My Little Gypsy

by Brooke St. James

  I shook the woman's hand and did my best to appear as if I had it all together, but I grew more and more nervous with every passing second. Gray smiled, and with a flick of his head he gestured toward the back of the building.

  "Come on," he said. "I'll take you back to the rock gym to meet Owen."

  I tried to look around and take in my surroundings as we walked through the huge facility, but it was difficult because of my ever-building nerves. To my right, was a massive room lined with punching bags and other gym equipment. The floor was completely made of mats, and there were two people on the far end doing some wrestling and not even paying attention to us as we walked by.

  "The rock wall's in here," he said, stepping in front of me to open a door. He held it for me, and I stepped inside, feeling a bit taken aback by the grandeur of the wall. It was at least forty feet high, and three of the walls were completely lined with those plastic rock-climbing grips in various shapes and colors. There was a freestanding rock structure in the middle of the room.

  "Wow," I whispered, staring upward. Gray gave a short shrill whistle that startled me. "You boys better get decent, there's a lady here."

  He glanced at me with a smile and a wink before turning to head out of the room. "Showin' off," he said, nudging his chin in the direction of the back of the room. He grinned like he had seen something that I hadn't, and just like that, he walked away. "It was nice seeing you, Darcy," he said as he retreated down the hall. "Y'all have fun."

  "Thank you," I called just before the door closed.

  I turned and nervously took a step around the rock structure to look for Owen. I saw him instantly. There were two guys in the room, and neither of them had on a shirt. One of them was standing on the floor with a rope attached to his waist, serving as the belay.

  I knew the one climbing was Owen before I even saw his face. He had on fitted, dark khaki sweatpants that were cropped under his knees and were just the right length to expose his calves. One lower leg was normal and completely in tact, and the other was thinner and made of some combination of metal and plastic. Owen had the same shoes on both feet, only one calf was made of skin and bone and the other wasn't.

  The oddest thing about it was that I was actually drawn to the looks of his prosthetic. It was like he had intentionally added an accessory to his look—like someone who chose to wear a certain pair of earrings or a certain scarf, only Owen's accessory was that he had a different calf. He was beautifully asymmetrical and perfectly athletic. If given the option to have Owen the way he was currently or have his calf restored, I would actually have chosen to have him remain the way he was now. Was that wrong of me? I didn't know what Owen would choose—I had never asked him that question—not that it mattered or could change anything.

  I loved the way a little piece of him was bionic, though, and found that I was attracted to it. I stared straight at it for a few seconds, trying to sort out the fact that I loved the way it looked. Then my eyes roamed upward, along his thighs and his backside and up the curves of his muscular back.

  I swallowed hard, realizing it had been years since I had seen him without a shirt, and he was now a man. I felt stunned, and I stared at the gorgeous indentions of muscles that lined the sides of his back like glorious wings. I only had a second or two to take in his arms before noticing out of the corner of my eye that he was facing me.

  His back was turned, but he was looking at me from over his shoulder. Our eyes met, and it took me a second to realize that he was smiling at me. I knew I had been staring at him far too long, and I smiled shyly when I realized he had caught me gawking.

  I waved at him, trying to play it off, and he waved back at me before glancing down at his companion. They shared some sort of nod that obviously let the guy know Owen was coming down, because before I knew it, he began dropping to the floor, springing off of the wall in smooth short bursts. I was glad there was no one else in the room because I stared shamelessly as he completed the maneuver, easily getting to his feet and unclipping himself from the rope. There was still a harness around his waist and it hung on his hips as he turned and started walking toward me.

  Seeing him from the front was even worse than from the back. His chest was broad and his muscles were defined. It had been so many years since I had seen him without a shirt that he looked like a completely different person than the one I remembered.

  I was awestruck.

  Everything about him was perfect.

  His cousin, Shelby, had just given him a haircut, so his hair was a little shorter than it had been at Christmas time, but he still had that scruffy facial hair that looked so handsome on him. His easy smile was somehow brand new yet familiar at the same time.

