Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE?" Ty said, spreading his arms wide and turning in front of Jude, his teammate.

"Dude, I don't think he's gonna care that much," Jude said. He lounged on one of the two beds in their room, watching as Ty went through shirt after shirt.

"But I care," Ty said. He appraised himself in the mirror on the wall of their shared room. His current pick was a button down with a geometric pattern in various shades of blue. "No. This is way too formal. It'll be like a date."

"Isn't that exactly what you were hoping for?" Jude said.

"Well, yeah, but I don't know if it's what he's hoping for. I can't go in there like this. I have to be more … chill."

"You are absolutely not ‘chill' about this at all. "

Ty huffed. Jude wasn't wrong, but he didn't have to go and point it out while Ty's nerves were still jumping like he had firecrackers in his veins instead of blood.

He groaned at himself and unbuttoned the shirt, throwing it onto the pile on his bed. He dug through the mess until he found a plain green T-shirt. Absolutely bland and non-descript. Paired with decent jeans and the trendy leather jacket Ty had bought overseas, it wasn't a bad look. Casual but still sexy in the right circumstances.

"What about this one?" he said, presenting himself to Jude again.

Jude rolled his eyes. "You look great, dude. You always look great. It's actually kind of annoying."

"You can't be jealous when you're not even gay," Ty said.

"I can be jealous all I want," Jude shot back. "Even the girls all like you, man."

Ty rolled his eyes, but the banter was lightening his mood. He'd been climbing with Jude for a while. In fact, Jude was one of the first people on the climbing team he'd come out to. Even though Jude said he was straight, something in Ty told him he could trust Jude with the revelation. And he'd been right. Nothing had changed between them since Ty told him. They were still roommates most of the time when they traveled. They still hung out all the time outside of climbing. Jude didn't even make some weird "straight guy" remark when Ty was obviously crushing over a dude. Honestly, if Jude didn't profess his heterosexuality himself, he could have fooled Ty.

"Just relax and have fun, OK?" Jude said. "It'll come naturally if it's meant to happen."

"I know," Ty said. "It's just, how many times do you meet your hot climbing inspiration and get to go out to dinner with him?"

Jude chuckled as he jumped up from the bed. He gripped Ty by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes, a feat not too many others could manage thanks to Ty's height. But Jude was built pretty similarly to Ty, tall and lanky, which is what initially made them gravitate toward each other as climbing partners.

"You're going to be fine," Jude said. "Either you'll get to talk climbing with your all-time climbing idol, or you'll get to talk climbing and make out with your all-time climbing idol. It's a win-win, dude. Just relax and be yourself."

Ty breathed a little easier thanks to Jude's reassurance. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it."

Jude patted his shoulders and stepped back. "No problem. Just please shoot me a text if you're bringing him back here. I do not want to have to pretend to be asleep."

Heat flushed into Ty's cheeks. That was way further along than Ty himself was thinking. He wasn't even sure how it would work with the team all staying in this rented house together and sharing bedrooms.

Jude laughed at Ty's expression and returned to the bed, flopping down and pulling out his phone. "It's getting late," he said. "Shouldn't you be going?"

"Shit."

Ty scrambled for his phone and wallet, stuffing them into the pockets of his strategically tight jeans. He thanked Jude again and scrambled from the room, pounding down the stairs of the house and back out into the streets.

Vail Village was all winding cobblestone streets and quaint faux-Bavarian architecture. It sat near "Gondola One," which would take skiers up the nearby mountain. But this weekend the place was overrun with climbers. Ty either recognized the people wandering the streets around him, or they recognized him. It was flattering, but after the first two autographs, he started to seriously worry he was about to be late. Most of the time as a climber he went unrecognized in public; it was only a place like this during a climbing comp where he'd actually garner any attention.

He did his best to be polite while still hurrying through the village toward the restaurant he'd texted to Elijah. His path took him past picturesque balconies dripping with bright flowers and fountains encircled in stone, as though they were natural springs that had leapt up out of the ground itself. Everything from the hotels to the sporting goods stores bore that distinctive boxy Bavarian village look, from the overhanging eaves of the peaked roofs to the creams and oranges and tans softening every surface. He passed a balcony hanging flags from a dozen different countries and crossed a plaza still exhaling the heat of the summer day. It was a lot cooler here than in most places in the middle of June, mostly thanks to the elevation, but letting stone bake in the sun all day still warmed the encroaching evening. It wasn't unpleasant, especially since Ty was rushing. Any hotter and he'd be a mess by the time he reached the restaurant.

