knew that Lukas had reached the top judging by the fact that he hadn't used the full four minutes.

He took a little more time than usual sizing up the climb, but still fell off it the first time. It wasn't quite his style, being a little more slow and deliberate. His second try got him closer, but not to the top.

Elijah was threatening to crush his phone in his hand by the time Ty attempted the route for the third time. He conquered the first few moves more smoothly, having worked those out on the first couple tries. But then he reached the mid-point of the climb and paused, clearly trying to work out the next move.

It's a cross. A cross!

Elijah willed his thoughts to pass telepathically to Ty, but it seemed he failed once again today. Instead of crossing one hand over the other, Ty made a jump for it. Ridiculously enough, it very nearly worked, but Ty slipped off the hold, too off-balance to stick to it.

The crowd murmured. That was it. Ty couldn't beat Lukas anymore. But Ty climbed as though he hadn't heard the spectators' reaction. He jumped at the move yet again and somehow actually caught it, making for a spectacular finish to the route. He waved, and Elijah swore that their eyes met for just a fleeting second. There was no doubt or regret in those brown depths.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU jumped for that. It was clearly a cross."

"He jump?"

"You gave us a heart attack when you went for it the second time, man."

All around the table, climbers chatted excitedly about the comp. Jude reprimanded Ty for the riskiness of the jump better than Elijah himself could have. Lukas scowled and shook his head like a disappointed parent, even though that jump had placed Lukas in second and Ty in third. The South Korean, Jeong, raised his eyebrows, shooting a look across the table at Elijah as though seeking confirmation. Ty's reckless leap had the poor guy doubting his grasp on English, though he seemed to understand it perfectly well and speak it passably.

"I was too tired for the cross," Ty said with an easy shrug. "The jump seemed simpler."

Lukas shook his head. Jude laughed, probably accustomed to this stuff coming from his teammate. A smile tugged at Jeong's mouth.

Elijah simply sat there silently as the others kept talking through the competition. There were a few more climbers with them, other guys from the comp, but Elijah didn't know them personally. The cluster of climbers formed a noisy group in the restaurant. Elijah didn't speak a word of Korean, but when Jeong had requested a table for the group he'd seemed to be apologizing at least half the time. At least a big group of hungry climbers meant a big bill.

Elijah had almost refused the invitation when Ty came to him after the comp and told him they were all going out to eat. It felt too weird, too close. But Ty had assured him that it was completely normal for a bunch of the climbers to go out together after everything wrapped up. At least that hadn't really changed, though Elijah used to feel a lot more at-home in these kinds of situations. Tonight, he felt like the odd man out, the one who didn't belong, even though he'd made it into semi-finals and even bumped himself up a few places during that round.

Food arrived, interrupting the conversation. They were having "samgyeopsal," which Jeong and a couple of the other climbers from the area had helped them order. What sat before them now were pork strips with lettuce, sliced onions and garlic kimchi, as well as a paste Jeong had described for them but which Elijah couldn't remember a thing about.

All that ultimately mattered was that it was damn good. Elijah wasn't the only one digging in ravenously once the food arrived. Everyone seemed to forget all about climbing while they got their first few bites down.

It was a bit of a relief, if Elijah was being honest. Once, he would have eagerly joined in exactly this kind of post-comp chatter, but that was years ago. Climbing was still climbing, and climbers were still climbers, but it felt different trying to fall into the flow of the conversation now. Maybe it was just in Elijah's head that he would say or do something out of place, but it kept him quiet all the same.

Ty nudged him while they ate. "Awesome, right? We're lucky to have Jeong to show us around like this."

"Yeah," Elijah said, but nothing more.

They'd talked about being discrete about … this, whatever this was, but Ty was still acting pretty friendly, even in public. It sure felt like he was out to dinner with his boyfriend and a bunch of friends, yet neither of them had used that word. Young people and labels, or something like that. That's what Elijah was choosing to believe, anyway. It was easier to chalk it up to a generational difference th an both of them being too chickenshit to have the conversation at all.

Elijah snuck a glance at Ty beside him. The food was vanishing off plates and creating space for renewed bubbles of conversation. Ty jumped right back in, joking about one of the climbs from the finals round that he'd come up with a strange method for. He didn't seem to do anything in a conventional manner, whether that was climbing or dating. What would he say if Elijah broached the topic of labels with him? Would he be appalled? Bored? Annoyed?

Elijah mentally shook himself. It didn't matter. Ty was going to get bored of Elijah dragging him down soon enough anyway. How could he not? He was so young and vibrant. He'd outpace Elijah before long and race off to his next thrilling adventure. He had this whole exciting pro climbing life to lead, while Elijah was just messing around, throwing himself into a competition he didn't even belong in.

