Chapter 20
Kennedy
“This is insane. I can’t do this.”
He slammed my door shut and moved around the truck to open my door. “Yes, you can do it. All you have to do is get your butt out of the truck.” He opened my door and grabbed my hand.
“Dante, I am terrified of heights. There is no way you are going to get me to climb anything higher than a step ladder.”
He tugged me out of the truck and tucked me under his arm. “Mind over matter, honey. You’ll have a harness on, and I’ll be holding onto the rope.”
Pfft. That was easy for him to say. He probably didn’t shake like a leaf when he was more than four feet off the ground. “I think I’ll just watch. You know, make sure your ass looks good from high up.” I had no doubt that it would, but one should make sure.
Dante grinned down at me and opened the door to the rock climbing place. “‘I’ll go first so you can see how it’s done, and then you can give it a try.”
“I like the first part of that, but the second part will need some revising. Is there a juice bar or concession stand here? You’ll probably need to rehydrate after you climb, and I wouldn’t want to keep you from that.”
Dante slapped my butt and pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “You’re at least trying it. Stop fussin’.”
I pursed my lips and crossed my arms over my chest. I was not down with this at all.
He steered us toward the front desk, where a perky blonde was sitting.
“Dante,” she chirped. “We haven’t seen you around here in a while.”
Hmm, she seemed rather familiar with him as she rounded the desk and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. Well, I didn’t see this coming.
“Good to see you, May. Things have been busy at the studio,” Dante replied as he stepped back from her. “Mick around?”
Who was Mick?
“He’s back in the office. He’s talking to Mindy about getting pumpkin spice smoothies in.”
My ears perked up at the mention of smoothies. Maybe they did have a juice bar here. I was still curious who May and Mick were to Dante, but smoothies had peeked my interest.
“Yo, Mick,” Dante hollered.
Well, Dante was definitely on friendly terms with Mick, and he seemed more excited to see him than he was May. That made me a little happy. The blonde was gorgeous, and he had barely glanced at her except when she had forced him to hug her. She didn’t really force him, but it sounded good in my head.
“Holy hell. It’s about damn time you hauled your ass in here. I saw you more when you were on the circuit than now when you live in town.” A big, burly man who I presumed was Mick waltzed out from the door that must have been the office and wrapped Dante into a bear hug.
Hugging was a big thing around here, apparently.
I stepped to the side, dodging the man-hug, and bumped into the counter.
“Can I help you, hon?” she asked me.
I blinked slowly and looked over at Dante who was now in deep conversation with his hugging buddy. “I’m with him.” I pointed at Dante and looked back at May.
“Dante?”
No, Mick. Lord help me with this woman. “Yeah. He forced me here against my will and refuses to let me leave. Do you have a phone that I could use? Maybe call the police?”
The blonde’s eyes bugged out, and her jaw dropped.
And that is where Dante ruined my fun.
“Ignore her, May. I’ve been teaching her how to have a good time, but she’s got a bit of sass in her,” Dante boomed from behind me.
I turned around and propped my hands on my waist and cocked out a hip. “Excuse me,” I shrieked. “I know how to have fun. This is not fun to me. The bowling and golfing were good choices, but you struck out on this one, ninja. Besides, you said you like my sass.”
“Trust me, honey. This is going to be better than both of those put together. And I said I like your ass, not sass.”
“Ass, sass, same thing,” I grunted. I looked over my shoulder at May. “He is so full of shit, by the way. I mean, I do have a great ass, but my sass is pretty rad too.”
She blinked slowly and moved her jaw up and down, but no words came out. I had rendered poor May speechless. “I’m only joking,” I mumbled. “Well, I’m joking about the kidnapping thing, not the fact that he is full of shit.”
“Kennedy,” Dante called. “Reel it in, honey.”
I shrugged and tapped my fingers on the desk. Mick and May were looking at me like I was some crazy escaped from the insane asylum. “So, are we going to climb some walls or something?”
Mick finally burst out laughing and clapped Dante on the shoulder. “I have no idea who she is, but she’s damn near perfect for you.”
