“Oh my God, stop!” She covers her face with her hands, but I can see her smile peeking through her fingers. “You’re being so cheesy right now.”
“I mean it, though.”
“I know you do. That’s why it’s so embarrassing.”
I laugh. Because there she is again. My person.
Chapter 34
Heaven and Earth
“Yumi, you appeared to reallystruggle in the challenge today,” Aliona says, like it’s a surprise. Like that challenge wasn’t specifically invented for Yumi to struggle on.
My partner plays the game better than I do, though. She nods. “Today’s challenge was a tough one for me. I’m really terrible with heights, and two thousand feet off the ground is about one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine feet higher than I’m comfortable with.” She smiles sheepishly at the camera, wrinkling her nose.
Aliona gives her an enthusiastic thumbs-up. “What did it feel like when you read the clue envelope and saw this was a mandatory challenge?”
Unsurprising, I think bitterly.
“From the moment Noelle read the clue, I knew we had a good chance of getting sent home in Switzerland. Hopefully, it just isn’t our time yet.”
“Noelle,” Aliona starts, “how long have you known about Yumi’s fear of heights?”
I glance at Yumi, wrapping her arms around herself to fend off the gusty mountain night. “Yumi has been afraid of heights since seventh grade,” I say solemnly. “That’s why she decided to stop growing when we were twelve.”
“Hey!” She socks me in the arm as I cackle.
“Were you worried about her ability to complete this challenge today?” Aliona asks, once I’ve stopped laughing.
“A little, but—”
Aliona cuts me off to coach, “ ‘I was a little worried…’ ”
“Oh, sorry. I was a little worried that we wouldn’t be able to complete the via ferrata, but I also knew that it wouldn’t be Yumi’s decision either way. As someone with ADHD, I know that you can want to do something, but that doesn’t mean your body or brain will cooperate. If we got out on those rungs and Yumi just shut down”—I shrug—“that would be beyond anyone’s control. It’s evolutionary.”
Aliona nods, giving me the “OK” sign. “One last question for you girls: Are you proud of yourselves for what you did today?”
“Both of us?” I ask.
“Yes.”
My brows furrow. “I’m not particularly proud ofmyperformance, but this wasn’t a hard challenge for me. Yumi is the one to be proud of. If I were her, I wouldn’t have even tried—this girl gets vertigo when she has a class on the fourth floor,” I joke, turning to grin at her. “The Adventureverseasked a lot of Yumi today, and she said, ‘You want me to move this? Sure, it’s just heaven and earth. No problem.’ She’s a badass.”
There’s a poignant silence when I finish speaking.
“What?” I ask, looking between my partner and our producer. Yumi’s cheeks are pink from the chill, eyes watering in the wind.
Smiling slyly, Aliona shakes her head. “Note to self: Next time we have an all-couples season, put the death-defying challengefirst. You are not the first couple to be all lovey-dovey after the via ferrata.”
My cheeks instantly heat, so warm in the Swiss chill that I wonder if I’m giving off steam.
“As long as we’re not there for it, I think that’s a great idea,” Yumi says, saving me from having to answer.
Aliona quirks an eyebrow. “So, you two wouldn’t want to come back for another all-couples season?”
I already know Yumi’s answer before she says it, but it still makes me laugh. “No, we’d rather be on the all-winners season.”
Once the high (pun not intended) of completing the via ferrata softens and we’ve been deposited into our quarters at a cozy bed and breakfast, I can finally worry.