No, way better not to have the label talk. It would just force a definition on something that was better left to fizzle out on its own. As soon as Elijah tried to pen it in with a firm border, he'd surely discover how tenuous it was. They could have fun for now, and that was something. If it weren't for Ty coming into his life, Elijah would definitely be home in Colorado watching this competition on a YouTube stream or something. Sure, he hadn't gotten into the finals, but he'd still gotten to travel to Seoul and climb. It was the most excitement his life had contained in far too long.

The conversation petered out as the food settled in. The exhausted climbers sank more heavily into their chairs as their bodies finally got the sustenance they'd been craving after a long, hard day. No one seemed super eager to leap up from the table and end the evening, but eventually they had to pay their bill and shuffle out into the night.

The streets of Seoul blazed in neon hues. Foot traffic streamed by in both directions, while cars flashed past in the street. Sometimes those cars came a bit close for Elijah's comfort. There seemed to be a far less firm boundary between street and sidewalk here than he was used to. The Korean pedestrians barely noticed, far more annoyed by the cluster of mostly foreigners pooled outside the restaurant and taking up valuable sidewalk real estate.

The climbers they'd gone out with tonight represented a slew of countries. Germany, South Korea, America, Japan, Slovakia, the UK, Spain, Italy. There might have been a few more that Elijah was missing. They started to branch off, all heading in different directions to reach their respective team housing. Different teams went about it differently depending on how many climbers they brought to a competition. All Elijah knew for sure was that Ty and the other American climber, Jude, would be heading back toward Team USA's rented place together.

The three of them thanked Jeong before they split off. Ty was supposed to come back to Elijah's hotel with him, but no one else knew that. Elijah said nothing as he walked beside Ty, Jude strolling along on Ty's other side. Elijah kept his hands in his pockets, sure that any sound or move he made would spell some sort of disaster. He certainly couldn't ask Ty how this was about to work out. Were they just going to ditch Jude at some point? Or maybe Ty would claim he had to make a pit stop at a convenience store or something and Elijah would have to take the hint and claim likewise.

Elijah gritted his teeth and kept pace with the younger climbers, determined to follow his cue whenever Ty chose to offer it. He felt like he was sneaking around behind his parents' backs in high school again, except that everyone here were adults who could damn well do what they pleased. Still, Elijah and Ty had already talked about keeping this mostly to themselves. Elijah had no idea what this Jude guy knew or assumed, or what Ty would want him knowing or assuming.

In the end, Ty simply stopped. Jude didn't even blink, but Elijah nearly tripped over his own feet. They were standing at a cross roads in some little neighborhood improbably nestled into the middle of a bustling city. Seoul had that feel to it, though. You could pass from a main highway through the center of a business hub right into a cozy little residential area with almost no warning.

"Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, man," Ty said .

He held up his fist.

"Yeah, totally. Have a good night." Jude bumped his fist against Ty's, waved at Elijah and then veered off on his own.

And that was it. As simple as that, Elijah and Ty were alone.

"Your hotel was this way, right?" Ty said, pointing up one of the streets.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, it was," Elijah said.

"Well, come on. I'm exhausted. But also don't want to go to sleep quite yet." Ty punctuated this with a wink.

The sly smile on Ty's face spurred Elijah to follow him first, ask questions later. It took a few steps before he remembered to be confused by the whole thing.

"Your teammate, Jude…" Elijah said.

"Him? Oh, he's cool," Ty said. "Sorry, I guess I didn't warn you. He was my roommate back in Vail, too. It's not exactly news to him. But don't worry about it. Jude's always been really chill."

"I thought you wanted to keep this all a little more discreet than that," Elijah said.

"I thought you did," Ty countered.

"I do, but I was mostly worried about you," Elijah said. "Everyone already knows about me."

Ty laughed, but it felt for all the world like they stood on the cusp of a dangerous conversation they'd deftly dodged until now. If Elijah pushed at all, he'd tip them over the edge. He wasn't sure he actually wanted that.

Ty scooped up Elijah's hand in his and squeezed it. "Let's not worry about that stuff. I know something we both definitely want tonight."

Elijah nearly protested. He was supposed to be the older, more level-headed one here, right? He should probably say something about how they needed to sit down and have a hard conversation about exactly what they both wanted and expected here. But it had been a long and exhausting day, and every time those neon lights hit Ty's face they highlighted something different and lovely and wonderful, and Elijah had held back way too many kisses already today. There would be time to talk later. Or tomorrow. Or whatever.

For now, neither of them were all that interested in words.