Maddy Was Different

Chapter 1 - Watch Out for Those Top Belays

Maddy was different. At least she said she was. We were practice climbing on a club outing. It was hot, an October heatwave that almost always arrived as school started. Pinnacles was now a national park, and the routes were well known. Only beginners, or friction freaks, went there. The rock was volcanic, with dozens of little nubbins that were hard to get a grip on, and hard on your body when you fell. Almost everyone top roped, unless they were trying to prove something and do a free climb.

I told Maddy that free climbing at Pinnacles was pointless. "Can't you see the newspaper? So and so was critically injured falling ten feet in the park while free climbing. If you are crazy enough to free something you are not sure of, do it where the obituary says it was one of the hardest routes in the country. Go out in a blaze of glory."

Maddy was drenched with sweat and had come off the pitch she was on three times. I patiently belayed her and said, "Maybe that stretch is too tall for your shoes. See if you can find something shorter."

She swore, found the right nubbin, and was beside me in thirty seconds. "Asshole."

"Oh?"

"You are supposed to make us find a way ourselves. Builds character. Especially when it is a guy belaying a girl."

We hiked down the back of the rock and she said, "You willing to give a sweaty, smelly girl a ride back?"

I looked at her. She was going into her senior year, and I was a junior. Everything about her was nice, except her reputation for being a sharp tongued ball buster. We had never climbed together, but I said to myself, nothing ventured, nothing gained. "Sure. My passenger never quits early but there is plenty of space in other cars. Are we heading out now?"

She nodded. "I told one of the other climbers to explain to my driver."

I found water and a couple of towels. "Want me to pour some of this on you?"

"Yes, but I want it on my skin, not these clothes. What about moving the car into those trees?"

In a few minutes, I was pouring water down the naked back of Maddy, and she was wiping her front and between her legs with my wet towel. The next towel dried her and a fresh sports bra and boy shorts went on. The back had been tan from top to bottom. How did that happen, I wondered.

She turned and said, "You?"

I nodded, turned around, and dropped my shorts. The water felt great. She said, "Matt, what have you been doing to fix up the bod like that?"

I dried off and got my own clean shorts on. "Believe it or not, a horse guest ranch. Friend of my uncle's. Worked my ass off. Learned to ride a horse without falling off. How did you get tan all over?"

"I was a counselor and lifeguard at a girl's camp. There was a patio with a fence and we all went around bare ass."

As we drove down the road towards Palo Alto, I pointed to the cooler in the back. She pulled out a beer rather than a soda and said, "Sips for you?"

"You are being pretty nice for an Irish girl with a bad reputation about guys."

"It's a bum rap. I'm here to study hard and get into med school, learn how to rock climb, and check out guys - in that order. Don't get down to the third priority very often. But guys see this body I work so hard on and get to thinking they can have me. Doesn't work that way."

"Bottom line, a ball buster." I smiled, and she cracked a small grin.

"Last spring, I did have to kick a guy in the nuts. Came up to me without even a hello and had his hand down the front of my shorts. Didn't expect my heel to catch him hard. He cried a lot. Could hardly walk. The other girls were cheering, but the guys weren't."

We rode in silence for a while, and then she said, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." This time the look was softer, but distant, like she wasn't sure what she was doing.

"I'm not making any progress in my climbing. Pinnacles sucks after a while. I've been working hard in the gym and on the climbing walls. My finger grip is a nine according to that machine."

She paused and I said, "I'm impressed."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to Yosemite on my own. I need a climbing partner."

"You are asking an Irish guy with a prickly reputation that you already called an asshole to be your climbing partner?"

She laughed nervously. "Maybe that wasn't very smart of me."

"Actually, it was exactly the right thing to say. I shouldn't have been giving you cheap advice on a practice climb."

"So you are interested?"

"Madelaine McCarthy. That's a nice Irish name and you fit the name real well. But I had a bad experience last year and I'm sworn off female climbing partners."

"I heard about that. Sally Collins? It's none of my business, but what happened?"

"We were on the Nose and she panicked. I had a hell of a time roping us off. She cried the whole time. Taught me a lesson."

"Like, don't believe women who say they are strong enough to climb with you?"

"Something like that."

I drove silently for ten or fifteen minutes. Finally, she said, "I'm different."