  I wanted to run into his arms.

  It took all my restraint to approach him slowly.

  His brown pants and rock climbing gear hung around his hips, and right at the top of them, began the glorious rows of abdominal muscles.

  "Hey," he said, smiling as he came toward me.

  "Hey," I said, trying not to squirm.

  "That's Sam," he said, throwing a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the other guy.

  Sam heard him say that, and he gave me a wave, which I returned. "Mike went to grab something to eat," he said. "He'll be back in a few minutes, and they'll hold the ropes for us so we can climb a little together. In the meantime, I can hold for you if you want to get a little practice in."

  He bent over and reached for his T-shirt, which was on a nearby bench. I watched as he held it over his head, raising his arms and stretching gracefully into it. I wanted to tell him to leave it off, but I couldn't find my voice or the right words to say that wouldn't sound cheesy or desperate.

  He smiled at me once he got his shirt on, and then he began to slowly approach. I knew he was coming over to greet me and I felt warmth spread all through my body at the thought of him wrapping his arms around me.

  "Welcome home," he said.

  We closed the remaining distance and walked right into each other's arms. The combination of him saying the words welcome home and the relief I felt at finally having him hold me caused tears to spring into my eyes. It was impossible to hold them back. I squeezed him tightly, burying my face in his chest and not saying a word for what must have been ten whole seconds.

  "I'm sweaty," he said finally, after squeezing me back. He was telling the truth; he was sweaty. I could feel the dampness soaking through his thin T-shirt. I loved him so much that I didn't care. I actually liked it, which I knew officially made me crazy.

  "I don't care," I whispered, holding onto him.

  "Good, he said, grabbing me tighter and wiggling around as if getting even more comfortable.

  He lowered his head and put a quick kiss on my forehead. The gesture was so quick and so new to us that he missed on purpose—he just sort of made the kissing sound near my forehead, which was good enough for me.

  "I'm so glad you're back," he said.

  "You are?" I asked, pulling back so I could see his face.

  I hadn't been this close to his mouth in years, and seeing the curves and shape of it this close up made my toes curl up.

  His dark eyes squinted and sparkled as he nodded and smiled at me. "Yes, I am," he said. "I really am."

  Chapter 9

  Mike joined us in the climbing gym a minute later, and our little reunion was interrupted. Sam had made himself scarce, giving us privacy by going behind the wall to look at his phone, but when Mike came into the room, Owen and I instinctually stepped away from each other. Mike yelled at Sam to turn up the radio, and before I knew it, there was music blaring and a general feeling of playfulness in the air.

  I had seen Owen in athletic situations with guys in high school, so it didn't surprise me when he fell right in to that general type of smack talking and teasing with Sam and Mike. They played off of each other, making jokes and one-upping each other with dares and challenges regarding the wall. A time or two, they gave Owen grief for outdoing them e
ven with one leg, and he handled it as if he was at an advantage for having a prosthetic, like it was an aftermarket upgrade.

  I thought that was funny, because I had just had that whole chain of thoughts about it. I could tell they really liked Owen, which made me like them. I joined in with the playful banter, and Owen responded by backing me up. I could tell, just from things he said and the way he responded to things we said, that he was proud of me.

  Owen told them I liked to work out on silks, and they conspired to talk Gray into finding a spot on the ceiling where they could install some for me to come practice when nobody was there. They said they had enough open gym space and high enough ceilings to do it without a problem. I figured it wouldn't happen, but I thought it was nice of them to take an interest, and it made me feel great that Owen was already talking about my future visits to the gym.

  He was a true gentleman—sweet and sensitive to me, yet quick-witted and sharp with a comeback to the guys. We had several close races where Owen would do a harder spot on the wall or give me a head start. I also learned how to hold the ropes for him, which was easier and more fun than I anticipated.

