Nicki
I am about to be dangling off a cliff with only a lousy rope between me and certain death.
The wind seems a lot stronger on top than it did below. I am frozen with fear. But I don't want anyone to know it.
I'd followed Bey and the ROTC members a couple of miles along a winding path that curved up and around, through trees and around boulders, until we were standing on top of the sandstone cliffs.
The guys, all clad in fatigues, jumped into action, anchoring rappelling ropes to two thick tree trunks that stood about ten feet from the edge.
Then they quickly wrapped other ropes around their rear ends, creating harnesses with an elaborate system of knots.
And then, before I even realized what was happening, they'd clipped themselves to the rappelling ropes and, one by one, simply walked off the cliff.
Headfirst. Hollering and howling and whooping as if it was the greatest moment of their lives.
They sounded young and brave and free. And completely insane.
Bey stood near the edge with a beat-up iPad in her hands, reading out what sounded like a safety checklist before each team member stepped off the cliff. She looked deadly serious and sounded very business-like.
But now that the last person has seemingly disappeared into thin air, she is looking at me. I'm sure I look scared to death, because I am.
No fucking way.
"No fucking way," I repeat what I was just thinking.
I start to back up, turning to head down the path I just came up. "No way, Bey! Are you kidding me?"
I'd been all brave and gung-ho about this down at the car. But not now.
Bey is instantly at my side. "Nicki." Her voice is warm, reassuring.
She sticks the iPad under her arm and puts both hands on my shoulders. "You're not going down like that."
She chuckles and pulls me to her.
"I'm sorry. I should have warned you. That's the advanced way to do it. They call it Aussie Style. These guys have been trained to do that. You're going down butt first, slowly, with me right there next to you."
She laughs again and kisses me, and I stand there feeling foolish.
"Oh." That's all I can manage.
"And remember, you don't have to do this at all. No one's going to think badly of you. None of those guys down there will, I guarantee you. The only thing they're thinking about is how to get you away from me."
I'd seen the hungry way some of the ROTC guys looked at me when Bey introduced me.
But I do not want to back out in front of them. Or in front of Bey.
"I'm doing this," I say, squaring my shoulders.
I walk back toward the edge to a pile of rope and start wrapping a length of it around my waist and through my legs, then try to tie it the way I'd seen the others doing.
"Hang on, hang on." Bey tucks the iPad into the backpack on the ground nearby; then she's again at my side.
She gently takes the rope from me.
"You gotta know what you're doing with the seat; otherwise, you could get yourself killed. Besides, I brought a harness for you. It's safer, especially for a tiny one like you."
She grins and holds up a contraption with what looks like a waistband and two leg loops. Then she bends over a little and holds the harness out in front of me.
"Step into these leg loops, gorgeous."
I put my hands on Bey's shoulders and my legs into each of the loops. She pulls the harness up above my waist and cinches the loops.
Her hands linger a little longer on my thighs than is probably necessary. Not that I mind.
Then she yanks me against her body, her hands on my hips.
"Just part of the safety check," she says in my ear as my loins begin to flutter. "I have to make sure the waistband is above your hip bones."
Being pressed against Bey like that is enough to make my heartbeat race and my lungs feel like they can't get enough air.
And it's not just physical; I feel a surge of emotion I can barely control.
Bey pulls back a little, and her eyes scan my face. "You still okay with this? Seriously, you can still say No."
I grab the gloves she set on a boulder for me and pull them on, trying to look more confident than I feel
"I said I'm doing this, Bey. Now let's go."
She snaps to attention and gives me a mock salute.
She's wearing a pair of faded shorts and a cut-off sleeve shirt, and when she raises her arm, I catch a glimpse of those marvelously muscular abs. Then she yanks me toward her and uses metal clips to attach me to the rappelling ropes that stretch out over the cliff.
Just to mess with her, I run my gloved finger down the front of her shirt, then do a playful loop around the zipper of her jeans.
She groans. "Keep that up," she whispers, "and we'll just go find a place over there behind those boulders. We could have some fun with these ropes".
I grab her face and plant a long, passionate kiss on her lips, trying to prolong her agony.
