I watched from above as Daiyu walked slowly into the apartment. She was dressed in tight dark purple pants paired with an ivory sweater. The heels of her knee-high boots clicked against my concrete floor. She looked stylish and assured. She looked hot. I couldn’t hang on any longer and swung for the horizontal bar closest to me, grabbing on with both arms, then swinging my legs through, so I could dangle upside down by my knees from the bar, letting my sore arms hang downward.

My movement caught Daiyu’s eye and she glanced upward, then let out a small gasp. “What are you doing up there?”

“Climbing. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“But you’re not using the rope.” She gestured to one of the belaybots near the wall.

“Are you impressed?” I asked, my head feeling hot and full from the blood rushing into it.

“By your poor life choices?” she replied. “No.”

“Not even a little?”

She crossed her arms across her chest. “Not even a little.”

“Well, damn.” I grinned. Her face looked pale in the early afternoon light.

“Come down, Jason. Please.” Her dark brows were drawn together. She actually looked . . . angry with me.

Great second impression, I thought. You’ve got her now. She’d love to take a foolish new guy into her confidence.

I dropped down from the bar by my arms, then swung from one horizontal bar to the next across the ceiling, until I reached the other side of the rock wall. From there, I chose the easiest path downward, jumping when I was five feet from the ground. The belaybot whirled over and offered me a towel. I swore its digital face looked accusingly at me. I wiped my face with the soft cotton cloth before turning toward Daiyu.

“Hey,” I said. The belaybot offered me a cold bottle of water before spinning off. I took it and offered the bottle to Daiyu, but she shook her head.

“Mocha, please,” I ordered. “With whipped cream for Miss Jin.”

The espresso machine hummed to life, and I gulped down half the bottle of water, then smiled sheepishly.

Her arms were still crossed, but one hand had risen to cover her mouth, hiding a frown or a smile, I couldn’t tell by her expression. She wasn’t shy about taking me in with those brown eyes either. Shirtless in front of her again like that first morning we “met” after her kidnapping, I scanned the few pieces of furniture I had for a discarded shirt. A towel. Anything.

She dropped her hand. “Do you do that often? Climb without a harness?”

“No. Never, actually. That was my first time. Not thinking straight after last night’s party.”