Page 72 of Entwined Hearts

I close my eyes. “Self-absorbed?”

“That’s…putting it nicely.”

I nod. “I used to think she was just really committed to her career.”

Colby scoffs at this. “And now?”

I look away. “Now? I rarely even see her.”

He winces. “That has to hurt.”

I wriggle away from his grip. “I’m tired,” I say on a sigh. “And this isn’t helping me prepare for tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, reaching for my hand.

Me too, I want to say, but don’t because I need to put this all behind me.

He examines the tips of my beat-up fingers. “You sure you still want to go up there tomorrow?” His eyes lift to the opposite side of the valley, where the wall I’ll be climbing waits. Even though his voice is neutral, I can sense the edge in it.

“Of course.”

He nods slowly. “All week, I’ve been thinking about you on that route.” He runs his hands through his hair, holding them at the back of his head for a moment.

My hackles rise like spines on a porcupine. “It’s my choice to make.”

“Absolutely,” he says. As if trying to convince himself, he nods, then inhales through his teeth.

“I think I’ll go to bed,” I say, and the implication is clear.Alone.

He watches me with a look I can’t read. “Okay,” he finally says, then leans down and kisses me on the forehead.

I turn away and cross the distance to my tent, my heart a twisted wreck.

* * *

When my alarm chimes, I snap my eyes open and don my pre-chosen layers quickly in the darkness, then tidy up my makeshift home inside my tent before unzipping the door and sliding into my approach shoes.

I’m surprised to see Colby standing at the picnic table, his back to me. The flick of a flame ignites the stove, outlining his silhouette.

“You didn’t have to get up,” I whisper so as not to wake my neighbors.

He turns, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Are you kidding me? Who would send you off?”

Tentatively, I step into his arms.

Colby yawns. “Sleep okay?”

“No,” I admit. I never do before a big climb.

“Maybe it was the lack of company.”

I lean into him, trying to blast the conflicting feelings from my mind. “Maybe. But it’s always that way.”

“Will you let me help next time?”

Next time.My stomach does a flip. Because I’ve been clenching it for most of the night, the jolt makes me nauseous.

“Maybe,” I say.

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