He finally spotted his destination, a cute, stone-fronted building with outdoor seating. The restaurant had thrown its doors open for the evening, making even the interior light and breezy. As the night cooled, the heat lamps standing among the tables would start going on, but for now everyone was simply enjoying the mild evening.

Elijah was waiting outside the restaurant, fiddling with his phone. He wore a hoodie with a climbing gym logo on it over a plain T-shirt. It was strange seeing him in jeans instead of climbing pants, but they highlighted just how fit and strong the guy was. In a hoodie, you almost wouldn't notice the muscle in his arms and chest, but there was no denying how firm that ass was in those jeans.

Be cool, be cool , Ty chanted at himself.

Elijah sensed Ty approaching and turned to face him and all thought of "being cool" flew out of Ty's brain. The sun was just starting its long, slow descent, but the rosy rays bathing Vail Village caressed Elijah's face like a lover. The stubble along his jaw was so pale it was like dew kissing his skin. His short, sandy hair and light brown eyes seemed to shift with the light itself. His lips parted like he wanted to greet Ty but had forgotten how to speak, and damn, how Ty wanted to go take those lips for himself.

"Hey," he said instead. "Sorry I'm late. I got stopped a couple times on my way over here."

Elijah's smile was wry. "A local celebrity already, huh?"

"Hardly. But there aren't too many other climbers out there who look like me, so they probably remember."

He didn't mean to drop such a heavy subject out of nowhere, but it was simply the truth, and everyone knew it. Climbing was not a very diverse sport at the moment. There were a lot of people trying to improve that, but the reality was what it was right now. Being half-Black made Ty stand out. And while everyone was supportive and kind, it didn't change the fact that the demographics of the sport were shifting at a snail's pace.

"No, there aren't," Elijah said, far too serious. "We're still way behind on that."

"It's getting a little better," Ty said.

"Sure, but it's slow going," Elijah said. "Sorry. That's gotta be hard. I know what it feels like to go out there and think you need to represent an entire group of people and not just yourself. Not that it's exactly the same, but, you know."

Ty smiled to himself. "Yeah, I get you. Hey, let's chat about this inside. I'm starving."

Elijah seemed relieved to head into the restaurant with Ty and settle at a table. The exterior might have matched the Bavarian thing going on throughout the village, but the moment they sat down the whole world shifted to kitschy American decor. The supposed hide of some animal hung on a wall alongside rope and spurs and a fake bison skull. Everything was wood — the tables, the chairs, the floor that Ty suspected creaked deliberately under their feet. A bar lay at the far end of the room, the chairs painted red, white and blue. Of course.

Elijah looked around with a raised eyebrow. "I have to admit, this is not what I was expecting."

"I figured it'd be the easiest place," Ty said.

They'd hardly sat down before a server offered them simple one-page menus. Ty already knew he wanted a burger, and the biggest, greasiest one they could give him at that. He could probably take down about three after competing all day, but settled on ordering just one and a beer to go along with it. Elijah got a burger as well, and a beer, which seemed like a very mature and thematic choice, given the setting.

"Have to admit," Elijah said, "I wasn't sure if you were even allowed to order a drink."

Ty laughed. "Come on, I can't look that young. I'm twenty-two."

"Jesus," Elijah muttered to himself.

Ty let the age talk end there. It clearly rattled Elijah a bit. But Ty couldn't possibly care less. Elijah was hot, like, really hot. Even the faint beginnings of the little lines at his eyes and mouth only made him more attractive to Ty's eyes. If Ty spied a gray hair among all that sandy blonde, he might just have to excuse himself until he could calm down.

Of course, Ty couldn't say any of that. It would probably freak Elijah out even more to know the age difference was such a huge turn on. It wasn't like Ty hadn't been with people closer to his own age. He just had a preference for people slightly older. Was that really so weird?

