Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Ty
TY SHOT A SLY LOOK over to the campfire. The flames splashed orange light against Finn and Jude crouched beside the pot and scooping dinner into bowls. Their quiet smiles flickered in the dance of light and shadow spilling from the campfire, their hands brushing as they doled out dinner.
Ty smiled to himself as he returned to setting aside all his smelly climbing gear so it didn’t stink up the tent tonight. Elijah’s stuff already sat in a heap beside their tent, and Ty added his own gear before searching for his boyfriend.
He found Elijah hunched over a cooler. Ty joined him just as he straightened with a beer in each hand.
“Double fisting?” Ty said. “Didn’t know you still partied so hard, old man.”
“One was going to be for you,” Elijah said, deadpan. “But I suppose if you don’t want it…”
He made as though to pull the second beer away, but Ty snatched it.
“Hey, I was just kidding,” Ty said.
Elijah’s keyring jangled when he pulled it from his pocket. He used the bottle opener dangling from it to open both their drinks, then they clinked the cool glass together.
“Cheers,” Ty said.
“To what?” Elijah said.
“To…”
Ty took in the campsite. Finn and Jude were chuckling about something, their heads close together. Mylo was laughing as Lukas scowled, but the act only lasted a moment before Lukas was rolling his eyes and smiling. They were such an odd little group, four Americans, one Canadian, one German. Five people still competing, one not. They came from all kinds of backgrounds and life experiences. Some of them had been out forever, like Finn and Mylo. Some had come out as recently as a few months ago, like Jude. But all their disparate circumstances and experiences had brought them here.
“To this,” Ty said.
Elijah hummed thoughtfully. “I like that,” he said. “To this.”
They clinked the sweaty necks of their beers together a second time, then tipped the bottles back for a long swig. Ty wasn’t much of a beer drinker, but Elijah had found some fancy brand Ty actually enjoyed. The ice cold IPA refreshed Ty after a day spent out in the sun.
“It’s pretty amazing that you pulled this off,” Elijah said.
“It wasn’t just me,” Ty said. “Everyone had to do a lot of stuff to get here. Finn and Mylo and Lukas don’t even live in America. If everyone else wasn’t on board, I couldn’t have magically forced this to happen.”
“Sure, but this was definitely your idea. You were the one who brought it up back in Brixen.”
They’d all been in Brixen to compete, except Elijah, who’d merely tagged along to support Ty. Finn and Jude had performed well in the competition. Meanwhile, Lukas and Mylo had mysteriously vanished, only to reappear later obviously love-drunk on each other. Seeing everyone around him all lovey-dovey, an idea had struck Ty — why not get all these queer climbers together for one awesome weekend with no pressure and no eyes on them, a queer camping trip where they could be themselves and do what they did best?
And here they were. Still, Ty hesitated to take credit for it. It was just a crazy idea he’d thrown out during a post-comp dinner. He threw out plenty of wacky ideas all the time. This one had just happened to work out.
“It never would have happened without you,” Ty said. Elijah started shaking his head, so Ty pushed on. “I had an idea, sure, but you really helped with all the organizing and stuff. You’re much better at that stuff than me. I probably would have just kept bringing it up hoping someone would figure out how to make it actually happen.”
Elijah looked like he wanted to deny that, but he clearly couldn’t. Elijah had also organized their own little camping getaway when they were first getting together, a private retreat where they’d finally gotten to let loose after being in the spotlight during the climbing season. And Ty had certainly let loose on this muscular, sexy man he’d somehow wrangled into dating him. Elijah might seem taciturn in public, but Ty had quickly learned how to draw out something more … forthcoming in private. It turned out that with a tiny bit of prodding, Elijah didn’t mind having his wrists bound while Ty rode him to his heart’s content. And by “didn’t mind,” Ty meant that they both now had a stock of ties in the drawer beside their beds used for nothing but their nighttime activities.
It wasn’t just that one trip together, though. Elijah had also helped plan the all-genders climbing competition at his home gym in Colorado. That comp had just been a laid-back, casual thing, but Mylo and Lukas had flown in for it, and Finn had felt comfortable enough there to be announced as a “they” when it was their turn to be introduced to the crowd. None of that could have happened without Elijah’s steady hand keeping things running behind the scenes.
“Team effort,” Elijah conceded.
Ty clinked his bottle against Elijah’s again. “Team effort.”