Huh, Mick was definitely on my good side. I glanced over at May who was still recovering. The verdict was still out on her.
Dante moved over to me and put his arm around my shoulder. “Hi, handsome,” I whispered, looking up at him.
“You telling May I kidnapped you?”
I shrugged. “I did, but she thinks I’m serious.”
“It’s probably more of the fact that you told her I was full of shit in front of me.”
I cocked my head to the side. “I’m not sure why she would care that I said that unless she’s hopelessly in love with you, waiting for me to croak or something.” Mick chuckled, and I looked over Dante’s shoulder at him. “Or maybe it’s Mick who’s got a thing for you.” I threw Mick a wink letting him know I was just messing around.
Thank the Lord, Mick had a healthy sense of humor and barked with laughter.
Dante reached up, his hand cupped my chin, and my eyes fell on him. “You really brought the sass today, didn’t you, honey?”
“Eh, I guess I’m a bit feisty today.”
He leaned down, and his lips brushed against my ear lobe. “Feisty is good, darlin’.”
Well then.
“And funny as hell is even better,” he finished.
“He’s my boss,” May blurted, knocking me out of my little cocoon with Dante.
“Mick?” I chirped.
“No, well, yes, but so is Dante,” she clarified.
I looked up at Dante, and now it was my turn for my jaw to drop. “She’s messing with me now, isn’t she?”
Dante shook his head. “No. I’m technically her boss, but not really.”
Well, that was about as clear as mud. “Technically, but not really?”
Mick stepped up next to the desk and leaned against it. My eyes roamed over him, taking in the fact that he was probably the same age as Dante and was also a Silver Fox. “Are y’all part of the Silver Fox club or something?”
“Jesus,” Dante sighed.
Mick held his hand out to me, and I hesitantly shook it. “I’m Mick, in case you didn’t pick that up, and that’s May. Neither of us is in love with Dante, and if there is a Silver Fox club, neither of us are part of it.”
“You should seriously think about starting one. I know the perfect guy who could be your fan club president.” Karlton would be in absolute Heaven with Dante and Mick. “Can we get back to how you’re their boss?”
Dante sighed and leaned against the counter. “I’m a silent partner, honey. Mick and May run the place, do all of the work, and I just come climb for free every now and then.”
“Ninja and multiple business owner.” Who would have guessed that?
“I only own half of Climb, honey. This is Mick’s baby that I just helped get off of the ground.” Dante talked as if it wasn’t a big deal and everyone was part owner of two businesses.
I put my hand on his chest and tapped my fingers. “Next time, tell me before we walk into a place you part own so I don’t scare the receptionist and ask if your partner is secretly in love with you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, honey,” he chuckled.
“Wall twelve is empty right now. You guys get harnessed up, and I’ll meet you over there.” Mick walked back into the office and closed the door behind him.
“I’m not climbing, Dante. Even if you own this place, I am not leaving the ground.”
“Later, May,” Dante said. He grabbed my hand and dragged me down a hallway with only one door at the end. He pushed open the door and pulled me into a huge, wide open space that had tall, freestanding walls with people climbing all over them.
“These people are insane,” I croaked as I watched a woman more than twenty feet up in the air looking for a peg to put her foot on. “She’s going to die.”
Dante laughed and pulled me past four walls. We stopped in front of a wall that I assumed was twelve. “Nobody is dying here, honey.” Dante disappeared behind the wall, and I looked up. Way up.
My stomach dropped to my knees, and my anxiety rocketed. I hadn’t even tried to climb the thing, and I was ready to toss my cookies.
“Stop looking at it, honey,” Dante chided. He walked out from behind the wall with what I assumed were harnesses. He dropped one on the floor and kept the other in his hands. “I’m gonna hold this open, all you need to do it step into it, and I’ll strap you in.”
I listened as he told me to step here and put my arms there until I was strapped in and felt like Dante and I were about to do a little bondage.
I ran my hands over all of the hooks and loops, admiring Dante’s handiwork. “You think Mick has ever taken one of these home and hung it from the ceiling?”
