Page 27 of Balancing Act

“I’m surprised they never explored Rise and Grind as a name,” Jamie deadpanned without a second thought, beforequickly glancing to see if Lily had heard her. She, thankfully, had not, currently preoccupied with searching through her bag.

Beth laughed again, this time deeper, and Jamie was struck by how genuine her laugh was. It was rich, resonant, and warm, and she felt the sound of it spread through her body. It was infectious in a way that made it hard for her not to smile, too.

“You two really like talking about coffee-shop names. It’s kind of weird.”

Lily slung her bag over her shoulder, looking expectant. “So, are we going rock climbing or what?”

“Here, you take these,” Jamie said, handing Lily a carabiner clip with her car keys. “Turn it to the first click. I’m trusting you with the aux cord. Don’t let me down.”

Lily beamed as she swiped the keys from Jamie’s hands.

“She’s been in a real glitter gel pen pop mood this week. I hope you’re prepared.”

“Heck yes, I can get behind that.” Jamie lingered, her hand still on the open passenger door of the car. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“Consider it a thank-you from me. I saw how you handled Lily in the gym yesterday and just...” Beth chewed at the inside of her cheek, thinking. “Thank you. She doesn’t let people in easily. Which, unfortunately, I think she gets from me.”

“Beth . . .”

“Whatever you said to her yesterday meant a lot to her. And, just, thanks.”

Jamie’s eyes lingered a moment too long on Beth, tracing the contours of her face. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything close enough to the words needed to bridge the canyon of what had been said and what was felt between them. Her plan of friend-zoning Beth was not working the way she’d hoped it would.

Putting Beth in the friend box was supposed to stop these feelings, but every time she saw her—every damn time—they came rushing back. The more they talked and got to know each other, the harder it was to push the thoughts of Beth out of her mind. But Jamie needed to ASAP. Jamie Lyons didn’t do the whole attached thing. It wasn’t her vibe.

Sensing the shift in her demeanor, Beth met her gaze with a questioning look. Those sapphire blue eyes, bright and intuitive, searched her own for an explanation, and for once, Jamie didn’t have one. She snapped herself out of her own thoughts and back to their conversation.

“Of course. Just doing my job,” she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

“Well, consider that”—she nodded to the coffee cup in Jamie’s hand—“a token of my appreciation for a job well done. See you this afternoon, Jamie.”

Jamie had arranged for her and Lily to take an introductory rock-climbing course. The course was more for Lily’s sake than her own. She had been rock climbing for years and knew the ropes. Okay, bad pun, but still.

They made it through their lesson, which covered all the basics Lily would need to know to spend the rest of the day climbing in the gym. They learned how to tie the proper knots needed, their climbing cues to communicate with each other, and got a crash course on general climbing safety. Lily, unsurprisingly to Jamie, took to rock climbing easily, and soon they had worked their way up in difficulty from the beginner routes.

Lily bounced on the balls of her feet. “I wanna race!”

“You think you can beat me?” Jamie put her hands on her hips, challenging Lily with a stare.

“Uh, yeah. No offense, but you’re basically a dinosaur. You’re, like, my mom’s age.”

“Not quite the same age as your mom, kid, but close enough. Okay, if you want to race, I get to pick what we’re climbing.” The pair walked around the gym until Jamie stopped them in front of a suitable route.

They clipped into the auto-belay systems, each placing their hands on their starting holds.

“Loser buys lunch?”

“You know I’m fourteen, right?” Lily laughed. “I don’t have any money. But I’m still going to win,” she said confidently. “Oh, and let’s make it lunch plus a pack of Nerds Gummy Clusters—the berry flavor—if I win.”

“It’s on. Three, two, one, climb!”

The two took off, their arms propelling them up the wall as they raced toward the top, hands scrambling for holds. Jamie glanced to her right. Lily was gaining on her. If she didn’t push herself, she was going to get passed. But it didn’t matter, because Lily flew by her, beating her to the top of the wall by a more considerable margin than Jamie would have liked to admit. A fourteen-year-old had humbled her.

Lily let out a victory cheer before descending the rope, Jamie right behind her.

“Ha! Take that!” With her feet back on solid ground, Lily punched the air.

“Alright, alright.” Jamie held up her hands in mock surrender. “Not my best showing. Lunch on me, I guess?”