is too short not to pursue what you want.”
Isaac didn’t say anything, but he knew Luke had a point.
“Besides,” Luke said, “they have swim coaches in Colorado. Tara and AJ both train near Boulder. George Marsh still works out there.”
“It feels big,” Isaac said. “First of all, I’ve only known Tim for a hot minute. Second, I’ve lived around Raleigh most of my life.”
“And you hate it. I know you do. You stick around for Adam, and for your mother and Abby and that little nephew of yours. Family’s important, but I know Raleigh is not exactly your favorite place on the planet.”
Isaac sighed. “You mean the scene of all of my worst life moments? For example, the intersection on South Wilmington where I got arrested? Or that time I almost got arrested at Flex because I was hammered and decided starting a fight was a good idea?”
“My point was just that a change of scenery might not be the worst thing.”
Isaac shrugged. He’d never really contemplated leaving Raleigh before. He didn’t have a lot of love for the city, but he did love some of the people there. Moving half a world away for a man he just met? That seemed insane. “It seems dumb to switch coaches when I’m swimming this well.”
“I’m not saying you have to move next week. And you know, they do have these things called airplanes.”
“Gee, thanks.”
DONNIE TEXTED to say the synchronized swimmers had taken over the dive pool, so Tim let his parents take him to lunch after his morning of TV interviews. Tim’s father, Fred, had found a restaurant in his guidebook—which had so many little sticky flags sticking out of it, it looked like a porcupine—that probably catered more to tourists than locals, since it was actually open for lunch. Still, they had a good meal, and his parents enthused about his silver medal.
“You haven’t had much time to see Madrid, though, have you?” Tim’s mother said.
“No. And this afternoon I’m meeting Donnie and Jason in the gym for training.”
“I like this city a lot,” said Tim’s dad. “We had the best dinner last night, didn’t we, Malaya? One of your teammates recommended a wonderful place. Before that, we took a tour of the Royal Palace. It was really something.”
“Gorgeous. And the architecture! It’s a fascinating city, Timmy. You’ll be missing out if you don’t see some of it.”
“I’ll have some time next weekend,” Tim said. He wondered if Isaac would want to come with him.
“We have a whole day planned tomorrow,” said Tim’s dad.
“Your father signed us up for one of those hop-on, hop-off bus tours. Which I think is a little tacky.”
“At least we didn’t have to rent a car. It’s the easiest way to get around and see everything.” Tim’s dad turned to Tim. “We’ll let you know what’s worth seeing.”
“Thanks.”
“Maybe Jason will want to come with you,” said Tim’s mother. “He’s a nice boy, right?”
Oh boy. “Yeah. Jason’s great. But not in the way you’re implying. He’s straight.”
“Oh, well,” Tim’s mom said. “I just hoped that after everything that happened with Pat, you might be dating again soon. It’s been a few months since you broke up.”
Tim looked around. They were in a restaurant a few blocks from the broadcast center, miles away from the Athlete Village. Tim didn’t see anyone he thought might be an Olympic athlete, at least in terms of physique, but it was hard to tell. Most elite athletes had a superhuman quality to them, but then there were shot-putters or weight lifters and really, all bets were off. Still, he didn’t recognize anyone nearby, and most of the tables seemed occupied by Spanish speakers. So Tim said, sotto voce, “Well, as it happens, I’ve been spending some time with one of the other athletes. He’s not a diver, and no, I’m not telling you who he is yet. Not until I have a better handle on what’s going on with us.”
“Is it a gymnast?”
“Mom.”
“Just curious. That one gymnast is really handsome. Jake Mirakovitch. We went to men’s gymnastics the other day when you were not diving.”
Tim had never met Jake, but he tamped down a spike of jealousy as he remembered that Jake was the gymnast Isaac thought was hot. He shook his head. “Mom. I only told you I’m hanging out with this guy so you don’t worry I’m going to die alone, but that’s all I’m saying. I mean, he lives on the other side of the country. The odds