by Tamie Dearen
“That’s the only way I’d ever date you. I don’t date around.”
“Good.” Relief flooded him. “I realized we hadn’t actually specified. I... You need to know... I really like you. A lot. More than I’ve ever liked another girl.” He hoped that was saying enough, but not too much. If he professed love, she’d probably literally run away, despite her sprained ankle.
“I like you, too.”
Warmth flooded him from his head to his toes. He stopped and turned to face her, pulling her into a hug.
“Spencer, we’re in public.”
“There’s no one anywhere near us, and no one is watching.” He squeezed her tightly, his hands on the small of her back, while he nuzzled her hair. He loved the way she smelled—her hair, her skin, everything. His hands slid up to cup her face, and he lifted her chin, lowering his mouth to hers. But as his lips feathered lightly against hers, she drew back.
“I... I can’t.”
“Seriously, Emily. No one is watching.” He tried to renew their kiss.
“It’s not that. I just don’t think we need to be kissing right now.”
“Why not?”
“Well, kissing leads to other things—more physical things. And I think we need to be ready for more commitment before we do that.”
“No more kissing?”
“At least for a while, until we’re, you know... more committed.”
“Okay.” He agreed with his mouth, but not his head. His mind was replaying their first kiss. How soft her lips felt. The caress of her tongue against his. How responsive she was. His heart sped up at the mere thought of kissing Emily. He’d have to find a way around this new rule. He took her hand in his. “Let’s go get the milk.”
He didn’t broach the subject during the entire expedition. Upon their return to the concrete steps outside their apartment he sat down, patting the space beside him.
“I’m not quite ready to face the crowd.” She sat beside him, and he picked up her hand, caressing her fingers. “Your hands are so elegant. They seem like an artist’s hands.” He lifted her hand to his lips and lightly kissed each digit, nibbling softly with his lips. Her eyelids fluttered closed. He leaned against the side rail and put his left arm around her, pulling her against him, cradling her head against his shoulder. His right hand came up and caressed the line of her jaw. “Your skin is so soft and beautiful, and I love that you don’t wear any makeup.”
He leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead and breathed in deeply, enjoying her scent. His hand skimmed lightly under her chin. Her breathing quickened and his fingers lifted her face toward his. He kissed her cheek and slid his lips down to her jaw. She raised her chin and exposed her neck, moaning softly. He gently kissed the tender skin on her neck where her blood pulsed madly. He moved back up to her face and feathered gentle kisses on her jaw and around her parted lips, never quite touching them with his.
He pulled away, breathing shallow breaths and concentrating to hold himself back. Emily’s eyes fluttered open, her eyes on his lips, moistening her own with her tongue. Abruptly, she leaned toward him and offered her mouth to him, her soft lips pressed to his, her tongue darting out, enticing him. With a groan he answered her invitation. His mouth slanted against hers. Their lips crushed together in passion.
His world shrank. He was aware of nothing but Emily. Nothing but her face, her mouth, her lips, her tongue, her neck. Nothing but the sensations that spread throughout his system. He pulled back and gasped for air, stopping himself just before his hand dropped down from her neck to forbidden parts. She sat up stiffly, pulling away, smoothing her mussed hair, staring at Spencer in alarm.
“That... that didn’t count. That was a farewell-to-kissing kiss.” He forced a smile, still trying to catch his breath.
“It has to be the last one,” she rasped. “We almost... You see what I mean—kissing is dangerous.”
“Nothing happened.”
“It almost did.”
“It did?” He couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped.
“Spencer, this is serious.”
“Sorry, sorry. It won’t happen again.” He made a vain attempt to sound contrite.
“Okay. That was the last time. Right?”
“Right,” he answered, hoping she couldn’t detect his insincerity. “Ready to take the milk inside?”
They climbed the steps side by side and entered the door without speaking. He was lost in thought. He’d waited a long time to find a girl he wanted to kiss, and it was even better than he thought it’d be. There was no way he wanted to give that up. There had to be another way.
