My heart pounds again, palms slick against the rope.
“Why don’t you warm up while I finish up here? Then you can try to make me look bad when we climb together.” I throw in a wink for good measure, earning a laugh.
“There’s notryabout it, Hold. I can outclimb you any day.” They glance up at the wall. “Alright, here I go.”
Korie is a thing of beauty when they climb—all precise moves and calculated risks. It’s kind of how they approach any challenge in their life, though. With careful thought and consideration.
Unlike me.
I just dive in with both feet.
Why do you do that? Rush things.
Declan finally returns to the ground, shaking his arms out and looking extremely proud of himself.
“Good job, man. Your technique’s improved so much.”
“Thanks.” He stays with me for a minute, catching his breath before undoing his harness and going to find Seth.
I turn my attention to Korie, cheering them on when they reach the twenty-foot platform.
A while later, we’re lined up and ready to go. Blaine is spotting me, Ellis is spotting Korie.
And just like that, we’re in our old rhythm—competing, climbing, pushing each other, just as we’ve always done. We move through a few routes, trading wins and calling each other out when the other cheats a move or skips a hold.
At one point, about forty feet up, I go for a reach I know is a stretch, and miss. My foot slips, and I drop down with a painful grunt. “Fuck.”
Korie laughs, bright and unfiltered. “Still overreaching, I see.”
“Shut up,” I mutter, grabbing chalk again. “Seth already called me out on the same thing.”
“Yeah, well. Maybe if you learned to pace yourself, you’d stop getting hurt.”
“I’m not hurt.”
“Aren’t you, though?” Korie throws me a smug grin over their shoulder. “Losing hurts.”
“Asshole.”
They laugh.
I shake my head, but I’m smiling too.
Dammit. Maybe my friends are onto something.
I glance up at the route again, then back at them. Korie is still watching me, head tilted slightly, as if they’re trying to figure something out.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing.”
“Liar.”
“Just waiting to see if you’re accepting defeat.”
I drop my chalk bag, turning back to them. “Not on your life.”
Korie waits for me, studying me carefully. When I reach them, they’re smiling. “‘Bout time. I was about to take a nap.”
