“Why are you packing?”
“I didn’t make the cut.”
“But that’s what you expected, right? I mean, you said you weren’t going to win. I mean, sorry.” Even though he didn’t expect to win either, he was still going to be really depressed about it. This might be Roddy’s third Olympics, but it was also his third Olympics walking away a loser. And sure, everyone said you were a winner just for being there, rah rah, but he doubted that was how it felt.
“No worries,” Roddy said with a shrug. “True enough.”
“But you’re going home? What about the closing ceremony?”
“I’m not going home.” He was still stuffing things into his bag though, packing with a randomness that matched the way he’d unpacked. “Bunch of us rented an apartment outside of the village.”
“You’re not leaving because of me, are you?” He’d gotten used to Roddy bumbling in at all hours of the night. At least he never came in singing or tried to engage in conversation. Just stumbled to his bed and collapsed on it.
“Nah, those party houses are fun. And anyway, you might want to have a friend over.” Roddy winked at him. “Remember what I told you: there’s no harm in some pre-game relaxation.”
“I’ll, uh, remember that, yeah.” Being able to invite Flynn over wasn’t the absolute first thing he’d thought of when Roddy said he was moving out, but, okay, yes it was. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there today. I should’ve been.”
“Wouldn’t have helped.”
It wouldn’t have helped Roddy win, but didn’t everyone deserve to have someone in the audience for them? Someone who only cared about them? When Spencer got eliminated a couple of days from now, he’d have to put a good face on it—congratulate his friends who’d made it to the finals, share positive “we’ll get it next time” commiseration with the ones who hadn’t. He’d be on one side of a big divide, and Flynn would likely be on the other.
What would Spencer do then? Would he pack up and leave the village, maybe even leave Tokyo? Or stick around to cheer Flynn on, knowing Flynn might win a medal—this thing Spencer had worked for his whole life—and then walk away from climbing professionally?
The two of them had made progress toward understanding each other today, but Spencer wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold onto it. He’d wanted Flynn for a long time, but he’d wanted success even longer.
12. Flynn
“What?” He nudged Spencer. They were next to each other on the bench seat at their usual table in the cafeteria, their hips and thighs right up against each other’s. He was eating low-fat yogurt like a good boy and looking forward to the rest day they had planned, but Spencer was scowling at his phone.
“Pierre wants to review videos. I thought he’d sleep all day, but he wants to get in a final cram session.”
“But we were going to the beach.”
With the men’s preliminaries scheduled for tomorrow, there wasn’t supposed to be anything on their agenda today except hacky sack, hammocks, and maybe a slackline. Tokyo had delivered another sunny day—too hot for climbing, but perfect for beach lounging—and Spencer had never tried slacklining. It was going to be a great excuse for Flynn to put his hands all over him in the guise of helping him balance on the not-quite-tightrope strung a few feet off the ground.
“You don’t have to come with me,” Spencer said.
“But you’re going.” Of course he was. Always dutiful. Flynn would much rather go to the beach, but he’d just gotten Spencer to forgive him for being a fuck up, and the reward had been worth the effort. He could survive a few hours of watching videos to stay on his good side, and if he behaved himself now, maybe they could be naughty later.
“If you are, I am.” He gave Spencer a nudge. “We said we’d train together.”
Spencer’s look was uncertain, but Flynn was distracted from asking what it meant by Mika coming in with a loaded tray.
“Mika.” Flynn waved her over and scooted even closer to Spencer to make room for her. “I’ve got your stuff here.” He kicked at the pack he’d crammed under the table. “Thanks for letting us borrow it.”
“You have good time Tsuzura-iwa?” she asked Spencer.
“It was great,” Spencer said. “Thank you.”
“Too easy for you,” she said with a face.
“It was perfect for what we needed. We wouldn’t have wanted to go very hard.”
She nodded. “I like a lot there.”
“What are you talking about?” Ashley asked, butting into their conversation from farther down the table.
“We took a field trip out to a local climbing area yesterday,” Flynn told him. “Clipped some bolts.”
“You could’ve invited the rest of us.”
Mm. Could’ve. But hadn’t. Sort of on purpose. There wouldn’t have been any blowjobs if he had, that was for sure.
“What did you do yesterday?” Spencer asked like he was trying to be polite, but Flynn could hear a little smug satisfaction in there.
“A bunch of us went to that skanky little gym again.”
“Skanky?” Mika repeated, looking to Flynn for a translation.
“It’s a great gym,” Flynn said instead of explaining Ashley’s insult, “but Spencer and I definitely appreciated the chance to get outside.”
“We go other day.” Mika nodded at the table full of climbers. “I show everyone Tsuzura-iwa.”
“How about the day after the preliminaries? Anyone who doesn’t make the finals will be looking for something to do,” Ashley suggested.
“That’s when the women have their preliminaries,” Flynn reminded him coldly, because he was just trying to make people feel bad again. “But Spencer and I managed to get there without an escort. I’m sure you can do the same.”
“I didn’t mean me,” Ashley said. “I’ll be resting up for the finals. But good point about Spencer. He can take all the rest of the guys who don’t make the cut.”
Flynn’s hands curled into fists, which he hid beneath the table. Shame climbing came with so few opportunities to slug someone.
“Sounds like fun,” Spencer said, his voice tight with an emotion that definitely wasn’t anticipation. “I wasn’t sure what my plans were for after, so yeah, let’s do that. Who wants to take a trip?”
No one else at the table was ready to admit they weren’t going to make the finals, not even Janco. It pissed Flynn off that Spencer continually downplayed his chances like this. He was as likely to win as any of them if he could free himself from the limitation of what he believed he could do.
“Spencer—”
“Did I mention my roommate lost? He moved out last night, someplace out of the village so he can party without bothering me. I guess that’s a thing people do—leave the village when they finish competing.”
“Wait. Your roommate moved out?” Flynn had intended to talk to Spencer about not letting Ashley get to him, but all other subjects fled from his mind with the revelation. “As in, you have your own room now?”