Chapter Thirteen
“Mom gained two pounds,” Charlie told Emily as they rode toward the climbing gym in Steven’s limo. “The doctor says the antihistamines may be helping. She’s actually starting to eat something other than crackers.”
Emily tried to picture how her skinny mom would look with a full term pregnancy. “She’s got a long way to go before she even starts looking pregnant. I still can’t believe it. I think I’m going to feel more like an aunt than a sister to this kid.”
“Me, too. But I think it could be fun. I’m really happy for Steven.”
“I agree. I know he’s putting on a really brave front for Mom, but I can tell he’s worried she won’t make it all the way.”
“Don’t their chances of making it go up if she gets through the first trimester?”
“I think so, but he’s still too nervous to leave her at home alone. It’s too bad, though. It would’ve been fun to see Josh’s face when Steven showed him up on the climbing wall.”
“Yeah...” Charlie muttered darkly. “I can’t believe I let him bait me into this. I’m sunk if he’s had experience, and I think he has.”
“But you’re really good, and you’ve had a lot of experience. Don’t you think you can beat him?”
“No. I don’t have the upper body strength to do the really hard climbs—the ones with overhangs, like Steven did last fall.”
“Maybe he’s out of shape,” Emily argued. “He’s been really busy with med school and now with the residency.”
“Are you blind Emily? You hiked with him for an entire day, and you didn’t notice his muscles?”
Emily tried to picture Josh on the trail at Devil’s Path. “No, not really. I think they were mostly covered up.”
“No, Sister. Believe me, they were quite visible.”
“Well then why did you agree to a climbing contest?”
“I don’t know... He’s so egotistical, and he made me so mad.”
“And what exactly did he do to make you so mad? What happened when y’all went in the living room?”
Charlie’s face turned pink. “Nothing happened. I yelled at him and told him to leave you and Spencer alone.”
Emily regarded her sister dubiously. “Well, I guess it worked. He left me alone and turned all his attention on you. Is that what you wanted?”
“No!” Her blush spread down her neck.
“Are you sure nothing else happened in the living room? Y’all were in there a while.”
“Well, I had a lot to say,” Charlie declared.
“So, is it possible you like him a little? I mean, I guess he’s cute. You said yourself he had muscles. And he’s a doc—”
“No! I don’t like him. Not even a little. He’s arrogant, egotistical, and controlling.”
“Okay. Don’t bite my head off. So what are you planning to do if he beats you tonight?”
“I’ve been thinking about it. As long as he beats me fair and square, I can handle it and a bit of teasing, too. He can brag about it, but there’ll be other guys there who are better than him. Whereas, I’ll probably be the best girl in the joint tonight. He’ll be impressed. Even if he doesn’t want to admit it, he’ll be impressed. And both of us will know it.” Charlie smirked a little. Emily wondered why her sister cared about impressing Josh. Usually, Charlie couldn’t care less whether a guy was impressed. She was s
elf-confident to a fault, typically disregarding others’ opinions as unimportant. But something about Josh got under her skin and irritated her enough she couldn’t ignore him.
“I’m rooting for you, Sister.” She’d keep her speculations to herself.
Charlie fumed even while she was putting on her climbing harness. Josh was already geared up. He had a great build, and he knew it. He was probably almost six feet two. She noted with satisfaction Spencer was a little taller. Right now she was happy if anyone could best him in any way. He really needed to be cut down to size. He’d obviously climbed before, at least in a gym, and she knew she had little chance of beating him here. But with her extensive outdoor climbing experience, she’d probably leave him in the dust on an outdoor climb. Still, she wasn’t the type to make excuses when she was competing. She’d simply have to do her best.