By the time their burgers and drinks arrived, they had thankfully moved on to the topic of climbing and not age. Elijah seemed way more relaxed discussing holds and setting than whether Ty could legally drink or not.

"The amount of dynos they set for you guys these days…" Elijah said with a shake of his head.

"Yeah," Ty agreed, "sometimes I feel like I need to take up parkour."

"It wouldn't hurt, at this point."

Ty spoke around a mouthful of burger, too simultaneously excited and hungry to give up on either activity. "It can be fun, but yeah, sometimes I just want a few nice technical climbs to take a crack at."

"I always liked the strong ones," Elijah said. "Just raw ‘who has the power to get up this?'"

"I know," Ty said. "That was my favorite, honestly. When I saw that they set something really strong, I was always really excited for when you'd come out. No one climbed that stuff the way you did, and you weren't even the tallest guy out there."

"Not by a lot," Elijah said. He wasn't short by any means, but pro climbers sometimes boasted ridiculous statures. It didn't hurt to be able to reach things more easily. "But, uh, thank you."

Elijah cast his eyes down at his plate. He still had half a burger in front of him, which he prodded at rather than looking up at Ty. The faintest twinge of heat danced along the crest of his pale cheeks, even more dim than the sunset threatening to begin outside.

Ty couldn't help pushing a little. "I really mean it," he said. "I was a teenager and just starting to figure out that I was pretty good at this climbing thing and I watched you obsessively. Your technique, your skill, your raw power. It pushed me to train harder. And then you came out and…"

Elijah's gaze flickered up, streaked with fear. Ty had to hurry on before he lost his chance, but that look frightened the words right out of his mouth.

"And," he said, "and I just … I thought that was really cool. Really brave."

"Thanks," Elijah said quietly. "I wasn't really thinking of it as brave at the time. I just…" He shrugged. "There was no point hiding it anymore. Everyone around me knew. It was kind of just a formality."

"Well, it meant something to a queer, half-Black kid trying to figure out if he could fit into this sport," Ty said. "So thank you for doing it."

Elijah held Ty's eyes for a long beat, his gaze pale and golden like his hair, like amber.

"I never knew," Elijah said. "I might have done it sooner if I thought there were kids like you out there."

"I'm sure I wasn't the only one," Ty said. "But hey, no one can make you come out, right? You had to do it when it felt right to you. I'm just saying, I think there were probably quite a few young climbers out there who noticed."

Elijah's eyeline fell back down to his half-finished burger. "Damn," he muttered at himself.

"Sorry to make it so heavy," Ty said. "It was supposed to be a compliment."

"No, no, I understand," Elijah said. "I just never really though about it in those terms before."

The server interrupted to ask if they needed anything else. They let her take away their plates. Elijah started to pull out his wallet but Ty rushed to stop him.

"My treat," he said. "I just won the comp, after all."

"Yeah, but it's not like they award you guys big prizes," Elijah said.

"Please, I'd genuinely be really happy to be able to treat someone who inspired me so long ago." When Elijah still hesitated, Ty jerked his head toward the bar and added, "You can buy me a drink."

Elijah lingered over the offer. Ty's heart jumped up into his throat. Had he gone too far with that story about his childhood? But how many chances was he going to get to tell Elijah freakin' Reed that he'd had such an impact on Ty when he was still trying to find his place in the sport? Elijah wasn't the only climber Ty had looked up to — he'd gobbled up any news of any climber who wasn't a white guy for a while there — but his coming out had definitely left its mark on Ty, and probably several other young climbers as well.

Ty finally breathed again when Elijah nodded. "Fine, but order yourself something nice. One drink doesn't make up for a whole dinner."

Ty broke into a smile and pulled out his wallet. "Maybe I'll go crazy and order two, then."

"Don't make your coach hate me by getting you drunk," Elijah said.

"My coach deals with a bunch of young climbers. He will survive the shock of us having fun once in a while, I promise."

Ty settled their dinner bill, then he and Elijah moved to the bar, choosing a red seat and blue seat next to each other. Elijah flagged down the bartender and ordered himself another beer. Ty got some fancy cocktail with a silly name, the "Star-Spangled Banner." He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but when it arrived it was bright blue and tasted more like a jolly rancher than alcohol.

