Page 55 of Stay this Christmas
“Keep telling yourself that.”
She moved to head up the stairs to her apartment but stopped. “Sam? In all seriousness, I’m happy for you. But don’t mess this up. There’s no such thing as athird-chance romance.”
Her teasing warning unsnapped something in my chest, and my heart dropped as if its lead rope had been cut. I already knew I couldn’t ruin things again, but her confirmation cranked up the pressure to get it right this time.
* * *
Harper’s nervous energy had her practically dancing in the passenger seat as I drove us to Austin, her excitement spelled out in every cute little wiggle.
“Is this a pretty good climbing gym?”
“I’m hurt.” I grinned, proving the wound only superficial. “You think I’d take you to the worst one in the city?”
“I wouldn’t know the difference.”
She ran her hands over her black yoga pants, tracing her thighs down to her knees and back. I knew it was just a nervous habit, but I wished she wouldn’t. The emphasis on her thighs distracted me from the road.
Eyes forward, pal.
“It’s a great gym. Plenty of courses at different difficulty levels. They have a beginner’s wall, which is where you’ll start before we move on to top-roping.”
“You mean you want me to start without a harness or anything?”
“You’ll do great.” I patted her leg twice, but my stomach plunged at the contact, so I put my hand back on the steering wheel.No touchy.I needed lots of new rules today if I wanted to keep this Just Friends thing front and center. “It’s a shorter wall, just to get you familiar with the hand-holds.”
“When did you become certified as an instructor?”
“A few years ago.”
She nodded. “And your certification…is there an expiration date on that?”
I threw my head back and laughed. “So confident in me.”
“My life is literally going to be in your hands. It’s fair I would have a few questions.”
“I can see that. Yes, the certification has to be renewed. It’s good for another year, and then I’ll take a recert course. I’ve taught dozens of people on indoor and outdoor climbs, and last I checked, my Google review score was pretty high.”
“You have Google reviews? I guess I’ll trust you.”
Even though she meant it as a joke, her decision to trust me felt significant, like I’d earned something important I wanted to lock away and treasure. This time around, I wouldn’t take that trust for granted.
“What else do you want to know? Since your life is going to be in my hands, and all.”
“I don’t know. I don’t have a clear picture of what you’ve been doing all this time. The parts I’ve heard don’t really add up.”
“You mean the town gossips have been failing you?”
“I’m serious. You had plans to go to Texas State and study mechanical engineering, but the next thing I knew, you were in Vermont learning how to be a ski bum.”
“There’s a lot to learn about being a ski bum.”
A faint smile flickered across her face, and I knew my joke hadn’t landed. This wasn’t really the way I’d wanted to spend our drive to Austin. I didn’t love revisiting those times, and I struggled to put my feelings into words on the best days. Why had I left?
Her.
It wasn’t her fault, and I could never blame her for what had happened. I bore all the responsibility, no question. Finding out about Dad’s betrayal had moved up my decision to leave, but I’d known from the moment I decided to break up with her I couldn’t just stick around. Leaving her had been the last thing I wanted to do, and somehow, I’d let that convince me it was the only thing Icoulddo. But I couldn’t very well make that make sense sitting in my station wagon, weaving through evening traffic.
“I know you said you had to get away from your dad, but you could have done that at college.”
