21. Esmé
21
ESMé
E ight ziplines and a whole lot of banter later, we stood on the penultimate platform. I still held onto the tree each time I made “tree fall,” but not as tight as before.
Instead of words of quiet encouragement, Matteo had taken to teasing me. Egging me on to take more risks. I didn’t doubt that my idea of a risk was miles away from his. But under his mischievous tutelage, I didn’t hold on to the pulley anymore. Now, each time I stepped into the void, I spread my arms out like an angel and revelled in the wind rushing over my cheeks.
I still had a healthy respect for our height, but pure enjoyment had dulled its blade.
I shuffled on the platform, pulling at the bottom of my shorts, extracting them from the relentless grip of the harness. Every time we landed, I had to “readjust” for the sake of modesty.
Nobody needed to see my butt cheeks today.
I cursed myself for the millionth time over this morning’s wardrobe choice. If only I hadn’t listened to the TV weatherman and Matteo.
I sighed. I could’ve worn leggings. Except my only pair had a hole where I’d plucked them on a nail in the gallery. And with all the movement, my jeans would’ve sliced me in two by now.
“Are you okay?” Matteo’s voice crashed into my thoughts. He had one of his brows lifted and his head tilted to one side. As he stared at my legs, my cheeks heated.
“Mosquito bite,” I lied, doing my best to yank the leg of my shorts down.
“Hazard of the forest, I’m afraid. That and the fact that you chose to zipline half naked.” His lopsided grin lit a burn in my chest.
“You said wearing shorts was fine.”
He ran his eyes over my legs again, something a little dangerous deep in his eyes. “Believe me, your shorts are fine.”
My skin prickled under the onslaught of his gaze. But before I could react, a loud thump rang out as another body joined us on the platform.
A young man unhitched from the safety line. His bleached hair poked out from under his helmet, and he grinned at me. The second he saw Matteo, though, his mouth gaped open.
“Holy crap! MattitudeX? What the hell are you doing here?”
Matteo ran a hand over the back of his neck, then reached out to the zip liner. “Hey man, nice to meet you.”
My brows pulled tight. Did Matteo know this guy? And who the hell was “MattitudeX”?
“I heard rumblings you were on the course from some of the other guys, but I thought, no way. This is incredible.” The blond man clapped Matteo on the back, his grin threatening to eclipse my assistant’s. He shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re here. Is this your first time on this course? I’d think it'd be too tame for you.”
Matteo sent me a sizzling look. “You’d be surprised. Besides, the views up here are incredible.”
I swallowed, a burn creeping across my cheeks .
The blond man dug inside his trousers. “Hey, can I get a selfie with you? I can’t wait to show my friends.”
I widened my eyes. Why did this man want a photo with Matteo?
As Matteo moved past me, the back of his gloved hand brushed against mine, sending a jolt of electricity up my arm. With an easy smile, he clipped back onto the safety line and leaned out—backwards—over the forest. My heart stuttered. He was nearly horizontal, completely unfazed by the dizzying drop beneath him.
Nearby, the blond kid posed for a selfie, holding his fingers in a strange pose I recognised from the skater kids near the gallery. Then, without hesitation, he threw an arm around Matteo’s shoulders and joined him in the reckless lean.
I glanced around, my pulse spiking. Was no one in charge here? Would someone—anyone—stop this madness?
After their impromptu photo op, the kid sent me a wink before clipping onto the next zipline. “See you on the ground!” he called back. Then, with a shake of his head, he muttered, “Incredible,” before vanishing into the trees with a whine of metal.
As if in slow motion, I turned to Matteo. He avoided my gaze, fussing with a harness that had, quite clearly, done its job flawlessly just moments before.
“Now, I need you to focus on this next ride. It’s the last line and by far the longest.”
I narrowed my eyes into the wind. “Nope.”
He looked up, meeting my gaze. “Nope, what?”
“I’m not moving from this spot until you tell me what’s going on.”
He drew his dark brows together. “What do you mean? Nothing’s going on.
I shook my head and folded my arms over my harness, making it clear I wasn’t going anywhere. “Really? Nobody asks a random zip-liner for a photograph. Or greets them like they walk on water.”
