Page 19 of Climb Me Maybe
The music around us fades to background noise.Brady's staring at me, his breathing slightly uneven.
"You should stop," he says quietly.
"Stop what?"
"Looking at me like that."
"Like what?"I touch my face, wondering what it’s doing besides heating up.
"Like you want to climb me like a tree."
Did he just say that?In that low, rough-edged voice that has my belly somersaulting?
He grins and I laugh, pushing at his rock hard bicep.“Is that some liquid courage?”
“Maybe.”He chuckles and sets down his beer with deliberate care."It's getting late."
The party's still going strong, but I nod anyway."Yeah.Another long day tomorrow with more massages."
We wave to the group, Brady's hand finding the small of my back as we walk toward the cabins.The touch is light, probably him being gentlemanly, but it still gives me goosebumps.
The forest path swallows night sounds—our footsteps crunching pine needles the only rhythm.Fireflies blink between trees like wandering stars.
"I'll walk you back," he says when we reach the fork.
My cabin's only fifty yards away, perfectly safe, but I don't argue.We walk in comfortable silence, the sounds of laughter and music fading behind us.
On my porch, I turn to face him.The moon's bright enough to see his expression clearly—conflicted, held back by something I can't quite identify.
"Thanks for the escort," I say.
"Of course."
He should leave.Because I don’t know how much longerIcan hold myself back.
And yet, he lingers, wrapping an arm around the porch post, looking at his feet.
"Brady," I say softly.
"Yeah?"He raises his eyes to meet my gaze.
"What are you afraid of?"
The question clearly catches him off guard.He opens his mouth, closes it, and then runs a hand through his hair."I'm not afraid."
I step closer."No, you're terrified.Why?"
He looks down again and shakes his head.“Of everything…fucking this up,” he admits."Of being too old for you, too inexperienced, too?—"
"Too inexperienced?"I interrupt.
His jaw tightens."With relationships.And with..."He gestures vaguely between us.
Oh.Oh.I had no idea.
I climb up and sit on the porch railing, bringing us closer to eye level, my legs dangling."The superficial stuff doesn’t matter to me."
"You're this incredible woman—confident, successful, edgy.I'm just some guy who climbs trees and overthinks everything."His voice is rough, vulnerable.
