Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
“ I t’s such a lovely day out here,” Stella chirped with a healthy dose of gusto. As her feet crunched on the fallen leaves, she thought about warming up her pipes and belting out a little rendition of “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” to really sell it. Or would that have been too much? Nothing was too much if it distracted her from what she was about to do.
“It really is perfect today, isn’t it?” Nate said as he turned to her.
A perfect day to die, maybe . Of course, she was being dramatic. Or not. This day sure felt like it had doom written all over it. It was just her luck that Lucy had picked the aerial course as their first activity of the trip—something she was secretly hoping might get rained out. But as she peered up at the bright blue sky with not a cloud in it, she realized what a waste of time all that hoping had been.
“You coming, slowpokes?” Eric yelled from atop the wooden stand that was at least a zillion feet from the ground. So, maybe the rest of the party had noticed her dragging her feet as they made their way to the start. Heck, Johnny, Angie, Max, and Hannah were already out of sight.
“On our way!” Stella yelled, flashing a grin so wide all her teeth probably showed. Super creepy, but not as creepy as dangling from ropes that were the only thing saving a person from becoming a pile of smoosh on the ground.
He stepped and turned back to face her. His tight-fitting athleisure top did little to subdue the swirling in her stomach. Tilting his head, he looked at her, and she couldn’t help but notice the casualness of his stance. Arms hanging at his sides, fists unballed. His sleeves looked painted on, like he was a really jacked Spiderman, ready to swoop through this course with the greatest of ease. Of course he wasn’t nervous.
“What’s going on?” His strong eye contact made her uncomfortable because it was like he could see right through her. Like he could read every thought in that head of hers. Hopefully not, since she’d just been admiring every detail of his physique.
“Well…” She craned her neck to look up at the ropes. Why did they seem to get higher and higher every time she looked at them? Was that even possible? “From the looks of things, what’s going on is we’re about to go up on those strings up there and shimmy across a few more.” She stopped because now that he’d crossed his arms over his chest, comparing him to Spiderman had been a mistake. His muscles definitely pushed him into the Thor category. If only he had that hammer to knock this course down so they could go back to the lodge.
“Something’s bothering you.” He pushed a rock with his foot and dug his toe into the dirt. “Is it us?”
“Us? No, not at all.”
“You sure?” He looked up from the ground, his eyes round and soft. And combined with his hands now tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants, she wanted to scoop him into her arms like a sad puppy and smooch his face.
Whoa! Where did that even come from? Dang that kiss last night. Such a bad idea. She’d no idea how comfortable she’d feel in his arms when she’d asked him to join her on the dance floor. No clue that being pressed against him would reduce her muscles and bones to a goo that was more than happy to melt into the very hard planes of his body. So, naturally, the next step was to smash her lips to his face, right? At least, that was what she’d thought last night. And what a lame kiss. She kissed Grandma Millie with more emotion than that. A much different emotion, but still.
So, what did it mean that it was one of the better kisses she’d ever had, despite the fact that Nate hadn’t even moved during the entire encounter? Probably that she’d never really been properly kissed. Not like what she’d read about in the books Lucy was always lending her.
Great. Now, here she was, this familiar Jell-O feeling returning—and not because she was about to dangle from a thread that hung from the trees above, which was likely why she blurted out something even Lucy didn’t know.
“I’m afraid of heights. Terrified, actually.” Apparently, her mouth was getting her into all kinds of uncomfortable situations these days.
“Okay.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. “Then we won’t go.”
“Oh, just like that?”
“Just like that.”
She crossed her arms and looked at him. “Aren’t you supposed to give me some pep talk about me getting out of my comfort zone and trying new things?”
He raised a brow as he spoke. “Do you want me to give you a pep talk about getting out of your comfort zone and trying new things?”
She didn’t, really. But she wasn’t used to a guy—even a fake boyfriend—letting her off the hook so easily, especially since he’d yammered on for a solid five minutes over his Spanish omelet this morning about how much he was looking forward to doing this course. The whole conversation made her wonder if the bran muffin she ate was going to pop back up and say hello.
“I just don’t want to let you down.”
He leaned forward. “How would this be letting me down, exactly? It’s not like I created the course and your unwillingness to try it is personally insulting me.”
His little joke made her freeze before she chuckled. Nate hardly ever joked, so she needed a moment to bask in the warmth of it whenever he did. “I know that, but…”
“But what? We can find something else to do. Look.” He pointed up to the cargo-net-tunnel thing that was the first deathtrap—er, obstacle—of the course. “Everyone else is already gone. No one will care if you back out.”
That was true. Everyone else really was out of sight. So, why was he being so reassuring, so boyfriend-like when there was no one around to witness it?
“Stella, if you don’t want to do this, fine. If you do, also fine. Either way, I’ll be right there with you no matter what.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Is that so hard to believe?”
