“What have I told you about calming down?” the police officer growls behind me. “We don’t want to have to arrest you too.”
I spin around on my heels. “Arrest me?” I throw my arms in the air. “For what? I thought I was about to see someone die! What am I meant be? Happy about it?”
The officer places his hand on my shoulder. “Just go home; there’s nothing more to see.”
“Nothing more to see?” I squawk, swinging my head back around to Climber. “You could have died! You stupid, shitty shit. Who the hell do you think you are? Some sort of damn superhero? Grow up!”
Climber drops his head back to the sky, and the dark hood that’s covering his face falls back against his shoulders.
I gulp. Oh God. He’s …
Magnificent. So good looking, that for half a second, I forget what I’m angry about. It’s like someone pulled him out of a catalogue or a movie and put him in front of me, handcuffed and untouchable. His face is chiseled, and his short crew cut looks like he just got back from fighting on the front line.
My heartbeat thumps faster in my chest as my eyes trail over his body. His jeans are distressed, ripped and dirty, but some how that makes him even sexier. His eyes lock in a duel with mine, and he wins. I don’t even struggle. He can do whatever he wants to me, and I won’t put up a fight. His pale grey eyes are so piercing, they practically slice through my clothes, leaving me as tattered as his jeans. But as they lead him away to the cop car, my trance is broken by Climber’s laughter. Deep, throaty laughter like he’s been smoking and drinking his entire life. The sound of it is so damn sexy I catch my lips wanting to smile.
But hold on a second. I’m freaking furious. I don’t care how sexy this guy is. He can take his looks and stick them up his sculpted ass. ‘Cause this punk just about made me pee myself, and I’m not about to forget it. My fists curl into tight balls, and I take a few steps towards him.
“Excuse me,” I huff. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
He shrugs. Shrugs. And I want to shake this guy. Shake him like a tambourine. “Have you lost your fucking mind?” I yell. “You could have died up there!”
He tosses me a smile over his shoulder as he’s bundled into the back seat of the police car, and it’s so annoyingly beautiful that I swear I just about collapse onto the sidewalk. And just before the officers close the door to his freedom, Climber calls out four little words that leave me breathless.
“It was worth it.”
How can one smile affect me like that? Not when I’m raving mad. Not when he just about scared me half to death. I don’t know how to respond to that. And I’m all out of expletives. Like seriously, right out, I’ve used up my entire year’s quota. I’m so mad and confused I can’t even talk right now.
“Will you be alright ma’am? Do you want me to call you a cab or something?”
Mr. Plod is being much nicer now, and I appreciate it, but damn it, my knees are shaking so much I need to sit down before I fall down.
“I’m okay,” I mumble. “I’m just confused, I guess.”
“About what?”
“What just happened. I mean, I don’t understand. He tried to kill himself. Aren’t you going to do something?”
He smiles at me in a way that reminds me of my father. A knowing smile. A smile that says, “You don’t have a clue, do you?” And he’s right ‘cause I don’t.
“Obviously, we’ll be speaking with him, but this is what they do. Apart from putting more barriers and doubling the security we already have in place, there’s little we can do to stop them. If they want to climb, they climb. Of course, we fine them, but they don’t care.”
“But what if he tries to jump off something else? Shouldn’t he speak to a counselor or something?”
“It’s not about that; they don’t want to die. Although as I mentioned, quite a number of them have, unfortunately.”
Even though I don’t say a thing, my face must be portraying my confusion.
“He’s an urban climber.”
Did I somehow fall down a rabbit hole? I feel like the Mad Hatter just hit me on the back of the head. “A what?”
“You’ve got an iPad, don’t you? Google it.”
“No, I don’t … but,” I pause, my lips pulling up into a smirk as I wiggle my index finger at him. “I do have a finger pad.”
I exhale, taking one last look over my shoulder at Climber as he waits in the back of the police car. Damn, how can he be real? Guys don’t look like that where I’m from. Not even close.
The officer clears his throat and frowns at me like I’m the criminal. “There’s nothing appealing about them.”
I bite down on my lip, wishing it was Climber’s. I so disagree.
THREE
I’m still in shock about what I saw today. That’ll teach me to have my head in the clouds! ‘Cause it turns out, there’s a lot more hidden in their fluffy appearance here than there is my hometown. Where I’m from, it’s just birds up there. Well, birds, kites, planes, and the occasional lost balloon. But not here. Oh no. Here, there could be anything up there. And I’m not sure I like it. In fact, I find it rather unsettling.
And to top it off, no matter how much I’ve tried to distract myself since I got back to Mel’s house, I cannot get Climber out of my head—his face, those eyes, his deep, throaty laughter … his insane fearlessness.
I’m afraid of heights.
I’m afraid of going out late at night.
I’m afraid of planes.
I’m afraid of getting old. And ending up alone.