After another couple of minutes, I said, "You're different?"

"I know, you're thinking I've got the same parts Sally Collins has, so what's different?"

I looked at her and grinned.

"What?"

"Don't tell her, but I like your parts better than hers."

"My roommate would say you are just a sexist hound dog." She was grinning too.

"My pain about Sally hasn't gone away. Climbing partners have to be able to trust one another."

We were almost to her dorm when she said, "If I can come up with a way to show I'm different, would you change your mind?"

She was standing in the open door, looking at me intently. This was one tough minded woman. Pretty too.

"I might."

She took my phone to put its number into hers.

"Give me your hand." I kissed it gently. "I like your smell."

She wrinkled her nose and said, "Before or after?"

"Both."

She slammed the door and laughed going up the walk.

Chapter 2 - A First Date Gets Wild

A couple of days later, I had my nose in a textbook when my phone chimed.

"When you go on a first date with a girl, what do you usually do?"

I liked the sound of her voice. Musical, edgy when she wanted.

"Well?"

"Sorry, I was thinking. Mostly, I guess I do what she would like to do. It's only a first date."

"Good. We are going to the beach and watch the sun go down, and I'm going to buy you dinner over there."

"Today?"

"Yes. There's no fog, and I aced my first midterm. We are celebrating."

"Dressy?"

"No, but take a jacket in case the breeze comes up. Will you be here soon?"

"Yes, but if I flunk my midterm, I am taking it out on you."

"Hmm. That raises interesting possibilities."

I found my windbreaker and wallet and headed out. She was at the curb, hair fixed, Mexican blouse, capris and sneakers. Impressive package. I was feeling vulnerable to her charms.

We were winding up the road to the Coast. I reached over and squeezed her thigh muscle.

"Are you hitting on me already?"

"Just checking. You are going to make some pitch about climbing and I wanted to see what you have. Musclewise, that is. You are looking very nice tonight."

"I'll be damned. Hitting on me and doing the charm bit at the same time."

"Pinch my bicep with the tips of your fingers as hard as you can."

Yeah, that was a nine all right. She really hurt.

"Height, weight."

"5-8-1/2, 124 on a good day."

Boyfriend? One night stands?"

"No. Once, a year ago. Those are pretty personal questions."

"I don't need a partner who is climbing because she wants sex, or because she doesn't want sex."

"I see. Climbing is a sexual neutral zone to you. Or should I say neuter zone?"

I smiled at her. "We'll have to talk about that, won't we? In my Psych 1 class last year, the Prof said there is no way to escape your sexual identity."

She punched my arm. "Yes, we definitely have to talk about that."

Her idea about the beach was inspired. She wrapped her fingers in mine and walked along in the sand, swinging us.

"Is this where I get convinced to take you on?"

"That was my game plan, but it is too nice, and you are too nice, to start into it."

"Romantic out here. Thanks for bringing me. Do I get a kiss?"

It was not a first date kiss. More like a third date kiss. More like a we are in bed together kiss.

She pulled back and said, "I should have known you would be a good kisser."

"You just proved how dumb those front door of the dorm kisses are."

"Have you ever had a girlfriend who didn't climb?"

"There isn't a short answer to that. Can I buy you a drink?" I turned us around just as the sun hit the horizon.

When we got back to the car, I provided a freshly made margarita, from ingredients in the trunk, to savor with the sunset. She bumped her hip into me and said, "This is nice. If I ask you for a date again, do I get another margarita?"

"I guess that depends on our compatibility check. Where are you taking me after dinner?"

"That's a deep, dark secret. You will be amazed."

I wasn't sure which, but something about the walk, the kiss, and the margarita had relaxed her and confused her. She had my hand in a very tight grip as we walked into the restaurant. The hostess smiled and led us to a corner table at the window.

The waitress said in a soft voice, "You look so good together, I'm going to bring you a glass of wine with no questions. What would you like?"

In a seafood restaurant, it was two chardonnays and thank you very much. Somehow, we were holding hands again, and she looked even more confused.

"Nice date," I said, leaning in for a kiss, which I got just as the wine arrived. The waitress said, "Are you two, you know, engaged or something?"

