Sex Snob (13 page)

“It is.”

And that was it. I didn’t know where to take our conversation when I was getting such little help, so I decided to try being quiet again.

After directing him to my house, we finally pulled up outside.
I wasn’t sure exactly what to say. I’d had a tremendous amount of fun with Shane tonight, and I didn’t want it to end. But I couldn’t tell him that.
What could I tell him?
Thankfully, he spoke first.

“So, do you want to go?”

“Go where?” I asked, confused.

“Rock climbing.
Do you want to go with me tomorrow?”

“Oh, um, I don’t know.”

“Relax, Bishop. It’s not a date or anything. You said you wanted to try it. Do you want to come?”

I hesitated slightly before replying, “Yeah, I would.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up tomorrow. Around ten?”

“Sure, that works.”

“Man, I’m going to see you on my two consecutive days off. I must be a real glutton for punishment. Now get out of my car, Sex Snob. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You’re such an ass,” I mused as I opened the car door and got out. “Thanks for the ride,” I said as I closed the door and walked up the stairs to my apartment.
Shane waited at the curb until I got inside my apartment building.

I guess chivalry isn’t dead.
Though I may not be able to say the same for myself
after I tried to rock climb.

Six

As I entered
Limitless Adventures, I
started to second-guess my decision to come here. Well, actually, I didn’t regret agreeing to try rock climbing. I’d always thought it sounded like fun, and it would definitely be a good workout. I think my real regret was going rock climbing for the first time with
Shane
. Not only had I spent most of the drive here talking shit about how quickly I would scale the most difficult walls, I had also neglected to mention my intense fear of heights. This day could quite possibly be beyond embarrassing, but I couldn’t let my hesitation show
now
.

The massive faux rock walls ranged from fairly straight inclines with larger handgrips to surfaces that would position the climber nearly horizontal with
his back facing the ground. I had a feeling that Shane Reed would be zooming up one of those before the morning was over.

Shane checked us in and got me a waiver and rented climbing gear
—though I insisted on paying my own way since this wasn’t a date. “I still can’t believe you brought your own equipment,” I said. “You’re such a nerd.”

His eyes bored into me with complete seriousness.
This wasn’t just a game to him. “We’ll see who the nerd is when we hit the wall. Now sign the waiver and let’s get going.”

“Calm down, Mr. Bossy.
I have to read it first.” Shane waited while I looked it over. He didn’t need to fill one out because the loser
already belonged to the club. “What’s all this about rope burns and falling off the wall?”

“It just says if you die or whatever, they aren’t liable.
Trust me,” he said as he leaned in to my ear and lowered his voice a bit. “I have a lot of experience with ropes, and I’ve never given anyone any abrasions.”

My head shot over to look at him curiously.
Is he serious?
His expression revealed nothing. I quickly signed the waiver and handed it to the husky gray-haired woman at the counter.

“Okay, your instructor’s right over there.”
She pointed to a group of about ten people who were huddled in one corner of the gym. “You’re the last two in that group.”

“Thanks,” Shane replied politely, grabbing our equipment and turning toward the group.

“Why do I need an instructor? You can teach me, can’t you?”

“It’s just a liability thing.
You have to get properly trained by the
employees
. Plus, I already have to tell you how to do things correctly when I’m getting paid for it. What makes you think I wanna correct everything you do wrong in my free time, too?”

I shook my head as he laughed at his own joke.
“You think you’re pretty funny, don’t you?”

“I try,” he shrugged.

It seemed like our group had been waiting for us because as soon as we arrived, the instructor began. “Okay, my name’s Rain.”
Of course it is.
Rain was a girl who looked to be in her early twenties. She couldn’t have been more than 5’2”, and she was sporting knee length men’s cargo shorts with a large gray T-shirt. Her pasty complexion was framed by dirty blonde dreadlocks that she had tied back in a ponytail with an industrial rubber band. “I’ll be your instructor for today. It looks like we’re all here, so let’s get started.”

