Swimming back to you

chapter 8.

Before I could respond, I glanced over to the side and noticed Austin leaning casually against the wall, his gaze fixed on us. The sight of him there brought a sudden jolt of realization. What was he doing here?

Ryan followed my gaze and saw Austin. "Oh, looks like we've got company."

Austin's presence felt like an uninvited guest, a reminder of the complexities of our tangled connections. As he approached, the atmosphere between us shifted subtly.

As Ryan and I stood by the climbing wall, the door to the gym swung open, and Austin walked in with a couple of bottles of energy drinks. The moment Ryan saw him, his face lit up in a wide grin.

"Hey, Austin!" Ryan called out, his voice carrying across the gym. "What are you doing here?"

Austin raised the bottles in a casual salute. "Just came by to drop these off. I was heading out anyway." His gaze shifted to me, and he looked visibly surprised. "But what's she doing here?"

Ryan looked between us, seemingly unfazed by the sudden turn of events. "This is Hailey, the girl I was telling you about. The one who's actually quite passionate at rock climbing."

Austin's eyes widened in disbelief. "Rock climbing?" he echoed, clearly taken aback.

Ryan turned to Austin with a broad smile, clearly enthusiastic. "She's been picking up techniques so quickly, and her passion is incredible. It's rare to meet someone with such dedication."

Austin's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He knew Hailey wasn't exactly a rock climbing expert, but he maintained a supportive demeanor. "Really? That's impressive," he said, his tone a mix of surprise and admiration.

Ryan continued, "Absolutely. We've been talking about climbing spots and techniques. She's got this natural talent for it."

Austin nodded, playing along. "Yeah, sounds like you've really found a gem here, Hailey. Glad to see someone so into... climbing."

Ryan looked between us, still puzzled. "So, you two do know each other? I didn't realize."

I jumped in, trying to smooth things over. "Yeah, we go way back. We actually met at a summer camp years ago."

Austin gave me a knowing look, his eyes betraying a hint of amusement. "Yeah, way back," he echoed, giving me a subtle nod.

Ryan seemed satisfied with the explanation. "Well, I'm glad to see you two reconnecting. Austin's a great guy, by the way. Anyway, I should get going, but I'm sure you guys will have a lot to catch up."

Ryan's admiration was palpable, and Austin's support helped smooth over the discrepancy between Ryan's perception and the reality of my actual skills. 

As Ryan waved goodbye and left, Austin looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Nice job with the climbing talk," he said, his tone light but teasing. "You had him convinced."

I gave him a half-hearted smile, feeling the weight of my lie. "Can you not bring it up with him? I'm really trying to keep this under wraps."

Austin chuckled, leaning casually against the wall. "Why'd you even lie about it in the first place? I know you've always been scared of heights. Now suddenly you're 'passionate' about climbing?"

I shifted uncomfortably, trying to come up with a plausible explanation. "Well, I didn't want to seem completely out of my element. Ryan's really into climbing, and I didn't want to seem like I had nothing in common with him."

Austin raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "So you thought it was a good idea to exaggerate? You know, you don't have to impress everyone. Being yourself is enough."