Page 27 of Climb Me Maybe
"Does it?"His laugh is bitter."Because right now it feels like my body's betraying me.Maybe I am too old to be taking these kinds of risks."
"Brady—"
"You should be with someone who doesn't need to prove he's still capable of doing his job.”
I stare at him, anger and hurt warring in my chest."Is that really what you think?That I care about you because of some misguided hero worship?"
He doesn't answer, just starts limping toward his cabin.
"Fine," I call after him."But when you're done feeling sorry for yourself, I'll be in my cabin."
An hour later, I can't take it anymore.If Brady won't come to me, I'll go to him.
I march across camp to his cabin and knock firmly on the door.“Open up, Brady.”
There’s a few moments of silence then: "Please go away, Imogen."
"No way.I’m not called ‘The Five-Foot-Three Menace’ for nothing."I try the handle and find it unlocked.“I'm coming in.”
His cabin is sparse but comfortable, all clean lines and rugged simplicity.Brady's sitting on the edge of his bed, in just boxers, pressing an ice pack to his thigh, his face a mask of stubborn misery.
"You shouldn't be here," he says without looking up.
"Too bad."I close the door behind me and go over to him."Want to tell me what this is really about?"
"I told you.I'm too old for this.Too old for you."
"I’m not buying that."I sit down on the floor in front of him.
His jaw tightens, and he looks away from me.“Well yeah.I’m old, Imogen.Today proved it.I’ll keep slowing down, aching more?—”
I sigh.“Nope.There’s more.Tell me.”
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.“I don’t know who I am if I’m not climbing.It’s part of me.How can I give all of myself to you, when I’m losing everything I know.”
“Hold up,” I say, crawling over to him.“You’re just getting older.You can still climb, you just need to take better care of yourself in order to do it.I have news for you.You’re going to be climbing for decades.”
“It doesn’t feel like that right now.”
“Hmm…well, maybe you should start getting more massages.From a very specific therapist, of course.”
He smiles at that.
"But I think we need to focus on why you're so convinced you're not enough as you are that you're willing to throw away what we’re building?”
He looks up at me then, his midnight blue eyes filled with pain."Imogen, you're beautiful, successful, full of life.You could have?—"
"I want you."The words come out fierce and uncompromising."Not some theoretical perfect man, not someone younger or more reckless.You, Brady Tanaka.With your magnificent mind, your incredible skill, your gentle hands, and yes, your forty-three-year-old body that drives me absolutely insane with lust."
He stares at me like I'm speaking a foreign language.
I reach for the hem of my shirt and pull it over my head, watching his eyes widen.
"I see a man who's lived long enough to know exactly what he wants."My bra joins the shirt on the floor."Who's patient enough to learn my body instead of just using it."
His breathing grows ragged as I continue undressing, my shorts and panties pooling at my feet.
"And I see someone who's smart enough to recognize love when it finds him."I stand naked before him, vulnerable but unashamed."The question is, will you take it?"
