25. Chloe
TWENTY-FIVE
CHLOE
NOW
This is only the second time that I’ve been climbing with Tyler, and the first time it was all four of us together, so Tyler spent most of the time teaching us all how to do it.
This time, though, the two of us are belaying each other as we take turns climbing.
I feel like a sloth as I scale the wall, but Tyler is cheering me on from below.
I feel like I’m using muscles in my body I never knew existed.
At the same time, I can understand why Tyler loves it so much.
There is so much thought and planning put into this exercise.
If you put your foot the wrong way, you slip.
I know because it’s taken me three times to climb this beginner route already.
I’m determined to get it right this time.
“Come on, Chloe, you got this,” Tyler shouts from the ground. I peek behind my shoulder as I clutch the rock wall for dear life. I’m attached to it by ropes and harnesses, but it’s still a bit unnerving to be so high up. I take a big breath and exhale, pushing myself up farther.
“Yes! There you go. You are so strong,” Tyler calls up to me, and I feel a spark light in my gut.
I keep pushing, and he keeps chanting me along with each movement.
“You are incredible!” he calls up to me.
Soon enough, I reach the top, and I’m out of breath, but I smack the button at the top.
I turn to him, smiling, and he pumps his fist.
I call down that I am ready to rappel, and he helps guide me to the floor. “I did it!” I say and leap into his arms. He embraces me, his fingers grazing the skin exposed at my waist, and it feels almost too intimate for the gym, but I hold him a beat longer, until we separate.
He is looking down at me, smiling, seemingly out of breath as well. “Well, it’s your turn now,” I say to him. He closes his mouth and nods, switching our ropes so he’s in climbing position and I can belay for him.
This is my favorite part because I get to watch Tyler scale the wall.
He moves with so much grace that it takes my breath away.
His shirt stretches across his back and clings to where he’s been sweating, leaving impressions of his muscular back.
His arms are so long that he reaches up with ease, his fingers curling around the rocks and holding him in place.
I want to know what else those fingers can do.
The harness is secured around his toned thighs and incredible ass.
I literally cannot look away. I’m surprised the gym hasn’t given me a bucket to collect the drool falling out of my mouth.
He reaches a part of the wall that angles, and he looks like he’s having a bit of trouble.
“Let’s go, Ty! Keep going! You’re looking so hot up there! Wow! Hot climber alert!” I call out as loud as I can. I think I can see him smile to himself, and in a swift movement, he swings his body around and easily reaches the top.
He rappels back to the ground, and I give him a fist bump. “I want to try those walls over there,” I say, pointing across the gym.
“Those are the bouldering walls. You don’t use any ropes,” he says.
“I want to try,” I say, and he nods. He bends one knee and goes to loosen my harness.
His head dangerously close to my center.
He’s still panting and I can feel his breath trailing my bare legs.
He snakes his hands around my legs to release the buckles, his fingers gently grazing the inside of my thighs.
He loosens one leg harness, then the other.
My knees feel like they’re about to give out from his touch.
He moves to the buckle around my waist and looks up at me as it falls to my feet.
His face is so calm yet strong. I want to collapse into his arms and devour him on the mat.
Then he looks at me as if he wants to do the same to me.
“Chloe,” he rasps. I can’t believe we are about to do this in the middle of the gym.
“Yeah?” I whisper.
“You don’t need your harness for the bouldering wall.” He points his chin over to the section of the gym behind me.
“Oh, right, right.” I step out of the harness, willing my thundering, traitorous heart to slow down. Tyler removes his harness and collects mine, then sets them on the equipment rental counter. It feels like we’re dancing around a line, dipping in and around it, teasing the boundaries.
We make our way to the bouldering wall, and I look up. I see some symbols, such as “V8” and “V4,” but I’m not sure what they mean. I spin around to ask and freeze before the sight I see.
I catch Tyler just as he pulls his shirt over his head.
It’s as if the world is moving in slow motion.
His muscles gleam with sweat as he balls up his shirt, tossing it against a nearby wall.
My mouth falls open slightly. This is borderline pornographic, and I quickly look around the gym to see if anyone else is alarmed at the sight.