Matteo shrugged, checking yet another clip on his harness. “Maybe it’s the familiar face curse, again.”
I tightened my eyes even further. “Oh, come on. I’m not stupid. You were allowed to look after our gear at the safety briefing … something that would be so against any company’s health and safety policy it’s not funny. Then there was the general staring from the staff, and those two women at the ‘introductory’ course.”
“The kid’s course,” he smirked.
I sucked in a breath, pushing down the hot fizz in my chest. “Whatever you want to call it. Those women giggled over you like you were the grand prize in a reality dating show.” I paused, taking a breath. “They knew who you were, didn’t they? That man knew who you were. He was excited to see you. I’m surprised he didn’t ask to kiss your feet and polish your carabiners. What’s going on, Matteo?”
He rubbed the back of his neck—again—the gesture an obvious “tell.”
He leaned against the tree trunk next to me. “Okay, look. I’ll admit. I’m a little well-known in a certain field.”
My skin prickled. “What field?”
He let out an enormous sigh. “I’m a content creator.”
“Where?”
His dark eyes bored into me. “Social media platforms.” When I didn’t respond, he continued. “Instagram and TikTok mainly. A bit on YouTube. They’ve probably seen me there.”
I chewed on my bottom lip and the platform creaked below our feet in the wind. “No. It’s more than that, isn’t it? How well known are you? How many people follow you, Matteo?”
He shifted on his feet, avoiding my eyes again. “Well …” His voice barely rose above the rustling leaves around us. “Around nine hundred thousand followers last count. ”
My mouth fell open, words failing me.
“What?” he asked. “It’s across all platforms. There’s plenty of people with more, like?—”
“I don’t care if it's across all platforms, word of mouth and telepathy. That’s insane.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but I got in first.
“How the hell did you get nearly a million followers?” I still couldn’t believe it.
“Honestly?”
“No, I want you to lie to me. Of course, honestly.”
He crossed one leg over the other, like he was settling in for the night. “By zip lining over a gorge in Peru.”
I blinked. That didn’t seem like something a million people would find impressive.
He pulled his hand along the back of his neck again. “I may have climbed to the top of the wire … without a safety rope.”
My gut lurched. “What?” Was he mad? Was I zip lining with a certifiable maniac?
“Relax. It’s called free soloing. I haven’t done it for a while, but it’s the purest way to climb. Just you and the rock.”
“And the ground.”
He sent me a lopsided smile. “Ideally not. But that was how I started. I continued on from there—doing things most would consider a bit crazy. You know … extreme sports.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what that would even look like.”
He grinned at me. “It would look extreme.”
I huffed. “And that’s your content? People follow you to see whether you’ll slip off a cliff or not?”
He reached around me, making sure the safety wire had no kinks. “They’re more interested in the climb's technicality, not the …”
“Dicing with death?” I finished. Seeing the cheeky look on his face right now, I wondered if half of his followers were more interested in his good looks.
“Most of what I post nowadays isn’t so edgy.”
I threw my hands into the air. “Oh, do tell. Just a little light base jumping on the weekends? How about floating over Niagara Falls in a barrel whilst strapped into a straitjacket?”
He chuckled, setting a tingle low down in my belly. “Now you’re just being ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous? I’d never have come here with you if I’d known. Not only am I dealing with the fact that you must be out of your mind, but it's like walking down the street with a movie star. With the effect you’re having on people, should I throw petals before your feet?”
He grinned at me—the most irritatingly gorgeous grin. “Now you’re being dramatic.”
A spark flared in my chest. I was being sane . I stepped towards him and poked him in the chest. “I’m … not … being … dramatic.”
Matteo looked down at my finger and, with a flourish, took one of his carabiners and linked it to somewhere at the back of my harness. “Yes, you are. And you’re staying attached to me until you calm down and be more reasonable.”
I tried to step away, but whatever strap he’d attached me to had locked us tightly together. I looked down at his chest and then his lips. They were in a full smirk and looked soft enough to kiss.
My heart skipped a beat. Kiss?
“Take it off,” I said. “Undo us.”