Dante grabbed his harness off the ground and shook his head. “If he has, honey, I don’t want to know about it.” Dante was in his harness way faster than it took me, and before I knew it, we were both standing close to the wall when Mick walked out with his own harness on.
“I see you managed to get her strapped up even though she refuses to climb,” Mick chuckled.
“Once she gets one foot on that wall, she’ll be up in no time.”
I scoffed and shook my head. “Oh, ye who knows nothing about me. My ass is not going up that wall.”
“Why don’t you show her how it’s done, Dante?” Mick grabbed some ropes, did something with them, and then tied one off to Dante. I was absolutely clueless what to do, or what Mick was doing.
Dante approached the wall and looked over his shoulder at me. “I get to the top and ring the bell, then you need to at least try.”
I gazed up at the wall again and saw the tiny bell that Dante had mentioned. It was probably fifty feet up in the air, and there was no way in hell Dante could make it up there.
“I’ll take that bet. There is no way in hell you can do that.” I didn’t think anyone could do that. Although, I probably wasn't the best person to ask because even halfway up that wall seemed impossible.
“I’ll see you on the way down, honey.” He put one foot on the wall, his hands grasping two peg thingies, and he hoisted himself onto it. Each time his hand moved, his opposite foot did. At least, it seemed like that was what was happening. Dante moved incredibly fast up the wall, and I was speechless when he was ten feet away from the bell.
“Oh, my God, he’s actually going make it,” I breathed out.
Mick, who was standing next to me holding onto the ropes, chuckled. “I’ve never seen anyone climb like Dante before. Hell, he’s even better than I am.”
“Is he bad at anything?” I asked under my breath.
“There isn’t a thing he’s tried that he’s failed at,” Mick informed me.
I glanced at Mick from the corner of my eye. “How long have you two been friends?”
“You mean secret lovers?” he smirked.
Jesus. I was never going to hear the end of this. “Yes, that too.”
“We met out on the circuit.”
“Oh, you’re a ninja too?” Mick was going to have to be Silver Fox Ninja #2 since Dante had taken the #1 spot.
“Not exactly. I worked for one of the weapon companies that always had a booth at the tournaments. I was on the circuit, but not competing.”
“I think I’m going to have to get to one of these tournaments to see what all of the hype is.” I leaned back and watched Dante searching for a place to put his hand. “Whatever you do, don’t fall, ninja!” I shouted. He was almost to the top, and he wasn’t even breathing heavily or looking for an escape route. The man was rather amazing.
“You behaving down there,” Dante yelled.
“Behaving probably isn’t the right word. It’s more like petrified by how high you are and am saying whatever falls out of my mouth to make it look like I’m not about to pee my pants.” Seriously, fifty feet up in the air and the man was acting like he was just strolling through the park.
He leaned away from the wall, his one arm just hanging, and gave me his panty dropping smile. “You gonna save a little bit of that sass for me later?”
I put my hand over my eyes to block out the bright lights. “If you manage to get down from there without falling on your butt and landing in the hospital, then I’ll see if I can save a little for you. I make no promises.”
“I think this is my favorite Kennedy yet,” he whispered barely loud enough for me to hear. He put his hand back on the wall and continued to climb.
“I don’t think he realizes how crazy he sounds when he talks about all my Kennedys.” I glanced over at Mick, who had just heard our weird conversation. “Dante thinks I have multiple personalities.”
“Darlin’, I’ve never seen that man so happy before, so if your multiple personalities are keeping him that way, I’m gonna say it’s a good thing.”
“I really don’t have multiple personalities,” I muttered.
Mick chuckled and let out more slack for Dante. “I think it’s just you being you.”
Hmm, I liked that a lot better than multiple personalities. “Mick says I’m just me. I like Mick better than you. He doesn’t tell me I’m crazy.”
“As soon as I get off this wall, I’m gonna beat the hell out of Mick and give you the spanking you deserve,” Dante called.
I pursed my mouth and squinted up at him. “I’m not sure I like your tone.”
