Page 41 of Pretty ’n Peak

Another shrug. “Probably not. I like working with my body. And we do everything—construction, build-outs, repairs, anything that comes up. So I get to learn and figure things out all the time. I mean, not like in school, though I take classes sometimes. But it’s good hours, honest work, fixing things that are broken and making people’s homes and offices beautiful. The pay’s pretty good. I’m thinking about getting my HVAC certification, which could make me a lot more. But then I’d have to just do one thing and I wouldn’t be outside as much. I dunno. I don’t really need more money.”

Austin almost stopped walking because… was it really that simple? There was just something so… balanced in that, for lack of a better word.

Austin couldn’t even remember when he’d last felt that way about his job. He’d loved coding in college, and the little start-up he’d joined right after, until it went under. But now? It was more like he was committed because there was always something urgent and they were so short-staffed.

He’d almost forgotten that there were people who liked their work.

“What do you do?” Mateo asked, almost echoing his thoughts. And making him rethink everything.

“I’m a programmer.”

“Do you like it?”

“Sure. It’s a job. It pays well.” That was the crux of the situation. In two sentences.

Wasn’t that what work was like?

Everyone in Austin’s company was there for the paycheck, and they made it very clear. But what else would he do? People and projects depended on him, and he’d been the one to take a promotion that meant he’d be on-call every weekend.

It wasn’t like he was doing more work than anyone else, either. People didn’t have time for lunch breaks. That wasn’t the culture.

And while he might get annoyed—super annoyed—with the CEO and sales team for setting impossible deadlines, that was what software development was all about.

He was sure he’d been excited about it at one point, but that, like his interest in kink, seemed very far away. Right now, it was just exhausting.

“What would you do if you could quit your job?”

The question seemed to come out of left field. “I have no idea.”

He couldn’t even imagine the possibility. He supposed he’d have more time for walks like this, but that was as far as he could get.

Funny, though, that Mateo should ask. It felt like a different question than when Jamie and Neil had brought it up.

What would he do, indeed?

“Hey, we’re almost there.” Mateo interrupted his thoughts, alerting him to the din of voices just ahead.

It was a relief, because why was he even thinking about work while he was here?

He could see the cliff in front of him, dark hued and reaching up to the sky.

Austin had been climbing twice, once about a year after he lost his sight, at a camp with a bunch of other blind kids. The second time had been right in this very spot. Jamie had begged him to try it, patiently giving instructions as they climbed side-by-side, while Sebastian had managed his ropes.

Both times, now that he thought about it, had been both challenging and exhilarating. Now that he was standing here, he was starting to get excited about the climb—to be so in tune with the rugged wilderness, while conquering a physical challenge.

“Do you want to climb or belay first?”

“Uh…” That was a challenge he hadn’t expected. Could he belay someone else?

A lot of therapy and years of disability justice work had taught him two things: to attack new situations with confidence, but also to honestly know his limits. There were some things that he just couldn’t do safely.

Still, it spoke volumes that Mateo just assumed he could do it. Mateo was an experienced climber. And he’d be putting his life literally in Austin’s hands.

Was that so different from putting himself in Austin’s hands last night for a scene?

Austin had done suspension bondage with subs—but always with a spotter who was completely focused on the scene. This felt very different.

“You choose,” he finally answered. “I’ll check with Jamie about belaying you. I haven’t done it before.”