“What do you think?” Axel’s voice is tinged with excitement.
“Seems like a great spot.” I turn my gaze back to the barn. “But we both know this was built for horses, not bikes. What do you have to do to get it ready?”
I follow Axel toward the large doors as he rattles off a list over his shoulder. “Tear out the horse stalls, truck in more dirt, frame in a break room and maybe even a bunk area if we offer overnight camps—fortunately there’s already plumbing since there’s a bathroom inside—and put in a foam pit to practice jumps.”
The massive doors swing open to reveal a mostly blank canvas of dirt. It wouldn’t be impressive if you didn’t make your living playing in it, but it’s hard not to catch Axel’s excitement now that I’ve seen it.
Aside from a corner in the back that’s framed in to house the existing bathroom, and some sort of small office, the entire space is not only wide open but tall. Tall enough to build a launch point where you could throw jumps. Even better, the exposed rafters might support a harness that would let us suspend a rider if it looks like they won’t land a jump they’re attempting. Between that and a foam pit, there’s no safer way to practice the complex tricks that win competitions.
“I haven’t had the electricity turned on yet, but hopefully, the windows let in enough light for you to get the idea.”
Axel follows behind me as I prop my shades on top of my head and venture inside. He can’t see the way my jaw drops to the floor as I envision what this place would look like finished. “Can you imagine if we had a space like this to train in growing up? We’d… Well, you’d still be you, only better, and I’d have probably mastered that Cliffhanger,” I refer to the trick that ended my riding career when I wasn’t able to land it.
“You didn’t master the Cliffhanger because you were more interested in your cameras than your bike.” Leave it to my de facto brotherto give me a healthy dose of reality. He’s not wrong. Although we met in the sport and eventually started training together when he moved in with my family to get away from his rough home life, Axel spent his free time on his bike while I spent mine fiddling with camera equipment. That’s why he’s the pro and I’m the cameraman. I’m not complaining—I love what I do. But I can’t help wondering if I’d have achieved more with more resources.
“And we did have something similar to this,” Axel interrupts my ride down memory lane. “You remember the place that used to be a gymnastics studio? I used to beg your dad to take us every Sunday to practice jumps in that foam pit.”
“We had to drive three towns over and rent time.” I point out as I walk the perimeter, mentally cataloging how to fit all the features on Axel’s list. “And it wasn’t a sleepover camp like you’re talking about.”
“So, if there was a camp like this when we were learning you would’ve gone to it?”
“Hell yeah.”
“Then you’re in? You’ll help me make it happen?” Axel shoots a smile that says he already knows my answer, and while it’s tempting to say I’ll build something the younger me would’ve loved, I’m not ready to say yes. Putting my initial excitement aside, I have no idea what this endeavor entails. Would it be full-time or part-time? Would I still have the freedom to travel for filming riders, if I don’t want to give that up? Could I make a living teaching kids how to ride?
He must sense my hesitation because he plows ahead. “Wouldn’t it be cool to live in one spot for a while? I know you know how lonely it can get on the road.” He doesn’t add the part about him not being there, but we’re both thinking it. We’ve been traveling together for too long not to.
“You aren’t obligated to domesticate me just because you’ve taken the plunge,” I retort, even though my mind has already wandered in that direction with Blake, which I can’t share without outing him, so I keep that to myself. “Besides, I don’t see how I’d be any less lonely here than on the road, considering you’ll be spending all your free time with Lennon.”
“My bad. I guess I figured you might’ve already found someone to hang out with.” Axel nudges my shoulder with his.
“What are you talking about?” I will my face to stay expressionless, since my eyes aren’t hidden behind my sunglasses.
“You think I didn’t notice you eying Blake when you first saw him?” Axel arches a knowing brow. “Bet you already took him up on that massage. Maybe even more, seeing as how you“rolled into town” this morning instead of last night.” He makes these ridiculous air quotes as he baits me, clearly well aware of my fib about arriving just now.Stupid small towns.
“Keep that to yourself,” I hiss, my eyes darting around the room involuntarily to make sure we’re alone even though I know we are. “Blake’s not out yet.”
“Seriously?” My best friend’s jaw falls open. “What reason could he possibly have to be in the closet in this town?”
“He said it’s because he works with kids and he’s not sure everyone will be cool with that.”
“You’re shitting me. I’m not about to open a training facility for kids in a town that won’t support it, am I? I mean, everyone’s been super cool about me and Lennon, I didn’t misread that, did I?”
“No, you didn’t misread that.” I clap him on the shoulder. “And I think the town will totally support your venture.”
“Yeah. Okay, I… That’s what I thought.” Axel paces a few steps away and back, catching his breath. “Don’t scare me like that, man. I haven’t sunk everything into this, but I’m taking a bit of a gamble here. I can’t take that kind of freak out.”
“You risk death and dismemberment for your day job but losing money is what freaks you out?” I snort back a chuckle.
“Making bad decisions like my piece of shit dad freaks me out.” Axel glares at me, rightfully so since his old man’s failed business ventures are what ultimately drove the guy toward alcohol and crime.
I wince, holding my hands up in surrender. “Sorry, bad choice of words. But back to the whole gays around kids thing, for some reason that’s a concern of Blake’s. I don’t get it, and if I had to guess I’d say there’s another factor keeping him in the closet, but I don’t know what it is.”
Axel purses his lips with a low whistle. “You sure you want to take that on?”
“It’s not a deal breaker.” I shrug my shoulders with more indifference than I feel. Rushing Blake is the last thing I want to do, and while I’m not keen on taking a step back by hiding the truth, I’m willing to do that while he warms up to the idea of coming out.
“I hear you.” Axel holds my gaze in his as he nods, a silent message that he won’t spill Blake’s secrets. “But from what I know of this town, it’s too small and tight knit to keep secrets. Seeing him won’t be an easy thing to keep quiet, and if he’s determined to stay closeted, well, I don’t want you to get hurt because he’s not in a place where he can be all in.”