For liability reasons, the gym didn’t allow anyone to belay unless they’d taken their class and passed a test. She was glad Josh couldn’t offer to belay her because he made her nervous for some reason. She tried not to think about what had happened with Josh in the Marshall’s living room. That kiss. She was furious with herself for kissing him back. Why had she done that? She should’ve slapped him before he kissed her, not after. He’d simply caught her off guard. But never again—she was prepared for him. She had her shields up and on high alert.
“Hey.” Charlie jumped at Josh’s voice in her ear. He’d come up behind her while she was concentrating on her gear. He grinned at her reaction. “So, what’s the bet going to be? What do I have to do to beat you, and what do I win?”
“Highest point reached on two out of three climbs, or best time if we both make it to the top.” She stated the conditions matter-of-factly, carefully hiding any emotions.
“And what do I win?”
“I’ll win the satisfaction of putting you in your place.”
“I think satisfaction would be a great prize when I win, but I’d rather achieve it some other way.” He leaned in close and whispered, “How about another kiss, without the punishing slap afterward?”
Charlie felt her face heat up, but she kept her voice cool and even. “That will never happen again.”
“Why not? Are you saying you didn’t enjoy it?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“That’s what your lips are saying now, but it’s not what your body was saying last night.”
“Stop it. Shut up before someone hears you. Spencer’s coming.” She glared at him while she spoke between her clenched teeth.
He let out a belly laugh. “I’m not giving up just because someone might overhear me. I’ll be a little more discreet.” His eyes twinkled. “But only a little.”
Charlie sent him a glower that could have melted steel as Spencer joined them, seemingly unaware of their friction. “Who’s going first?”
“Josh is going first,” declared Charlie. “Go ahead. Pick your climb.”
He chose a vertical climb with a medium level difficulty. He climbed steadily, easily reaching the top, and Spencer declared the time. “Four minutes, twenty-two seconds.”
Josh rappelled down with a satisfied smile. Two blond girls approached him, and he seemed to be busy flirting while Charlie threaded the rope through her harness. She cast him a disparaging glance and started her climb. With experienced efficiency, she fairly flew up the climb.
“Three minutes, forty-four seconds. Charlie wins round one.” Spencer shouted her time and her sister cheered, along with Brad and Grace.
Josh whipped around to watch her descend. “Wait, I missed it.” He approached her as she touched the floor. “So it looks like I might have to try a little harder to beat you.”
Emily sat on the bench with Grace and Brad, watching the show. Brad laughed heartily when Charlie won the first round. “This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
“Do you think he’ll beat her on the next two?” asked Emily.
“I don’t know how he’s going to play this one,” admitted Brad. “He’s good. He climbs all the time. He did a five-thirteen last week.”
“Is that hard?” asked Grace.
“Yeah, pretty tough. It had a rough overhang.”
“So what do you mean, you don’t know how he’ll play it?” asked Emily.
Brad shrugged. “He might try his best, to impress her. Or he might let her win. You know, just barely. But he might let her win if he thinks it’ll be to his advantage.”
“Hmmm. He doesn’t know my sister. She’d know if he did that. It’d be a bad idea.”
“But isn’t she super competitive? Doesn’t she like to win?”
“Oh, she likes to win, all right. But she doesn’t take condescension from anyone. On the other hand, if he shows off... Well, she already thinks he’s egotistical.”
“So, he’s in trouble if he beats her or if he lets her win?”
“Pretty much.”
“So how’s he going to get her to like him?”
“I don’t know if it can be done. Many have tried—all have failed and fallen into the abyss.” Emily laughed.
Grace asked Brad, “Are you planning to climb tonight?”
“Sure. I’ll go after the contest is over. Right now, I’m enjoying the company.” He put his arm around her shoulder. “And it’s truly entertaining to see Josh fumbling a bit. He’s not used to failure of any kind.”
Charlie chose the next climb. She picked one with a section at the top that was slightly beyond vertical in pitch. Josh had ditched the girls who’d distracted him earlier and was standing inside her comfort zone as Charlie threaded the rope through her harness.
“Why don’t you go back to your fan club? I don’t need your help.”
