Excerpt: Later, Skater: On Tour

Monday, June 8, 2009
3:30 PM

Casper,

Alrighty, I got some more time to fill you in on so very important juicy details. After all, I just barely got to the part where I ran into Synth last night in the hotel lobby right?

He was sitting at the bar, talking with what I thought was a Japanese lady, but turns out she was Korean. Oops, my bad. She was gorgeous, red strapped dress, nice shoes. Synth looked downright delicious as well. He was totally playing up his androgny now, and even if I wasn't deliberately trying to avoid getting into an elevator with David Orchard, I probably would have made a scene anyway.

"SYNTH?!"

His head shot up, and he looked in my direction. He barely got a chance to put his flute of wine down before standing. Apollogizing profusely to the woman he was with, he moved my way just as I was coming to him. We met somewhere in the middle where I scooped him up into a hug. Behind me I heard the bell ring for the elevator doors closing. David would have to go on without me.

"Kalki... or should I say Blue Ghost. You know, I had vauge thoughts about you the other night." Synth drew me back up the ramp to the bar, but the guy behind it gave us both stern looks. It was definitely in that, "What are you crazy Americans doing?" tone of glares too. Ha! Ha!

"I think about you every night, what are you talking about." I admitted unashamedly. I looked to the woman, bowed my head a bit, and said, "I'm so so sorry for interrupting. I haven't seen Synth in so long and here we both are halfway around the world?"
"Ah well, I'm all around the world these days." Synth had eased his shapely butt back onto the barstool and smiled up at where I stood. "Modeling for this lovely woman's studio. This is Lin Chee, she's in charge of the Asia division of Duality Studios."

"Isn't that over on..."

"Corner of Tenth and Peidmont back home, yeah. That's pretty much how I got my start back into this when Qian and I went our seperate ways."

Lin followed the conversation, but remained out of it. She sipped her drink in silence before finally deciding to ask me. "What do you do here in Tokyo?"

"He's on..."

"I'm on..." Synth and I started speaking at the same time. It was great! It was like seeing him changed everything for me. This man was a ray of sunshine in what had become a very dark and cloudy world. I mean, already by this point, I was thinking about that 1st place win and how I was going to have to deal with David. And how it was kind of a tainted victory too.

"I'm on a skateboarding tour. The Pump Tour? You've probably never heard of it. I hadn't really followed it either since I was more thinking of the X-Games, but I got on back in Atlanta and well, we're here now for another week." I explained to her, but mostly to Synth. I was already angling for the possibility we could get together?

"Well, Chee and I were wrapping up some contract negotiations, but I'm in room three eleven if you want to come over in about an hour. I'd love to play catch up." Synth was as gracious as he ever had been.

Immedately I thought of the days following the escape from New Horizons and how Mishka and I stayed with him while trying to figure out what to do. If it hadn't for me breaking my arm and needing to go to the doctor, we might have stayed even longer than we did.

And of course I thought of the hard crush I had on him before I was even sent to New Horizons. So much had happened since then. I had so much more experience since then. He said he wanted to play catch up, I immedately started thinking I wanted to play something naughtier.

There was also a very angry David Orchard waiting for me up in the room. This was perfect.

"I'd love that."

And without much more hesitation, I scrambled out of there and up to the room. But I made sure to ask Leshawn to come with me. He was the guy who'd been coming in second most often. Today he was third. Leshawn didn't take the tour seriously and yet this black kid from DC ends up just taking so much prize money home. He says, "just here to have fun, bro." And maybe, just maybe, he's got the right idea.

Sure enough when David answered the door, he took one look at Leshawn and just backed off without saying a word. He didn't even respond when the guy asked him if he was going to the practice runs that are about to start today. I'm having too much fun hanging with Synth to make it. I can't always catch up closer toward the second event this coming Sunday.

I grabbed my laptop, some clothes and was out the door.

When I showed up at Synth's, he wasn't there yet. I leaned up against the door and waited and waited. He still didn't show. It seemed like forever went by, but it was actually just another hour past the time he said. Synth then appeared, staggering down the narrow hotel hallways. I wanted to be annoyed, I felt so strongly inside that I needed to yell at him for being so late. But thankfully my brain was overpowering the emotions that I think the hormone I'd injected were trying to get me to feel.

I laughed, "Chee gave you one too many, Synth?"

"Japanese sake. Does it... Does it every time. Will you open... open this for me?" He gave over the plastic keycard and I slid it across the reader unlocking the door.

Suffice to say Synth promptly went to his bed and blinked out. I took the liberty of staying the night, but was careful to spend it on the couch. I mean, he could have had a boyfriend. Or girlfriend. Or both. Fuck, Synth can get whoever and whatever he wants looking the way he does. So even though the couch was tiny and uncomfortable and I was starting to feel a bit sore from the skating, that's just how it had to go down.

We woke up this morning to a wake up call and room service. Synth apparently had food delivered at nine every day.

"How long have you been in Japan? He asked me while he shared the food he'd bought.

"Flew in... what was it? Friday?"

"Wow, so you went right from that to pretty much doing a competition? Have you explored the city at all any?" Synth managed to make even buttering some kind of bread look sexy.

It took me a moment to answer, "Oh, um, no. Not really. We're here a week. Of course, if I get anything less than tenth place, I'm headed back home rather than Soeul."

"Chee just left back to Korea this morning. I hope she didn't suffer as bad of a hangover as I'm feeling. Ugh. Why? Why do I drink?" It seemed seperating from Qian and hanging out with models and fashionistas had caused the pretty boy's flame to burn a bit brighter. He was seriously threatening to become a queen, but I loved it!

"Are you staying here long? I mean, I don't want to intrude more but..."

"I'm on vacation, Kalki. I'm here until she gets those papers prossessed and starts paying me again. Then maybe I'll pose for something." Synth grinned at me and bit into the bread. "As long as it's hot."

"And revealing." I couldn't help but add.

"Totally revealing." I swear to god, Synth winked.

"I really need to stay somewhere other than the room I'm in."

The model poured us both some more ice water, and then proposed what I'd hoped he would without too much more explination. I mean, I actually think I SHOULD tell him everything that's happened. That's what I need right now: Some fucking awesome advice from someone I care about. But, that can wait.

"You can stay here. You can stay as long as you want. I mean, I wouldn't quit the tour or anything, but you know what I'm talking about." Synth pasued, sighed, and then smiled, "I am really glad to see you."

"Not as glad as I am."