Dante climbed the final few feet and rang the bell. He peered down at us with a huge smile on his face. “You liked it the other night when I told you to get on your hands and knees.”
“Oh, my God!” I gasped. Did the man have no filter when people were around? I shook my finger at him. “There’s one good thing about you being up there on that wall.”
“Oh yeah? And what is that, honey?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and smiled. “I can go find the juice bar, and you can’t stop me.” My hands tugged and pulled on the stupid harness I had on trying to get out of it.
“Coming down,” Dante called.
Oh shit. “Get me out of this damn thing, Mick.”
“I can’t help ya right now, Kennedy,” he chuckled. “Dante is coming down pretty fast.”
Oh hell. Maybe I shouldn’t have announced my intentions to leave him hanging up there and just nonchalantly made my way out the door. “Well, can you at least help a girl out by telling me the magic words to get this damn thing off?” I was stuck, and I was going to have to wear a harness for the rest of my life.
I looked up and saw Dante was halfway down, and I doubled my efforts to get free. Mick took pity on me, telling me which buckle to pull. The harness dropped around my feet, and I gave a loud shout, thankful I had made it out before Dante’s feet touched the floor.
Granted, he was almost to the bottom, but I still had a bit of a lead. “It was nice meeting ya, Mick.” I clapped him on the shoulder and scooted my way over to the door that was on the other side of the huge ass building. “See ya later, old man,” I called to Dante.
A low growl ripped from his lips, and my feet carried me to the door we had walked through. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see Dante’s feet touch the floor, and his hands working furiously to get the harness off. “Shit,” I cursed.
“Done already?” May asked as I flew by the desk.
“Erg, I thought I would grab a couple of smoothies while Dante climbed. Can you tell me which way that would be?”
“Just through that hallway. Shane will take good care of you.” May pointed to a small hallway to the left of the door, and I slipped down it as I heard Dante bellow my name.
He did not sound happy. At all. I think Mick was wrong in thinking that the multiple Kennedys made Dante happy.
My long legs carried me down the hallway, and I came to a skidding stop when I was transported to a tropical paradise. “Holy mother of God,” I whispered. I looked around, taking in the turquoise painted walls and beach decor. There were three people waiting in line and a couple sitting at one of the four tables.
The juice bar had its own entrance out onto the street, and I saw Dante’s truck parked in the back of the lot. How in the hell had I not seen this place when we parked?
“You can run, but you can’t hide, honey.” Dante wrapped his arms around me from behind and pressed a kiss to the side of my neck.
“There are witnesses here, Dante. No spanking,” I warned.
His lips brushed against my ear. “Later,” he whispered.
Oh hell. My body heated at his words, but my mind screamed that I should run. “Uh, smoothie first?” I croaked.
He chuckled and pushed us toward the back of the line. “Smoothies first,” he agreed.
I looked up at the board with all of the flavors. “Tell me how I never knew about this place,” I wondered. There were at least twenty different kinds of smoothies, and they also had snacks like nachos and pretzels. This place was awesome.
“It just opened a month ago. We’re working on advertising and getting more people in the door.”
I turned around in his arms with my jaw dropped. “Silent partner?”
Dante shrugged and shuffled us forward in line. “It’s a good investment.”
“We’re going to stop right here, and you need to tell me if you have any other good investments in town.”
He looked at me and shook his head. “Just Powerhouse, Climb, and Squeeze in town.”
“Are you sure? Maybe not a couple other ones that you forgot about?” Now I was going to wonder where ever I went if Dante owned it.
“That’s it, honey.”
I turned back around and tried to concentrate on the menu and not the man behind me. Here I thought I had Dante pegged as a Silver Fox Ninja, and now he was a Silver Fox Ninja who dabbled in rock climbing and smoothies. “I’m getting a smoothie, nachos, and a pretzel since you own the place,” I informed him.
His arm wrapped tight around my waist, and he pulled me flush against his body. “Whatever you want is yours,” he whispered.
Hmph, if that’s what he wanted, then I was also getting a hot dog.
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