Blood rushed to his groin, his brain going blank.
She sat back on her heels, plate in her hand, her face glowing. “It was … incredible. It’s taken me a couple of weeks. I’ve been trying every night. It’s kind of hard for me to relax enough, but last night I finally did it.”
“Right on!” Mitch’s mind filled with images that shouldn’t be there, images of Megs alone in her tent, experimenting with her body—and the ache in his groin grew sharp. “That’s … great news.”
Damn!
A part of him wanted to laugh. No one would think anything of a man making himself come. But he knew from his human sexuality and psychology classes that it wasn’t as easy for women to come—especially not those who’d been sexually abused.
Her smile faded, newborn sexual confidence melting into vulnerability. “I thought you’d be happy for me. Do you think I’m … a slut or something?”
“God, no! I don’t think anything like that.” He reached out, ran his thumb over the curve of her cheek, touched that she’d trusted him with something so private. “It’syourbody. You need to understand how your body works. I was just surprised. That’s all. That’s not what I was expecting you to say first thing this morning.”
She gave a little laugh. “I suppose not.”
He looked down at his plate. “And you thank me by sharing your food. I wasn’t even there.”
Those sweet lips curved into a knowing smile. “Oh, yes, you were. I always fantasize aboutyou.”
That’swhat was different. Megs was no longer an inexperienced, uninformed girl. She had crossed a threshold. She had knowledge now.
And Mitch had a full-on boner.
“Isn’t it incredible?” She poured herself a cup of coffee. “It feels sogood, like heaven packed into just a few seconds.”
Had he done the right thing? He was certain much of society would think it wrong of him to give her those books, to encourage her to learn about her sexuality. For lots of people, masturbation was still taboo, especially when it came to women.
He thrust his doubts aside. These were new times. Megs had to learn somehow. Besides, he hadn’t touched her beyond an occasional kiss since the moment he’d found out she was sixteen. More than that, she had no one else. Alone in this world, she’d built a wall around herself to keep herself safe, and for some reason, she’d let him in.
She stared at him, suddenly serious. “Does it feel the same for a man?”
He laughed. “I’ve only ever been a man, so I can’t compare.”
“I want to hike up the slabs to Half Dome.”
And just like that, they were back to climbing.
“That’s a tough hike.”
The slabs were so steep that there were fixed ropes to keep climbers from falling before they reached the rockface.
“I want to free climb the Regular Northwest Face. I think we can do it.”
Mitch almost choked on his coffee. “You want tofree climbHalf Dome?”
The route had first been climbed over a stretch of five days in the late 1950s with the help of aid equipment, but no one had yet done a free ascent.
“I thought we could try out some of the lower pitches, get a feel for the rock, and see what we think.”
“Right on.” Mitch tossed back the last of his coffee, inspired by Megs’ ambition. Who else thought up projects like this? Why not Mt. Everest? “Let’s do it.”
Chapter 12
Megs took a break from reading,set the journal and the recorder aside. “I’m not sure how you put up with me for the rest of the summer. What did you call it? The Summer of Blue Balls. Once I discovered that I had the power to turn you on, I used it. I guess it felt empowering—a change from being abused. You have the patience of a saint, Mitchell James Ahearn.”
She remembered that recon hike up the slabs—what climbers now called the Death Slabs. Once they got there and looked up at the route, she’d known they could do it. They’d already put up several first free ascents, climbing all over the Valley, and she wasn’t going to let anything stop them.
They’d hiked back to Camp 4 that evening, fired up by the new challenge and hungry for supper, only to find Gridwall and Accardo there.