  We climbed for over an hour before deciding to call it a night. Owen and Sam had already been there for a while before I showed up, and they were both ready to take a shower.

  Owen and Mike put up the equipment, and while Sam and I were waiting for them, he brought up the silks again. He had seen a male/female team perform on them in Cirque du Soleil before, and judging by his interest, I could tell he wanted to try it and thought he'd be a natural. He asked me technical questions about balancing, swinging, and trajectory, and I answered them as intelligently as I could, but he was smart and his questions were somewhat more advanced than my knowledge.

  I had some video of myself practicing on my phone, and I decided to show it to him so that he could get a grasp of my skill level. We were watching it when Owen and Michael came to stand next to us. I had been holding my phone but I handed it to Sam so that I could talk to Owen. He glanced at me curiously, and I smiled at him.

  "I'm showing Sam some video of me doing the silks," I said.

  Sam heard me say that to Owen, and he moved to stand beside him so they could both view the phone. Owen watched with a smile for the first few seconds, and then I saw his expression shift as he stared at the screen with somewhat serious concentration.

  "It's cool, huh?" Sam said. "I was telling Darcy I think I'd be good at it. It's not just for girls. I've seen couples doing it at the circus. It's pretty neat. You have to be really strong."

  Owen glanced at Sam with an expression that was so confused and put off that I had to let out a little laugh. Owen looked at me and then at Sam. "You can't be serious," he said.

  Sam nodded. "I am. It's not just for women. There's all sorts of cool stunts you can do as a couple."

  "Well, you're certainly not doing it with Darcy," Owen said, looking at Sam like he had lost his mind. He reached out and grabbed the phone out of Sam's hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. "And I don't even want her doing it by herself now I know it looks like this," Owen said, looking at me. "Not up here at least with all these cavemen walking around."

  "Heyyy," Mike said. "We could use a little entertainment up here."

  "Not this kind of entertainment," Owen said. He handed me my phone. "Sorry. That's a little too amazing for this place. I didn't know that's what you did on those things."

  "What did you think she did?" Sam asked. "Just climb up them like a rope?"

  "I don't know what I thought," Owen said, staring at all of us like this whole conversation had really taken him by surprise. "She called it working out. I definitely didn't think she posed and wrapped them all around herself like that." He glanced at me with a regretful look on his face. "I'm sorry," he said. "Please don't be offended. It looks really beautiful. It's just too beautiful. You can't come up here to this wolves den looking like that." He looked at Sam before smiling and pushing at his shoulder. "And I'm especially not letting you climb up those things with her. I don't know what you were thinking."

  Sam laughed and raised his hands in surrender. "I just thought I'd be good at it, dude. I didn't think you'd get all possessive. You're the one talking about installing some of them up here."

  "Well, that's before I knew what she used them for," Owen said.

  He was smiling, but I could tell he was totally serious. This made me feel like he was jealous and protective of me, which caused my heart beat wildly. I wanted him to be jealous of me. I wanted him to say I was his. I wanted to go back to five minutes ago and show Sam the video just so I could watch Owen snag that phone out of his hand again. I had to hold back a smile at the memory of it.

  We talked for a few more minutes.

  Sam teased Owen for being possessive, and Owen and Mike both teased Sam for wanting to try the silks. We talked about climbing, and Owen and I thanked them for helping us out. Sam and Mike both said they had fun, and we agreed that we would come back sometime soon to do it again.

  Alpha was a big operation, and the guys had apartments right there on site, so they stayed behind while Owen and I made our way to the parking lot. Lydia was no longer at the front desk, and Owen jiggled the front door to make sure it locked behind us.

  There were only four cars in the parking lot, and we were parked close to each other, so we headed in that direction. Owen was carrying a duffel bag, and I had my purse. We made no attempts to make contact, but I wanted to touch him so badly that it was difficult to stop myself from doing it.

  He walked to his truck, and I followed him, watching as he opened the door and tossed his bag into the backseat. He turned to me with a smile.

