I bolted down my food and cleared my place in record time, then escaped to the office. I jiggled my foot impatiently as I waited for the computer to boot up. Finally, it was on, and I opened Facebook first thing.
And there it was. A message from Logan.
Doing anything fun tonight?
I could see that he wasn’t on anymore, but I wanted to answer him. My heart thudded hard a couple of times.
Actually, I have to go to bed early. I’m getting up at the crack of dawn to go rock climbing tomorrow. What about you?
The minutes ticked by, and he didn’t log on. I sighed and opened Word, pretending to work on my paper while frequently checking back to Facebook. I stayed in the office for hours, but I was getting more and more tired. My eyes shut for longer and longer periods of time, and I eventually fell asleep. At 11, my mom nudged me awake, and I moved to my bedroom.
The next morning, my alarm went off and despite how tired I was, I practically leaped out of bed. I tiptoed to the office and opened Facebook again. His answer was there, waiting for me—how late had he been up?
Basketball game with my family and some friends. Kicked some butt.
I sent him a sticker with a cat shooting a basketball.
No response. Of course not. It was six a.m. on a day off of school. I tried to convince myself I wasn’t disappointed.
I had to get ready for my date with a big rock and death. I hadn’t planned on showering, but I felt all swollen and gross, so I did. I braided my hair into two long braids and put minimal makeup on. By the time Cal arrived to pick me up I was sweating up a storm. The idea of rock climbing made me extremely nervous, but I trusted Cal.
Cal knocked, which I totally appreciated, since everyone but my mom was still asleep. I took the paper note for my parents from his hand and put it on the refrigerator for them to see.
Three other couples from prom, including Malcom and Melissa, as well as two of Cal’s brothers, were already in the massive truck.
“You don’t have to worry about anything, Brooklyn. Once we have you all hooked up, you’ll be safer than sleeping in your own bed.”
I gave him an incredulous look.
“Okay, maybe not in your own bed, but one in Mexico.”
“Very funny.”
“The worst thing that might happen is you getting a rash or bruises from the harness around your waist and legs. The straps can irritate the first few times you use them.” He sucked a breath in through his teeth.
“Malcom will go up first and stabilize the run for the rest of us. We’ve been rock climbing together since we were in Boy Scouts. You can trust us.”
The three couples in the back started singing loudly to a song that just came on the radio. “It’s not so much that I don’t trust you,” I said, yelling slightly to be heard over the loud singing behind us. “I just don’t trust the ropes, the rock wall, the harness, or the carabiners. Things seem to stop operating correctly around me.”
His playful laugh slowed my heart slightly, helping to convince me that all would be okay. “Just put your faith in Malcom and me, then.” His smile was so bright, I couldn’t help but believe in him.
We weren’t the only ones with the idea to climb that day. Two other groups of climbers were already there setting up by the time we got there. After I hopped out of the truck, I jumped on Cal’s back. He had Malcom and Kevin, his older brother, grab the gear. We walked up a short, steep trail, and Cal didn’t seem to be bothered by my extra weight. He was solid.
After setting me down, the three guys visually mapped out the route they thought would work to get to the top of the fifty-foot rock in front of us. Malcolm, Mr. Dreads, started up first, setting the pegs. Cal belayed. They made it look easy. But the closer he got to the top, the sicker I felt.
“He’s setting the pegs that hold the ropes. That’s what keeps you secure.”
I hadn’t thought about the pegs and hated that I had one more piece of equipment to worry about failing. I felt more scared than ever, but said, “Oh good.” Because I knew he thought that was a safety feature and should make me feel safe. It didn’t look hard, but the rock face seemed to go on forever. I snapped pictures as he climbed.
Once Malcolm was on top, he called down for Melissa to join him. She checked each attachment as she went. Soon I was the only one left besides Cal who hadn’t climbed. He turned to me with eyebrows raised and a giant grin on his face. “You ready?”
I took a deep, steadying breath and shook my head, no.
“Ah, come on. You can’t chicken out. It’s not even that high. You can do this.”
The way he said it made me believe I really could.
“Don’t let a little rock conquer you.” He brought me a harness and held it out for me to slip my legs through the straps.
I pushed out a hard breath of air and slipped the harness on. I could do this. Cal reached over and clicked the carabiner onto my harness.
“Now, I’ll tell you where to put your hands and feet.”
I looked up at the seemingly vertical cliff face. I shook my hands out, trying to cool off the sweat that had already started to slick my palms. Before I could psych myself out too much, I started to climb.
It was even harder than I thought. It took a lot of strength to pull myself up from handhold to handhold. About halfway to the top, my arms started shaking, and I could tell my legs weren’t far behind. I decided the best thing to do was to hurry. I started moving even more quickly. I rushed to find each handhold and yanked myself up, trying to go faster than my muscles could give out. I got to a big boulder, which I knew was close to the top and couldn’t imagine pulling myself over.