Elijah’s smile was soft and fond, even around his beer bottle. Clearly he was thinking the same thing Ty was — that the two of them made an amazing team. People might not get it from the outside. Elijah was older than Ty. Elijah was white while Ty was Black. Elijah was quiet and introverted while Ty was the extrovert to end all extroverts. But no one else needed to get it besides them. And almost a year into this thing, they both got it. Ty had never dated anyone — of any race, of any age range — who simply clicked into place in his life like Elijah. They patched over each other’s weaknesses, and this trip was a perfect example of that. Sure, Ty had had the idea and gotten everyone excited for it, but before Elijah, his ideas usually petered out for lack of structure.
Ty could have stood there all night thinking about how much more complete his life was with Elijah in it, but his stomach growled in protest. He and Elijah wandered closer to the campfire, accepting bowls of food from Finn and Jude, then settling down on a log near the fire. The other couples did likewise, and for a few minutes there was no noise but the crackling of the flames as six famished climbers demolished bowls of chili mac. Jude had snuck some spices into it, and even a few veggies. In that moment, it was just about the most delicious thing Ty had ever tasted.
“Jude, this is incredible,” he said with his mouth still full.
Mylo groaned his agreement and nodded.
“It’s my number one camping trick,” Jude said proudly. “A can of beans and a box of mac ‘n’ cheese. Cheap. Easy to cook if you have anything that can heat up some water. And most importantly, filling as hell.”
“You can thank me for everything that isn’t just beans, cheese or noodles,” Finn threw in.
Ty tried not to laugh. He certainly believed that Jude would have just stuck to a can and a box if not for Finn thinking of things like spices and veggies. Just like him and Elijah, Jude and Finn seemed to patch over each other’s tiny weaknesses effortlessly, stronger as a pair than they were individually.
It warmed Ty more than the food to witness that. Jude had been his closest friend in the climbing world ever since they both made the U.S. team. Jude got there a year before Ty and immediately took Ty under his wing, showing him around gyms and cities he’d never been to as they traveled the world for the professional season.
Back then, Jude had been “straight,” but Ty had still chosen Jude as the person he wanted to come out to first in the climbing world. It hadn’t mattered that Jude was straight; Ty knew he could trust him. And he’d been right. Jude had never broken his trust. He hadn’t acted any differently toward Ty. A little piece of Ty had worried that Jude would be put off by his roommate and traveling companion being gay, but it hadn’t changed a thing when Ty came out.
Being able to return that kindness when it was Jude’s turn to come out had been Ty’s favorite part of the last climbing season.
Ty really should have seen it coming. The signs were there in retrospect. Hopefully, he’d done as good a job for Jude as Jude had done for Ty. It definitely seemed like he was more himself and more free these days. He still wore the rainbow leggings he’d climbed in. He snuggled up close to Finn without any hesitation or embarrassment, nudging their shoulder and exchanging quiet little jokes while everyone ate.
Ty kind of wanted to pinch himself. It was crazy that they were all here like this, everyone so comfortable, so relaxed. Even Lukas was kicking back and laughing at whatever Mylo was whispering to him. Lukas was probably the guy Ty knew the least here, but Ty wasn’t going to invite Mylo and tell him to leave his boyfriend behind. Besides, by the end of this weekend, Ty meant to have even Lukas Bollenbacher loosening up. If Ty could get Elijah to put down his defenses, he could definitely break through Lukas’s walls, as well.
Speaking of which… The bowls of chili mac were getting low. Everyone was sighing with contentment now that they weren’t starving anymore. If Ty didn’t act quickly, they’d all retreat to their tents and tuck in for the night, exhausted from traveling and climbing all day. As tempting as that sounded, Ty didn’t come here to simply climb and sleep. No way.
The talk had turned to climbing, of course, but Ty was too busy plotting to delve too deeply into discussions of which new climbing holds the setters might break out next season. He tugged the headband out of his hair, letting his bouncy curls fall freely around him and playing with the band as he thought. He restrained his curls for climbing, but it felt much better just letting them do what they liked.
Let’s see… Six of us. I think Elijah has enough beer. Might need to get more tomorrow but we can deal with that later.
“You’re plotting,” Elijah said beside him.
“How do you know I’m plotting?” Ty said.
“You have that ‘I’m plotting’ look,” Elijah said.
Ty rolled his eyes. “I don’t have an ‘I’m plotting’ look.”
“You definitely do, and you’re wearing it right now. What do you have in mind?”
And just like that, they were teaming up again, joining their strengths to throw together Ty’s next hasty idea. It wasn’t really all that complicated. It just required some willing participants. And as Ty gazed around the campsite, he knew just where to find them.