Page 19 of Rewrite the Rules

“What do you want to do? This trip is about you.”

“It’s actually aboutyou. Your first time on the incline will make a lasting impression. Some people bail out and it motivates them to come back and kick ass. Others push themselves to finish and they are so miserable they never step foot on this mountain again.”

“Makes sense.”

“I won’t push you. People can get seriously hurt up here if they don’t listen to their bodies. But I will tell you the view from the finish line is worth it when you’re ready. When your endorphins are going and you stand at the top it’s like—” She whistles lowly. “You’ll never see anything else like it in your life.”

I blow out a deep breath, disgruntled at the decision I’ve already made. I grab Adler’s hand and stand. Her soft small fingers interlace with mine and give me a reassuring squeeze.

“There’s no right or wrong, Joel. Whatever you want to do.”

“Come on, Baby Spice. Let’s finish this damn thing together.”

seven

Adler

Irest my temple against the cool glass of Joel’s passenger side window. I smile to myself as I picture the horrified look on his face barely an hour ago. Not at the peak of the incline—he loved that view. His looks of pure defeat at the false peak. I would’ve warned him, but there’s a rule amongst veteran hikers.

Nevertell first timers about the false peak. There’s a dip in the trail near the very end. You can’t see past the false peak until you’re right on top of it. Just when you think you’re done—bam!You conquer the hill only to see about three hundred more stairs to go and by then it’s far too late to turn around. The pissed-off faces of hikers encountering this cruel realization for the very first time have been captured on camera and transformed into wildly entertaining memes.

This chick got mountain tricked!

Joel and I are zipping past traffic heading north on Interstate 25. He is a patient driver. I expected a little more angst coming from a New Yorker, but nothing. He doesn’t tail. He doesn’t sporadically switch lanes just to get a meter ahead of traffic. No cussing, no honking, no grumbling. I am thoroughly convinced he’d be shocked and horror-struck at my antics in the driver’s seat.

The clock is ticking on the car ride home.I thought we’d have more time to talk during the hike, but the poor guy was busy surviving. There wasn’t enough oxygen in his lungs to waste on words. But now that we’re alone in the car, I need answers. I need to know why we’re sidestepping the chemistry between us. I want to know why after twenty-five years of waiting, Joel is the man that’s causing the curious new urge south of my belly button to scream ‘yup! Green light, go!’ But first and most importantly, I have to know why Joel doesn’t do relationships.

“You kind of wanted to punch me when we got to the false peak, huh?”

“I’d never lay hands on a woman.” Joel smiles and glances at me in his peripherals, barely taking his eyes off the road. “But yeah, if you were a dude and roughly my size, I’d have been tempted to clock you.”

“If you could’ve caught me. You were riding the struggle bus, my friend.”

“Hey now. I found my pace eventually.”

“You did. It just happened to be the pace of a turtle moving backwards.”

He gasps. “Low blow. It was my first time. Be gentle.”

Hm, choice words.

“Can I confess something to you?” I ask.

His finger taps nervously on the wheel. “Uh…sure.”

“I thought you’d drive a nicer car.”

His thunderous laugh is full of relief. “I thought that was going somewhere else. Why do you think I should drive a nicer car?”

“Just the way the guys at the office talk about you. About your portfolio worth and all that.” I let the roll of my wrist say ‘blah, blah, blah’. “I just figured you’d be able to afford more than a Lexus.”

“This is a brand-new Lexus GX—it’s aniceSUV. It’s not fancy enough for you? My, oh my, does someone have luxurious taste.”

“Oh please. My idea of fancy is cooking ramen noodles on the stove instead of in the microwave. This is beyond a dream car for someone like me, but for someone like you…” I trail off, not sure how to finish my sentence.

“You want to know something I tell the startups I mentor? Just because you can afford it, doesn’t mean you need it. It’s better to find contentment in the necessary things than trying to seek validation fromstuff. Careless, aggressive spending is how businesses fail in their adolescence. I try to practice what I preach. So, if you’re trying to ask without asking—yeah, I guess I could own a fleet of Lamborghinis, but I never will because…well, what for?”

I sit on my hands so they behave. He’s too much. Too sexy, too smart, too down to earth. I want him way too much right now. “Thanks for coming, today.”

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