I needed a rest and, knowing Cal had me, I let go of the rock, intending to relax for a minute and regain my strength, but something went horribly wrong when I did. I started falling to the ground in a rush. I screamed, one hand holding tightly to the rope and the other flailing out to the side of me. I was going to die. All I could see was the ground coming up, threating to greet me, and the rock face sailing past. Wind whipped at my face. I felt nothing but pure terror. I couldn’t even scream anymore. I gasped for air, and the sound of my heartbeat thrashed in my ears. I was about to die.
I heard other screams. It really is like people say—your whole life seems to flash in front of you when you think you’re about to die. Why had I let him talk me into this? I knew something had to go wrong, and it had, and I was going to pay for it with my life. My hair flew into my face and hot air rushed over my skin. Tears flowed in a steady stream out of my tightly closed eyes, and my mouth was in a forever screech. Then it all stopped. The straps bit into my legs, and I flipped upside down with a violent jerk. All my air left me, and I found myself gasping, reaching for the rope and grasping onto it for dear life. I opened my eyes only to find the hard ground inches from the top of my head. Sure, I had a helmet on, but it would have done nothing from a forty-five foot drop. My nose ran and tears slid into my helmet, wetting my hair.
“Brooke! Brooklyn! Oh, my gosh. Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
I exhaled, a slow, loud breath.
“Answer me, Brooke. Please.” The voice was louder now, choked and scared. I knew the voice. I blinked and blinked again.
“Brooke. I’m going to let you down. You need to put your hands out. I’m going to do it slowly. Are you listening? Put your hands below your head if you can hear me.”
I nodded, unable to speak, and tore my hands from the rope. They ached from the pressure. I let them fall below my head to catch me. My head felt full; it screamed for me to be put upright. Cal lowered me slowly, softly to the ground, and I held back a renewed scream. When my hands hit the dirt, new tears came. Tears of relief. I curled up in fetal position as I said a prayer of thanks that I was alive and unhurt. Almost immediately, Cal was at my side. He was crying harder than me.
I felt his arms around me. He held me there for several minutes. “I’m so sorry. That’s never happened before. I don’t know how…I�
�m so sorry. I should have been paying better attention. Chris asked me a question, and you were doing so well…” He spoke into my hair. My breathing was returning to normal, and his voice sounded clear now. He unhooked me. And as he did, he wiped away tears that fell down his cheeks.
Once I was totally unhooked, he picked me up and set me in his lap. “That was the scariest thing ever. I thought I’d killed you.”
My head was still rushing with what-ifs, and I couldn’t think clearly. I nestled my head on his chest, and we sat still together for a good while as the others made it back after walking down the backside of the mountain and joining us.
I looked up at him. “You were right. Rock climbing is a rush. But, Cal, I’m not sure it’s for me.”
He laughed quietly. “No. I don’t think it is.”
Chapter 2
That afternoon, I created a picture album on my Facebook page called “Near Death Experience” and uploaded the pictures I took of everyone else climbing the rock face. My heart still stampeded when I thought about falling upside down from the top of the rock. I leaned back in my chair and breathed deeply. It had been a good thing Cal had been able to stop my fall. My legs were bruised from the sudden jerk of the ropes. Seeing all the others make it safely eased my anxiety about the whole thing. I’m not saying I’d ever go rock climbing again, but still.
A chime sounded on the computer, and I sucked in a breath. Logan had sent me a message.
I don’t see any pics of you. How could this be a near death experience if you didn’t even try it?
A smile slid across my face. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because he seemed to be paying attention.
Well, I didn’t know how to take a pic of myself while climbing. I laughed quietly.
You could have taken one at the top.
I didn’t make it to the top. I was being coy and I knew it. I thought it was fun. He was exciting to talk to.
It looked really high.
It was. Believe me, when I fell head first from about five feet from the top, I had no doubt about how high it was.
What? You fell?
Yep! I’m pretty traumatized, but at least I’m not dead. The ropes caught me about five feet from the ground. My life truly passed before my eyes.
Wicked. I’d like to have a few words with the person who was supposed to be belaying.
It wasn’t his fault. I let go at completely the wrong moment. I was just so tired—I’m pretty lucky.
Seriously, though. I’m so glad you’re safe.
And somehow, I knew he meant it. But I was feeling a little snarky and wrote, Why? You don’t even know me.
Oh, I know you. It’s you who doesn’t know me.
He had that right, but I wrote, What makes you think that?
I fooled around a little while, waiting for his answer, but no response came. I minimized the window and started working on my research paper, just to have an excuse to stay on the computer. I kept opening Facebook, though, paranoid that I wouldn’t hear the chime and I’d miss his response. But every time I opened it again, the chat box was unchanged—my question was still the last thing there.
After about an hour, my mom came in the room. “Brooklyn, honey, I need to use the computer.”
“But Mom,” I whined. “I need it for my research paper.”
My mom rolled her eyes. “Right. You think I don’t notice you checking Facebook every five seconds? Come on. Get up. I need it. You’ll have to do your research later.” She gave me a look that told me she knew exactly what kind of research I’d been doing and would be doing.
When I was finally allowed back on the computer three hours later, he still wasn’t online, and he hadn’t answered my question. I sighed.
