Page 25 of When Hairy Met Stella

Looking up for the first time, she noticed how much closer the fluffy white shapes appeared. Like she could have stood on her toes and swept them from the sky. Because she was up high. Really high.

But that was ridiculous—she couldn’t touch the clouds, of course. You had to have feeling in your extremities to do something like that. And right now, her fingers were numb. And her legs tingled as pinpricks moved up and down her limbs. Her stomach churned, and she figured she was on the verge or throwing up or passing out. Which was worse? She hadn’t a clue, but it wasn’t like she’d get a choice in the matter.

“Stella? Are you okay?”

Before she could respond, an arm grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into something so hard it shouldn’t have brought comfort to her. But it did.

A warm, spicy scent filled her senses as she inhaled deeply.

“I’ve got you,” he said, a rasp in his voice like he’d downed a shot of whiskey, and a jolt of heat warmed her belly like she’d done the same. His body trembled against hers as his hand moved up and down her back, the gesture as comforting as the words he’d just said.

He held her, just as he had on the dance floor last night, but everything about this embrace was so different. Because no one was around to see this. And while they danced for their friends to see, there was no space between them right now. Not with her hands wrapped around him so tight she was starting to sweat from the heat that radiated off him. Not with her cheek pressed to his chest so firmly she could hear the rapid beat of his heart. It was so fast she got a little concerned.

Taking a step back, she looked up at him, the veins in his neck standing out so noticeably she could have traced their every path with her finger. “Are you okay?” She brought her hand to his chest, the pounding of his heart under her palm making it shake.

His throat bobbed once. Twice. And he took a couple deep breaths, his eyes wide and unblinking the entire time. “I was about to ask you the same question.” His breathing slowed, though his heart still thrummed, and her palm slickened with sweat from his warmth despite the biting chill in the air and the fact that he hadn’t even worn a jacket today. And she only got warmer when his hand found its home on top of hers.

“I’m fine,” he answered in a whisper, just loud enough for her to hear over the flock of geese that flew overhead.

“Okay. I just—” The words froze on her tongue, no match for the heat coursing throughout her body. She squinted as she looked at the massive hand covering hers. So warm, so huge.

So covered with hair.

He sucked in a breath, removing his hand from hers and wrapping it around her waist.

That was…unexpected. She hadn’t imagined that, had she? Like maybe her panic-induced, near-passing-out escapade had her hallucinating hairy body parts. Because the fact was, she’d just seen him shirtless yesterday, and there wasn’t a hairanywhere on that man, aside from his head. And she’d gotten a good look. Areallygood look.

But how closely had she looked at his hands? Honestly, who was looking at hands when there was so much muscle on display to appreciate? Surely, she would have noticed his hairy hands before now. They’d worked together for over a year. And as she stepped back, grabbing his hairless hands in hers, she realized she must have been closer to passing out than she thought.

“Is everything okay, Nate?” She thought about the way he’d been so out of breath, his muscles so hard and tense as he held her. “Are you afraid of heights too?”

He shook his head, his eyes fixed to his boots, a long breath escaping his lips before he spoke. “No. I’m not afraid of much, but right now, I’m terrified. Let’s just get you across, okay?”

She sucked in a deep breath, only now remembering they had the second half of the rope course to complete. But the shakiness she felt before she started this whole thing was secondary to the concern she felt for her friend because he’d just admitted to her that he was terrified. He’d identified a feeling of his, and henevertalked about his feelings. Ever. In fact, he seemed to make it his life’s mission to keep any feelings he had locked away as tightly as possible. So, him admitting that to her seemed…big.

“It’s okay to let your true colors show in front of me, you know.”

His head slowly tipped up, his eyes finally meeting hers. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I mean, I’m about to pee myself, for instance. And if I can admit that, well…”

“There’s not much you’re not willing to admit, Stella.” The corner of his mouth tipped ever so slightly—something she didn’t know how badly she needed to see. Something she didn’t want to go away. So she kept the fact that there were a few things she was unwilling to admit to herself. Like the fact thatsomething had shifted on this tiny pedestal, high in the trees of these West Virginia woods. Though, for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what. “Maybe that’s why we make a good team.”

“Why, because my height-induced incontinence makes you smile?”

“No. Becauseyoudo.” He stepped behind her. “Okay, why don’t you step out, and then I can come up right behind you.”

She shivered the slightest bit, only in part because what he’d said sent chills down her spine. Combine that with the smoldering look he shot her when he told her, and she was surprised she hadn’t turned into an ice sculpture.

“We’ll do this together, alright?”

She nodded. “Together. Right.”

He stepped behind her, wrapping his arm around her middle and pulling her close.

“Oh!” she shrieked because the action caught her by surprise. And also, she didn’t hate it.

He dropped his arm and took a step back, throwing both hands in the air like he was under arrest. She missed the contact immediately. “Did I hurt you?”

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