He chuckled again, his warm breath glancing at my skin. “Only when you give me that gorgeous smile of yours.”
My heart skittered again. His mouth was so close to mine. So, tempting. Flashbacks from the chairlift barrelled into my brain and I don’t know if he read my mind, because his eyes darkened. I let out a shaky breath. “Please. ”
“Please what?” he murmured, his lips just millimetres away, his sweet breath mingling with mine. My heart hammered against my ribs as I battled the urge to melt into him. To bury my face in his neck and never let him go.
Just then, an icy wind rustled through trees buffeting us together. Dust blew up from the ground below and Matteo closed an arm around me, sheltering me against his chest.
He was warm and solid against my cheek, and his cologne wrapped around me in a delicious mix of apple and body heat. His heart pounded almost as fast as mine and I prayed the gust of wind would last forever.
After thirteen of his heartbeats, the wind subsided. All I heard was the sound of his pulse and birdsong. I took a breath, waiting for him to release me, but he didn’t. Instead, he brought his mouth to my ear, our safety helmets scraping together.
“Okay. Are you ready to move on?” he asked.
From this spot? Hell no! But getting my feet back on the ground was among my top priorities. The click of a carabiner sounded out behind me, and Matteo stepped away. His chest moved a little faster than before as he checked the safety line.
I watched him work, my mind and body racing. “And your grandfather has no idea?”
He shrugged. “The world I inhabit is small. Unless you’re really looking for me, I’m hard to find.”
I huffed a breath. “With your ego, I doubt that.”
He looked at me, his wide eyes heavy with a touch of what looked like sadness. “What I mean is that I’m niche. I don’t come up on your average FYP and my grandfather only uses a smartphone in the event of an emergency. Besides, I spend little time with him and my grandmother. They don’t know.”
My chest tightened at the weight in his voice. I wanted to hug him. Instead, I tried to lift the mood. “MattitudeX?” I asked. “Isn’t that a bit, I don’t know, Gen Z?”
He laughed, and I pulled my lips into a smile .
“It wasn’t my idea. My friend, Antonio, created the profile and loaded up that first video. It went viral, so I couldn't really change it.”
The wind whipped up again and Matteo looked at the sky. “The clouds are building. We should get down. Do you want me to go first?”
“No. I’ve got this.” I wasn’t sure where my bravery had come from, but the crinkles at the corners of his eyes were my reward.
“Good. I’ll wait on the platform. This is a long run, so I won't be able to hear when you get to the end. I'll listen to the wire. When I hear nothing, I'll join you.”
Just as Matteo promised, the ride down was long and fast, and I let out a whoop as I went. All my fears from earlier had dissipated, and while I didn’t plan on spending time up high every weekend, I’d enjoyed the challenge.
Maybe the feeling of freedom currently coursing through my veins was why Matteo appeared younger when we first met. He didn’t allow day-to-day troubles to weigh him down. He lived and loved his life unapologetically.
All too soon, the end of the line came into view. A small crowd of folk milled below the final platform, and they looked up as I squealed down the wire. They must be Matteo’s fan club gathered to worship at the altar of the great “MattitudeX”.
With a giggle, I pulled at the platform, reaching out to grab the handhold. Only I badly mis-timed my arrival and missed it. I flailed around at the mercy of gravity as I slid backwards, trying to slow my descent.After what felt like millennia, I came to a stop about ten meters short of the platform, dangling awkwardly in midair.
As the wind buffeted me, I spun around; the gust blowing me in circles. “ Merde ,” I hissed. I squirmed in my harness, trying to turn myself back toward the platform, but the line and gravity had other plans.
I reached up to haul myself along, cursing myself for abandoning my gym membership. But for every centimetre I moved forward, I moved back at least half again. Getting nowhere fast, I tried anew, but all I did was encourage my shorts to ride up further, giving myself a giant wedgie.
As I wriggled, trying to get a handhold on the wire, I felt a sudden slip of fabric, a burn, and then cool air hit my skin. I froze. What the hell just happened?And why did my bottom feel like someone had attacked me with a branding iron?