Her eyes burned, and not from the seasonal allergies she usually got this time of year. Though, she wished she could have blamed it on that. But honestly, what he’d said took her off guard. He’d really wanted to do this. And he could have done the course on his own. She would have waited for him. But he’d offered to stay with her instead. Something about having that kind of support was so foreign to her. And for the first time in her overly articulated life, she couldn’t find the words to tell him how much that meant to her. So, she decided to let her actions do the talking.
“Come on,” she said as she grabbed his hand.
“Wait a second.” He stopped, the movement pulling her back closer to him. “What are you doing?”
“I think you mean, ‘What are we doing?’”
“Stella, you don’t have to do this on my account.”
“I know,” she said, toeing her boot into the soil, leaving a tiny divot. “But you said you’d be there with me no matter what. Did you mean that?”
“You know I did.”
“Then I want you with me…up there.” The last word came out with a squeak the others didn’t have, so she cleared her throat, spread her feet in a power pose, and pointed to the cargo net of death . “There,” she said in a voice at least three octaves lower than her normal tone. So embarrassing, but she needed to psych herself up. Besides, the laugh that rolled from Nate’s chest? It was like she’d ripped the top off a bag of Nestle semi-sweet morsels and poured the whole thing in her mouth.
“Alright, then,” he said, tucking her under his arm. It felt so good she wondered if they could do the whole course like this.
When they got up to the stand, a man gave them helmets and put them each in a harness. The atomic wedgie she got was uncomfortable, but she didn’t complain—the bigger the wedgie, the better the protection, right?
“Okay, who’s first?” the man asked.
“I’ll go,” she blurted because the sooner she started, the sooner this would all be over, and she would be back on solid ground. She was just about to step out onto the rope when he grabbed her wrist.
“I’m here with you, Stella. Just remember that.”
Oh, there were a lot of things she was going to remember. The warmth of his hand on her skin and the softness of his thumb as it moved back and forth. His espresso-brown eyes, steadying her in a moment when she felt like a ship tossed around in the sea. These were all things she’d tuck in her memory box, ready for whenever she needed to think about something pleasant. Like now, when death stared her in the face across a wobbly rope course.
Before she could think twice about it, she stepped out onto the rope, her insides swooping and sloshing. “Don’t look down,” she mumbled to herself as she inched her way across. “And, bran muffin, please don’t come up.”
It took her about ten years to make it about halfway to the next stand. But she was there. And then she froze. Something about being between the two safe stops left her feeling a little woozy, until she heard clapping from behind her.
“You’re doing great, Stella!” Nate shouted over the sound of blood whooshing through her ears. He believed in her, which was the tiny boost she apparently needed to believe in herself a little. She was not going to choke on this rope.
She turned to face Nate, who inched his way across the rope like he’d done this a thousand times before. The Oglebay Park marketing team was missing a golden opportunity. Forget the Goldfish ad. This was the money shot. A commercial with Nate gliding through the course with the grace of a gazelle and the muscles of a Norse god would have people lining up for miles. Though, probably just to watch him, not take part in the course itself. But who would have blamed them? This was quite a show.
“I’ll be there in a sec,” he said, snapping her from the trance his athletic prowess had put her under. He was probably rushing because he knew she was afraid of heights, and he wanted to get to her on the podium as quickly as possible. Little did he know, she hadn’t thought about falling to her death ever since he stepped onto the rope and began his audition for Magic Mike : Wilderness Edition . Not that he was half naked or anything. Though, his shirt had left little to the imagination where his upper body was concerned.
“Made it,” he said with a grunt as he stepped onto the small pedestal.
“That was impressive,” she said, watching the rise and fall of his chest, a sign he’d just exerted himself on the course. So then why was hers doing the same? Probably panic from the whole situation. She was in the clouds, after all.
The clouds.
Looking up for the first time, she noticed how much closer the fluffy white shapes appeared. Like she could have stood on her toes and swept them from the sky. Because she was up high. Really high.
But that was ridiculous—she couldn’t touch the clouds, of course. You had to have feeling in your extremities to do something like that. And right now, her fingers were numb. And her legs tingled as pinpricks moved up and down her limbs. Her stomach churned, and she figured she was on the verge or throwing up or passing out. Which was worse? She hadn’t a clue, but it wasn’t like she’d get a choice in the matter.
“Stella? Are you okay?”
Before she could respond, an arm grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into something so hard it shouldn’t have brought comfort to her. But it did.
A warm, spicy scent filled her senses as she inhaled deeply.
“I’ve got you,” he said, a rasp in his voice like he’d downed a shot of whiskey, and a jolt of heat warmed her belly like she’d done the same. His body trembled against hers as his hand moved up and down her back, the gesture as comforting as the words he’d just said.
He held her, just as he had on the dance floor last night, but everything about this embrace was so different. Because no one was around to see this. And while they danced for their friends to see, there was no space between them right now. Not with her hands wrapped around him so tight she was starting to sweat from the heat that radiated off him. Not with her cheek pressed to his chest so firmly she could hear the rapid beat of his heart. It was so fast she got a little concerned.
