Chapter 6 Adam #2
Adam watched as Christa, who worked at Summit part-time and had all the safety protocols baked into her brain, went through reminders with Skylar about harness fit and chalk, shoe fit, and etiquette. He could tell Skylar was being charming because occasionally she’d blush. Adam understood.
“I didn’t realize we were friends either,” Adam admitted. “I thought he was coming to the bar to flirt and try to find a distraction—which, there are better bars in Des Moines for that kind of thing—but he kept coming back. Hanging out. Chatting with my regulars.”
“He seems like the type of person who makes friends with everyone.”
“He doesn’t like being alone.”
“And he picked…you?” Jensen said in disbelief.
“I can’t explain it either.”
The gym was quiet that day, a workday in the early afternoon, and there were only two other people bouldering, so the six of them took turns across the selection of problems.
After ten minutes of warming up and a half hour of climbing, Adam was regretting bringing Skylar here.
Skylar had locked on to a problem he couldn’t solve and didn’t want anyone’s beta tips on how to complete it.
He fell over and over, and distantly, Adam wondered what would happen if Skylar got injured on a rock-climbing wall for no real reason.
Tension stretched over Skylar’s shoulders as he stood up from the pads and shook his hands out, eyes locked on the problem.
He shot a stormy look over his shoulder at Adam, who was watching, water bottle in hand as he took a break.
He shot Skylar a thumbs-up and what he hoped was a you can do it look, and Skylar nodded, like he’d just given him the pep talk he needed.
He reached for the first hold to pull himself up onto the wall and went through the moves he’d practiced over and over until he got to the spot he was stuck on.
Skylar had climbed before, but he was still a beginner, and the overhang he was dealing with was at least one level too hard for him.
But there was a rigid determination in him that Adam didn’t think he’d ever personally felt.
Skylar’s fingers shook as they took the weight of his body on a small hold, as he swung himself in a dyno, his foot resting on the hold, right hand finally getting a real grip on the hold his fingertips had grazed a couple times since then.
Their small group clapped for him, and the radiant smile on his face lit him up all over as he dropped to the mats below.
The tension in his movements was gone, the high of figuring it out fresh on his mind.
Adam knew that feeling. Skylar did a circuit of their group, hands up to accept high fives like he’d just scored a goal.
“He’s not bad,” Christa whispered as Skylar talked to Jensen about the next problem on the wall.
“I was worried he might get too intense, and then I realized where we are.” Adam laughed. The folks he climbed with were relatively chill and friendly, but they also understood the drive to achieve. They all understood how good it felt to finally succeed at something you’d worked hard at.
“I think he fits in. You think he’ll get a membership, or is he just here for you?”
Adam wished he could say something like, “We started talking about climbing, and the idea of getting back into it was too intoxicating to pass up.” However, he knew Skylar had shown up for him. Because he asked (kind of). Because he wanted to see Adam outside of his bar.
He’d tossed the idea out to Skylar without thinking about it, and certainly without thinking Sky would actually come. It was nice to see him here, treating the people Adam cared about kindly, the same way he treated Adam’s bartenders and regulars.
“He’s here because he keeps insisting that he doesn’t want to make friends in Iowa, but the evidence is hinting otherwise,” Adam finally landed on.
In the parking lot after, when they both needed to go home and shower, Christa and Jensen’s Subaru disappearing over Adam’s shoulder, Skylar stepped in close.
Adam took one small step back, hitting the side of his truck.
Skylar closed the distance, looking at Adam like he was a fox and Adam was a bunny.
Adam’s heart was beating about as fast as a rabbit’s would have been.
Skylar skimmed fingertips up Adam’s cheek, tilting his head as he leaned in close. Adam had a wall of athlete pressed against him, Skylar’s blue eyes legitimately twinkling, full of the hope Adam regretted giving him.
It took effort, but Adam snuck a hand between them, pressing so gently on Skylar’s chest. He didn’t want Skylar to pull away, but he couldn’t let Skylar kiss him and think they could have something more than friendship. Even something temporary.
Skylar took a slow step back, fingertips leaving Adam’s skin.
“Ah, okay,” he said, giving Adam a nod. Message received. “Sorry about that, then. Thanks for the climb.”
“Thanks for coming,” Adam said, missing the heat of Skylar’s body. He had an unbearable fondness for the round vowels in Skylar’s “sorry.” So Canadian. Cute. Getting attached to him was a mistake Adam was smack-dab in the middle of making.
“I’m about to leave for a roadie, but I’ll see you when I get back?” It was a question. A confirmation that he’d be welcome back at Heathens.
“Yeah. Come get your kiddie cocktail.”
Skylar’s smile popped back up. It was a lower wattage than usual, but Adam was still glad to see it. “I’m planning on scoring a lot of goals for you.”
For Adam? That felt nice. “Then I wish you good luck.”