I reached down, but with gloves on, the only clue as to what was going on was searing pain. I peered below, suddenly very aware of the group of folks on the ground. Amused eyes met mine, and a couple of people laughed and pointed. I couldn’t quite hear what they said, but their wide grins flipped my stomach. When somebody sent me a wolf whistle, my eyes widened.
Was I hanging twenty meters up with my bottom exposed?
Before I could figure out what to do, a sharp squeal rang out from the wire, followed by a vibration down the metal. My heart kicked into gear. Now that I’d stopped, Matteo had no way of hearing me. Without sound or movement, he must’ve assumed I’d reached the platform and was already on his way down the wire to meet me!
I turned my head, twisting my body just in time to spot him speeding through the trees. His focused expression shifted to wide eyed and wide mouthed terror as he approached. I was right in his path, and he was coming in for a touchdown. A slam dunk of mammoth proportions.
In pure panic, I twisted round, facing directly into his path. “Matteo!” I squeaked, as if that would help. He'd lost a little momentum, and he opened his mouth as if to shout, but the words were lost to the wind.
I squeezed my eyes shut, pressed my knees together and braced for impact. What if I pinged off the line and catapulted through the trees? What if I plummeted to a humiliating death, buttocks bare and bleeding out on the forest floor ?
My life—and entire wasted dating history—flashed before me and when he hit, the collision knocked the breath from my lungs. For a second, I was sure we were doomed. But pressure around my waist and hot breath at my neck woke me out of my frozen state.
Slowly, I cracked one eye open, seeing Matteo’s stubble lined cheek close to mine. He fought to steady his racing breath. I opened both eyes and looked down. Matteo clung to me like a spider monkey, his legs wrapped firmly around my waist.
“ Merda ,” he groaned, his voice low and heavy in my ear. I pulled the top of my body away from his, letting go of the harness to survey the damage. He did the same, wincing as he shook his gloved hand. “Are you okay?” he asked.
I blinked at him, barely registering the question. “Am I okay? What about you? How did you even stop? You said there were no brakes on these things.” I prodded at my pulley.
With a wry smile, he held up his glove. The leather at his thumb had worn to threads. He winked at me. “I’m not just a pretty face.” With a wince, he pulled off his glove, dropping it to the ground below.
I took his wrist, turning his hand over. “Matteo, don’t joke. You could’ve seriously hurt yourself.” I traced the red patch on his palm with one finger.
“Ouch,” he growled, pulling his arm away.
“I'm sorry!”
Our eyes met, but before he could respond, another gust of wind spun us around. The pressure increased at my waist, and I looked down. We were hanging in midair—groin to groin—Matteo’s legs wrapped around me.
I sucked in a breath. His body was far too close for comfort. “ Non!” I said, pushing at his solid thighs, trying to release myself .
He stilled my efforts. “Careful. Don’t push too hard or we’ll tangle. I’ll let you go.”
He slowly released his legs, sending me what I swear was a look of pure heat. I bit my lip, pushing down the tingle it sent to the lowest part of my belly. How could being sweaty—and hanging twenty meters above the hard earth—be any kind of sexy?
But as a warning went off in my body, three words flashed through my brain again.
Fight or flight. Definitely flight.
Being joined at the groin with the sexiest man I’d met in years—a man who worked for me, was on the younger side, and the treasured grandson of a potential investor—would do neither of us any good.
As I tried to spin the other way, I jiggled in my harness, pushing my hips forward like I was dry humping the air. The movement brought a fresh sear of pain at my bottom, and I hissed.
Immediately, Matteo’s hand was on my arm. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just … my shorts,” I mumbled, cheeks flaming. “They might be … a bit high.”
Matteo smirked. “How high?”
I rolled my eyes. “For all I know, they could’ve disappeared completely or torn to shreds.”
“I’ll check,” he said, leaning over.
“Don’t look!” I squealed. Bringing my hands down to cover my buttocks.
“Someone should assess the damage,” he teased. “It’s a matter of risk management. I can’t have you up here without full safety equipment.”
“Safety equipment?”
He grinned. “Clothes. ”
I glared. “Can you do it subtly? I don’t want to draw more attention.”
