THE ROPES
by Elise King

A bald man waited at the baggage claim, holding a maroon and white sign with the Affinity logo. He found my name on his list, then he took my bag and directed me outside to a shuttle bus with its doors wide open. I had no idea what to expect. My boss had suggested I go into the training with an open mind, so I resisted my urge to do an internet search and find out exactly what it was about. All I knew was that my company required the Affinity training in order to be considered for any management position, and I had a good shot at the promotion I wanted once I got through this class.

The people on the bus were at least ten years older than I was. One woman scowled, clearly sizing me up as I walked past her. I found a seat toward the middle and waited quietly until the driver returned.

The drive was about an hour. Once we got out of Denver, we took a long, winding road up the side of a mountain. My ears popped as we drove farther and farther up the mountain. At last we reached a building that resembled an oversized log cabin. Stepping off the bus, I was struck by the cool air and the fresh scent of evergreen. Several people stood outside, all of them wearing the same maroon T-shirt as me. I joined the group just as a woman came out of the cabin and stomped toward us.

“My name is Julie,” she shouted. “Welcome to Leadership Development. These next two days are going to be jam-packed, so let’s get started. Find a partner and introduce yourself.”

I glanced around the group, but couldn’t make eye contact with anyone. I walked toward a younger woman who was standing by herself, but another man got there first. Alone in the middle of the group, I realized everyone had a partner but me.

“Everyone have their partner?” Julie asked.

“I don’t have one,” I said.

“What?” She scanned the group, counting bodies, and ended with nineteen. “Somebody’s missing—” She looked angry for a moment and then shook her head. “We’re already behind schedule so I’ll be your partner.”

I walked over to Julie and noticed she was shorter than me. But what she lacked in height, she made up for in muscle. Even her walk reminded me of the strut of a bodybuilder at the gym, moving from one machine to another. “This way,” she commanded, and we followed her around the cabin where there was a trail leading through the trees. At the end of the trail, my heart skipped—and then it started beating ferociously.

In the clearing I saw an enormous structure. It was made mostly of wood with a few sections of rope. I had to squint away the afternoon sun to really see it. Most of it was probably thirty feet off the ground. Right above the first dizzying level, there was a higher one, maybe fifty feet up. There were a series of wooden perches, each separated by some type of apparatus made from wooden beams—or just ropes.

Back in the third grade, Brianna Mulligan dared me to climb up the outside of the school jungle gym. I remember looking down from the poles just before I reached the top. Seeing how small the kids on the ground looked gave me a sick ache in the pit of my belly.

I had that same feeling now.

Julie thrust harnesses into our hands and demonstrated how to step into them and fasten them around our abdomens. My hands were shaking but I pulled the nylon straps through my legs and struggled with the buckle, making sure to do it just the way Julie did.

“Okay, partner, let’s go up to the first level together to show everyone how it’s done.”

I started freaking out. Not only did I have to face my biggest fear, but I had to do it in front of a crowd of strangers. Mentally, I cursed my boss and his promises that this training would be transformative—even fun. I considered refusing, until I remembered how much I wanted to move up at work. My thirtieth birthday was a month away, and it was time to take charge of my career. I had to do this. Julie fastened another metal ring into my harness. Behind her, two guys held the ropes that were going to hoist us up to the structure.

Julie was about to give the okay to start pulling, but she was interrupted by a late arrival. A man walked toward us. Even in the distance, I could see he was strong and moved with the grace of an athlete. He had joined the group before I could catch a glimpse of his face. When I did, I recognized him immediately.

Ryan Brackett used to work in the same office as me before he took a job in our company’s San Francisco location. Not only was his body an impressive specimen of long, lean muscle, but his face was pure perfection. His smooth chocolate skin and deep-brown eyes made it impossible to speak when he looked at you. He’d been the topic of discussion many times at the bar among me and my female coworkers.

Julie pointed at Ryan. “You’re with him now.” She motioned to the rope handlers who tugged, lifting her off the ground. My nerves were frazzled at the thought of partnering with Ryan—in addition to the terrifying climb I was about to do. I felt my knees wobble when I walked over to him.

“Hi,” I stammered. “I guess we’re supposed to be partners.”

“Hey, Sarah. How’ve you been?”

Warmth spread through my chest. Not only did he recognize me, but he remembered my name. I turned my eyes back to Julie and watched her jump across a gap between two wooden planks. She executed the maneuver flawlessly and then tumbled backward. The rope handler held her weight, easing her to the ground.

“See?” she shouted. “Easy!”

I took a deep breath.

