Read an Ice Floe Excerpt: Chapter 6
We’ve been sitting on the ledge a while now, mostly staring at the
view. I steal occasional glances at Tucker. I can’t shake the feeling that
there’s a force between us. Energy. A pulse. A magnet. Something. Every time I
focus my thoughts elsewhere, he pulls me back in. It’s distracting.
“You ready to head down?” he asks.
“You might as well get started. I can’t climb down with all your
equipment in the way.” “I have an extra harness. You should come down with me.”
He reaches for his pack and
stands up.
I jump up to join him. “No way. I’m not hooking myself into that death
trap.”
“Glacia, come on. This cliff is super challenging, and it’s way more
difficult to climb down than up,” he says, his voice growing louder. Here we go
again.
“I’ll be fine once you get your stuff out of the way.” I raise my
volume to match his. “It’s not safe. I would feel horrible if I let you climb
down and you got hurt.”
“Let me?”
“Not let you. It’s your choice.” “I choose NO.”
He clenches his jaw tightly and grinds his teeth. I take a few steps back in
preparation. There’s enough room up here to land a solid kick to the face. That
should knock him out, then I’ll have to figure out a way to climb down his
cat’s cradle setup. Tucker crosses one arm over his chest and raises a hand to
cover his mouth. We glare at each other – at an impasse.
“Let’s make a deal,” he offers. “You climb down with me using a harness
and rope, and I’ll take you on a boat ride.”
This catches my attention.
“That’s right, I saw you light up when I mentioned my dad’s boat shop,”
he continues with a cocky air.
He’s more perceptive than I gave him credit for. Volatile and perceptive.
A hefty combination.
“Have you ever been on a boat?” he asks.
I shake my head. I would love to go on a boat. Tucker knows how to fix
them and can
teach me everything a trainer could, plus more. What am I thinking? This is
crazy. I can’t go on a boat with a human. What excuse would I give if I got
caught? I can’t pretend I’m seducing.
Everyone knows that’s not high on my priority list, and you’re not supposed to
seduce alone. Maybe I could say that I’m collecting information to share with
the girls I teach… Hmm. That’s almost believable, given my dedication to the
studio.
Tucker can tell I’m on the fence about it and ups the ante. “I’ll teach
you to drive the
boat.”
Unfair. Of course, I want to learn how to drive a boat. That’s a beyond
useful skill in my
back pocket. I peek down the cliff face to assess the reliability of Tucker’s
wedge-rope system. Stupid. Like I know what I’m looking for.
“Fine,” I agree. “We need to be hooked together, so if I die, you die.”
“Seems reasonable.”
“AND I get to drive the boat.”
“Deal. Let’s see, today is Monday, and I already have plans tomorrow.
Wednesday?”
“What time?”
“Eleven a.m. on the Ula pier.” “I’ll meet you there.”
Tucker flips his pack around, unclips a belt, and offers it to me. “Do you know
how to wear a harness?”
I snatch it from him, compare it to his gear, and step into the leg
holes. When I have it all clipped in, I throw my hands on my hips.
“Now what?” I ask.
Tucker leans in toward me, rope in hand, then pulls back and
reconsiders. “That’s not quite right,” he says haltingly. “Can I fix your
harness?”
“I already agreed to this mess, didn’t I?”
He rolls his eyes. “I think that’s a yes. Pull the harness up – it has
to sit higher on your
hips.”
I follow his instructions, and he flops the rope over one arm. He moves
in closer and
bends down to reposition the harness. His fingers wrap around the loop against
my leg as he pulls it up below my hip. My heart beats faster and my insides twists.
I evaluate the top of Tucker’s head in an effort to distinguish these
sensations from other emotions. He secures the loop and raises his gaze to meet
mine.
“Is that too tight?” he asks. His hazel eyes penetrate mine. The edges
are a deep brown that blend into a murky green with an amber starburst around
the pupil.
I shake my head and look away. I hope he can’t tell how disoriented this is
making me. “Pull the tabs on your waist tighter,” he instructs.
I cinch the waist while he rearranges the other loop on my leg. Why is
this making me so agitated? He’s only fixing my gear so I don’t fall to my
death. Tucker gathers the rope into his hand and reaches out to tie it to the
front belt loop. As he does, his fingers brush my skin just below my belly
button. A jolt of electricity shoots through my body. I take in a small gasp of
air and hold my breath. He freezes, his fingers lingering on my stomach. Did he
feel that too?
