Page 83 of The Titan and the Trainer

“Did you embrace at that point, or kiss?” Agatta asked.

Callum looked at Julian, trying to remember. “No, I’m fairly certain we didn’t.” Callum racked his brains. “No, we didn’t, because if you remember, that woman dropped her medal and you picked it up for her.”

“Oh yes, he’s right, I’d forgotten all about that,” Julian verified. “I bent down to pick it up for her, and we got separated for a moment, and you…”

Callum took over, “I waited at the water table with a bottle for each of us.”

Julian nodded, “Yes, that’s right, so we did nothing at the finish line.”

“OK, got it,” said Agatta. Callum was intrigued to see her team was making notes of everything said, and one guy was creating a timeline on the whiteboard.

“What time did you finish the race?” Agatta asked.

“I can tell you exactly,” Callum said, pulling his phone out. “I took a picture as we crossed the finish line.” He scrolled back, past all the architecture photos. “It was 11:21 am.”

They continued, describing in detail as much as they could remember from the finish line to the medal to the water table, to taking their shirts off and eventually lying on the grass.

Agatta was particularly interested in who took their shirt off first, whether there was any touching. When they got to the bit where Julian was on his back, Callum sitting next to him, Agatta suddenly got very excited.

“This is it; this is what they've got, I bet.. Details, guys, I need every juicy detail, please; don’t leave anything out, and I mean it. I need to know any kissing and touching, every little detail. If a drop of sweat fell from your beautiful forehead, Callum, I need you to tell me.”

He laughed; she was epic!

Callum recounted that Julian was on his back, lying on his shirt as a pillow, resting in the sun. He took the photo with the light on Julian’s face.

“How did you look at him after you took that picture, Callum?”

“I, I just looked at him, I guess.”

“But how, Callum, how? What were you thinking and feeling in that moment?”

“I was thinking how beautiful he was, and….. “ Callum closed his eyes, drifting back to that moment, trying to remember the photo and the image in his mind’s eye.

“The sun was shining. It was warm, and beams of light were dancing across his face. The sun was dappled; yes, that’s probably the best word to describe it. Everything was a lovely golden colour. It was playing on Julian’s cheeks, and I just looked at him in that moment. He was perfectly relaxed, his face open, and the scene was so beautiful; I just wanted to capture it and remember it.” He stopped and opened his eyes.

All eyes in the room were on him. No one was typing; they were all lost in the vivid moment of tenderness Callum had just beautifully described.

“Go on, Callum, go on,” she implored, “what did you feel in that precise moment?”

Callum looked to Julian, who nodded, smiling, as if to say, go ahead, say it. This was the permission Callum needed to know it was okay to be really honest.

He took a breath. “Just how much I love him, I guess.”

“Yes, yes, now I understand,” she said. “This is what caught the photographer’s attention, I bet you. You can’t hide love, and I hate to say it, but I bet it’s that which caught his eye. Well, that and the fact that two huge muscly men were half-naked and kissing in Central Park.”

“I can show you the picture I took,” Callum realised, finding it on his iPhone and handing it to Agatta.

“Excellent,” she said, looking intently at the photo, adding, “wow, that really is a stunning photo.” She handed Callum’s phone to one of the assistants, who typed fast on it, and within seconds the picture filled the presentation screen at the side of the room. Blown up large, Callum was even more proud of it.

“That moment, that’s what caught the attention; I’ll stake my career on it, but they said there were several photos. What happened next, continue please?” Agatta was still curious, wanting more.

Callum then described how he’d touched Julian’s cheek. Agatta pointed at one of the women, who noted this. He described how Julian took the phone and looked at the photo. Their discussion about his old camera, and then Julian had pulled him down on top of him. At this point, he suddenly felt shy in front of a room full of people, and his voice went quieter. He continued, though. He’d kissed Julian at first. Thinking inside his head, oh God, why did I do that?

He then described how he’d tried to pull away.

At this point, Julian took over: “I rolled him over and straddled him, pinning his arms to the ground.” He sighed, waiting for the inevitable from Agatta.

“Julian, seriously! Have you not remembered any of my training?” She wasn’t amused. “Go on, please.”