Rocked (The Everyday Heroes World) - Julia Wolf Page 0,54

hand, making her drop it and jump back a step.

“No manners.” She laughed.

“Come on, Lady.” I made a grab for her again, but she kept jumping away. All I wanted to do was flirt with this woman, and she was making it damn difficult. All she wanted was to get my ass up on that rock, so I relented. “Show me the ropes. I need to walk out of this forest with a little pride intact.”

Ellie and Molly took a snack break while Kat and I faced off with a section of seven-foot-tall boulder.

“Show me where you want to start,” she said.

I scanned the rock for a crevice deep enough for my fingers. “It’d be easier if you told me.”

“I won’t be able to tell you when you’re three or four feet off the ground. You need to be able to do this on your own. It’s as much mental as it is physical. Like solving a puzzle. Find where you fit, Devon.”

I had this need in my gut to get this right for Kat. And maybe not only for Kat. Maybe for me too.

So, I tried.

Blocking out all the noise had never been easy for me, but my world became this boulder. I took what Kat said to heart, thinking of it as a puzzle, wedging my fingers into impossibly small places. Rarely used muscles quivered as I slowly pulled myself off the ground.

Any other day, I would have quit, just like I would have turned down Shane and Jeff at the coffee shop. But an important piece of me had shifted, opening me up to change. Desiring change. Shunning the status quo.

I got to the spot where I’d fallen three times in a row. In truth, I’d given up and let myself fall. That was done. Now, I let my eyes travel over the rough terrain in front of me, seeking, finding a crevice wide enough to slip the tips of my fingers in.

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I continued upward, making it higher than I’d ever been.

“Go, Devon!” Ellie and Molly called.

Grinning, I reached for another handhold and hauled my body up, getting closer to the top.

Kat’s clap echoed through the forest. “You’ve got this, Dev! You’re almost there!”

The insufferable twat I’d been when I rode into this town would’ve said, “Of course I’ve got this. And if I fall, it’s the rock’s fault. Fucker.” This slightly less twat-like version of me wasn’t too sure I had it, but I sure as hell wanted to.

So, I kept going. Kept reaching, concentrating, sticking to it even when it sucked. I kept going, and sooner than I thought, I was swinging myself onto the top of the boulder.

Arms splayed, I laid on my back and howled at the sun. “Look at me! Fucking look at me!” I screamed. My chest rose and fell as I panted, adrenaline coursing through my bloodstream. Below, my girls cheered, and I rolled onto my side so I could see them. Kat raised her phone, snapping a picture of me.

“You rocked the hell out of that, Devon!”

Pumping my fist in the air, I grinned like a maniac. “Hell yes I did!”

I hadn’t felt this good in a long, long time. Flopping onto my back again, I closed my eyes, letting the sun shine on my already warm face. Lyrics about dreams becoming nightmares and wildest desires sliding into reality rattled around in my head.

Eventually, I climbed down, and Kat, Ellie, and Molly surrounded me, all high-fives and big, happy smiles. Molly was my nemesis, but she still told me she was impressed I made it to the top on my first outing. I mean, she had a sarcastic edge to her voice, but I took the compliment anyway.

When Ellie started climbing again, Kat squeezed my forearm. “What do you think?” she asked.

“I see why you do it. I don’t see how you do it, but I get the why.”

We both watched Ellie, even though Molly claimed she could spot her all on her own, Kat standing close enough for me to feel the heat of her arm next to mine.

“I meant to ask…” she paused, so I turned my head to look at her. Her eyes slid to mine quickly, then back to Ellie. “Is the invitation still open for LA? If you were serious, that is.”

A wave of heat rolled through my face and chest. That was the last thing I’d expected her to say, but I was elated. I’d been dreading