“I like to throw them a few crumbs, but leave them hungry.”
“They looked like they wanted to eat you up. I’m surprised you didn’t let them.”
“Jealous?”
“No. I was relieved. Glad to have you otherwise occupied and out of my hair.”
“Why?” He reached out to tighten one of her shoulder straps. “Do I make you nervous?”
“No!” She jerked away from his grasp. “Not nervous—more like nauseous.”
“Well, that’s close.” Josh laughed.
Charlie turned to Spencer, who was observing the interchange with wide eyes. “Get ready to start the timer.”
This climb was more challenging from the start, even before reaching the over-steep portion, because all the holds were spaced farther apart. Charlie’s arms and legs were shaking from the effort. She was forced to stop and rest before beginning the last section. She glanced down and, seeing Josh’s amused expression, felt a surge of irritation along with a rush of adrenaline. She took advantage of the new energy and attacked the incline. Sixty seconds into it, her arms were crying out in pain. She lunged for the top and called out, immediately falling back on the belay rope. Her muscles were still trembling when she made it to the bottom.
“Six fifty,” announced Spencer.
“Okay,” said Josh, “I’m actually impressed. Pretty amazing for a girl.”
Spencer frowned. “Are you kidding? It’s pretty amazing for anybody.”
“Maybe. But you haven’t seen the master tackle it.” Josh set up and began the climb. Charlie watched with begrudging admiration. He didn’t even pause before the last section.
As his hand touched the top, Spencer called out, “Five minutes, forty-five seconds. Sorry, Charlie.”
But at his return to the floor, she noted with satisfaction Josh’s muscles were also shaking from the exertion, despite his efforts to appear unfazed by the tough climb.
“Spencer, why don’t you climb now so Charlie has a little more time to recover?”
“Pretty cheap to use Charlie as an excuse to give yourself a break. We can all see you’ve got the shakes.” Spencer shook his head.
Josh laughed. “It was worth a try. I admit it—I need a break, too.”
Spen
cer set up to do his climb, while Josh and Charlie sat down on the bench to rest. Charlie wedged herself between Emily and Grace, so Josh was forced to sit on the end next to Brad.
“So who’s climbing first and who chooses the climb?” Brad asked.
“We’re doing that ledge,” said Charlie. “Josh can go second.”
“That’s like committing suicide,” said Josh. “You should pick something easy and go for speed.”
“No way,” scoffed Charlie. “I’m here for the challenge.”
“Okay, but I’ll beat you.” Josh’s expression lost its casual grin.
“The straight walls are easy and boring. I don’t do boring.”
“I understand. You want me to win, right? Are we in agreement about the prize?”
Charlie leaned forward and bored holes in him with her eyes. “No we’re not in agreement.” Brad stifled a laugh behind his hand.
“What are the options?” Grace asked. “I’ll be the fair and impartial judge.”
“Well,” Josh smirked. “I want—”
“Josh wants a kick where it hurts,” Charlie interjected. “And I’m going to give it to him.”
Brad snorted. “Good job, Josh. You’ve got her eating out of your hand, just like you said you would.”
Josh elbowed Brad, which only resulted in louder laughter. Charlie crimped her eyebrows down. “Is that what he said? He’d have me eating out of his hand?”
“I didn’t say that.” Josh planted another vicious elbow in Brad’s side when he laughed again.
“Whoever loses should have to pay for the other’s climbing tonight,” Grace suggested.
“I think that’s fair,” said Josh.
“But exception to the family rule. If he loses and pays my way, it’s not a date,” said Charlie.
Emily winked at Charlie. “Hmmm, technically it’d be a date if either one of you pays for the other.”
“Nope. Not doing it. Think of something else.”
“Family rule?” Josh asked.
“Yes,” Emily explained. “Our rule is if he pays for something or—Ow, Charlie! Why’d you kick me!”
“What’s the rule?” Josh urged.