I quickly said, "Something." She was leaning over and showing us a perfect set of boobs. I gestured for her to come closer, looking for a ring, which wasn't there. "We love you, we love your wonderful chest."

She straightened up in a hurry and said, "Oh, you flirt," as she turned away.

Maddie said, "If she leaned over one more inch, those would have fallen out."

"If we are something, I guess I'm not allowed to flirt anymore. Besides, I like your tits better than hers."

"You are bluffing. You haven't even had mine in your hands yet." She laughed.

I kissed her fingers, and she said, "This is not going according to plan. Not at all."

"The place we are headed. Do I get more kisses?"

"No, this is strictly for a serious discussion about climbing."

"On rock, or on you?"

The first course was served, and she only got to glare at me.

I said, "Look, we are both Irish and given to shooting our mouths off. Maybe we have to promise each other to reform some."

"So, we are something, and we have to reform. There is sure a lot to talk about after dinner."

"If it gets late, is this a place where a sleepover is possible?"

Her gaze was sharp again, "Matthew McGuire, that is not a question you ask a decent girl on a first date." Her eyes softened and she nibbled on my finger tips.

"Don't damage those, your life may depend on them."

It took a bit for her to realize what I had said.

"You really mean that?"

"Could happen. You never know. We haven't had the talk yet."

"The Talk." She looked at me, searching for information. I gave her none and tended to my salad.

The fresh salmon was marvelous. There was asparagus with hollandaise, no less.

Things were getting more mellow by the minute. I knew what we were both thinking. If she (he) doesn't want to be a climbing partner, what about just a friend, maybe a friend with benefits.

"Dessert is after," she said. We walked out arm in arm after leaving an extra generous tip, and my giving the drink waitress another suggestive look. She gestured to Maddy to beat me.

We were over on the Bayside in a few minutes and I was given directions to a place with an open gate in the fancy part of town. Up the drive and around to the back. The house was dark, and Maddy said, "My relatives are away, but I have permission to come here when I need a private place to study."

She pulled her pack from the back seat and led us behind the carriage house to a swinging rope ladder. Above, in a very large oak, was an incredible tree house. I took the pack and she went first. "You are not to pinch me."

I settled for a hand on her elegant, muscled calf. "Not that either."

It had a very small door with a lock on it that her key opened. Inside the roof was high and airy. There was glass here and there in colored and wavy forms. I said, "Snow White and her dwarves live here."

I was pushed down on a two high futon that was nice and soft. She lay on top and said, "Now I finally have you where I want you. You are required to be nice to me at this location." Her laugh was deep and musical. I slipped my hands into the back of her capris and rubbed.

"That's nice. Do I need to take those off?"

"Show me your fancy underwear before it gets dark."

It was maroon, which did exciting things with her complexion. It was lacy, which made sure I knew I was looking at a woman. It was very skimpy, which made me hard with admiration for her curves. She had on perfume, which was merging with her own smell and enveloping me in a cloud of her.

I collapsed on my back and said, "I surrender."

She sat next to me in the lotus position with legs crossed and said, "Better."

The pack yielded an insulated packet that turned out to have berries and ice cream in it. Also in the pack was a small bottle of wine. She handed that over for opening while she did the dessert into dishes. After I got the cork out, she held two glasses while I poured.

I kissed her cheek and whispered, "I thought it was the guy who did the big seduction buildup?"

She leaned back on me and extended a spoonful of dessert. "A needy girl has her ways."

I undid her bra and ran my fingers carefully around and across her breasts. Everything was firm. There were muscles too. This was not a sloppy body. This was a jock who wanted something from me.

"Every time you do that, I get wetter. You tried to tell me climbing was asexual, but I don't believe it. At least my body doesn't believe it. For the last hour, all I have been able to think of is wondering when I get you in me. That's very bad. How can I talk while we are fucking?"

It was time for me to get naked. My cock flopped free and pointed directly at her. She laughed, "He knows what he wants." Her hand surrounded him. "I like this, it is big and hard. I have only had sex three times in my life and none of them was any good. You are going to do better, aren't you?"

I pulled her into me and kissed the top of her head. "I know two bodies that want each other. Two bodies that don't care about the Talk. Maybe we should do first things first?"

It was wild. Her strong arms pulling me over and into her. The wet squishy cunt wanting, wanting me and her cry echoing in the treehouse, "Oh god yes, Matt, please more."

