“Where should I start?”
“You said Victoria wanted authentic, right?”
“Authentically disastrous.” I groaned as notifications kept popping.
“Well, look on the bright side,” said Noah. “You can always redeem yourself tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” My head snapped up from the avalanche of comments, a drip of water rolling off my nose. “What’s tomorrow?”
“You’ll see.” Noah gave me a reassuring wink. Which, for the record, was not at all reassuring.
Chapter Nineteen
Guitar strumming drifted through the Adventure Center when I arrived the next morning. It came to a sudden halt at the sound of a brass bell on the front doors. Noah appeared from one of the back rooms moments later.
I couldn’t help but notice there wasn’t a tray of freshly baked muffins in his hands.
“No muffins today?” I peered around Noah’s workbench, dramatically sniffing the air like a bloodhound.
“We’re climbing today,” said Noah. “Not having a tea party.” Without even saying good morning, he grabbed a climbing harness from the wall, the worn leather creaking in his hands.
“Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” I noted.
Jenn emerged from the back as well, pouring herself a fresh cup of stale coffee from the stained carafe. “Noah’s bed only has wrong sides.”
“Come here.” Noah waved me over.
“I heard music when I came in. You a guitar player?” I asked Noah, eyeing the intimidating rock wall that stretched up to the barn’s rafters. It was peppered with multicolored plastic holds, little nubs, and protrusions that looked about as supportive as a Facebook comment section.
“No.” His tone made it clear that was the end of that topic. I caught a glimpse of Jenn and Diego exchanging another one of their looks. “We’re climbing Devil’s Ridge today,” Noah said, completely dismissing my guitar question.
“Devil’s Ridge? That sounds … horrible.”
“It’s a Class 5 formation that tops out at about ten thousand feet.” Noah patted the barn wall like it was his wolf-dog rather than an instrument of torture. “But before that, we’ll get you on the practice wall until you’re comfortable with the basics.”
“Define comfortable.”
Noah stepped in close, wrapping the harness around my waist. “It’s a beginner route,” he explained, fingers working the straps with practiced efficiency.
“Define beginner.”
“Perfect friction, solid holds, and a nice gentle angle.”
“Gentle like a baby tiger is gentle,” Diego chimed in, spinning a carabiner around his finger. “Still has teeth.”
“Stop scaring her,” Jenn scolded.
“Didn’t you fall the first time you tried that route?” asked Diego
“I caught her, didn’t I?” said Noah.
“Yeah, after a thirty-foot free fall, before the line caught.” Jenn rubbed the back of her neck as if remembering the whiplash.
“Not helping,” I told the room, wondering if it was too late to fake a sudden case of altitude sickness. Or amnesia. Or a Bigfoot kidnapping.
“The route we’re taking follows a classic granite face.”Noah’s fingers brushed my waist as he tightened a strap, sending a paralyzing shiver up my spine. “There’s a nasty crack system about halfway up.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
