by Daws, Amy
“Belay on!” the belayers shout back.
And we’re off.
The climb is intense. It’s a straight up vertical with no breaks and no ice screws anywhere. Just me, my two ice axes, and the crampons on my boots to hold me up. Because it’s a top rope climb, there’s a rope that goes from me through an anchor at the top of the silo and then back down to the belayer. The belayer keeps the rope nice and tight as I ascend the wall, giving me slack only when I need it.
The climb is a blur of ice chunks as my ax pierces the firm curtains of sparkling frost and I make my way up the silo. I actually don’t even look at the other guy because I know that’ll just slow me down. I continue jabbing my toes in foot by foot and make my way toward to top. Maggie’s cheering from below grows fainter the higher I ascend. This is definitely a more intense workout than the waterfalls, and my quads and biceps are screaming at me as I push them to their breaking point. Normally, I’m slow and steady, but right now, I’m doing larger grabs and using my muscles to heave my body up this silo as fast as I possibly can.
I finally lay eyes on the guy above me with his cell phone camera pointed right at me. “Come on, man, you’re almost here! This is insane!”
I frown, wondering how badly I must be losing for that sort of comment. I didn’t think I’d heard a bell ring yet, but maybe Ezekiel rang it a long time ago, and I was too low to hear it?
With one final crunch of my ax into the ice, I yank myself up the last three feet and swing my other ax straight at the brass bell hanging from the top. The ding is loud and echoes along with the cheers from the bystanders below. The guy takes my tools from me so I can hoist myself over the edge of the silo. I lean down, bracing my hands on the railing while sucking in big gulps of air.
“Fucking hell, that was hard,” I state halfheartedly to the guy beside me as my heart thunders in my chest.
I look out and steal a few seconds to absorb the scenery from my new vantage point. Hills and hills of snow-covered trees with the Flatirons as the backdrop. It’s incredible. “Now I get why you guys climb here.”
Maggie’s cheers drag my gaze down below, and I give her a wave before looking over to find my racing challenger. I assumed he was up at the top already, but he’s nowhere to be seen. The guide at the top has moved to the edge and is pointing his cell phone camera down below again. I walk over and lean forward to find Ezekiel stuck at the halfway point on the silo.
“Holy shit, what happened? Did he drop his ax?” I ask, assuming a gear malfunction would be the only reason he’d be that far behind me.
“No, man,” the guy replies with a laugh. “You fucking flew up this silo like Spiderman. I got hard watching you!” he exclaims and then shakes his head in amazement.
My jaw drops in shock. “He hasn’t made it to the top yet?”
“No way…you climbed fast as lightning. None of us could have caught you. This video is going to break the internet.”
I stare down at the iced silo with my brow furrowed as I try to determine whether I was really that much faster than normal. It’s been too long for me to truly remember my normal pacing, but hell, I don’t know…maybe I was just extra motivated not to let this fucker be Maggie’s belayer.
I shake that thought off because it feels too sentimental. And my reason behind helping Maggie has nothing to do with feelings. I’m just trying to protect my buddy’s little sister. Nothing more.
Ezekiel drops his axes to the ground below and begins repelling back down to the bottom, clearly too butthurt to finish the fucking climb. What a dick. You always finish a climb.
I take in the view for a few more minutes before beginning my own descent. When I reach the bottom, Maggie jumps into my arms like a girl greeting her man home from war. It brings an alarming stirring to my belly as her arms tighten around my neck. “That was incredible! An impossible act to follow but incredible!”
She pulls back, her blue eyes sparkling in amazement as she bites her lip and stares down at my mouth.
Goddamn, she looks…turned on. She looks how she looked that day we kissed. She should not be looking at me like that!
“Thanks,” I murmur and step out of her arms to unclip my rope. “It was a fun climb.”
The guides all come over and congratulate me as Ezekiel and his buddies disappear off to the warming lodge. Sherry gives me her business card and tells me to call her for the keys to the chalet on Friday. I smile sheepishly, hating all the attention and doing my best to turn it back onto Maggie because she’s the reason we’re here in the first place.
