Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
And yet, that look of panic in his eyes… Was that regret? There was no way to know until he talked to him again. Though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
“No matter what, I will always be your friend.”
He’d promised.
And Emerson would take it all back if it meant their friendship would be strained.
He couldn’t handle not having him in his life.
He couldn’t lose him, too.
1
Present Day
Rhys
“Be careful up there,” Martin, Rhys’s boss at Flying High, the adventure shop where he worked, warned from his position on the ground. They had arrived at Acadia National Park that morning for a weekend of hiking and rock climbing. Hawkeye Hill was less crowded and a shorter ascent than the other cliffs, and therefore it would take less time to reach the summit. Martin was staying behind to set up camp with a couple of others from their climbing group.
“Always,” Rhys said as he pulled on the anchor rope and positioned his favorite climbing sneaker in the first foothold, while his fingers locked in a small stone fissure to leverage himself. Rhys and Jill were free-climbing today, which meant they were using rope only as an anchor, not to assist their route in any way.
It was freeing to find the hand and footholds on your own; exhilarating, actually. Still, he knew even experienced mountaineers shouldn’t have a casual attitude about the gamble they took every time they scaled a structure. Repetition and experience were never a substitute for vigilance, and he knew climbers who’d learned the hard way with shoddy gear or thoughtless risks.
He’d admit, though, that he was distracted that morning. Not only was the kiss with Emerson on constant rotation in his mind, but also the prospect of seeing him tomorrow at their family dinner, where they would sing that stupid rendition that had become tradition and have cake for Emerson’s birthday. Their busy week had gotten away from them, so he was looking forward to spending time together and finally facing what’d happened between them. In fact, he couldn’t wait.
Why in the hell had he bailed like that the other night? He should’ve stuck around to talk it through, or hell, to do it all over again, but Audrey walking in had made his brain go haywire and he’d needed a minute to think. Or several minutes, he supposed.
Emerson’s confession had shocked the hell out of him. But also…made him feel things he didn’t quite understand yet. Overwhelming things that made his stomach flutter and his heart all achy.
“I really only feel this way around you.”
Damn. That revelation had rocked his world, and made Rhys question whether he could even live up to whatever that meant. Because Emerson was probably the best person he knew.
And the way he’d thrown himself into the kiss… So fucking sexy. After ignoring the topic and the tension between them for weeks, Rhys had wanted him so bad that night he thought he might combust. Maybe subconsciously he’d always wanted him. To be fair, Rhys never considered he had a chance—of course he’d buried his attraction long ago. But there had also been the risk of losing his friendship, so he’d kept any inkling of feelings strictly under lock and key.
But Emerson was new to all this, and Rhys needed to proceed with caution. This wasn’t some random hookup, and his track record of relationships was about as good as his mother’s. Neither he nor Emerson had much experience in that department anyway, but that wasn’t what this was about. He was getting ahead of himself, considering all the possibilities even though it scared the hell out of him. He would definitely follow Emerson’s lead. Besides, he didn’t want to hurt Emerson—or be hurt by him once Emerson decided he needed to spread his wings.
He snickered to himself. Since when had Emerson ever spread his wings? Okay, that wasn’t fair. He’d had so much responsibility placed on him at such an early age. Would Rhys have done any better? Unlikely. Besides, he worried enough about his mom’s engagement, which was now going on two years, and her and Carl’s decision to move out of state. Not that she wasn’t an adult, and she did seem happy. Well, mostly. Their bickering had really bothered him, but he knew he was only being protective of his mom. She always gave too much of herself in relationships, and he hated that she sacrificed so much to make someone else happy.
It had only been the two of them for so long—outside the one time when her less than desirable boyfriend moved in and attempted to discipline him—that he felt a pang of worry for her, which was more than likely unfounded.
Refocusing on the climb, he paused for a moment and watched Jill scaling above him, leaving plenty of distance between them. If by chance she lost her footing, it could cause a chain reaction. He noticed how she looped the line over her leg as a safety precaution to avoid any unnecessary jolting or flipping upside down. He’d do the same when he got higher.