He glanced down at the growing crowd. “I’d say it’s too late. They’re definitely pointing at something.”
“Are they pointing at my?—”
Matteo leaned over and I shut my eyes, submitting to the humiliation.
With a clunk of his harness, he became vertical again.
“Well?”
He sent me a wicked grin. “Let’s just say it’s not the forest they’re admiring.”
I groaned, my whole-body filling with heat. I prayed to the gods, any god, to point a heavenly finger and explode me into a “poof” of glitter.
Matteo’s tone softened, and he looked at me from under his long lashes. “For what it’s worth, and from where I’m hanging, the view is spectacular.”
My heart skipped. But who had time for flirtation? Now that Matteo had arrived, the chatter below had escalated. Perhaps the excitement wasn't about my bottom after all—maybe the arrival of “MattitudeX” had whipped them into a frenzy.
Another gust of wind barrelled into us, and I hung onto my pulley for dear life. The squall tossed me around like a wind chime in a hurricane. One person below us whistled and pointed above our heads, then to the all too distant platform.
Both Matteo and I looked up. A menacing dark cloud loomed over us and his demeanour changed in an instant.
“We need to get down off the line. A storm’s coming in.”
As if to confirm his guess, a rumble of thunder echoed through the surrounding trees.
“Now,” he said, his brows drawn.
I scowled at the heavens. So much for the weather report. Storms had definitely not been mentioned when I made the terrible decision to wear the world's smallest shorts. I looked at the zip wire.
“Erm, aren’t we hanging on a giant metal rope attached to a very tall tree? Isn’t that essentially a lightning conductor?”
He avoided my gaze, instead running his eyes around our surroundings.
“Matteo?”
Finally, he sent me a tight smile. “It’s okay.”
I’m glad he thought things were hunky dory.
“But how are we going to get down?”
He formed a line with his lips, furrowing his brow. “Look, we’re close. We’re going to have to pull ourselves in.”
“Pull ourselves in?”
“Yes. There’s no instructor with us …”
I rolled my eyes. “Because you had to be all gung-ho, Mister I’ve-done-this-before-with-no-wires-and-no-commonsense.”
He stared at me, the corner of his mouth peaking. “You know, you’re beautiful when you’re terrified.”
“I’m not terrified—I’m furious.”
“Channel that energy and pull yourself in.”
I looked at the platform temptingly close, then back at Matteo.
He nodded. “You can do this. It’s going to be an effort, but we’re going to try. Together.”
I bit back a bitter laugh. I wasn't sure I liked Matteo’s idea of “together.” I clamped my jaw and spun my harness around, the rain falling heavier now. I reached up to grab the wire, my gloves slipping as the first giant drops of icy rain fell on us.
With my first pull, I moved about three centimetres before coming to a stop. The swing of the harness sent another flash of pain into my right buttock.
I let out a shriek. “I can’t move. The pulley won’t budge.”
Matteo pushed away heavy drops of rain from his eyes. “I’m sorry for what I’m about to do. ”
“Sorry?”
With a shake of his head, Matteo placed one hand on each of my buttocks. “Pull!” he shouted above the sound of the now deluge.
I froze. What the hell was he doing?
“Pull, Esmé. Pull yourself along.”
“Okay,” I shouted, my voice competing with a crack of thunder. With his push and my pull, I advanced about ten centimetres along the wire, but Matteo only sent himself further away from me, back onto the course.
The rain fell down his cheeks in rivulets and he wiped the water from his face before gripping his bottom lip in his teeth and swinging his legs high. With a marathon effort, he wrapped his feet around the wire.
Like a lumberjack climbing a tree, he shinnied his way back to me. “Do you think you can do the same thing?”
I tried, I honestly did, but my trainers were no match for a rain-lubricated zipline. My feet slipped like Bambi skating on ice. “I can't. I'm so sorry. I’m hopeless.”
Matteo pulled closer to me; his dark eyes laser-focused on mine. “You’re not hopeless. What I’m asking you to do isn’t easy.”
“Can’t I just stay up here until morning?”