Sherry begins clipping the ropes on her when Maggie pulls her phone out of her snowsuit pocket. “Do you think you can take a picture of me climbing?” she asks quietly.
Sherry nods eagerly. “Definitely. I’ll snap throughout the whole climb, and we have a guy at the top who will get a shot of you when you ring the bell.”
“If I ring the bell,” Maggie corrects, chewing her lip nervously as she buckles the chin strap of her helmet. “If Ezekiel couldn’t finish, I probably won’t either.”
“You’ll ring the bell,” I state, stepping in closer to her and putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she stares up at the ice. “This isn’t a race, Maggie. And you are not a quitter. Look at what lengths you’re going to, to win back your ex.”
Maggie nods woodenly, her lips rubbing together the entire time. “I’m scared.”
“That’s good,” I state, looping her rope through my carabiner. “Fear will drive you. Just go one step at a time, and you’ll get to the top. We’re not just out here for a picture.”
She looks at me, her bright eyes wide and watery in the cold. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes,” I state firmly. “Make this climb for you, not your ex. The best part of climbing is reaching the top. You got this.”
I shoot her a wink that draws a smile across her face, and she positions herself at the base of the silo with the ice axes in her hand.
“I’ll be down here the entire time,” I reassure her, taking my position and anchoring myself in with her rope wound through my belay device.
Maggie nods once and then yells over her shoulder. “On belay?”
I smile at the doubt in her voice and shout back confidently. “Belay on!”
Slowly, she makes her way up the silo.
Like…really slow.
Honestly, it takes her almost an hour. I worried that she might freeze to death before she reached the top, but the girl never even considered quitting. I coached her the entire way, helping her get better ax swings and encouraging her when she needed it. She may not be a fast climber, but I have to admit I find her tenacity impressive. When she finally reaches the top and rings that bell, I’m pretty sure she’s full-on crying because she hugs the guy at the top for longer than appropriate, considering he’s a complete stranger.
At least she didn’t kiss him, I think to myself like an asshole. Hanging out with Maggie is going to become an issue for me if I keep thinking everything she fucking does is a turn-on. I’m not a relationship kind of guy, so falling for my best friend’s little sister—someone you most definitely can’t have casual sex with—isn’t an option.
She makes her way down, and we head over to the warming house. Thankfully, it’s cleared out of the granola-eating dreadlock dudes.
Maggie is all smiles as she slips out of the top of her snowsuit and kneels by the fire. “That was so exhilarating!” she exclaims as she rubs her hands together.
I nod and drop down beside her with a dopey smile because it’s hard not to get sucked in to her enthusiasm. “I’m seriously impressed that you didn’t give up.”
“I didn’t think I’d make it,” she states, rubbing her hands along her arms. “Holy heck, what a workout. My arms are like Jell-O. I thought they were going to give out.” She shakes them out and moves a hand to her shoulder blade to rub a tender spot.
“Yeah, you’re going to be sore as hell for a few days,” I state. Moving my hand to
the spot she can’t quite reach, I press my thumb gently into the knotted muscle. “I suggest lots of water and ibuprofen around the clock.”
She moans loudly when I hit the spot, and my dick twitches. Goddamn. Has any woman ever made my dick twitch with just a noise? She drops down on her butt and turns to give me easier access.
“Holy heck, don’t stop,” she moans, and now my dick is doing a hell of a lot more than just twitching.
I move my other hand up and rub both her shoulders at the same time. She feels dainty in my hands with small but defined muscles. I have a huge urge to dip my hands beneath her sweater and feel her bare skin on my fingertips.
“You earned that weekend at our chalet,” I state, my voice deeper than usual because I’m seriously turned the fuck on right now.
“What do you mean?” she asks, turning her head slightly. “You’re the one who won that race. You should have it.”
“Nah, I already know how to snowboard. You’ll get more use out of it if you’re still on this adventure mission.”
