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“You can’t be serious,” I said, but Oliver’s eager face informed me he wasn’t kidding.
“Yeah, he can’t handle belaying, let alone climbing,” Harrison added. I shot him a pointed look.
Oliver grabbed my arms and positioned me in front of the wall. “Nonsense, climbing is the easy part.”
I sighed and followed his instructions. Bonding with my brother might just kill me yet.
Chapter Twelve
CHARLIE
“I’m so glad you came,”I handed one of our newest potential members the complimentary branded sweatshirt we had promised.
“Me too,” she said. “It’s so hard to meet women in the city. A hiking group is a great idea.”
“We do more than hiking,” Lila interjected. “We’ve got networking events, happy hours, art classes—you name it.”
“I love it. I’ll definitely be at the next happy hour.”
Lila and I beamed as she went to join the rest of the thirty women who had shown up to our Sunday hike series. In addition to all of our city events, we wanted to make sure there were fun outdoor activities in our offering as well. It could be difficult wanting to go for a hike but not necessarily wanting to hit the trails alone.
“Ahh, I love a hiking event!” Lila exclaimed. “Being out here and exercising in this crisp fall air.” She took a deep, exaggerated breath. “Don’t you love it, Charlie?”
I glanced back at the hill we’d just conquered, now shrouded in the evening dusk. Although it was only six p.m., the sun had already set. On Sundays, ConnectHer had established a routineof alternating between sunset hikes followed by a visit to a brewery and morning hikes with brunch afterward. Today was the former.
“I love it,” I said, but my enthusiasm didn’t quite match hers. Last night and all morning had been consumed by my endeavors to revamp a few pages of our website. Despite my best efforts—and the three cups of coffee I had knocked back this afternoon—exhaustion had crept in. Was it sad that I couldn’t even recall a weekend that didn’t involve working?
“And the sweatshirts are such a hit. This is the biggest group we’ve ever had.” Tiredness aside, I could feel her passion rubbing off on me.
I smiled, holding one up to examine it. They were a charcoal gray, super soft, and had the logo Lila designed in the upper right-hand corner.
“They better be a hit. They cost us enough,” I said.
She shot me a look that heavily implied I needed to chill out. “We got at least six new memberships from today, plus they’re free advertising. They more than paid for themselves.”
“You’re right.” I knew I needed to stop obsessing about money and investing in ourselves, but for some reason I couldn’t stop myself. I needed to be more like Lila. Every time she fought me and insisted we invest in something, we always saw a return. If we listened to me, and my risk-adverse ideas, we’d likely be half the size we were now.
“I think we're only missing those two women that were trailing behind. Can you wait for them while I let the rest of the group know the plan?
I yawned. “Got it, boss.”
She turned away and skipped to the women waiting in the parking lot.
A couple breezed by me. I scanned behind them to see if I could get a glimpse of our last attendees, but all I could see up the hill were two guys around my age.
Shifting my gaze away from them, I turned my attention back to our assembled group. We had been doing this for months now, so it was easy to take for granted the fact that we had gathered thirty women to go on a hike. I needed to remind myself that our first hiking event only included Lila, me, and two other women. Now we were practically a clan. I had to force myself to take a step back every now and then and remind myself of how far we had come.
I still remembered when I first moved here after college. Accepting an entry-level position at Love Linked, I packed my bags and ventured out without a hint of hesitation, despite not knowing anyone. Those first few weeks were a tough transition, to say the least. Sure, I met my ex, Brian, pretty quickly, but a boyfriend didn’t fill the void of no friend group.
I had always considered myself outgoing and social but going from living with my closest friends in college to being almost completely alone hit me hard. The memory of those solitary early weeks remained crystal clear—frequent solo hikes, some dinners alone, and struggling to make any new friends. Thank god Lila started the month after I did. As soon as we met, we became fast friends, and the rest was history.
Gazing back up the hill, I met the eyes of one of the guys approaching. I averted my gaze and took a sharp breath in. Dealing with some creepy dude was not high on my agenda today.
“Charlie?” The man called out.
I jerked my head up, confused as to how this stranger knew my name.
As he approached, I squinted to try to see him better against the dimness of the evening. He waved at me as mymind continued to draw a blank. He wore a navy baseball cap and beat-up hiking pants. I couldn’t help but notice his biceps bulging against his gray graphic band tee.