I thought about holding back but the wild woman wanted all of me and wanted it now. Her pelvis thrust up violently. Her feet were beating my ass. Her tongue was in and out of my mouth in the same rhythm as my cock. We both exploded.

Minutes later, she said, "Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit." Our legs were fully entangled. Neither of us wanted to release the other. There was a terrible mess on the futon.

I relaxed, catching my breath and asking myself how we would ever get to talk about climbing after that. Her head was on my shoulder and she quivered and I felt a tear fall on me.

She got on her hands and knees and dug around until she came back with towels. We mopped up and laughed at the mess.

She sat up and said, "That wasn't supposed to happen."

I said, "You take me for a romantic walk on the beach. You give me a torrid kiss. You feed me and bring me to your Shangri-La. We have the best sex of my life. I'm completely in love."

Her knife struck deep. "So you are taking me climbing?"

Capitulation was the only option. I cuddled her into me. "Darling Maddy, will you go climbing with me?"

"You are a big bad fucker, which I didn't know, but yes, I really want to climb with you. We will make a great team. I want you to promise to be very bad in public, so we can have fights and swear at each other, and hit each other, and then go out and do fabulous climbing."

I pulled her down and said, "This is unscripted, but you are happy?"

She buried her head in my neck. "No, I'm desperately unhappy. My pussy is dripping, my cunt is sore, my hair is a mess, I'm up in the air somewhere, I finally have a lover I love, and I'm going climbing soon." She laughed and cried and fell asleep in my arms.

I held her and wondered whether the roommate knew she wasn't coming back tonight.

It was still dark and she was wiggling and saying , "I have to pee something fierce."

I said, "Guess what, I am going to hold you and you are going to pee right over the side."

"No, Matt, I can't!"

"Yes. I will run the hose on it in the morning."

She clutched me with her rear sticking out into the oak tree and the piss streaming out of her.

"Don't you dare tell anyone about that." I was standing on the edge of the platform having my own relief.

"Never, unless you break up with me."

"Get in here, we are going to talk."

The problem was, we wanted to be really really close to each other, and think lusty loving thoughts. The talk never got off the ground. The bodies slept again.

We were half awake when there was a terrific roar from below. Maddy rose six inches off the futon and stuck her head out. "It's Roy, the gardener, he's nice. He will give me a very hard time about being here with my boyfriend. Let's get dressed and go see him. We have to get to school anyway."

Roy was making circles on the lawn with the big mower when we got to the ground. He shut down the machine and walked toward us. Maddy ran over and gave him a terrific hug and a kiss on his cheek.

I came up and said, "Hi, I'm Matthew McGuire." Roy laughed and said, "She must think a lot of you if she allowed you in her secret hideaway." His look said we were totally undone. I said, "I've never had loving in a treehouse before. I recommend it." We all laughed and Maddy punched me.

"Roy, we have class and have to run, thank you for keeping my secrets!"

We were almost back to her dorm when she said, holding my hand, "That was a lot more than I bargained for. My brain is a mess. My body is a mess. Will you take me to dinner tonight? A quiet dinner?"

The kiss was soft and tender and I said, "I'll be here at six."

Chapter 3 - Climbing with Maddy

I had my own problems, sitting in class in a fog caused by instant love. But there was a difference. I was taking this incredible, loving woman out on smooth, high angle, unforgiving granite. To places where a gear mistake or a bad move could cost you a life.

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed that Matt and Maddy, the climbing partners, had to be different people than Matt and Maddy, the students in love.

I picked her up on time and we drove out to the beer garden place in the hills, where we could sit outside in the warm evening. We were both quiet. She took my hand and said, "I want you to know that if climbing doesn't work for us, I won't be unhappy. I hope it does, but you are more important to me than climbing."

I went around the table and sat next to her so she could have a proper kiss. "God, Matt, I have been so teary all day. You have punched all my buttons. I'm a mess, but I'm your mess."

"Will your roommate be upset if you spend another night in the treehouse?"

"Oh, I am so glad you said that! I'll call her right now."

Carla was understanding. I could hear her say, "Have fun, you foolish girl."

Over burgers, I asked her, "What do you like best about climbing, and what do you like least?"