Page 54 of The Build-a-Boyfriend Project

“Okay, okay. Give me some space.” Eli waits for Peter to take a step back, swatting his hands back and forth as if that’s how he’s choosing to warm up. After all, it’s rock climbing; how complicated can it be?

Eli places his hand on the rough surface of the first rock, pulling himself into the air and then placing his left foot on a rock. But as Eli reaches to put his right foot underneath him, he falters, his shoes sliding against the wall.

His body short-circuits for a moment and he just lets go. There’s a second where he tries to catch himself, waving his arms like a baby bird to try and get his balance back, but it doesn’t help, and he drops a whole two feet back onto the floor.

And there’s no Peter to catch him, so he just lands on his ass.

“I don’t want to hear a word.” Eli points in Peter’s direction without even sparing him a glance.

“I didn’t say anything,” Peter protests once again.

“I heard snickering!” Eli proclaims.

“Here.” Peter offers him a hand, getting Eli to his feet.

“I just have to get used to it, is all.” Eli’s pride is only slightly more wounded than before as he reaches for the same rocks, pulling himself up. This time, his foot doesn’t miss the hold, so he lifts higher into the air, then dares to let go so that he can grab onto the next rock above him.

Eli grins as he climbs and climbs, his arms aching already, but still he carries himself higher and higher until he finally reaches the rock with the word finished! etched into it.

“Ha-ha!” Eli boasts loudly. “See, told you I could do it!”

“That’s great, Eli!” Peter calls to him, sounding further away than Eli anticipates. “Now jump down.”

Eli looks underneath him to see just how far he is from the floor.

In an instant, his blood runs cold.

“Oh, God . . .” He whispers, pulling himself as close to the wall as he can get, one rock digging too close to his crotch for comfort.

“What’s wrong?” Peter asks, such an innocent question.

Eli peers down again, his vision going blurry for a moment. “Oh, you know . . . just wanted to enjoy the view.”

“Are you stuck?”

“No!” Eli answers too quickly, showing his hand, grabbing onto the gray safety blocks with full grips to readjust. “I’m just . . . showing off. Look at how long I can stay up here!”

“The floor is padded, Eli. If you can’t climb down, just fall.”

“I don’t wanna!” Eli hides his face like a child.

“It’ll be okay, I promise,” Peter tells him. “You’ll survive.”

Eli grips the fake rocks so tightly that he’s afraid he might just pull them clear off the wall. He presses closer, hugging the wall, hoping and praying that his foot doesn’t slip. But it does, and he flails wildly for a moment before he finds purchase again. “I’m fine staying up here, actually!” he shouts back.

He starts to imagine how he can make a living in the gym, work remotely, have his laptop fixed to the wall, type with one hand. Totally logical!

His eyes are closed so tight that Eli doesn’t notice as Peter climbs the wall next to him, almost completely silent as he makes his way up.

“Eli?” Peter whispers.

“Ah!” Eli can’t help the yelp that slips out, recovering his composure in an instant as he realizes that Peter is now right next to him. “Oh, Peter. Hello.”

“Enjoying the view?” Peter looks up at the lights that hang from the ceiling.

“Yeah, yeah . . . totally.”

“Okay, well . . . some people really want to use this part of the wall, and you’re keeping them from doing that.”