Page 59 of Shared By the Mountain Men

We arrived at the climbing site and wordlessly put on our harnesses. When it was time, I looked a question at Melissa. She took a deep breath, then nodded.

I could tell she was scared as we began climbing. She went slower, taking extra care with every single step. I said nothing, allowing her to work through her fears and memories from the last time, when she fell.

Eventually, like I had expected, she got into a groove. Her motions, which were stiff and hesitant at the beginning, became confident and smooth. We finished the first section and rested on the same ledge as before, drinking Gatorade in silence while we gathered our strength.

I knew she was afraid.Sheknew I knew she was afraid. But we didn’t need to acknowledge it. We were just two people with a shared goal before us. I liked her vibe because it matched my own.

Without saying anything, I rose to my feet and clipped my safety line into the next section, the horizontal part where she had fallen. She joined me without hesitation, just like I knew she would.

I led us along the section at a careful, but steady, pace. Going too slow would give her time to think about it, when I needed her to only focus on the next step. The next grip. The next safety clip.

Her hands were trembling when we reached the part where she’d fallen. Not trembling a lot, but enough to notice. I didn’t slow down, moving across like it was any other metal rung drilled into the rock.

Come on, I thought while trying not to stare at her.One step after the other. It’s all the same. Keep moving.

She reached the end of the rung, unclipped her safety line, then clipped it into the next part. Taking a breath, she gripped the next bar and stepped across smoothly.

She seemed as relieved as I felt, sighing and moving a little more quickly, like passing that area had given her some momentum. We reached the next wide ledge soon after that, marking the end of the horizontal section. She immediately sat down and rested her back against the cliff wall.

“Nice,” was all I said, giving her a fist-bump.

“I don’t know how I fell last time,” she chuckled.

Because you reacted the same way everyone reacts when they learn I was in prison. It was the reason I didn’t tell anyone. The reason I kept that secret as close to my chest as a winning poker hand.

While we drank more Gatorade, I asked, “What did you mean when you opened the door this morning? Who did you think I was?”

She leaned her head against the rock and closed her eyes. “I thought you were Jack. We kind of got into a fight last night.”

I grunted in satisfaction. “Shocker.”

Melissa glanced sideways at me. “Why do you say that?”

“You and Jack have been butting heads since you met on the Colorado Trail,” I replied. “I wish you two would just fuck already.”

She choked on her Gatorade, sputtering orange liquid all over the rocks. I calmly waited for her to get a hold of herself.

“We don’t… I don’t…”

“You’re both extremely similar,” I explained. “That’s why you rub each other the wrong way. You both like each other, but you’re too fucking stubborn to admit it.”

“You’rewayoff,” she said curtly. “I’m ready to keep climbing, now.”

I only shrugged. Some people hated hearing the truth.

The final section was vertical again, with a few areas where the rungs moved diagonal up the cliff wall. It was a single-file route, and Melissa clipped herself in and began climbing first. The harness dug into her thighs, making her ass look amazing every time I glanced up at her. But I was more concerned about her pace. She was moving quickly.Tooquickly for someone with her experience.

But my worries were for nothing, and she reached the top without any problems. The route ended at a flat top, like a small mesa surrounded by other mountains. Melissa jumped up and down and cheered, satisfaction plastered all over her beautiful face.

“Knew you could do it,” I said, extending my fist again.

She ignored it and threw her arms around me instead.

I was caught off guard having her suddenly pressed against my body. The way she fit against me feltright, like two puzzle pieces finally joined together. I felt myself opening up, wanting to remove the bricks of my emotional walls for this woman. It was embarrassing that a hug was all it took, but physical touch meant a lot to me.

“You were right,” she said when she pulled away. “The view is totally worth it!”

We sat on a rock and I pulled out two breakfast burritos from my pack. She let out the cutest little happy noise and began wolfing it down without hesitation. I took a bite of mine and thought about this moment, alone at the top of a via ferrata climb. Analyzing the way I felt deep in my heart, the kind of man I wanted to be. A different man than the one who got out of prison.

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