Page 123 of Word to the Wise

Mason

Two Years Later

“You’re slacking, big guy.”Reed glances down at me and winks.

She’s gripping the rock over her head, looking confident from where she’s hanging over me.

Every time we go rock climbing, she gets a little better at it. A little more confident. It’s why she’s grinning at me now, looking down like a goddess from up on her ledge.

She’s adorable. Even though she knows I could easily catch up, she likes trying to put me in my place. After all, Reed is the better rock climber. She’s smart about it. She thinks about every move. And given her short arms and legs, she has to make twice as many of them as I do. So while I climb the rock quickly on strength and height alone, she works for it.

“Careful or I might reach up and get you.” I grin, inching up a little more, and grazing my fingers over the back of her calf as I do.

Enough to tease her without doing anything that might result in her actually losing her balance.

“You could try.” She reaches above her head, grabbing a little farther this time to pull away from me.

Every time she makes a move she gets a wrinkle between her eyebrows. Her mind works as she analyzes the surface, deciding what’s the best way to go. It’s nowhere near as easy as the rock wall we first climbed in the city, but I think that’s what she appreciates about it.

We’re slowly making our way up the mountain. One move at a time. I’ll take forever if needed because she’s so happy out here, and I love seeing it.

The first time we tried outdoor rock climbing was shortly after everything happened with Carter. Reed’s therapist suggested she do something that she’d always wanted to do and never had. She came up with rock climbing and asked if I’d go with her.

To an actual rock this time.

The way her face flushed when she asked was enough to sway my answer, even if it was already a yes.

There’s a part of her that is still skittish. She’ll hesitate in asking for what she wants from me, thinking it might not be what I want to do. I’m slowly trying to break her out of that shell. Trying to help her understand that I want to do things for her and that it doesn’t put me out.

The same way she does little things for me. Which she does, considering all the time I spend at the shop.

There are long weekends where we don’t get to spend much time together and late nights. But she supports me chasing my dreams. She knows tattooing is important, and she wants me to have that.

The same way I want her to have everything.

Like today, finding a new spot to climb. A new challenge.

Slowly, we’ve gone from bouldering to top climbing, like we’re doing today, and it’s a little tricky. But we still have the security of the pre-set anchors, ropes, and belayers at the bottom.

I’m not a huge fan of heights, but I like seeing Reed smile, so I just avoid looking down.

Reed pauses about halfway up and waits for me. It’s not a big climb, and the belayers told us to take our time—especially after I told them what I was planning.

Reed likes climbing rocks because she likes solving puzzles. But today I’m going to make it a little different.

When she smiles down at me, she’s my entire world illuminating. I didn’t used to like spending long stretches of time with people because they never really cared about me. But with Reed, it isn’t about money, sex, or distraction.

It’s us, wanting to just be together.

“You stopped,” I say when I catch up.

She smiles, glancing over her shoulder and taking in the view.

Whenever we pause, the ropes are locked, so even if we sway away from the rock, we won’t go anywhere. Which is the excuse I need to reach over and pull her closer to me.

“Just taking in the scenery for a moment.”

“It’s a nice view.”