B00BR2BOUU EBOK (12 page)

I dropped my head and placed
my elbows on the shelf. I was spent, my arms were jelly, and my insides were
well and truly satisfied. When I lifted my head up to look in the mirror, he
was looking back at me and his look of complete satisfaction mirrored my own.
He pulled out and helped me stand back up, not taking his gaze away.

“You are truly beautiful,
Hunny, from here...” he traced his finger from my earlobe, down the side of my
face and neck, to my chest, just above my heart, “...to here. Especially here.”
I put my hand over his and turned my head to kiss him. “Come with me Hunny, I
wish to continue our dog theme.”
What? Oh no you fucking don’t, my cave is
well and truly in a state of hibernation for at least tonight and possibly
tomorrow, well tomorrow morning anyway.

“Bryce, you are going to
render me useless if we keep this up.”

“Oh, we can’t have that. Come
on, it’s not what you think.” He helped me step out of the bath and passed me a
towel. My body had literally been on a sexual rollercoaster, climbing slowly,
ticking and ticking, momentarily teetering on the edge, then speeding up and
exploding—up—down—up—down—until it slowed to a stop. And just like a
rollercoaster the feeling stayed with you, throbbing inside even after you got
off.

We dried ourselves off and
both climbed into bed. He put his arm out, and pulled me to his chest so I
could lay and watch the television. He switched it on and tuned into the
Internet Movie Channel.

“What are you up to?” I
asked, curiously, but he didn’t answer. He just pressed the buttons until he
finally downloaded Lady and the Tramp. A huge smile crept across my face. This
man was so romantic. “You never cease to amaze me, Bryce.” He smiled and kissed
my forehead. The sound of Bella Notte began to fill the room, automatically
drawing me into the wonderful world that is Disney Classics. I often sat down
and watched them with the kids on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Charli and I adored
The Little Mermaid, and Nate’s favourite had been Peter Pan. At first I felt a
little home-sick, or more to the point, a little Charli-and-Nate-sick. But I
was curious as to why he wanted me to see the film, so I snuggled into him and
watched the animated story unfold. He had been running his finger along my arm
as we laid there together, but it wasn’t until about a third of the way into
the move—maybe when Lady found out her owners were to have a baby— that I noticed
his finger had stopped. I gently looked up and he was fast asleep. This was
only the third night we had shared together, yet it felt like years. I watched
his chest rise and fall as he breathed in, deep, relaxed, and completely
comfortable. I could have observed him sleeping all night, but Lady had just
met Butch and he was taking her to Tony’s. I watched as Bella Notte began to
play again, and I found it to be extremely cute. These two dogs were not meant
to be together, and yet here they were at a little dinner table about to eat a
big bowl of spaghetti meatballs, courtesy of the restaurant’s chef. My heart
fluttered as I watched Lady stand her ground, yet shy away from Butch when he
looked at her. It reminded me of Bryce and me when we first met.
Maybe this
was what he meant when he said I reminded him of Lady?
No, it wasn’t, it
was the moment their lips met when they ate the same piece of spaghetti.
Oh,
how adorable.

He was such a romantic at heart, I loved that about him. It
was the small gestures that made my heart melt for him, not the grand and over-exuberant
ones, although, most of them were really nice. I could have easily fallen
asleep with him, I was so exhausted, but I hated missing the end of a movie, I
had a hard time starting something and not seeing it out to its end. I kept my
eyes open and watched Lady and Butch live happily ever after with their
puppies.
What a beautiful movie. Walt Disney, you never disappoint.

I propped myself up on my elbows again and gently moved a
bit of Bryce’s hair from his eye. He was my Butch, he pursued me with the
intention of showing me there was more to the life I knew, but was I Lady? Lady
tamed Butch, captivated him and changed his outlook on life. Would we live
happily ever after? Could we? I switched off the TV and snuggled into him. Maybe
we could.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

This time I recognised the
tingling sensation before I opened my eyes, I could quite easily get used to
waking up by rose tickle. Bryce was once again sitting on the edge of the bed
trailing a rose up and down my back.

