Confidence wasn’t the same thing as arrogance. One propelled a woman forward when she was tired. The other got her hurt.
She kept her breathing slow and easy, ignoring Graham filming from below. Personality and cutesy quips were one thing when she was on the ground, not in the middle of a serious athletic effort. A couple more moves put her to the top before she smiled and let herself fall onto the mat below her arms outstretched.
The owner of the gym, David, hurried over to her, smiling. He had a cute dark-haired boy-next door thing going on with his face, and the kind of compact but functional muscular body she expected of a climber. She thought back to her conversation with Graham. Maybe she was having trouble because she was limiting her options. Someone like David would understand her lifestyle and support her.
Kendra sat up, rubbing her tired triceps. “Oof. That was hard.”
“Flashing our toughest problem without any beta is damned impressive,” David said, offering a hand.
She took it and stood with his assistance. Her burning legs were grateful for the help. “Sometimes I get lucky.” She smiled at the camera. “For my newer fans, a reminder, flashing means sending a problem on the first try, and sending means completing the climb. Beta is information about the problem prior to the climb, but with indoor bouldering it can be used a little more freely.” She gestured to the wall. “The colors and tape itself are technically types of beta, but back to the victory.” She offered a V sign to Graham. “All the good thoughts and feelings of all my fans help me out on these kinds of problems.”
“I’ll bet,” David said.
Kendra stretched her arms above her head. “I want to give a special thanks to Walls and Falls Climbing Gym, and its owner, David, for allowing me to film and train here before I hit the Knickerbocker OCR Assault this week.”
David smiled. “My pleasure, Kendra. I’m a big fan of Roving Champion.”
Graham lowered the camera. “Mind if I take some B-Roll around the rest of the gym? I’ve got waivers ready for everyone.”
“Be my guest.” David laughed. “No better advertising than Kendra Champion talking up my place.”
Graham gave a sly smile to Kendra before wandering off. He was trying to set her up. She appreciated the idea, but being semi-alone with David still gave her pause. It didn’t help her heart was still pounding from the difficult bouldering problem she’d just thrown all her energy into.
Kendra lowered and shook out her arms. “You ever been to the place they’re running the Assault?”
“No, but I know it’s mostly just all outdoors setup around the sportsplex building, but I haven’t looked into it much.” David shook his head. “I know it might sound odd to you, but I don’t tend to pay much attention to OCR stuff, though there are a lot of climbers who cross-train for it.” He gestured around. “And that works out to my benefit.”
“Yeah. It’d be nice to have some hints about a place I haven’t been.” Kendra tucked some loose strands of her dark hair behind her ear. “But there are a lot of places I’ve never been. That’s part of what inspired me to start Roving Champion. It’s inspiring to see all these different athletes from complete beginners to seasoned veterans and their techniques, and how their local community affected them. That’s something Graham’s going around doing now, looking for people for good interviews. I get that not everyone gets the blessings of doing this full-time like you and me.”
David craned his neck up smiling at his wall. “Maybe I should start hosting obstacle races.”
“You could.” Kendra smiled. “You’d have to lay things out a little differently here, but you know what I always say in my videos. You should do what you’re passionate about.”
“At least your advertising will help.” David stared at her for a moment, discomfort playing across his face.
“Is something wrong?” Kendra asked.
She rubbed at her face hoping something embarrassing hadn’t gotten stuck. The Roving Champion blooper videos displayed how often stray bits could get stuck to her body in embarrassing places with the help of sweat acting as glue.
“Ah.” David chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “This is kind of embarrassing.”
“It’s okay. Say what’s on your mind.”
“You’re very attractive.” David coughed. “The camera doesn’t do you justice to be honest. Not that you’re not gorgeous on camera, but up close, you’re stunning.”
Kendra blinked a couple of times, her cheeks warming. She laughed nervously. “I’m never going to complain about a compliment. Um, uh, like thanks.”
She felt like an idiot. It wasn’t like she didn’t receive compliments on her appearance all the time, but it was far easier to compartmentalize when it was a random comment underneath her video or in an email. It was different staring at a cute guy who not only said she was pretty but that she was gorgeous and stunning.
Kendra averted her gaze. “You know when I was in junior high, I almost gave up on sports. A girl I knew told me that it’d wreck my figure, make me look like a man.”
David grimaced. “I still have to deal with that mindset at times. Obviously, it’s more of a problem with the women then the men, but I try to explain to them that being fit doesn’t mean you have to become the Rock.” A smile broke out on his face. “And it helps to have examples like you to point to.”
“Do you practice those lines as much as your climbing?” Kendra asked.
“No. So…” David shrugged. “I know you’re busy with the competition and all that, but you’ll probably have some time afterward, right? Would you like to go out to have a bite to eat?”
Kendra opened her mouth.
