RO99: Gemma, if you read this, please keep posting. My brothers got to do sports when we were younger. They could pick anything they wanted, but my parents only offered ballet or piano to me. But I didn’t want to do ballet or piano. I wanted to play football like them and climb on the weekends like they did. But my parents said they were boy sports. I’m eighteen now and found your channel by accident, but you showed me that climbing isn’t just for boys. Girls can do it too. Girls can kick ass at it. Thanks to you, I started climbing and last weekend earned my first trophy from a local comp. Without you, that wouldn’t have been possible. So please keep posting as I need to keep learning!

Sitting taller, I braced my shoulders.

Thanks, RO99, you just reminded me why I love this gig.

This had long ago stopped being a job that earned me excellent revenue and had become a way to share what I’d learned with those who wanted to learn it. The trolls weren’t part of that equation. They were nothing.

Clicking on a new recording window, I scooted higher up the couch so I didn’t have a double chin from the camera shooting up my nose and prepared to re-enter the world that I’d fallen out of. At the very least, I owed my fans an explanation for my disappearance—if only to stop the speculation and snide comments.

Choosing the live feature, instead of uploading and posting at a later time, I fluffed my hair, made sure my hoodie was zipped up enough that no cleavage showed, and pressed the button.

I didn’t have much time.

Kas was still sleeping.

Not in my bed.

Not on the couch (seeing as it was currently my workstation).

But outside.

I’d woken in the night and padded down the corridor for a glass of water, only to find Kas had taken my pillow and a spare blanket into the garden and lay in the middle of the overgrown lawn.

The moon hadn’t been bright enough to tell me if he was asleep or was just watching the fading stars, but after my prior experiences of waking him and not being in the mood to be strangled if he was having a nightmare, I chose to leave him be.

He was still on my property. Still within the fence that kept both of us safe. If he wanted to sleep outside, that was his choice. He had to do whatever he could to help his transition from forest to suburbia.

Smiling into the camera on my laptop, I waved. “Hey, guys. Long time, I know. Sorry for the delay in videos!” I sighed, trying to get my thoughts in order. I should probably have drafted something to say instead of jumping on impulsively.

The counter at the top of the screen reported more and more people tuning in, leaving me slightly nervous with the sort of feedback I was about to receive.

“Firstly, I want to say thank you to those who defended my absence. You guys have my back, and I’m very grateful! I’ll have plenty more climbing tutorials, outdoor boulders, and technique breakdowns very soon. For now, though, I guess I better let you know where I’ve been!” I paused, watching the comments flood in.

Hi!

OMG, you’re back!

Yay! You’re not dead.

I smiled at that one, speaking into the camera. “No, I’m not dead. I went on a boulder hunt and got stuck in a valley with no reception or way out. One day, I’ll do a video on what you should and shouldn’t do if you come across an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, but for now, I can say I’m back, I’m fine, and I can’t wait to get back to work!”

More comments flooded in.

You were gone for AGES. How did you survive so long?

What did you eat?

Did you become Bear Grylls?

“Who’s Bear Grylls?” a raspy voice asked over my shoulder.

I jumped and twisted, coming nose to nose with Kas as he leaned over the back of the couch, his eyes darting over the screen and the multiple comments flying faster every second. His eyes narrowed as he figured out that the screen was actually mirroring us, revealing me sitting in my morning workout gear and him...looking as wild as the day I’d met him.

His hair had grass in the long strands. There was dirt smudged on his cheek as if he’d been pulling weeds in the dead of night, and his eyes were once again haunted beneath a veneer of calm emotion I expected he’d done his best to cultivate outside, to hide the pieces of himself that weren’t coping, to prove he was okay so he wasn’t a burden on me.

It made me want to kiss him, hug him. I wanted to give him real peace, true happiness, not the in-between state he currently inhabited.

“Hi,” I whispered, my heart kicking as he gave me a gruff smile. Before I could tell him we were live, he bent and kissed me. His warm mouth enveloping mine, his beard scratching my skin, his tongue parting my lips as if he was seconds away from dragging me off the furniture and taking me on the floor.

“Ah, Kas?” I pulled away from the kiss with a slight laugh. “I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

I made the mistake of looking at the comments whizzing past.

OH EM GEEEE. Who is that hottie?

WTH! I want a kiss!

Where have you been hiding him, Gemma!

Gimme that hunk of a brooding caveman!

Kas’s eyes flew to the words appearing on the screen, unable to keep track with the waterfall of comments, all of them focused on him, his appearance, how much they’d like a piece, and how unfair it was of me not to share.

Huh.

The Bear Grylls comment got my mind spinning.

Kas wanted a way to earn his keep, to get paid so he could feel equal and not in debt. The only problem was, he’d never gone to school or university. He didn’t have a trade. He had no recommendations from prior employment. Yes, he could read, and I guessed he could write—I’d never asked—but as far as pieces of paper saying he was qualified at anything? He would struggle to find anything that would enrich his mind as well as his penniless bank account.

Unless...

Scooting to the side, I patted the couch beside me. “Come join me.”

“What? No. I don’t—” His eyes widened as more comments catapulted on the screen.

YES! Join her!

We want to know who you arrreeee!

You’re delicious!

Do you climb too? You can climb me any day!

His eyebrows shot up. “What the hell is this?”

We’re yours, that’s what we are!

Fucking tosser, get a haircut!

Shut up, he’s yummy!

I reached upward and grabbed his forearm. “Please, ignore the bad comments and come join me. I’ll explain.”

“I don’t understand.” Almost in a daze, he let me pull him around the couch and sat heavily beside me. He couldn’t tear his eyes off the dizzying amount of comments still cascading in curiosity to know who he was.

Dude looks as if he murders puppies.

Where did you find the yeti, Gemma?

He swallowed hard as I made the video image larger and hid the comment box. Slowly, his gaze met mine, bouncing between the mirror image of us being recorded and back to me beside him. “Who are those people?”

I could only imagine the comments still pouring in, but I wasn’t here to scare Kas off the internet before he’d even become acquainted with it. I should’ve given him a lesson before now, but we’d had so much on. This was the first day where we weren’t being prodded by doctors, traveling cross country, or dealing with family reunions.

Taking a deep breath, I smiled at the people watching my live stream, noticing I had more traffic now than ever before. Kas was definitely a massive drawcard. “Guys, this is Kas. Long story short, but he is the reason I survived while I was missing.”

Kas scrunched up his nose. “What are you saying. I didn’t help you survive. I trapped you and hurt—”