I’m afraid of how I’m going to cope when my parents eventually die.
I’m afraid of what might happen tomorrow.
I guess, after listing it all, when it comes down to pinpointing what exactly I’m afraid of, I’m afraid of life and all it entails. I guess I must be part of the minority because sadly, even though I’m part of the “youth of today,” I’ve never felt invincible. Uncertain? Sure. Invincible? That’s a foreign concept to me.
I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to be so carefree about things. I mean, this guy, Climber, just about fell to his death today. And all he could say as I yelled and screamed at him was, “It was worth it.”
Worth it? I don’t understand. I don’t get this place or the people. I want to go home. I want to run back to normality, where things are boring and basic, but at least I understand them. I guess, because no matter what happens, I pretty much know what’s around the corner, and even though it might be simplistic and boring to some, it doesn’t give me anxiety.
I open the heavy lid of my laptop and type into the search bar two little words. I expect to find nothing. I expect to find that the officer was spinning me some city spitty. But I’m wrong. I find everything and then some—who they are, where they go, photos, YouTube videos. I was right; it’s like they are in a cult or something. There’s no rope, no parachute. Just them clinging onto life from the highest building possible.
My stomach twists. Why? Why would anyone want to do that? The ground is dangerous enough as it is, what with all the crazy people swarming around; why take it up several thousand notches?
I’m staring at my computer screen, scrolling through pages and pages of information. I can’t believe it. Urban climbers do exist, and today, I saw one in his natural habitat. Today, I witnessed a whole new breed of man. Fearless. Sexy. Untamed. I bite down on my lip and then wince at how hard I chomped. Everything about Climber screams trouble. He’s the polar opposite of safe, little me. But for some stupid reason, I’m not scared of him.
I hear the front door open, and I swivel around in my seat. Unless it’s a masked man here to steal my ancient brick-like laptop, Mel must be home from work. I hope I’ve got my color back; the last time I saw myself in the mirror, I looked like I’d seen ten ghosts.
She smiles at me as she walks across the deep berry carpet. Her long blonde hair is tightly secured in an exotic knot. She’s wearing a black pencil skir
t and a cream silk shirt. She looks really chic. And seeing her like this makes me feel like a little kid in my college t-shirt and faded jeans. I don’t even own a tailored shirt and certainly not a silk one.
“How did you enjoy your first day in the big smoke? Sorry I couldn’t get out of work. Apparently, family doesn’t matter when the clients are cashed up.”
“You really think of me as family?”
“Of course, babe. You know I don’t give a shit about blood. So …” she giggles, “how did you enjoy your day?”
I smile. It’s as fake as her nails. “It’s a lot different than home,” I mumble, watching as she pulls the clip from her long hair. Her golden waves cascade down her shoulders, and I wonder if, with another few washes of her lotions and potions, my hair will look like that.
Mel drops her head to one side, tussling her fingers through her shiny locks. “Are you all right? I’m not buying that smile.”
I giggle. Melissa knows me too well. She moved here five years ago, and she’s adjusted so well you’d think she was born on Wall Street. It sucks. She’s savvy. And well, I’m just a hotdog in comparison to her—and not a very hot one.
“What does that look mean?”
“I almost got arrested.”
She leans forward, scattering her mail across the counter as I drop the bombshell of my life. “Not possible,” she laughs. “You’re the sweetest person I know. I don’t think you’ve done a bad thing in your life!”
I pull a face. That is so not true. “I’m a little wild.”
She lifts her eyebrows and gives me a wide grin. “Oh, really? How?” She’s so not buying my story. And I don’t blame her. Neither am I.
“I’m thinking of chopping off all my hair and dying it blonde.”
She steps wide around the counter and comes straight at me, laughing and smiling like a kid in a candy store. I glare at her but only for a second. I can’t hate on her; she’s too much fun.
“So what exactly happened?” she giggles, plopping down on the couch beside me. “If it’s got nothing to do with giving your poor dad a seizure, I wanna know everything.”
“Do you really think he’d be that upset if I went blonde?” I exhale, twisting my long dark hair around my finger.
She shoves my shoulder. “Are you kidding me? You’re his everything. He would be devastated!”
I pull a face and start rambling on about my day—well, not so much the day, but him. Urban Climber. The guy who made my heart stop without even trying. All he did was climb to the top of the sky, and just like that, he had my full attention. Everything else about my safe little life fell away in the time he was up there. Time stood still. Somehow he made me forget everything the moment I saw him, and that was before I saw his beautiful, chiseled face. I sigh as I melt into the sofa. What a hunky, gorgeous jerk.
“Laura?” She’s looking at me like I’m nuts. Like it’s no big deal. “It happens.” She shrugs, and that’s all she says to me.
“It happens?” I snort. “He could have died. Do you know how dangerous it is to hang from a building that tall?”