I couldn’t help myself. I clicked over to his Profile to see what I could learn about him. When I got to the section on religion, his read “not religious.” I paused, reading those few words over and over again. What did that mean? Had he never attended church? Would it be a problem if we started dating that religion wasn’t dear to him like it was to me? I laughed. That was ridiculous. It wasn’t like we would be getting married or anything. We would just be dating, and I had a lot of friends who were varying degrees of religious and that hadn’t been a problem. Besides I really wanted to get to know this guy. We could be friends even if he wasn’t involved with religion.
I’d just clicked on his Friends button to see if we knew anyone in common, when a chime alerted me to a new message. I looked down—it was Logan, and he’d picked up the conversation right where we’d left off.
I just know.
I blushed. He was onto me. He knew I had no clue who he was. There was no reason I should hold on to the ruse any longer.
Maybe we should remedy that, I typed. How was I being so bold? I put my fist in my mouth and bit on it.
I think we should. What’s your number?
I pressed my hands onto the desk and stifled a scream. Did I dare give him my number? I hesitated.
He typed out his number.
I rubbed my hands over my face, curled my lips around my teeth, and typed my number.
Then he texted me. Just like that. I saw his text show up on my phone’s screen, and I didn’t know if I could text back. It seemed so different from Facebooking, so much more intimate somehow.
Now we can talk wherever we go.
I gasped. This was more intimate. I turned off the computer and headed to my room for some privacy. So what about you? I typed as I went. Doing anything death-defying today?
Texting you seems pretty death-defying to me. It’s pretty awesome.
LOL.
I’m serious. I never dreamed I’d get your number. I’m one lucky guy.
Was he for real?
How about a round of twenty questions? he asked.
Sure.
How many kids are in your family?
Two. You?
Three. Two boys and one girl. I’m the youngest. She’s the oldest.
I’m the oldest and you’re the baby. My sis is three years younger.
My sister is in college and my brother goes to Davis High.
Davis, huh? There’s a traitor in your house?
We moved the year before he went to the high school and all his friends were going to Davis.
Ah, I get it.
Ali walked into my room, and I couldn’t suppress the smile growing on my lips.
“You look like the cat that ate the canary.”
“Just wait until you hear. Let me tell him I have to go.”
“Him?”
I waggled my eyebrows. Well, my friend is here. I wrote, smiling. I’ve got to go.
Question #2 later.
Ali’s eyebrows pinched together as she sat on the bed next to me.
I stood up really fast, clasped the phone with both hands at my waist, and jumped up and down.
“What the freak, Brooke. What’s going on?” Ali stood up, too, a look of anticipation on her face. “If you tell me you just got asked to MORP, I’m going to kill you. It’s a girls’ choice dance, ya—”
I reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her onto the bed. “I wasn’t just asked to the dance. There’s this guy—”
“Oh, here we go again.” She rolled her eyes. “You have Cal—or have you forgotten that already?”
“This is someone I don’t even know. He goes to Layton, but I don’t know who he is, but he’s so great.
“If you don’t know who he is, why does he have your phone number?”
“I gave it to him.” I rounded my eyes.
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to tell me the rest or am I going to have to assume that you met him in your dreams and gave him your number and now, magically, in our reality, he is able to text you.”
I snorted. “Very funny. He friended me on Facebook this weekend and now we’ve been messaging each other.”
“And you didn’t tell me? Who is he? What’s his name?” She looked a bit hurt and curious at the sam
e time.
“It’s not like I thought anything would come of our conversations. There’s just something about him.”
She turned her head and looked at me sideways. “What about him?”
“I don’t know. He intrigues me. He doesn’t seem like other guys.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “Not again.”
I stopped grinning like a crazy person and quickly sobered up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re falling for a guy you don’t even know—again. If my memory serves me correctly, you and guys you don’t know—that never turns out well. Luke, Riley, Ryker—ringing any bells? And this one you’ve never even met in person.”
I pushed a big breath out of my mouth and flung myself back on my bed. “It’s not going to be the same, and I’m not falling for him. Besides, it turned out okay with Cal. I think Logan’s interesting, that’s all. And I want to get to know him better. We’re taking it slow.”
“Well, thank Heavens for that.” Her tone was sharp, and tension showed in her face and neck. “I just can’t stand seeing you get hurt.” She frowned.
I sat up. “I can’t stand that either. Seriously, you think that’s what I want? I’m trying to be smart about this.”
“You were just jumping up and down like a child getting an ice cream cone a minute ago.” Her look was still pinched, full of tension.
“Maybe I should ask him to MORP instead of Connor.”
“Uh, uh. No you don’t. What if Duncan hates him?” My cousin Duncan had agreed to be her date for MORP. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“He wouldn’t hate him. It’s no big deal. I’ll just ask Connor, though.” I could tell asking Logan would be a deal breaker for her.
She took a deep breath. “Thanks. I just want this last dance this year to be really fun and worry-free.”
“Gotcha.” I smiled. She was right. But something about this guy had me super excited. “Could you please give Logan the benefit of the doubt, though, and be excited with me? I haven’t liked anyone in so long, and it feels good to have someone that has potential.”
Dream Kiss (Sweet N' Sour Kisses Page 2
