One More Push

Hannah

“There you are.” Jordan smiled as he paused and gripped the wall with one hand.

“Don’t let go of that. Where is your rope?” My eyes widened as I saw he was free climbing.

“I know this wall pretty well. I don’t need the guide rope,” he laughed as he winked at me. “Do you want me to help you get to the top?”

“You’re going all the way up with no rope? Are you crazy?”

“Well, yes, but not because I’m free climbing,” he laughed again with a disarming smile. He wasn’t fazed in the least by my worry.

I was nervous on his behalf, being this close to the high ceilings, but I had a rope attached to my harness.

“Maybe we should both go back down,” I urged.

My eyes glanced down toward the floor. Javi was looking up at both of us with an amused smile on his face. Tatum and Parker were goofing around about five feet behind him.

From the looks of it, a few of the people from our team had kept climbing, but most of them had left.

“Hannah, look at me,” Jordan commanded in a low authoritative voice. His eyes were soft as I brought my gaze back to his.

“Just breathe. You’ve done great. It’s just a little farther. I ~know~ you can do this. You didn’t come this far to give up.”

“I’m good.” I tried to joke as I pulled one of my hands free and wiped it on my shirt. My nerves were making my palms sweaty. “You go up, and I’ll wait here.”

“Are you having trouble with grip?” he asked as he stepped on a foothold near mine and moved closer. “Reach your fingers into the pouch on my belt. The chalk will help.”

“What?”

“There’s a little gray pouch on my belt. Dip a hand in,” he instructed.

My cheeks turned pink as I looked at the chalk pouch that was on his hip, right in front of his pelvis.

“Hannah, don’t be embarrassed. It’ll help.”

I tried to tighten my grip with my left hand and slowly reached my right toward him. I didn’t want to knock him loose or something. I could just imagine him plummeting to the floor as I watched.

“That’s it. Gently,” he coaxed as I made contact and pulled my hand back. The tips of my fingers were covered in a fine white powder.

“If you can, transfer a little to your other hand. It’ll make it easier to get a firm grip on your next holds.”

I wobbled a little on my feet as I tapped my chalk-laden fingers against my other hand. My original hand gripped the wall, and I adjusted my left hand to spread the chalk to my fingertips.

“Better?” he asked with a smile, effortlessly hanging next to me, his muscles pulled taut.

“Yes. Thank you.” I took a shaky breath.

“Are you ready to keep moving?”

“You go ahead. I’m right behind you,” I told him. I tried to sound confident, but the tremor in my voice gave me away.

“Nice try, Han. We’ll go together. Plan your next move, and I’ll follow.”

I looked up, pushing up to my toes on my right foot so I could reach my next hold. I tried not to get distracted by him as we both slowly reached the top.

“I did it,” I whispered as my fingers gently made contact with the top of the wall.

“Was that so bad?” he asked as he gripped a rope at the top of the wall with one hand.

“Yes.”

“Well... you did it anyway. I’m proud of you,” he told me. The grin on his face must have matched mine, both equally ridiculous.

“Now for the fun part. Let go of your handholds and grab the rope,” he instructed.

“Nope.” I shook my head. I was good here.

“Hannah,” he coaxed as he looked down at Javi and signaled a thumbs up. “He’s got you. Hold onto the rope and lean back. Feet flat on the wall. He’ll let you down.”

“He’s not going to drop me, right?” I knew he wouldn’t, but I was still a little anxious being so high up in the air.

“No, sweetheart. He won’t drop you. Relax.” Jordan looked over at me with an endearing smile.

My hands gripped the rope, and I felt myself wobble as I leaned back. The line held me stable as I moved my feet into position.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Yeah...” I nodded nervously.

“Rappel ready,” he yelled down, and Javi shouted back.

“Rappel on, Hannah.”

“Have a nice ride.” Jordan winked.

“What? I’m supposed to leave you up here?”

Jordan laughed as he nodded his head. “No safety rope, remember?”

“'Cause you’re fucking nuts.”

“He’s waiting for you.” He laughed and nodded toward the ground. “Go on. I’ll see you in a few moments.”

“Please be careful,” I pleaded.

“I’ll be fine,” Jordan replied dismissively.

My lungs filled with air as I took a deep breath and exhaled. The muscles in my thighs ached a little as I bent my knees and then sprung slightly away from the wall.

Javi slowly released slack on the rope as I steadily bounced my way down the wall.

“Nicely done for a rookie, Hannah,” he complimented. “Some don’t even make it halfway up before they come back down.”

“That was an option?” I asked with wide eyes.

“One you didn’t need.”

His steady hands unclipped me, and he attached the carabiner to a rope that was anchored to the bottom of the wall.

“Step back with your friends and you can watch J come down.”

I looked up, and Jordan was already over a third of the way down the wall.

“Does he do this regularly?” I asked him as I kept my eyes glued to Jordan.

“Not as often as he used to, but J has always been chasing the next adrenaline high.”

“No offense, but y’all are crazy,” I told him. “What if you fell?”

“There are really only a handful of people who come here that are allowed to free climb. We’ve both bare-finger bouldered some rock faces harder to climb than these walls.”

“Did I tell you that you were crazy?” I asked.

He laughed and smiled at me, keeping his eyes on Jordan as he continued his descent.

“Don’t worry. Your boy is safe,” he assured.

“He’s not my…” I trailed off as I looked back up at Jordan.

It was impressive how he was able to use his strength and balance to keep himself on the wall.

“Oh, really? I just assumed, with how he shooed me away from you and the looks he keeps giving you,” Javi mused.

“What's wrong?” I frowned.

“Like he imagines you naked.” He shrugged with pursed lips.

My mouth dropped open, and I gasped a little. Jordan only had about fifteen feet left to descend.

“He doesn’t,” I insisted.

“He does. I can see why.” He winked, and I bit my lip.

“All right, charmer. He’s not down here to be overprotective and territorial.”

“Just calling it as I see it. You know where to find me if he doesn’t pull his head out of his ass,” he offered with a raise of his eyebrow.

“I think I’m good,” I murmured as Jordan placed one foot back on the mat, and then the other.

His head immediately turned in my direction, and he smiled as he wiped his chalky fingers off on his shorts. My feet started walking toward him before I processed whether it was a bad idea or not.

Jordan’s arms opened slightly, and I flung my arms around his waist, holding myself to his chest.

His heartbeat was fast but steady as I clung to him. His massive arms encircled me and held me there as one of his hands smoothed the hair on the back of my head.

“I’m here. I’m safe,” he whispered.

I squeezed him, and he laughed, crouching down a little and pressing his head against the side of mine.

“I was so proud when you tapped that ceiling, Hannah,” he whispered sincerely. “Thank you for giving this a try.”

“Once was probably enough,” I mumbled into his chalky shirt, and he pressed his nose into the hair at my temple, inhaling.

“I’m sure with the right coaxing, I could get you up there again.”

“Nope.” I shook my head.

Jordan laughed, and I heard Parker and Tatum whispering behind us.

“Are you going to let him go? Or are we getting food with you attached to him, Hannah?” Tatum asked, clearly amused.

“I don’t mind,” Jordan chuckled in my ear as he cupped the back of my neck with his hand.

My hand shot out to the side, and I flipped her off as I leaned back and looked up into Jordan’s eyes.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to attack you.”

He leaned down and whispered in my ear. His facial hair tickled my skin, and I felt warmth spread through me at the contact.

“Like I said, Han. I don’t mind.”