I made it to the fourth rung only to fall into the water. I did that three more times. On the last try, instead of climbing out and failing again, I let myself sink to the bottom.
Austin rushed over to pull me out of it. “You know, they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.”
I glared at him. “Well, how should I know what to do? You guys tell us nothing and set us up to fail.” At his puzzled expression, I filled him in on my conversation with Paul.
He wasn’t sympathetic to my plight.
“Life comes down to our choices, Quinn. Sometimes, you have to be surebeforeyou take each step. Sometimes, one choice leads us down the wrong path, clearing away all the progress we’ve made.” He shrugged. “What do you do then?”
He left it at that, not expecting an answer, which was good because I didn’t have one.
When he sat on a tree stump, leaving me to do whatever I wanted, I got up and wrung out my shirt.
I was grateful for the silence.
As soon as he’d said the wordpath, my mind drifted to the diner. Everything Max and I had talked about that day, when I shared my feelings with him about dance.
I’d found myself on a path that wasn’t right for me anymore. Max had reminded me it was okay to choose a different one. That I didn’t have to go back to the beginning and start over, although that always remained an option for dance.
Because I had a different choice, too.
Veer off my current path and forge a new one.
As I applied that to the monkey bars, I considered my approach to Max. Maybe a new angle during our sessions would be more effective. My risqué outfit and naked body affected him, sure, but I needed more than that.
And as much as I wanted to be sure of my next step, Max wasn’t making it that simple.
Heneeded to know I wasn’t going anywhere.
That I’d fight for him—the big, stubborn brute.
And I couldn’t stare at the fork in the path forever.
Maybe my next move wouldn’t get through to him, so it wasn’t about choosing the right path at all.
Maybe I had to veer off course completely. Forge a new way ahead by pushing the trees out of the way with my bare hands.
If so, then Max had given me what I needed to handle how this played out during the Honor Challenge. He’d increased the pressure and refused to back down for me, despite my efforts to stay in denial. I could do the same for him.
Maybethatwas the leap of faith I had to take.
No matter what resistance I faced, I’d push harder.
So really, he was the only one to blame for what came next.
Chapter Twenty
When I arrived atSubterfugetraining, Max was ready for me.
He pointed to a completely unflattering, blackplasticjumpsuit. “Get dressed.” Then he walked out.
A note pinned to the garment said to wear it and meet him outside, so he hadn’t been planning to talk to me at all.
Fine. If he wanted to be like that, that wasjust fine.
I had a plan.
After stripping down to my underwear, I put the outfit on wearing nothing else. His instructions hadn’t said to wear itovermy workout gear.