She pointed to a rope wall at the end of the structure. “First you’ll climb the ropes to get to the top perch, where you’ll clip your harness to one of the ropes dangling from the top, using the lobster clip.” Then she showed us how to fasten the clip and how to unfasten it to change ropes at the end of each obstacle. “The most important part of this drill is not only to get across, but to work with your partner. This course is impossible to get through alone. Remember that.”

My heart was a frantic drumbeat in my chest.

“First rule,” Julie shouted. “If you come to class late, you have to go first.” She looked at Ryan and me. “You’re up.”

I followed Ryan to the ropes and tried to keep up with him. He made it to the top effortlessly and hoisted himself up to the perch.

“Come on, Sarah. You got this,” he called down to me.

My weight worked against the slack in the rope wall so I had to summon all my strength to get to the top. Alone I couldn’t have done it, but with him looking down, I pushed myself harder. Finally I crawled up to the perch and Ryan secured us to the overhead ropes. Ahead was a narrow wooden beam that led to the next perch.

“Do you want to lead?” Ryan asked.

I stared wide-eyed at the narrow beam. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Just follow me.” He stepped onto the beam and stretched his hand out to me.

I grabbed his hand and felt myself being led to the beam.

“Don’t look down,” he said. He walked backward so we were face to face and flashed me a smile. “Look at me. You can do this.”

At that moment, staring into his eyes was less terrifying than acknowledging that my feet were moving along a three-inch beam of wood. I gripped his hand and moved with him. There was a dull screech as the ropes attached to our harnesses dragged along the thin wire overhead. Gazing at his gorgeous face propelled me forward.

“You’re doing great. Just keep coming, Sarah.”

Finally we reached the second perch and Ryan switched us to the next set of ropes. With his help, I made it through a few more obstacles. One required us to jump across gaps in a series of boards. Another was made of three ropes pulled tight and running parallel to each other. I did okay until we got to the fourth obstacle.

The fourth obstacle had more wood beams, strung together with rope. Ryan stepped out first and the board slid down the ropes under the force of his body weight. It caught him off guard and by the time he’d steadied himself, there was a massive gap between me on the perch and him on the beam. We should have stepped out together.

“I can’t do this,” I said. The ropes were too shaky to walk across.

“You have to jump,” Ryan said.

“I can’t.”

He had one hand on the rope that stretched from the overhead wire to his harness. His other arm was reaching back to me. “I’ll catch you, I promise.”

The rope that anchored me had a little slack. If I fell, I wouldn’t fall far, but I would be stuck—dangling in the air, helplessly. I had to jump.

“Come on, Sarah,” he coaxed.

I leaned forward and pushed off, focusing only on him. As promised, he caught me, wrapping his free arm around my waist. But the force of my landing left the board beneath us unstable. I had to grip him with both arms. Our bodies were clasped together, and we were struggling to get our balance. There was no space between us. My breasts were pressed against his chest, and I could smell the citrus of his cologne. Once we were finally steady, I tilted my head back a little and looked at his face. He made no move to release me. For a second, I was sure I spotted a trace of arousal in his expression. His gaze bore deep into mine like he was going to kiss me. I closed my eyes… and then I felt him pull away. As we moved through the last two obstacles, the idea of him kissing me became ridiculous. Could a guy like Ryan actually be attracted to me? I moved through the rest of the course in a daze. All I could think about was the heat between our bodies when he held me—and that look.

Did he feel it too?

Back on the ground, I decided that I’d imagined everything. Instead of talking to me, Ryan stood with a group of guys who’d finished the obstacle course after us, making small talk. At dinner, when he sat at a different table, I started to really feel self-conscious. Had I crossed the line with the way I held onto him? Maybe the look he gave me was really one of rejection.

I wanted to run away and hide.

After dinner we got our roommate assignments. Mine was Carol, the woman who’d glared at me on the bus. “I hope you don’t snore,” she said. “I’m a light sleeper.”

“I don’t think I do.”

I changed for bed but I couldn’t fall asleep. So once Carol started to snore, I grabbed my jacket and snuck out of the room. I walked out to a bench behind the cabin. It was dark so I took out my cell phone and started looking at email. After a few minutes, a deep voice startled me from the darkness.

“Sarah?”

I jumped and then turned my phone so I could see who was in front of me.

“I was about to go for a walk,” Ryan said. “Want to join me?”

“Isn’t it too dark?”

“No. There are lights on the trail.”

I followed him into the darkness.

Once we reached the trail, the trees were illuminated by the faint lights scattered along the path. I could see Ryan’s outline, but his face was darkened by the shadows.

“Hey,” he said. “I wanted to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

“I should have known that we needed to step out to that moving board together. I put you in a bad place having to jump like that. I feel like a jerk.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said.

