Page 91 of Bottoms Up
Then, “You sure?”
I scowled. “You think I haul myself up here before breakfast because the fuckingpresenceof a wall compels me? No. I do it to challenge myself. Because it’s hard. Because I want to push my body.”
Below, the rope moved slightly — his only physical reply.
Then: “Maybe you climb because you need to feel like you chose the mountain. That you weren’t born on it, but here you are.”
I considered that while I navigated the wall, pulling myself up with my arms, pushing with my toes.
The wind rustled the leaves.
“That’s bullshit. I’m living on the mountain because I fell in love with a… with Julian.”
“Maybe it’s not the mountain. Maybe it’s you.”
I frowned. That didn’t make sense. Or did it? Before I could think on it too hard, I asked, “Okay… then why doyouclimb?”
He moved a little below me. I knew he seemed focused on the wall, but he was in security mode, focused on our surroundings.
“Maybe you climb becauseyou’renot there yet,” he said softly. “It isn’t about presence. It’s about possibility. Humans drawn to challenge — they want the mountain, and to want the mountain is to feel alive.”
Okay, that was either total bullshit, or a truth I didn’t want to delve into.
I started climbing again.
And didn’t say a damn word until I hit the top.
Chapter 29
Silver
We flew into California the night before our slot on stage, since we’d take the stage a few hours after the sun went down, and we didn’t want to fly during the day with Hailey and Julian.
There aren’t any great hotels near the festival venue, so Will’s people had rented a huge house. Five bedrooms and a great pool, so most of the daywalkers spent the day lounging around the pool.
Well, all of us except Will and Davy. Will’s a bit obsessive about working out, and he makes Davy work out with him — pushups, crunches, laps, and their newest thing: handstand pushups, where they go upside down and bend their arms. Crazy fuckers, but it’s impressive. The rest of us lounged, however.
Okay, so Julian called me inside and downstairs three times for sex, and hestillwasn’t letting me orgasm, but other than that, my day was mostly spent at the pool.
Tonight would be the first time we’d performMan Up. We’d recorded it both ways and had uploaded it to all the usual places, scheduled to release at midnight, and I was curious to see which got the most plays. Tonight, for the debut, it was going to be the original version. I hate having to be a specific gender at a specific day and time, but today I felt like a man, so it was okay.
And here’s a truth I don’t think I’ve mentioned. I have to wax or pluck my upper lip and a little around my face. It isn’tlike I have a full mustache or beard, just stray bits here and there. I hadn’t waxed my upper lip since about halfway through the Vegas trip, so I had a bit of a mustache. The makeup people brushed something on it that made it look way fuller, and I liked the effect.
Atlas stuck with Julian on the way to the festival grounds, and the Drake people covered me along with the rest of the band. Atlas and Julian were both dressed as staff, since Julian and I weren’t going public with our relationship.
My vampirefullyhad the hang of the whole sex thing again, and damned if he isn’t a better Top now than he was before. He bends me over and fucks me whenever he feels the need to, andfuck me, but I’m pretty sure his venom is more potent now than before, too.
The construction firm building our house is owned by the Chattanooga werewolf pack, and since the wolves don’t have to pretend to be human while building our house, the frame was already up, and we should be able to move into it a lot sooner than I’d expected. Like, six to eight weeks.
I have the blueprint and dimensions of every room, and software so I can look at different ways to place furniture into each room, but I hadn’t let myself do that yet — not until we got the festival behind us.
One thing at a time.
And why was I thinking about our new house while I climbed onto the stage? Because that’s what I do. Lists of things in my head, and when we finished this performance, my focus would be on deciding what goes inside our new home — flooring, fixtures, sinks, refrigerator, tub, shower, the paint on the walls. And then, once we’d answered all the questions for the builder, we’d need to pick furniture, drapes, and even throw pillows.
I like my bedroom furniture, but Julian wants a bed I haven’t shared with anyone else, so we’re buying new for the bedroom, which is fine. It needs to beours, not mine.
I obviously like my dishes and flatware, since I picked them out when I bought my townhouse. Ilovemy pots and pans. Julian doesn’t use those things, so I assume it won’t be a problem to bring them. It isn’t like nothing from my old house will make it into the new one, but we’ll be buying all new furniture.