It was only when she said the last sentence that I heard it.
Sometimes, when her tongue hit her retainer in just the right way, her Ss sounded like THs. I guess the commune where Rain had been raised didn’t have access to a good orthodontist, so she was forced to get braces as an adult.
Poor girl.
It was her one attempt at caring about her appearance.

“I’m gonna go over some rules with you first.
Climbing ith not . . . I repeat ith not a game,” she spat sternly in a voice that was much too deep for her small stature. If it weren’t for her lisp, I would have been a little scared of her. She clearly took her job seriously and wasn’t in the mood for any nonsense.

I leaned over to Shane.
“You hear that, Thane? No mething around.” I over enunciated the “TH” sound as I said his name.

Shane did his best to keep a straight face while he looked ahead.

“The first rule of climbing is to trust your feet,” Rain continued. “You’ll hear me thay that a lot to you while you’re on the wall. “Trust your feet!” she yelled sharply, making me jump. “Rock climbing is a vertical dance that requires focus. And concentration.” She emphasized the last part to make her point.

“You hear that, Amanda?”
Shane didn’t avert his gaze from Rain as he whispered under his breath. “A
vertical
dance. Most of your experience is of the more
horizontal
nature, isn’t it?”

Okay, I’ll give credit where credit’s due.
That was a good one.

Rain’s eyes darted toward us to keep us in line.
She must have had a sixth sense for goofing around. “Climbing is a fantastic workout for your whole body. It forces you to use muscles most people don’t make use of on a regular basis, like your wrists, forearmth, and fingers.”

Ha
.
“Well, that explains why
you’re
so fucking good at it. You could probably free scale Mt. Rushmore with all the jerking off
you
probably do.” I couldn’t hide my smile. I was clearly
too pleased with myself. “Now you can even claim it’s part of your workout routine.”
I didn’t look over at Shane because I knew I wouldn’t be able to control my laughter when I saw his face, and Rain would have my head on a stick.

“Now, that being said, even those who are used to a more sedentary lifestyle should be able to climb.
No matter your skill level, there is a wall for you here.” Rain still hadn’t cracked a smile.
Aren’t hippies supposed to be happy and high all the time?
“Everyone look at the wall behind me. Notice the different colors. The color helpth you navigate the path to the top, and each color is a different level of difficulty.”

Rain continued to blab on about the different types of grips and foot holds.
The only type that stuck out to me was when she talked about how the bigger ones were called “jugs.” Shane made some comment about how he liked big jugs too and then made no secret of looking down at mine.

“It looks like most of you have brought a partner with you.
That person will most likely be belaying you,” Rain announced.

“You hear that, Amanda?
I’ll be belaying you.” Shane couldn’t help but look over at me with a wicked smirk as he said “belaying.”

What have I gotten myself into?
I knew that term had to have some other meaning than what was running through my mind. My version involved me gripping a headboard and screaming while Shane bore down and pounded in and out of me ruthlessly. I shook my head, trying to force the image from my brain. I hoped Shane didn’t pick up on my daydreaming.

Shane laughed.
So much for hope.
“Not what you’re thinking. It means that I’ll be at the bottom of the wall with the ropes, keeping you stabilized while you climb.”

“Oh,” was all I could get out.
All of our sexual innuendos were getting to be a little much. And coming from me, that was really saying something.

At the sound of Rain’s husky voice, any sexual thoughts quickly escaped me.
“You’ll find that if you’re climbing with a partner of the same sex, you’ll have similar climbing styles, and you can give each other thome pointers. If you’re partner is of the opposite thex, you’ll learn some
techniques you’ve never tried before.”

I felt Shane’s deliberate gaze at her last comment.
Aaand the sexual tension was back.

“For those of you who are more experienced climbers, you can put on your own equipment and your partner’s, and I’ll just come around and check to make sure it’s on correctly.
If you need my help, just let me know.”

Shane wasted no time stepping into his harness, and for the first time today, I noticed how delicious he looked.
His black tank top hugged his hard chest tightly. My eyes caressed his thick tribal tattoo up the length of his arm again, just as I had done at the CrossFit competition. And as he tightened the straps of his harness around his thighs, the bulge in his pants seemed to grow.
God, Amanda, look up, look up, look up. Look anywhere but there.