We walked in silence for a few minutes until we reached the end of the trail and the dreaded obstacle course. Seeing it in the moonlight and knowing I didn’t have to go up there made me feel at ease.

“Actually,” I said to Ryan. “I thought I’d made you uncomfortable up there.”

“Why?”

“I held on to you pretty tight.”

He laughed. “I have no problem with you holding on to me.” We stopped walking right at the bottom of the rope wall.

“I was terrified,” I admitted.

“I know.” He rested both hands on my shoulders and dragged them slowly down the length of my arms. Standing close like that, I could see his face in the moonlight. We stared into each other’s eyes and then he moved his hands to my waist to pull me closer. His body felt so warm. I tilted my head, and he brought his lips to mine.

The kiss started soft, but it quickly turned frantic. I wrapped my arms around him and held his body the same way I did when we were thirty feet off the ground. When he pulled away, it was to unzip my jacket. Underneath I was wearing only a T-shirt, no bra. He took my jacket off and slid his hands up to my bare breasts. My nipples were hard from the breeze, and his rough fingertips rubbed and squeezed them. Feeling his hands on my bare skin, I started breathing heavier. I moved my hands inside his shirt.

Ryan’s body was rock hard. I started on his chiseled stomach and caressed him up to his strong chest. Heat emanated from his skin as I explored every inch of his muscular upper body.

He stopped touching me to strip away our shirts. When we kissed again, our bare chests were pressed together. I felt myself getting wet. My breathing became long and slow. I wanted him like crazy.

“Come here,” he whispered and turned to the rope wall. He climbed about two-thirds of the way up and flipped around so he was laying on the ropes, anchoring himself with his feet.

“No way,” I shouted up to him. “I hate heights.”

“But, Sarah,” he called. “I want you.”

Still dizzy with desire, I started to climb. I was only wearing shorts, and the cool night air made me shiver. And yet the thought of reaching him was too appealing to stop. I climbed to him, and then he pulled down my shorts and underwear. I let them slide down my legs and shook them free, letting them tumble to the ground. We didn’t need to talk. All my attention was on him and the ropes—there was no room for words.

He rolled me over on my back. I gripped the ropes above me with both hands, and pressed my feet against the ropes below. It was too dark to see how high I was, but I trusted him completely. I knew he wouldn’t let me fall. He moved down the ropes until his head was between my legs. He started at my knee and kissed my inner thigh. Up one leg and down the other. Very slowly. By the time he reached my other knee, my legs were spread wide, and I was aching for him. He put his face between my legs. His tongue slid over my lips, parting them and plunging inside. Then his mouth was wrapped around my clit and he sucked it gently, teasing me.

I moaned. “I want you so bad.”

He climbed up again so he was on top of me. I felt the bulge of his crotch over my dripping pussy, and I dug my feet into the ropes to free my hands. He stopped me before I could pull down his shorts and reached into his pocket for a condom. As I slid his shorts away, he held onto the ropes with one arm while tearing the condom open with his teeth and then unrolling it over his massive erection. Every movement of his was controlled. He kicked off his shorts and kissed my neck, making me wait before he finally slid inside.

He pushed his cock into me slowly, and I felt like I was in a dream. The most beautiful man I had ever seen was fucking me. I moaned again. Reaching up to hold the ropes, I arched my back to force him in deeper. As I did that, the ropes burned into my flesh. Ryan moved faster, and my pain became more intense. Instead of moving away from it, I arched myself further. My hands were raw from gripping the ropes. Somehow all the pain made every sensation more extreme, even the feel of him moving in and out of me. My whole body was electrified.

The slack of the rope wall echoed his movements. Suspended high in the air, I felt weightless as our bodies rose together and then sunk back into the ropes. I wrapped my legs around him and closed my eyes. The fiery sensation started inside my pussy and kept building until it rocked my whole body. I cried out when I came. My orgasm was harder and longer than any I’d felt before. My body shuddered, which sent him over the top. His motion stopped but the ropes kept quivering beneath us as he groaned into my ear. After he came, he tucked his head against mine and we stayed like that, both trying to catch our breath.

“Still afraid of heights?” he whispered.

“Umm…maybe not as much.”

He lifted his head to look at me. “Good.” He smiled. “Because you know tomorrow they’re going to make us do the top level.”

I felt a knot inside my stomach.

He kissed my ear and whispered, “Don’t be scared, Sarah. I’ll be right beside you.”

I looked up at the highest ropes and my nerves slipped away, replaced by something even more powerful. With him by my side, I knew I had nothing to worry about.