“Good morning, Lady. So how
was the movie?”

“I loved it, Butch.”

He raised his eyebrow and got
up. “Come on, no rest for the wicked, my love. We have climbing to do.”
Climbing?
Oh the rock, how exciting.

“Are we allowed to climb it?”

“Yes, but warnings have been
put in place by the land owners, warnings as to why they feel you shouldn’t
climb it and why they ask you not to.”

“Oh, should we climb it then?
Why don’t they want us to climb it?”

“Because the site holds a
sacred significance to the aboriginal owners, not to mention it is quite
dangerous to climb. The Traditional owners feel responsible for people who get
hurt on their land, therefore, they ask you not to climb. The thing is, it is
perfectly legal to climb it. Listen, if you don’t want to climb it, Alexis, we
don’t have to.”

“No, I want to.”

“It’s your call, Hunny.
Listen, I know it’s a bit controversial, but let’s have some breakfast and
decide later when we get there. If you don’t want to climb it, we can take a
tour around the base.”
Crap, if I don’t climb it, I will regret it, I know I
will.
We ate our breakfast on the balcony, and I couldn’t help but stare
wide-eyed at the huge monstrosity situated directly ahead. Now that our climb
was upon us, the sheer size of the rock had become quite intimidating. I hadn’t
been to the gym in months, therefore, I knew this trek was going to be really
punishing.
Serves you right, you lazy bitch.
The size of the rock was
really quite deceiving, it must have something to do with the surrounding areas
being so flat. So there was nothing else close enough to compete with its
enormity. The Olgas, also known as Kata Tjuta, were the only other monolith in
the area and they were over 40km away, so Uluru rivalled no other in its
vicinity.

***

Bryce arranged for a transfer
by 4WD to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. We pulled into the car park and there
were buses and people everywhere.

“So, Ms. Summers, what are
your thoughts?” I didn’t want to disappoint him or myself, for that matter. There
were many people already climbing it, so I decided to make the trek.

“Yep, come on, let’s do it.”

As we walked past the warning
sign, I felt extremely guilty. Warnings are usually there for a reason, but I
kept going and began our journey up what is referred to as Chicken Rock anyway.
My runners were firmly secured to my feet, and I had also opted for some cotton
shorts, a hat and a tank top. Bryce was in shorts, a t-shirt and runners, and
he was also carrying our backpack with some drinks and bananas in it. By the
time I got to the chained rail, my calves were well and truly burning. What was
also burning was the heat the radiated from the surface of the rock, it was
only 7:30 a.m. in the morning and maybe 24 Degrees Celsius but it felt much
warmer.

“Are you all right, Hunny?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. My calves
have just reminded me they exist, that’s all.”

“Would you like me to carry
you?”

“Oh you are so funny, Mr
Clark.”

We continued our trek, and
the view was breath-taking. Before you knew it, the incline of the rock became
quite steep, and you were a good 60 stories above ground. It really was
treacherous, and I now completely understood the warnings imposed. Many people
had stopped on their way up, some were quite elderly, I was concerned for most
of them and asked if they were ‘okay’. There was one lady who looked extremely
exhausted. Bryce offered to lead her back down, but she politely declined and
said she would rest and take in the view for a while, so we continued till the chain
stopped. Apparently at that point you were only a third of the way to the top. “Shit,
I need a drink.” I knew I wasn’t the fittest person alive, but I was really
feeling it now. We sat down as there were a few flat areas where we could rest.
Bryce gave me my water and began to rub my calves.

“I think you will need a
training session when we get home?”

“Oh I do, do I? Are you going
to train me?”

