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twelve
scarlett
“He’s totally going to pee his pants,” muttering to myself, I lean over the edge of the rock-climbing platform, watching as Kellen’s ruddy face glances around at everyone else climbing.
“Kellen! You got this! You’re almost there!” I shout down at him, cringing as he flinches and loses his balance, his foot slipping off a protruding rock, and then he’s hanging there, clutching one rock with both hands.
Yikes, poor guy.
A second later, Greyson pulls himself over the ledge and stands up next to me, sweat falling in thin rivers down the side of his face and disappearing into the neck of his T-shirt. An unsolicited shiver runs through me as a wash of pure masculine scent passes my nose. The heat from exertion activates his cologne and, combined with his obvious maleness, creates an intoxicating potion I’m not immune to. My thighs instinctively close as if that action will dull the ache I can’t seem to get rid of around him lately.
This is not good.
“This feels so good,” Greyson says as he lifts his shirt to his face, rubbing away the remaining sweat, exposing his glistening abs under taut, golden skin.
Oh, fudge me. Those abs again. Where the hell did they come from and why can’t I look away? Don’t be dense, Scarlett, the man is a machine. Runs every day and climbs rock walls—of course he’s ripped.
Smirking, he shifts his amused gaze to the struggling Kellen, triumph shining in his eyes. “How’s our friend?”
Still breathless from my own jaunt on the wall, I suck down air and knock him on the shoulder. “You think this is funny?”
For a brief moment, I’d forgotten about our kiss and the awkwardness yesterday at the job site—it was just us as friends, constantly ribbing each other. But him in all his unassuming sexiness instead makes me even more aware of him, the exact opposite of what I need.
He shrugs and his smug face lights up a whole wattage. “Can’t help it. He likes to talk a good game, but when it comes to it, he can’t hang. Or in this case, that’s all he can do.”
Again, I peer over the edge, my stomach flopping when Kellen rights himself, his face contorted in anger. I get it. He’s pissed he can’t do it and his macho man card hangs in the balance.
Rolling my eyes, I staple Grey with an irritated stare. “You knew he couldn’t resist doing this challenge or whatever, no matter how bad he is at it. Men are strange.” I wave my hands up and down in front of him. “So, you think you have the shiniest man card, huh? How about I challenge you to compete against Savy in an archery contest?”
His brows curve inward and his hands dig into his tapered waist, shirt sticking to his muscled chest. “That’s not fair.”
“Sure, it is. Maybe you need knocked down a peg or two. Cocky is not a good look on you. Donotrespond to that.” I laugh despite my irritation when that deeply dimpled grin slides across his ruggedly handsome face. Damn him for being so cute, even when he’s being an ass.
“I don’t understand what you see in him. He’s good-looking, sure, but what else? A pretty face will only get you so far.” He runs a hand through his damp, dark hair, eying me warily. One bulging bicep distracts me before I hear him say, “I just want you to be careful. I don’t trust him.”
I study his posture and the tension in his jaw as he scrubs it with his rough hands. I scrunch up my brows. “Why? Has he done something I don’t know about?”
Rowan pops her head up next over the ledge before he can respond and pulls her lithe body onto the metal platform. Even perspiring, she’s gorgeous and my guts twist.
She stands next to Greyson and when he smiles down at her, my jaw clenches, but I shake it away. They’d make a great fit and I should be happy he’s spending time with someone other than me. However, I can’t erase that tiny voice telling me something is all wrong. It’s me. I’m all wrong, and we agreed to forget about the kiss, so I need to move on.
“Wow! That was fun. Thank you for inviting me,” she fans her face—which isn’t even wet. It’s glossy and glows, while I’m over here looking like a greaseball. “But, I gotta run. Pics need edited for my boss. We still on for later?”
He nods. “Sure thing—it’s a guided tour, so wear appropriate footwear, not those six-inch heels, please. I can’t have you breaking your neck on my watch for a few pictures.”
Smiling, he waves at her as she descends the stairs and I feel like I can finally breathe now that she’s gone.
Which means I wasn’t paying attention to Kellen as he pops over the edge of the wall, his slippery fingers grasping the metal before hauling his body over.
I dart over to help him as he thuds to the floor, but he holds out a shaky hand to halt me. “I got it. I’m good.”
“It gets easier the more you do it,” Grey offers.
I don’t miss the terror in Kellen’s eyes at the idea of climbing the wall again.
Sighing, I adjust my tank top and address him. “Come on, I’ll show you the cafeteria, get you something to drink.”
His jade orbs squint at the other climbers as they make their downward descent on the wall, but I tug his sleeve in the opposite direction. “We’ll take the stairs.”