She goes quiet for a moment while I work on her shoulders to the sounds of the crackling fire. “I don’t know how to snowboard, though.”
“Oh,” I reply dumbly and bite the inside of my cheek because I know the next thing that’s going to come out of my mouth. “I could show you if you want?”
She turns to face me. “Seriously?” she exclaims with a big smile on her face.
I shrug. “It’s no big deal.”
“Eek!” She launches herself at me again, wrapping her arms around my neck. “It’s the perfect next adventure! Let’s do it!”
She’s bouncing and wiggling up against me so much, I can’t believe what starts to happen inside my pants. This is fucking embarrassing. I’m sure it’s because I lost my wingman, Miles. I’ve been going through a bit of a dry spell, but still, I’m over thirty. I shouldn’t just be popping boners like Pez.
She pulls back, and her eyes are alight with excitement. “I haven’t even sent Sterling a picture yet! He’s going to flip when he sees me on that silo!”
With that last remark, my boner drops like a cooked noodle. But like a thick noodle. A big ole cannelloni for sure.
“Yeah, you’d better get those sent,” I grumble and stand to make my way toward the door. “I’m going to go pack up my shit. I’ll see you in the truck.”
The door closes behind me, and I feel like I need to shove my own face in the snow for being so stupid just now. She’s after her ex, not my fucking noodle. I need to get my shit straight before being locked away in that cabin with her for an entire weekend.
Complimentary Coffee And Advice
The next day, I’m seated at Miles and Kate’s kitchen table when Miles comes strolling in. “You’re up early,” he states with a yawn as he reaches into the cupboard and pulls down a box of corn flakes.
“I put on a pot of coffee!” I reply excitedly, doing my best not to seem like the freeloading pain in the neck little sister who showed up unannounced and has no specific departure date in sight.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have,” Kate’s voice croaks from around the corner before she shuffles into the kitchen in fuzzy slippers and another one of Miles’s giant T-shirts. “We don’t drink coffee at home.”
“You don’t?”
“She doesn’t,” Miles replies with an eye roll as he dumps some cereal into a bowl and adds milk to the top.
“I’m a purist,” Kate replies and offers Miles a sleepy-eyed smile. “I wait for Tire Depot coffee because it’s the best.”
I nod slowly at that response. “So, do you go to Tire Depot every day then?”
She shrugs. “Not every day. I mean…the days I don’t want to shower, I usually stay home and write because I get good words in here too. But today is shower day, so I’ll be going in with Miles. You should come with us!”
“To Tire Depot?” I ask as I shovel a bite of cereal into my mouth. “Like where Sam works too?”
My face instantly flames red when my brother frowns at me. “Well, Sam more than works there. He’s months away from owning the joint. But yeah, that’s where he works. Why do you mention Sam?”
“Oh…well,” I begin to stammer. “He, um…”
“Meg gave Sam a ride home after his birthday shindig Saturday,” Kate interjects helpfully. “So I’m sure she’s just connecting all the Boulder dots.”
“Yes,” I agree quickly, my eyes feeling wide enough to pop out of my head as I nod a silent thanks to Kate. “I met a lot of people that night. Hard to keep track of everyone.”
Miles shrugs and slurps a big bite of cereal while mumbling, “Is your car due for an oil change? I could do it there this morning. Easier to do it there than here.”
“Ummm, probably,” I reply as I try to figure out if this could be weird with Sam. I mean, we faked it at a bar, so surely we can fake it at Tire Depot, right?
“It’s settled then!” Kate states happily. “I’ll ride in with Megan. That way you don’t have to wait for us to get ready, Miles. Meg, I just want you to know we’ll be missing the Danishes most likely.”
Her face is so somber, I wait for her to start laughing.
She doesn’t.
“Okay then,” I reply with equal somberness. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“No prob.” She nods. “But don’t be too sad. The cookies are very scrumptious as well.” She beams over at me knowingly, and I know instantly she’s not just talking about the cookies.
