Page 43 of Hooked
“You don’t climb at all during the winter?”
He shook his head. “Not really. Indoor stuff. We did one trip down to the desert last year, but I can’t travel too much with the shop, and my favorite spots are up in the mountains here.”
“You love the mountains.”
His smile turned dreamy. “I feel… centered there. I can breathe. When Cary and I are climbing, all I’m thinking about is the next hold. The rest of the world kind of falls away.”
“All joking aside, you guys are safe, right? I watched that movie with the free solo guy—”
“Amazing film.” He took a drink of his soda. “Not at all like what we do. I’m too much of a chicken to free solo. And my mother would kill me if she ever found out I did that.”
“The regular climbing doesn’t bother her?”
“She doesn’t love it, but she knows how much I do.” He wiped his mouth. “And she knows I don’t climb alone and I’m really careful.” He put his elbows on the table and leaned toward her. “What’s the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?”
“Date in San Francisco.”
He chuckled.
“I’m only kind of joking.” She smiled. “Uh… I don’t get off on adrenaline, so it’s kind of limited. I ate blowfish in New York once?”
“The poison fish?” His eyes went wide.
“Do I look dead?” Tayla laughed. “I mean, yes, it’s poisonous if it’s not cooked right. You have it at a special restaurant where the chef knows how to prepare it. Then it’s safe.”
“Unless the chef is having a bad day. Then youdie.”
“You have to think positive.”
“Was it worth it?”
Tayla wrinkled her nose. “Honestly? No. I don’t recommend. I didn’t think it tasted good at all. It’s just the thrill. I went with a guy I was dating who thought trying weird foods would impress me.”
“In New York?”
“I moved there for a year once. Just wanted to try it out. But I didn’t like it as much as San Francisco, so I moved back.”
“Hmm.” He leaned away from the table. “So did it? Impress you, I mean. Should I start looking for scorpions or snails or something?”
“Please don’t.” Tayla started to laugh. “That was all about him, not me. He had a very boring job and ended up doing all sorts of weird stuff to prove how manly he was. Not a good look.”
“Ah, I get it. You get some of those guys at the climbing gym sometimes.”
“Yeah? Do they havetacticalgym bags?”
Jeremy laughed. “Yeah. And beefed-up trucks. They don’t usually make it very far. Climbing’s not really a show-off sport.” He stretched his arms across the back of the booth. “Or it isn’t around here. I don’t know. I tend to stick with my friends, and none of them are assholes.”
Tayla watched the lean muscles flex in his arms and chest. The easy comfort with his own strength and his self-confidence.
What was it about him that was so damn attractive? He was handsome, but he wasn’t themosthandsome guy she’d ever dated. He wasn’t the most successful. He was into her, but he wasn’t fawning.
Jeremy said, “Those kinds of guys are the ones that usually beat me up in high school, so I tend to avoid them. They always seem like they have shit to prove, you know? And that’s not me.”
There it was. That was it. He had nothing to prove. Jeremy Allen was a man who knew exactly who he was and what he wanted. He didn’t need to show off, because he knew his worth.
A slow smile grew on his face. “You enjoying the view?”
“Yep.” She pushed her empty plate to the side and leaned her elbows on the table, staring at him. “It’s very scenic.”
