“But Anne wants to climb. You remember Anne, right Gary?” asked Gherring.
“Sure.” Gary frowned at Katie before holding out his hand toward Anne. “Good to see you again.”
Anne smiled awkwardly and shook his hand. “Hi Gary.”
“Let’s get you in a harness,” Gary said. Anne took off her coat and jeans, giving her legs the once over to see if she had missed anything while shaving. She squeezed her feet into the tight climbing shoes she’d been given. Gary handed her a harness and then excused himself to take a phone call. Anne stared bewildered at the tangle of straps and metal, but Gherring took it from her hands and helped her step in. As he tightened the straps his hands brushed against her. She felt a familiar warming inside and held her breath in an attempt to slow her racing heart.
“Is it too tight?” asked Gherring.
“No, I’m just a little nervous.”
He led her over to the wall.
“I’m climbing here?” she asked. “Don’t you have a beginner wall? You know, like a green slope?”
“This is the beginner wall. See how it’s not quite vertical? And if you use the blue handholds, the route will be pretty easy.” As he spoke, Gherring began threading a rope through her harness. “This is the belay rope. It’ll keep you safe.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing? Should we get somebody who works here to do this?”
Gherring pinned her with his eyes, the blue glinting. “I assure you I’m more than capable of belaying you on this climb.”
“I don’t know what that means, but I guess I’m gonna trust you with my life.”
“I’ll try to be worthy.” His dimples returned.
He began tugging on all the various straps, his hands brushing against her, assaulting her senses. She was all too aware of his hard muscles, strong and sinewy. Her head swam, and she tried to catch her breath. Why was her heart beating so rapidly? She must really be nervous about trying the climb. She breathed in and out, slow and steady. He was standing so close she drew his clean scent deep inside. She had to get away from him. The only way was up.
She started her climb. The first few moves were easy, and she felt the comforting tug of the belay supporting her. She started moving up steadily, looking for the next blue hold as she ascended. She made it three fourths of the way up when she noticed her muscles were fatiguing. She felt tremors in her arms. “My arms are shaking!” she yelled down.
“Put all your weight on your feet and rest your arms for a minute. You can relax—I’ve got you.”
Anne followed Gherring’s instructions, planting her feet firmly and standing tall. She felt the belay rope lifting, easing the strain on her arms. She realized she really could trust him. And somehow, she wanted to rely on him for more than just climbing a wall. Her heart squeezed as she reminded herself his feelings for her were more like that of a protective father. But there was no reason why she couldn’t fantasize a little, right? He’d never know.
She started climbing again, the exhausted muscles in her legs trembling once again. She paused for a moment.
“You’re almost there,” called Katie.
“You don’t have to go any further if you don’t want to,” teased Gherring. “You can just give up now.”
Gherring’s words worked like magic on her competitive spirit, sending adrenaline into her system. With a final burst of effort, she surged upward and touched the top of the wall.
“I did it!” she yelled. Whoops and hollers came from below. “Now what?”
“Just let go,” said Gherring. “I’ve got you.”
“Let go?”
“Let go of the wall. You can hold on to the rope and lean back.” He pulled hard on the belay rope and she felt it again—that secure feeling that someone else was protecting her. The knowledge that someone was making sure nothing bad would happen. She was safe in his hands.
She let go of her handholds, and the rope held her steady. Her body swung out and then back toward the wall.
“Now I’m going to let you down slowly, and you can just walk down the wall,” Gherring’s soothing voice rose up from below. The descent was smooth and quick. Anne was shaking from head to toe as she stood on the ground with Gherring loosening her harness.
“Okay—that was a rush!” Her heart was beating rapidly, speeding up with the heady feeling of Gherring’s touch. At least her trembling muscles would hide the effect he had on her.
When Gherring had freed her from the straps, he paused a moment and looked closely at her flushed face. “You really did like it, didn’t you?”
She stared back at his piercing blue eyes, so close she could see little glints of gold around the edges. “I… I did. I liked it.”