“Sounds greeeat,” I reply slowly and then excuse myself from the table. If I’m going to Tire Depot today, I suppose it’s a shower day for me as well.
Before Kate and I leave the house, I send a quick text to Sam to warn him of the plan. He doesn’t flipping reply, and that only makes me more anxious about how this all could go.
“Why do you look so nervous?” Kate asks, cutting into my internal freak-out.
“I’m not nervous!” I exclaim, my hands wrapping tightly around the wheel.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her turn in her seat to face me fully. “Admit it, you’re totally smitten with Sam!”
“I am not!” I exclaim and then flinch at my way too defensive and shrieky tone.
“What the hell happened yesterday then? You got home kind of late, and Miles wouldn’t leave us alone. I’ve been dying for some details, so spill.”
“Nothing happened. Sam helped me go silo ice climbing, and he was really sweet and really impressive at climbing. That’s all.” I say it all in one breath like that’s somehow going to make this conversation easier.
I’m wrong.
“Did you say silo ice climbing?” I glance over and see Kate’s twisted-up, confused face. Gosh, she’s adorable.
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
“Silo ice climbing is not a thing.”
“I thought the same thing at first, and I was wrong.” I whip out my phone and show her a selfie of me at the top with the big ole iced silo behind me. “It’s a thing.”
“Amazing,” she states, grabbing my phone and swiping through more of the pictures. “Were you any good at it?”
“God no, but Sam was amazing. Like gladiator good. I couldn’t believe my eyes. No one could.”
My mind drifts back to watching him scale that wall like a…man. It was so unexpectedly sexy that I found myself drooling at one point. Those tight pants and the grunts I could hear every time he swung his ax…mmm.
And then he had such a casual look on his face as he finished. He just rang that bell and hoisted himself onto the top of that silo like it was no big deal, win or lose. It was…impressive.
Sterling is the complete opposite of Sam. He’s actually practiced victory dances in front of me to get my opinion on which one I loved more. I never understood it because he’s a quarterback and that seems like something receivers do, but regardless, he wanted to have his dance down. He said it was for his future video game endorsement deal.
But Sam…Sam was so mature about it. It
made it impossible for me not to hug him the second his feet hit the ground. There’s a quiet strength to him that draws me in so easily. And the fact that his ass didn’t look bad in those pants yesterday made it all the more confusing.
Kate hands me my phone back with a shit-eating grin on her face. “Did I just hear you compare ginger-bearded Sam to a gladiator?” Her peals of laughter completely yank me out of my delightful memory.
“You’re a redhead too. Where’s your solidarity?” I snap back defensively.
“I’m totally kidding,” she replies and reaches out to touch my arm, making me realize I’m probably overreacting a bit. “But wow, silo climbing? What made you decide to do that of all things? Miles never mentioned you were the outdoorsy type. I thought you were one of my people…a book nerd!”
My brows knit together with that very apt description of me. “I am a book nerd, but I’m trying to win back my ex by showing him how un-basic I am.”
“Books aren’t basic…books are life,” Kate deadpans, and I know she’s one hundred percent serious.
“I agree,” I reply quickly so she knows I’m not downplaying her amazing abilities. “But Sterling wants someone with some adventure inside her.”
“Like becoming a frosty dildo climber,” she states, still not laughing.
“And snowboarding.”
“When are you going snowboarding?” she asks, her eyes bright and intrigued. “Have you snowboarded before?”
“No, I’ve only downhill skied a couple of times during trips for school. I was terrible at it. But Sam raced this pothead climber up the frozen silo and crushed him, so now he won this free weekend at a ski chalet this weekend. Sam said he would take me along and show me how to board.”
Kate just blinks back at me, completely stunned into a rare silence. “I have to write this in a book. Please tell me I have permission.”
“You do not have permission!” I exclaim, heat flaming my cheeks at just the thought of my pathetic-ness being published in a damn romance novel. “I was hoping you could figure out a way to cover for me with Miles this weekend.”