“Of course you’re going to make it, Rocky. You’re more than halfway up already.”
I shake my head. “No. It’s too hard. My body is cramping up. I can’t do it.”
“Rocky.” He says my nickname in a tone that borders on stern, making my heart beat even faster. “Nobody’s ever died of a muscle cramp. Pause, breathe, then keep going. You’re in charge of your own body, and you tell your body what to do. Right?”
“Right,” I squeak, tightening my grip. “Right,” I say again, a bit louder.
“Next grip spot is a little to your right. You can do it.”
I can do it.
I can do it.
I chant those words in my head, letting Butch’s encouragement ring in my ears as I heave myself up another half a foot, then another. And after a little while, the muscle cramps aren’t that big of a deal anymore. Not that they’ve gone away, but it’s like he said, they’re not going to kill me, so I just ignore them. I control my body. If I want to climb a fucking mountain, then that’s what I’m going to do.
I reach up again, and this time my hand catches on a flatter surface. I crane my head back and find Butch hovering above me at the top of the cliff.
“Holy shit. I did it?” I gasp.
He crouches and offers me his hand.
“You did it,” he says, pulling me over the edge and onto solid ground.
I collapse on the hard, dusty rock, my whole body shaking, and I start to laugh.
BUTCH
I lie down on the ground next to Percy, pride swelling in my chest, and I wait for the burst of adrenaline to work its way through him. He trembles and laughs, gasping for breath as he flexes his fingers to work out the cramps.
“I can’t believe I did that,” he mutters, shaking his head. “I can’t fucking believe I did that.”
“You were amazing. I knew you could do it.”
He rolls onto his side facing me, his hands still shaking and a huge smile stretched across his lips.
“I never would have done that without you. I don’t know how you do it to me, but you make me brave and capable.” He puts his hand on my chest and my heart leaps. “You make me the kind of man I always wanted to be but didn’t think I could.”
“I don’t make you anything, Rocky.” I put my hand over his, and our eyes lock. “It’s all you, man.”
He gives a little shake of his head and leans in. I don’t have time to process or react. The only warning I have is the warm flutter of his breath before his lips crash into mine. My cock was already half-hard from the adrenaline rush of the free climb, and as soon as his warm, soft lips touch mine, it swells to full mast. I can taste the salty flavor of his sweat and feel the heat of his breath against my lips. My hand tightens around his, and a soft moan rumbles in my throat.
Just as fast as it started, Percy jerks back. I hook my fingers in his harness to keep him from rolling backward off the edge and watch as a series of emotions flicker over his face rapidly. Heat, amusement, then embarrassment. His cheeks were already flushed from exertion, but the color rushes over the rest of his face and he bites down on his bottom lip.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. I don’t know what came over me.” He shakes out his hands like he’s trying to get the feeling back into them and pulls his knees up to his chest.
“It’s the adrenaline, it’ll do crazy shit to you.” I offer him the out he needs. Hell, it’s probably true. He was feeling amped up and fucking psyched about that climb, he would have kissed anybody. I clench my teeth and force the smile to stay on my face.
“Sorry,” he mutters again.
“Don’t worry about it. All my climbing buddies shove their tongues in my mouth after a solid climb.”
Percy sputters a laugh and then buries his face in his hands.
“Seriously, dude, it’s no big deal.” I sit up next to him and put my hand on his shoulder. Fuck me, I wish itwasa big deal. “Come on, don’t let a little thing like a kiss between gym buddies spoil the victory you were just celebrating.”
He laughs again and lowers his hands.
“Okay, as long as you swear I didn’t make things weird.”
