Page 94 of A Winter Wedding Adventure
She shot a look back at Toni, who’d paused her banter with Reshma to gape at the scene playing out on the mats. She gave a confused shrug and Kira realised she probably hadn’t remembered Mattia’s name after one conversation.
No, flight was not an option, at least not yet. She was too curious.
The other three beginners in the class looked at her expectantly; she should have got started five minutes ago. There was only one way forward for now. She had ninety minutes to get through before she could grab a fistful of his soft shirt and demand he explain himself. Or kiss him. Or get the hell out of here. Ninety minutes would be long enough to plan a convincing escape.
Her heart hammering wildly, she swallowed the lump in her throat and tried again. ‘We start with safety, with rules and rope handling.’
Che cazzo, he’d ambushed her. His expectations of this venture had already been low, but now? She wouldn’t want to listen to a word he said – right when he was discovering how stupid he’d been to leave this alone for all these weeks.
The instant he’d seen her, the same heat, the potent recognition of a person who meant something – everything – to him had assailed him. He didn’t want to be without her, even if it meant pivoting to friendship, which wouldn’t be easy, and learning to climb a terrifying wall.
While they were fiddling with harnesses, she approached and asked in a low voice, ‘Do you really want to learn to climb?’, her tone doubtful. ‘You don’t have anything to prove to me.’
He wanted to dispute the statement, but she was at work and he was starting to realise how awkward the situation was. He’d thought it was a perfect idea when it had occurred to him: the opportunity to spend low-pressure, non-confrontational time together.
‘Um, yes,’ he began, glancing at the wall with a gulp, ‘although it wasn’t my only reason for coming here.’
A muscle moved in her jaw, the lines of her face so familiar, it hurt. He wanted to touch her badly, but she looked ready to kill him – figuratively, with those blunt words that showed she cared.
But when she opened her mouth, it wasn’t to shoot him down – not quite. ‘Next time, book a private lesson!’ she hissed.
He blushed to the tips of his ears, which only made her roll her eyes. But even that response was more than he’d expected from her. Did she mean it? Would she be okay to spend time with him and see where things went? Hope surged and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep it down if she kept saying sweet things like private lessons.
‘I’m happy to see you,’ he tried.
‘Don’t talk to me until the end of the class,’ she snapped in response, ‘for their sake.’ She gestured wildly to the other three. ‘They didn’t sign up for a…’
‘An overture?’ he suggested, hoping the word was sufficiently vague not to scare her.
‘Just get your butt up the wall or I’ll give you an overture.’
I love you.
Oops, those words had popped far too soon into his mind. That wasn’t what he had come to say. He didn’t want to send her off in a fit of terror. But the sentence lodged rather comfortably in his chest.
Half an hour later, after the safety tutorials and some warm-ups on the mat that reminded him of early-morning yoga, the sensations in his chest were less comfortable as he faced what he was about to do.
Of course they were a long way from attempting the gravity-defying overhangs on the other side of the gym. They stood near the straight vertical wall with plenty of grips. But shit, it was still so high up, he struggled to estimate. Fifteen metres? Twenty? It was death metres high, that much was certain.
In his eagerness, he’d volunteered to go first but was now realising what a foolish thing he’d agreed to do. The only consolation was that Kira herself would belay him to demonstrate for the others.
‘Partner check,’ she called out loudly enough for the others to hear. ‘Before climbing, always make sure that the belay device is the correct way up with the carabiner locked. Check that your partner’s harness is tight above the hips and snug around the thighs.’
She tugged at her own harness, then slipped her fingers through the waistband of his, making him suck in his stomach. She stilled, snatching her hand back.
‘You don’t need to actually touch it,’ she added, her voice wavering. ‘Just check with your… you know. Eyes.’ She blinked, staring at his harness, although it didn’t really look like a partner check she was performing.
The safety device wasn’t sexy, with loops around the thighs and an awkward shape at the groin, but Kira looked natural in hers. She was so comfortable in her own body. And her quick hands on the ropes were so capable, he could have swooned.
‘Check the tie-in knot,’ she continued, giving the rope a yank so he stumbled in her direction. He threw a hand out for balance and it landed on her hip. Wow, that felt good. It took him a little longer than was appropriate to remove it again and he hoped these other clients weren’t easily offended, because he was screwing things up badly for Kira in his bumbling attempt to show her she was important to him.
‘And up you go,’ she said firmly.
He knew that was her version of a pep talk: get on with it. It cut through the fog of obsessive thinking and anxiety that would otherwise have crowded his consciousness.
She’d already explained that the yellow grips were the easiest, but they could use any colours at first, so he grasped the plastic lumps at head height, tested his toes against one of the lower holds and pushed up the first two feet.
‘Keep your hips close to the wall,’ Kira reminded him. ‘Use those yoga muscles.’