She giggles. “Do you?”
I squeeze my eyes shut. No. And I don’t want to.
“So, was he hot?”
Crap. Why does she have to ask me that? I didn’t even mention his looks, but now my face is turning bright red. I can feel it without even looking. Crappity crap!
“No,” I mumble, trying to avoid eye contact.
She grins at me with such a ginormous smile I half expect her to start growing whiskers and a tail. “He so was; look at you! You’re practically panting! I never picked you for crushing on a bad boy.”
“I’m not crushing.” I whine. “Please, can we change the subject?”
Her smile slips off her face, and I wonder if I’ve done something wrong for half a second. I didn’t think she’d mind if I borrowed her shampoo.
“Can I ask you about something?”
I make a face, my sudden guilt setting in. Borrowing without asking isn’t cool. “Is this about your shampoo? I’m really sorry … it was just so fruity, and the bottle is golden! I couldn’t resist. But I promise, I won’t do it again.”
She grins at me, shaking her head. “What? Don’t be silly; I’ve got bottles of the stuff. Help yourself, babe.”
“Oh.” I pause, leaning back into the couch cushions. “So if it’s not about my stealing, why did you look so serious just then?”
“Um,” she twists the end of her hair around her finger, her eyes darting away from mine. “It’s nothing, really; I just thought it would be best if I let you settle in, and now that you’re unpacked and everything, I just was wondering about …”
My stomach drops to my toes as I watch her squirm against the seat. She never looks uncomfortable. She’s brimming with confidence like she takes a new dose daily. Do I seem that vulnerable that I’ll collapse if I hear his name? Really? I reckon I’m stronger than that. Or at least, I hope I am.
“You can say it,” I whisper. “It’s okay.”
She looks up at me, a wary look on her face. “Have you heard from Hugo?”
My chin starts shaking, and my heart pounds against my throat the moment she says his name. Turns out, I’m not quite as strong as I had thought.
“No,” I whisper. “It turns out the love of a girl means a lot more than the love of a boy.”
She nods slowly, and I can tell she’s mulling over stuff. Please don’t mull; I don’t want to get pulled into another one of your devious plans.
She leans back against the couch and rests her hands behind her head. “To be honest, I never liked him. Sure, he was good looking, but there was just something about him that I could never put my finger on. He gave me the creeps.”
“You didn’t know him like I did. He’s just protective, that’s all.”
She shakes her head. “But it turns out you didn’t know him either, did you? If he loved you that much, he wouldn’t have cheated on you, and he sure as hell wouldn’t have gone on that business trip.”
“It was too late to cancel—he didn’t have any other choice, Mel.”
“Don’t you dare defend him! You were his fiancée, and after what happened, he should’ve done everything in his power to stay.”
My heart sinks; she’s so right. Great. Now she’s flashing me a toothy smile. Darn it—I knew she was mulling.
“I have a plan that’s going to fix everything!”
I’m shaking my head, but it’s not making a difference. She’s already hatched the plan, and now it’s only a matter of time until she launches it. And I know without a shadow of a doubt, I’ll be the one getting launched … straight out of my comfort zone and into a giant, ice bucket full of fear. Fabulous … not.
“Sex is fun, and so is alcohol.” She beams at me. “I reckon that you, missy moo, should partake in both activities way more often!”
I fiddle with the hem of my t-shirt. “It’s too soon.”
“It’s never too soon.” She smiles. “And the moment you kick-start your life again, I promise you, you’ll be thanking that giant scumbag for setting you free.”
I wrap my arms around my stomach as it somersaults beneath the fabric. “He didn’t set me free. I was never caught. He just stopped talking to me.”
“He was so possessive of you, it was like you had an invisible cage around you without even knowing it. But after what he did, well … the bars no longer exist, babe.”
My head starts pounding like someone is stabbing me in the temple. “He made a mistake,” I mumble. “Time heals everything.”
She scowls at me like I just told her she’s got large pores. “Not that. He doesn’t deserve anything from you. Erase him from your life. Moving here was seriously the best thing you could have done.”
Easy for her to say. Not so easy for me to believe. I miss him. I miss us. And yeah, I get that he made a mistake, but no one’s perfect.
Mel starts scrolling through her phone, and I know she’s up t
o no good.
“What are you doing?”
“Found it!” She smiles, shoving the illuminated screen in my face “Hot or not?”
I exhale. He’s good looking, sure, but not like Climber. “I don’t know.”
“Hot or not?” She raises her voice, furrowing her brow at me.
She’s not going to give in until I answer, and I’m not even going to try and lie; she can read me like a magazine—done and dusted in two seconds flat. “Hot.”
“Great!” She props herself up on the couch. “I knew he’d be your type.”
“Thanks for thinking of me. But I’m just not interested in dating at the moment.”
Urban Climber Page 2