“Of course, my love.” He
looked radiant and although he had broken a sweat, he was very fit and healthy.
Me? Well, I was drenched.
Thank god I didn’t wear my white tank top today;
Oh that’s right, I couldn’t—it was torn apart.
A smile crept across my face
as I remembered our little romp in the desert the night before.
Oh crap, I
didn’t clean up our mess. I hope it is still there when we get back.
We ate
our bananas and continued the walk across the top of the rock, which was still
quite long, but not as difficult as the original incline. There was a sundial
at the end of the journey. Bryce was beaming with satisfaction and the
expression of achievement radiated from him. I was just relieved I hadn’t
collapsed. I was very happy I had decided to climb it, because the view and
idea of being able to stand atop this incredible rock was very special and something
I would treasure for the rest of my life.

Bryce stopped a young couple
and asked if they could take our picture. They agreed, so he handed the young
woman his camera. We hugged each other in front of the sundial, and as the
young lady took our picture, he dipped me for a kiss, surprising me. She then
took this opportunity to snap a few more shots. We repaid the favour and took a
shot of them also. The young man thought it fitting to dip his lady as well.
How
sweet.

“Okay, my love, down we go.”

The thought of the trek back
down was not as worrying as I thought it might be, that was until we reached
the chain and my calves woke up again and decided to punish me for ignoring
them for the last few months. What didn’t help was the fact you had to use your
calf muscles constantly because the surface of the rock had been made quite
smooth as a result of hundreds of climbers over the years. You had to go very
slowly, as slipping at this height was not something you wanted to do. The lady
who had rested on our way up was still sitting in the very same spot we left
her in. We stopped again, and concern spread right through me.

“Are you still admiring the
view?” I asked.

“Oh, hello Luv. Did you make
it to the top?”

“Yes, we did. My name is
Alexis and this is Bryce. Are you sure you are all right?’

“Oh yes, dear. I just don’t
think I will be as fortunate as you and make it to the end. I’m going to start
my trek back down in a minute.”

“Did you come up alone?” I
looked around. No one else seemed to be waiting for her.

“Yes, my group of friends
decided on the walking tour around the base of the rock, but I wanted to climb.
My dear husband passed away last year, and we had always wanted to do this
together, so I owed it to him to give it a try.” My heart broke for her, what
an incredibly brave lady.

“Well, we will help you back
down, Ms...?”

“Mrs. Reynolds dear, Mrs.
Marjorie Reynolds.”

“Well, Mrs. Reynolds, when
you are ready, we will help you every step of the way.” I looked at Bryce and
he placed his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sure your husband would be very proud of
you to have reached this far. Just quietly, Mrs. Reynolds, I saw a teenager
turn back at the top of Chicken Rock, so you have done extremely well.” I
gently rubbed her back. She laughed, and I think what I had just told her, gave
her the motivation to stand up. Bryce took her backpack and I stepped in front
of her, making sure we were descending at a snail’s pace. When we reached the
bottom I gave her a hug. She thanked us, and we wished her well. Bryce took
hold of my hand and led me to the waiting 4WD.

“You really are something,
Alexis Summers.”

I looked at him confused.
“Why? She was an amazing woman, and very brave mind you. That or slightly
outrageous. No, it was obvious she needed some help; we couldn’t just leave her
up there.” I could completely understand the Aboriginal owners not wanting
people to climb, it really was very dangerous, and unfortunately you don’t
realise that until you are at the point of no return, which was the case where
Marjorie was concerned.

***

We arrived back at Outback
Hideaway and headed to the tee-pee.

“Oh, hang on a minute.” I
took off towards our little star gazing spot, and as I got to the top of the
mound I discovered everything had been packed up. Apart from the flattened area
of grass and dirt, there was no evidence of my romantic surprise and our sexy
little dessert tasting session.
Shit, I feel terrible.
Bryce looked at
me worried as I walked back to where I had left him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t clean up our mess,
Dorothy did and I feel awful.” He smirked at me. “What? She was very kind to
have helped me last night, and although she said she would clean it up, I
didn’t really want her to.”