He and Elijah slipped into easier topics than childhood dreams and coming out stories, returning to the familiar, safe ground of climbing. Outside, the heat lamps were going on and the sun was going down. A comfortable, placid glow suffused the airy restaurant as the day paled away into darkness.

Ty did end up getting that second drink, but he doubted that was the cause of the pleasant buzz humming in his head. The longer they talked, the more Elijah relaxed. Slowly, they swiveled in their chairs, turning their knees toward each other, leaning closer together to create a pocket of space that excluded the rest of the bar and cocooned them in a bubble just for each other.

"I don't even remember half that climb," Elijah was saying. "As soon as I hit that move that I'd been working on for so long it was just, like, a blank. I knew I was going to reach the top. I was on auto-pilot."

"Damn, that's so cool," Ty said, leaning in even closer. "I wish I had more time for outside climbing."

Elijah snorted a laugh. "You have plenty of time. Just worry about winning every single comp for now. It'll be over before you know it, trust me."

"I bet you could still compete," Ty said. He raked his eyes shamelessly up and down Elijah's body. From so close, he could see the way his T-shirt stretched over his chest. Fuck, he wanted to see more. Being so close and yet still having to fill in the gaps with his imagination was becoming torture the more buzzed he got from the drinks .

"No way," Elijah said. "I'm no match for you guys anymore."

"I doubt that," Ty said. "You're clearly in really good shape. With a little comp training you'd be right back out there beating us."

Elijah shook his head. "I don't have the energy and power you guys have. I mean, sure, I could out-climb your average gym climber. I could probably win a local comp or something. But at your level? No way. You guys are at your peak, trust me."

"What if you gave it a go anyway? Just for fun. You could train with me."

The abrupt invitation clipped off their conversation. Ty hadn't even known he was going to say it before it was spilling past his lips, but he didn't regret it. Training with Elijah would be … it would be like a dream come true. As recently as this morning it sounded unfathomable. But now Elijah was tipping toward Ty, his face rosy, his amber eyes digging through Ty's like they were searching for a trick or a joke. Ty had never been more serious in his life.

"I don't think your team would appreciate me barging in," Elijah said.

"Are you kidding? They'd be thrilled. And if they aren't, then maybe we just train alone."

Ty wasn't talking about training anymore, and they both knew it. Elijah's eyes darted, still digging, still searching. He wasn't going to find a crack, though. Ty slid his hand down his own thigh so he could rest his fingers on his knee. They sat so close that the touch grazed Elijah's knee as well.

Elijah's throat bobbed as he swallowed. "It would depend … on your training schedule and stuff. You don't even live around here, do you?"

"I live around here tonight."

Ty couldn't get much more blunt than this without causing a scene in a public place. And still Elijah dithered. Ty wanted to scream with frustration, but he forced himself to hold still and wait, leaving his fingers just barely brushing against both their knees, the most casual and accidental of touches.

"I guess you do," Elijah said. "But your whole team must be in town."

"We're sharing a house in the village, yeah."

A nervous flicker tightened Elijah's mouth. Ty scrambled.

"But my roommate is out for the night," he lied. "A lot of them are. Celebrating and stuff. He said he won't be back until tomorrow."

"You should be out celebrating with them," Elijah said.

"I didn't want to," Ty said. "I wanted…"

Words weren't working, and as easy as they usually came to Ty, he suddenly found himself floundering like a fish flopping on dry land. His gut clenched. Blood rushed from his brain to other less helpful regions. He had nothing left to say .

So he acted instead.

Ty leaned forward without another word, using his height and length to reach Elijah's mouth. Elijah didn't pull away, but neither did he lean in, leaving Ty dancing along his lips. It was too soft, too light. Ty wanted so much more, but for now he backed away and gazed anxiously at Elijah to await his reaction.

Elijah chased after him. The moment Ty backed off, Elijah finally made his move, surging forward, crashing their lips back together. He braced against Ty's thigh, hand gripping at his leg, and Ty pressed at him, savoring the desire pulsing through that kiss.

Ty was dizzy when they separated. "Let's get the hell out of here," he said.

When he stood and offered his hand, Elijah took it.