"Oh no, Bey," I respond mockingly, shaking my head. "You wanted to get to know each other first. Remember?"
She clenches her eyes shut and groans again, but I have no sympathy. She left me throbbing with desire for her last night. Alone and wondering what the hell had just happened.
She grabs some more rope from the pile and is wrapping the rope around herself like the other guys did when we hear a voice calling from below.
"You kids still coming down? Still need someone on belay? Or should we just give you two some alone time up there?"
Whoever's speaking stretches the word alone out over two or three syllables.
A bunch of guffaws reach our ears.
Bey's jaw tenses. "Hey, Henderson?" she calls, her voice harsh. "I have the ability to make you scrub every toilet on campus with your toothbrush. Would you like to rephrase that question?"
Instantly, we hear the chastened reply. "Yes, ma'am, I just wanted to let you know I am available to belay for the lovely lady on your command. No disrespect intended, ma'am."
Bey grins at me; she's still tying knots.
She swiftly creates a seat out of the rope like the others did and then starts cinching herself to a second set of ropes tied around a tree and hanging over the edge.
"This is called a Swiss Seat," she tells me. "I'm going down right next to you."
"What did Henderson mean when he said he was available to belay for me?"
Bey is checking my harness and the clips, making sure everything is tight. "It means he's going to be holding on to your rope," he says. "And that he will catch you if you fall."
She glances up as I draw a quick, sharp breath.
"But you're not going to fall, Nicki. I'd never let that happen."
She yells over the edge to Henderson. "On belay, grunt?"
And the answer comes right back: "Yes, ma'am, belay on."
Bey puts the other rappelling rope in my hands and tells me to turn around and place my feet on the edge of the cliff.
"Grab the rope with your right hand and put it behind your back. That's your brake. And put your left hand in front of you on the rope. That's your guide."
I do as she says. My heart is racing. A part of me wishes I could back out. But I'm determined to see this through.
Bey is talking to me. "Now just step out over the edge, Nicki. Keep your feet up high on the rock. Make an L shape with your body."
Sure. Just step out over the edge.
The wind suddenly picks up, and a cloud of dust settles over my face.
"Aagh!" I am shaking my head, trying to clear my vision without letting go of the rope.
I can't seem to move my legs. I feel tears coursing down my face.
"I got a bunch of dust in my eyes," I call out, "and I can't let go to wipe them."
I hope she believes that's the reason for my ridiculous tears.
I hear Bey's voice nearby, calm and reassuring.
"Your right hand is braking you, Nicki. Just keep it in the small of your back. Use your left hand to clear your eyes."
"Oh." I totally hate myself right now.
I wipe my eyes with my glove as Bey slides even closer, her boots scraping the rocks until her body is covering mine.
"We're going to go down together." Her lips are right next to my ear, and her voice is soothing. Her body is pressed against mine.
"When I say 'Right hand out,' you're going to stick your right hand out to the side," she says. "That will allow you to move down the rope. And at the same time, you'll push off with your feet. Just go a few feet down, then bring your right hand in tight to the small of your back again to stop yourself. Understand?"
I nod.
"You ready?"
I nod again. Then, at the last minute, I think of something. "Hey!"
I turn my head to the side. Bey is so close her lips skim my jaw. "What about our backpacks? Won't we need them?"
"Oh, we'll get them when we go back up." She laughs as my head cranes around to look at her in surprise.
"You didn't think you were only going down once, did you? Next time, you're going down by yourself."
Before I can protest, she calls "Right hand out!" and we put our right hands out in unison, pushing off the rock with her feet straddling mine.
We slide down the rope a few feet and then plunge toward the cliff again.
"You do realize," Bey calls out again as our feet push off and I feel a rush of wind, "the real reason I wanted to go down with you was so I could thrust into you like this."
She pushes her crotch against me each time we touch the rocks again.
Jesus, this girl. But I can't help laughing. And, yeah, I'm turned on. Damn her.
Just as we reach the bottom, I turn my face into the wind to shout. "You are unbelievable!"
She puts her mouth right next to my ear again. I can feel her warm breath against my face.
"That's what they all say, baby."
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