Taking a step back, she looked up at him, the veins in his neck standing out so noticeably she could have traced their every path with her finger. “Are you okay?” She brought her hand to his chest, the pounding of his heart under her palm making it shake.
His throat bobbed once. Twice. And he took a couple deep breaths, his eyes wide and unblinking the entire time. “I was about to ask you the same question.” His breathing slowed, though his heart still thrummed, and her palm slickened with sweat from his warmth despite the biting chill in the air and the fact that he hadn’t even worn a jacket today. And she only got warmer when his hand found its home on top of hers.
“I’m fine,” he answered in a whisper, just loud enough for her to hear over the flock of geese that flew overhead.
“Okay. I just—” The words froze on her tongue, no match for the heat coursing throughout her body. She squinted as she looked at the massive hand covering hers. So warm, so huge.
So covered with hair.
He sucked in a breath, removing his hand from hers and wrapping it around her waist.
That was…unexpected. She hadn’t imagined that, had she? Like maybe her panic-induced, near-passing-out escapade had her hallucinating hairy body parts. Because the fact was, she’d just seen him shirtless yesterday, and there wasn’t a hair anywhere on that man, aside from his head. And she’d gotten a good look. A really good look.
But how closely had she looked at his hands? Honestly, who was looking at hands when there was so much muscle on display to appreciate? Surely, she would have noticed his hairy hands before now. They’d worked together for over a year. And as she stepped back, grabbing his hairless hands in hers, she realized she must have been closer to passing out than she thought.
“Is everything okay, Nate?” She thought about the way he’d been so out of breath, his muscles so hard and tense as he held her. “Are you afraid of heights too?”
He shook his head, his eyes fixed to his boots, a long breath escaping his lips before he spoke. “No. I’m not afraid of much, but right now, I’m terrified. Let’s just get you across, okay?”
She sucked in a deep breath, only now remembering they had the second half of the rope course to complete. But the shakiness she felt before she started this whole thing was secondary to the concern she felt for her friend because he’d just admitted to her that he was terrified. He’d identified a feeling of his, and he never talked about his feelings. Ever. In fact, he seemed to make it his life’s mission to keep any feelings he had locked away as tightly as possible. So, him admitting that to her seemed…big.
“It’s okay to let your true colors show in front of me, you know.”
His head slowly tipped up, his eyes finally meeting hers. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I mean, I’m about to pee myself, for instance. And if I can admit that, well…”
“There’s not much you’re not willing to admit, Stella.” The corner of his mouth tipped ever so slightly—something she didn’t know how badly she needed to see. Something she didn’t want to go away. So she kept the fact that there were a few things she was unwilling to admit to herself. Like the fact that something had shifted on this tiny pedestal, high in the trees of these West Virginia woods. Though, for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what. “Maybe that’s why we make a good team.”
“Why, because my height-induced incontinence makes you smile?”
“No. Because you do.” He stepped behind her. “Okay, why don’t you step out, and then I can come up right behind you.”
She shivered the slightest bit, only in part because what he’d said sent chills down her spine. Combine that with the smoldering look he shot her when he told her, and she was surprised she hadn’t turned into an ice sculpture.
“We’ll do this together, alright?”
She nodded. “Together. Right.”
He stepped behind her, wrapping his arm around her middle and pulling her close.
“Oh!” she shrieked because the action caught her by surprise. And also, she didn’t hate it.
He dropped his arm and took a step back, throwing both hands in the air like he was under arrest. She missed the contact immediately. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, silly,” she said as she put his arm back into place because, well, safety. “I know you’d never hurt me.”
His grip tightened with the contraction of his muscles, and he felt as stiff as he had last night while they were dancing.
“Never,” he croaked as his breath tickled the back of her ear.
Course completed and back on solid ground, they walked back to the lodge. She couldn’t believe she’d conquered her fear. Well, maybe not conquered—she was still terrified of heights. In fact, there was a point where Nate’s warm body pressed against her lower half, and she was almost positive she’d peed her pants. But he’d helped her through—even confirmed there were no wet spots on her pants.
He was right, though. They made a good team. She knew they worked well together. They’d been doing it for over a year now. But this felt…not like work. This felt like a different kind of relationship. Like the one they were supposed to be faking.
He looked back over his shoulder at her as her footsteps slowed. “Still with me, Stells?”
She stopped, taking in Nate’s windblown hair, his hulking size. His warm, cocoa eyes. He was a good man. Someone she could trust. Someone she could count on.
“I’m coming,” she said as she caught up to him. The crunch of leaves underfoot carried with them the spicy scent she’d smelled on him when he’d held her close. It made her long to curl up in his arms again, which was probably not the best idea. Not when she was trying really hard to ensure the success of her business. Not when she remembered what always happened when she got hold of a good thing. And Nate wasn’t just a good thing.
He was a great thing.
Which was why she couldn’t mess things up with him like she’d done to so many other things in the past.