He sent me an apologetic smile. “No. I can’t leave you.” He ran his eyes over my now saturated sweatshirt. “If I left you here, you’d turn into a prune. Besides, I can’t move if you don’t, and I predict at least one of us will need to take a pee before dawn. I’d rather not test the theory.”
My heart lurched. He had a point. I pulled in a breath. “But how do you propose we get to the platform?”
“Teamwork. There’s a way, but it might not be on your wish list.”
A shiver ran over me and I wasn’t sure it was from the rain. “Sorry? ”
“I’m going to have to get close.”
I swallowed. Just how close was he talking? But as a flash of lightning lit up the forest, I didn’t care if he super glued himself to me, if he got me down safe.
I nodded and within seconds, Matteo pulled himself against me, wrapping his legs around my hips.
At his sudden proximity, I gasped.
“Okay. Don’t move,” he said. “We’re going to pull ourselves in, but we need to work as a team.”
He reached around my body, bringing his broad chest against my back and his hands to the wire in front of me. “Okay, pull.”
I reached up and did as he asked. I thought we'd be too heavy to shift, but slowly, slowly, our harnesses inched together. Only a little, but with each tug, we advanced closer to the platform.
Matteo’s mouth was at my ear, his hot breath against my skin, whispering words of encouragement. At least I thought that’s what they were. My conversational Italian was still a little rusty.
The journey was uphill, cold, wet, and completed at a glacial pace. With each movement, the searing pain in my buttock screamed loud.
Slowly, we drew closer to our goal. My thighs ached, my harness chafed, and my dignity was thoroughly in tatters, but finally, we reached solid ground. Or a solid tree. Or a solid platform … it didn’t matter. All I knew was I wouldn’t die today.
“Go!” Matteo shouted in my ear, his voice cutting through the hammering of the rain. I looked back to check he meant up to the platform, and he chose that time to send me the most amazing grin.
My chest pulsed, and not just from effort. This man had practically hauled the two of us along a zipline in icy rain. Even drenched to the skin with dark hair plastered against his face, his beauty took my breath away.
I returned the grin. With a second wind I didn’t know I possessed; I pulled myself up onto the wooden platform attached to the tree. With slippery gloves, I clipped myself onto the safety line.
My effort sent Matteo backwards again, but after a few seconds and some loud grunts, he too, pulled himself onto the platform.
The sight of him standing there, looking every inch my saviour, was too much. Overwhelmed and beyond caring, I threw caution to the wind, flinging my arms around him, holding on as though letting go might shatter me completely.
Within a heartbeat, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. He buried his head into my neck, his warm breath against my skin.
“It’s okay. You made it,” he whispered in my ear.
I didn’t care if I’d made it, invented it or registered the patent. All I could focus on was the solid wood beneath my feet and the solid chest I pressed against. I inhaled his scent—pine and apple—and I smiled. Being close to Matteo was the only sanctuary I needed.
As a flash of lightning ripped through the air. I pulled away slightly, my teeth chattering like a child’s clockwork toy.
“You’re freezing,” he murmured, tugging off his remaining glove and running his hands down my arms. Stepping back, he removed his helmet, then reached for mine, undoing the strap. As he lifted it off, his hands cradled my face, and he brushed a stray hair from my cheek. “Are you okay?” he asked softly, his gaze searching mine.
I nodded. What could I say? That my heart was bursting with pent-up need. That my crush on him had grown and transformed into a full-blown obsession. He was the last thing I thought of at night. The one person I looked forward to seeing in the morning. I’d even considered opening the gallery over the weekends so I could spend every day with him.
“I’m fine,” I lied. “But thank you for looking after me.”
His eyes lit. “You had fun?”
“I did. And …” I threw him a little smile. “I think I’ll be able to use the ladder at work unsupervised now. But as much as I enjoy hanging around in trees looking like a drowned rat, there’s a bottle of wine in my apartment with my name on it.” I bit at my lip, tethering my racing heart. “And if you’d like, yours too.”
Matteo stared at me for the longest beat, raindrops dropping from his eyelashes. Finally, he smiled, rubbing a hand down my back. “Come on. Let me take you home.”