Page 77 of Entwined Hearts

Each pitch gets harder, and my pace slows. We get behind. Jake starts getting anxious, watching the sun sink lower on the horizon. The amount of rockfall coming down has increased, too. This is the time of day we don’t want to be beneath the unstable section. I push myself harder, willing the pain into the background.

Jake moves to set up the belay when another rock comes down—this one the size of a grapefruit.

We both press our bodies into the face, but the rock taps the edge of Jake’s helmet.

He grunts in surprise, and we listen as it bounces down.

After it passes, our eyes connect. “If that would have hit me on the shoulder…”

“I know,” I say, though I’d been thinking about if he hadn’t been wearing his helmet.

“We gotta climb faster. We’re pushing our luck being here so late.”

Here we are again with luck. Is mine running out?

Twenty-Two

Anya

Our communication becomes limited only to climbing commands, our switching at the belay stations quick and efficient.

I channel the focus of a Buddhist monk, giving myself entirely to the work. Now and then, a handful of pebbles tumbles down from above, reminding me of the danger.

How is it for Colby, watching us? Is he going mad with worry? Or maybe he’s mingling with the small crowd surely gathered by now since we’re near the crux, entertaining everyone as if this is some kind of show. I grimace, wishing Jake and I could become invisible.

Finally, the route traverses a corner, signaling the end of the danger as our route now runs parallel to the section with the unstable rock. At the end of the pitch is a ledge the size of a small porch. We clip into the anchor and sit for the first time all day, our legs dangling into space that extends over a thousand feet to the ground. I lean back against the sun-warmed wall and close my eyes, feeling the fatigue in my limbs and the dull throb in my ankle. I know we shouldn’t stay long, but this feels pretty fantastic.

Jake’s hand slides under mine, and I squint at the way he’s scrutinizing my fingertips. He takes the other hand, then does the same. An unwelcome flutter tickles my insides.

He shakes his head. “Four more pitches, you good?” he asks, looking concerned.

I pull my fingers into my armpits, embarrassed his simple touch could spark a yearning I killed the night he left me at Kabir’s party. “Would you quit fussing? I’m fine.”

He raises an eyebrow. “I can lead the rest.”

I scowl. “No way.”

“Okay,” he sighs. We take another long minute to relax. Jake sips from his water bottle, then shares it with me. I realize how easy this feels. It reminds me of what we used to be, and I feel a shadow fall across my heart.

I remember Colby’s defense regarding my mom’s advances.Please don’t blame me for this.My mom caught me off guard, that’s all. And Colby calling me a friend doesn’t mean that we’rejustfriends. But that sounds so lame. We haven’t talked about what we’re doing; I’m too scared. What if it makes him think I’m being needy, and that pushes him away? He’s disposed of so many girls before. I could be next.

My mind shifts to the time Colby and I spent at my house, packing my things. The playful look in his eyes, the way he kissed me, the promises he made.It’ll make you come so hard, Anya. Just say the word, and I’ll show you.

A tingle of desire shivers through me because I’m wondering if he’s right.

I shake my head, which is starting to ache with all the uncertainty banging around in there.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Jake says, the back of his head resting against the wall, his eyes closed. His cheeks are slightly pink from sun and wind, his eyelids like the inside blush of a seashell.

I hum my reply.

“I knew we could do it,” he says.

“We’re not there yet,” I say, thinking of the crux coming up very soon. How am I going to get that crucial heel position with my ankle so swollen?

He glances sideways. “No, I mean climb together.”

“Oh,” I say when I catch his meaning. We can still climb together…even though we’re nottogether. Ouch. Could he have put it any more bluntly?

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