  "You did really good today. I can't believe that was your first time climbing. I'm really proud of you."

  I smiled and stepped a little closer to him. "I was trying really hard," I said. "Some guy was there that I wanted to impress, so I was showing off a little."

  Owen grimaced and wiped his face with his hands, rubbing his eyebrows as if something distressed him. "How long was Sam watching that video before I came over there?" he asked.

  He was just joking around, but I liked it. I stepped a little closer to him, temporarily setting my purse down on the seat of his truck. "That's not the guy I was talking about," I said.

  He leaned against his truck, and I positioned myself right in front of him.

  He smiled at me. "Oh yeah?" he asked, staring at me with the hint of a grin.

  "Yeah."

  "Who was it?" he asked.

  "Owen Bishop," I said. "I've been trying to get him to notice me for the last decade or so."

  He continued to stare at me, scanning my face with a sincere expression. "He noticed you," he said.

  "You did?" I asked, staring up at him shyly.

  Owen reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. He did it so slowly and softly that it was as if he was reluctant. I reached up and put my hand on top of his, trapping it gently to encourage him to keep touching my face. I leaned to the side letting my face rest in his hand. I closed my eyes feeling utterly content now that we had finally made contact.

  "I've never met anyone like you, Darcy. You're seriously the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. I mean it. I've been stunned by you since we were kids."

  I opened my eyes and regarded him with a look of disbelief. "Owen, why did…" I hesitated. I was going to ask him why he waited so long when he knew I've wanted him all these years, but I couldn't make myself ask that question. There was nothing we could do to turn back time. All we could do was move forward.

  "Owen, can I say something about your leg?" I asked.

  My voice came out entirely too hesitant. I had never before mentioned Owen's leg to him. I had been present when other people talked to him about it, but I had never mentioned it myself. Because of this, I got really nervous bringing it up and my voice got shaky. It was part of who he was, though, and I felt like I needed to say something about it
. I felt like I was close enough to him to do that, and I was embarrassed that I got so intimidated about doing it. I regarded him with a somewhat regretful expression while I waited for his answer. He gave me a curious smile as if waiting to hear what I wanted to say.

  "I just wanted to tell you how I felt about it," I said.

  I glanced to the side, staring off into space because my heart was pounding. I experienced a short internal battle, telling myself I was being really awkward, but I knew I had to continue now that I had mentioned it. It was something I wanted to tell him for ages, and I had to get it off my chest. I had anticipated this moment for so long that I wanted to cry. I took a deep breath and looked down at his legs before meeting his eyes again.

  "I just wanted you to know I like it," I said shakily. "I think it makes you who you are." My voice was weak, and tears were gathering in my eyes, but I continued. "I'm sorry if it makes you feel weird for me to bring it up. I just really like it. I've never seen it as something that takes away from who you are. I see it as something that adds to who you are."

  His hand was still on my face, but he took it away so that he could wrap it around my waist and pull me closer. I felt so nervous and vulnerable about putting myself out there that a tear fell from my eyes and rolled down my cheek. He brought his other hand to my face and used his thumb to wipe it anyway.

  "Why are you crying," he asked leaning over a little bit so that I would look at him. I shrugged, feeling embarrassed. "I guess I'm just nervous. I've never talked to you about it before. I don't want to be weird or awkward, but I wanted you to know… I don't know… "

  He took my hand and placed it on his chest. His T-shirt was thin and I could feel his muscles and his warm body underneath. He pressed my hand securely to his heart, which caused me to glance at him.

  "Thank you for being willing to bring it up," he said. "It's not something I can really ignore—especially with someone who I plan on…" he hesitated, and I literally felt his heart rate speed up has he searched for the words to continue. This made me want to cry again and I had to blink to stop myself. He glanced down at his leg. "This thing is not always a part of me," he said. "I take it off every night, and when I do, there's just nothing at all there." His heart was still beating rapidly, and I knew he had never said such things to anyone else.