No one else seems to be paying attention, so I fixate on Tyler.
Each time we’ve been climbing before, he’s been wearing cut-off t-shirts where I only see wisps of his body.
Even when we went to the beach, he kept his shirt on explaining he burns easily.
I figured he was in good shape, but his body is beyond anything I could have imagined.
It must be all the climbing, because he looks like something you’d find in a museum.
Carved from a soft stone to capture his toned physique.
I long to touch the tufts of hair on his chest—and trace the dark-red trail of hair that dips below his gym shorts.
My hands tingle as I restrain myself from diving toward his waistband.
I want to feel his body against mine. I want to lick every crevice and dip of his abs. I want to feel his weight over me.
I take a deep breath in and lock my eyes on his after he finishes his striptease. He raises his eyebrow to me.
“Is this part of my punishment?” I ask him, nearly panting.
“At this point, Chloe, I think it’s self-inflicted,” he says, subtly flexing his pecs.
“Let me show you how it’s done.” He takes a spot at the bottom of the bouldering wall, crouching down really low before bursting up and grabbing the next grips up.
I realize he’s following the V8 path I saw.
He makes it look so easy, getting to the top within minutes, then carefully scaling back down and jumping to the mat.
My mouth is dry, as it’s been hanging open.
If this is his form of punishment for me, I’m willing to be bad more often.
“I think I can do it,” I say to him. I decide to take a page from his playbook and remove the baggy tank top I wore to the gym, revealing my sports bra with intricate straps on the back.
I rarely show my midriff, but the exercise and being in the presence of Tyler’s half-naked body are making me feel extra hot.
Without the extra layer, I feel cooler and energized.
I lick my bottom lip and look over to Tyler, who is staring at me intensely before he seems to snap out of a trance and nods to the wall.
“Start on the pink rocks first,” he suggests, and I follow. I want to say something sassy in response, but I feel too flustered.
I try to replicate the position he took and then use my legs to push up to the next rock. Bouldering is very different from the rope walls. There is no safety net. But Tyler is coaching me along the path, and I feel strong.
“You’re doing so beautifully, Chloe,” he calls to me, and I’m just about ready to jump into his arms. My heart cannot take it any longer. Not now, Chlo. Focus. There’s still a way to go. With myself, with Tyler, with everything. I need to keep climbing.
“You can do it, Chloe—you can do anything,” he says, and I nod, huffing.
I want to make him proud, but not only that, I want to make myself proud.
I want to prove to myself that I can do hard things, even when it scares me.
I’ve done so much growth this year in ways I never thought I could before.
I never thought I’d be able to move out of California or live by myself.
I never thought I could remove myself from my toxic relationship with Dane.
I look down and see Tyler smiling up at me.
When I first met him, I was terrified because I was so attracted to him.
So, I kept him at arm’s length, as a friend.
But I knew it couldn’t stay that way. He makes it feel easy.
He never tries to dim my light. He savors it.
I’m one hundred percent, without a doubt, falling for him.
Through it all, he’s been not only a great friend but a great support system.
I feel confident and stronger about myself when he’s around.
He makes me feel like I can try new things because he encourages me.
I know that even though it scares me to be in a relationship again, I can survive it no matter how it turns out.
I’ve survived so many shitty parts of my life, and I’m still here.
I’ll survive the falling in love with Tyler.
I smile and climb. I keep going until I get to the top and cheer out.
Tyler is clapping and hollering from below.
My cheeks are sore from smiling. Tyler instructs me on how to scale slowly back down and says I can jump to the mat when I’m ready.
I peer down and decide a few inches before I jump.
I release my grasp and try to catch another foothold, but my foot slips, and my sweaty palms can’t grip the rocks quickly enough.
I feel my body fall sideways faster than I realize and brace for a fall.
“Chloe!” Tyler calls out as I hit the mat hard, and the entire gym goes dark.
I love my bed. It’s so soft and cozy. Tyler has excellent taste in mattresses and pillows. I nuzzle my head between my pillows. I smell Tyler’s musk. Hmm, that’s strange. Maybe his scent lingered when he set the cottage up for me.