Thankfully (or not, depending on how you look at it), Shane knelt down in front of me to help me with my own harness.
“Step through,” he said, as he shimmied the straps up my bare legs, skimming my smooth skin with his soft, strong fingertips. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought he was taking more time than was necessary down there. Not that I minded. Shane Reed. On his knees. In front of me. I could feel myself get wetter with every sinful thought.

He pulled the straps tantalizingly up my thighs and over my shorts.
I couldn’t be sure if his touch was accidental or deliberate, but the effect was the same. Then he rose to stand in front of me to reach around my waist. My hips thrust forward as he tightened the straps with his arms looped around me. I could feel his crotch pressed up against my abdomen. My eyes were inches from his chest. God, I wanted to lick him. I wanted
him
to lick
me
. And the tightness of the restraints around my thighs and ass was only making the pressure building low in my core that much more intense. “How does that feel,” he said as he tugged roughly on the harness.

The movement of my shorts against my already sensitive clit was nearly unbearable.
I felt like he could make me come just by pulling on the straps. I cleared my throat and swallowed hard. “Feels really good.”
Jesus Christ, couldn’t you think of anything else to say?

“Good.
It should feel pretty tight. You ready?”

Oh, you have no idea.
“I guess so.” Shane moved away, giving me another glimpse (or thorough examination) of his dick—which looked to be larger than many of the others in the vicinity.
God, I can’t believe I’m estimating the size of strangers’ penises. Is this what my life had come to?

When Rain was satisfied that everyone had been
properly harnessed, she demonstrated a few climbing techniques. She showed us how to regain our center of balance and reminded us to use our legs to propel ourselves up. I tried to pay attention because I didn’t want to embarrass myself when I climbed. But since he already knew all of the techniques, Shane kept his eyes glued to me. I was thankful that I was a female because if I were a guy, I definitely would have been hard.

When Rain was done
with her demonstration, Shane showed me a few warm-up stretches to do before beginning. Some involved me lying on the ground while he positioned himself over me and pushed on my legs. This did nothing to quell the sexual frustration that was slowly building inside me.

“Okay,” Rain shouted.
“Who’s up first?”

I could tell Shane was eager to go, but he tempered his excitement and let a few of the others go first.
I studied them closely as they moved up the wall, some more quickly, and with more ease, than others. I tried to focus on where they struggled and learn from their mistakes. Shane also pointed out a few tips that he thought might help me. I learned that I needed to look down as much as I needed to look up and use my other foot for balance against the wall so I didn’t swing out.

When it was Shane’s turn to go, Rain hooked his ropes and harness to her.
“I’ll be belaying you,” she said to Shane in a gruff tone, “since your partner clearly can’t.” Rain shot a condescending look my way. I couldn’t decide if she was a lesbian or not, but I knew for sure she was a
bitch
.

I gawked at Shane as he scaled a more difficult section of the wall quickly and with little effort.
His steps were carefully planned, and he moved with the fluid grace of someone who was obviously experienced.
I wonder how experienced he is at other things.
I enjoyed my view from below as I was free to stare at his firm ass and flexed biceps as he moved against the wall above me. After Shane repelled to the bottom, Rain gave him one of those manly handshakes which turns into an awkward hug. “That’s what’s up, dude. Show ‘em how it’s done.”
Yup, definitely playing for the other team.

“You’re next,
Chicklet,” she said, pointing at me. I walked cautiously over toward the wall, and Rain attached my harness to Shane’s with the ropes.

I had already decided that I was going for a medium level section of the wall.
I didn’t want to look weak by going up a part that a child could climb, but I didn’t want to fail if I attempted something that was too difficult.

I got about fifteen
feet off the ground without much of a problem, but I soon realized that I had reached a section that didn’t have much to grab onto. I looked down behind me to Shane for guidance and immediately got butterflies in my stomach at the height.

“Look to your left,” Shane called up.
“There’s a small foot chip. Put your left foot there, and press your right against the wall to anchor yourself and keep your balance. When you feel stable, push yourself up.”