He chuckles."Ahmno a super anything.Just a man who loves adventure and new experiences.And ahm also the sort who'll do almost anything to make an American lass grow so aroused that she'll do whatever I suggest."
Am I that audacious?Not sure.
Kirk lifts his brows in a clear challenge, wrapped up in a dare."I dinnae want you to dive off a cliff.I have something much more thrilling and erotic in mind for your first stunt."
"What is it?"Not sure I want to know, but what the heck.Life is short, after all.Might as well go nuts.
He beckons me closer."Have ye ever walked a slackline, Gretchen?"
I feel my brows furrowing as I wait for Kirk's explanation."Slack...line?"
"Aye, it's a glorified tightrope, strung between two trees," Kirk explains, obviously relishing my confusion."It's less than a meter off the ground.They use it to train circus clowns and American astronauts in Houston."
"Are you telling me this was all a setup?The death dive was the decoy, and now you're going to make me look like a complete idiot in front of the loch's resident sheep?"
"There'll be no audience but us, I promise."
He wraps his calloused hand around my wrist and tugs me toward a stand of birch trees just off the pebbled beach.At first, I don't even see the bright blue webbing strung taut between two trunks.Then I finally notice it, and my blood goes cold."That's not regulation, is it?Shouldn't there be a net or something?Or a safety harness?Or at least a legally binding DNR form I can sign before I break my neck?"
His lips tighten into a closed-mouth smile that's full of smug certainty."Your dignity is the only thing at risk here, lass.For the moment."
I scowl at him, but I'm not actually mad.If I'm honest with myself, being with Kirk is the most exciting thing I've ever done, and the idea of failing a Balfour dare is strangely erotic.The loch below us gleams in the sun, full of promise and peril.The slackline---which I now see, stretching between two moss-plastered birches---looks as innocent as a strip of licorice.
I approach the slackline with my heart hammering, and I sneak a sideways glance at my self-appointed guru."If I fall off and tumble down the steep cliff---"
"Trust me,gràidh.I willnae lead ye astray."
I can't believe I'm doing this.The most outrageous thing I've ever done, so far, was to dress up as a cowgirl one Halloween---complete with a leather whip.I was an adult then.What I'm about to do, however, feels way more risqué than any costume.What have I got to lose?Boredom, that's all.
So, I lift my chin."Okay, I'm in.Slacklining it is."
"Brilliant.But first, a dram for courage."He hands me an emergency flask, the kind that's always cold because it never stays full long enough to warm up.
I tip it back and nearly choke.Holy shit, what is this?Molten tar?I clear my throat and say, "It's, uh...nice."
"You just drank Thane Black Label."
"Am I supposed to know what that means?"
Kirk pats my shoulder."Sorry, lass.I should have mentioned that my mate Thane Buchanan owns a distillery and makes the best single-malt Scotch in the world.But ye haven't lived until ye've tried Sensual Secret."
"When do I get to try that?"
"Later."He bows with a flourish, then slaps my ass."Now, it's time for your first lesson in slacklining."Let's see if you can keep up."
He's already stepping onto the line, barefoot of course, and balancing as if gravity's only a suggestion."Watch me first, aye?"
"Yeah, okay."
Kirk bends his knees, arms out for balance, and glides across the slackline as if he's been doing this since birth.For all I know, this is the Scottish version of crawling.You emerge from the womb, and someone hands you a belt to walk across.Kirk turns midline, flashes me a cocky smile, and does a showy two-footed stomp with the line barely wiggling beneath him.
"Your turn, Gretchen."He jumps off lightly, offering both his hands to me.
I take them, narrowly avoiding a headbutt, and step up to the slackline.For heaven's sake, it's not even two inches wide, and most of that is air."You expect me to balance onthat?"
The near shriek in my voice is dismaying, but I feel no shame about it.
"Lass, I expect you to destroy the American record for Most Spectacular Slackline Face-Plant."He winks."Don't worry, I'll catch you."
