Chapter 18

Ava

As I was finishing packing the things I needed for our date tonight, Carter knocked on the door. "Just a sec," I called as I zipped the cooler bag closed. I slipped the strap onto my shoulder and rushed to get the door. As I yanked it open, I smiled. "Hey." My head tipped to the side as I appraised him.

"Does this work?" He motioned to the athletic pants he was wearing.

"Yeah, you might get a little hot, but those are perfect for the second part of the date." I grinned as he reached for the cooler bag. I handed it over before grabbing my jacket, and keys. After locking up, we made our way downstairs.

"Am I driving? I don't know where we're going." He seemed confused and almost worried.

"You sound like you think I'm going to take you to the woods and hurt you, or something." I giggled as he placed the cooler in the back seat.

"I might like that." He chuckled.

"I'll tell you where to turn," I reassured him as I climbed into the passenger seat.

As we pulled out of the parking lot, I gave him step by step directions through town and down the highway until we reached one of the few places where I'd spent a lot of my childhood. Rock City Gym. "We're here." I bounced in my seat as I removed my seatbelt.

"When did you get into rock climbing?" Carter's head swung in my direction.

"My dad used to bring me here all the time. I spent as much time here as I did the soccer field. This was his thing. My mom had soccer, he had rock climbing." I pushed my door open and climbed out.

"How come I never knew this about your dad?" Carter came around and swung his arm around my shoulder.

"You never asked." I shrugged. "I thought it would be cool to come here to celebrate. This is where my parents had their first date." I grinned as I glanced up at him. "I know we've been out several times, but we can finally be a real couple, and I wanted our first real date to be here."

"That's sweet." Carter hugged me closer. "You realize I've never done this before."

"I know. I can help you. It's not hard." I started to walk towards the front door, reaching back in the process to link our hands and lead him inside.

It was quiet inside. I guess with Spring Break around the corner, students were planning trips and such instead of going out. I wasn't really sure. I did know that the beaches would soon be mobbed with everyone who didn't live here. "We have to get shoes." I pointed to a check-in desk. I spent the next several minutes going over the rules and showing Carter around. "Chalk is over there. You wanna use a lot of it. You're going to get blisters if you don't," I warned as I pointed to a large bucket in the corner. "The numbers on the wall indicate the difficulty. The higher the number, the harder the climb. Each number has its own color. The grips match the color of the number, that's how you tell which ones to use for each climb."

"What number are you?" He seemed intrigued.

"I'm a three, but I haven't been here since before I got hurt, so I'm going to stick to ones and twos tonight." I reached into the bucket of chalk and then dusted my hands.

"I'm going to watch first." Carter backed out of the fall zone and crossed his arms over his chest as I moved to place a hand and a foot on a set of blue grips. I began slowly making my way up. I was out of shape for this, and my arms ached as I climbed. "I like this view," Carter called out. I'm sure he was staring at my ass.

"I'm sure you do." I laughed as I tagged the grip at the top. "Just remember, we're going to switch places." I began backtracking down the wall until I was close enough to the bottom to jump. There was a slight sting in my knee when I hit the mat, but it quickly went away.

"Are you ok?" Carter seemed concerned. Maybe I winced or something.

"I'm fine. Your turn." I pointed over at a beginner climb.

"Maybe I could just watch you. I went to the gym today. I'm a little tired from that," he tossed out.

"Not a chance. Come on." I grabbed his hand and led him over. I knew he was capable of this. I think he knew it, too. He just liked watching me.

"Ok, ok, ok." He sighed as he dipped his hands in chalk, and placed them on the yellow grips marked zero. I stepped back and watched him climb with ease, only pausing once to adjust his hands. When he came back down, he was smirking at me.

"You've done this before," I grumbled. When all he did was grin, I crossed my arms over my chest, leaving chalk residue on my shirt. "You're playing me."

"You seemed so excited to show me the place. I didn't want to burst your bubble. Mav and I come here about once a week to blow off steam. We do the ropes though." He pointed to the other side of the gym where the more challenging courses are.

"So what number are you?" I tapped my foot as I stared at him. I was holding back a smile. He looked so mischievous standing there. I could tell he was trying to hold it together as well.

His head dropped as if he was embarrassed to tell me before one side of his mouth turned up in a proud smile. "I'm a six. You know your dad holds the gym's record on a lot of these." He motioned around the room. "I'm trying to break at least one of them. I haven't been successful yet."

"So, what was your plan when we got here? Were you just going to play dumb and hope I didn't figure you out?" I frowned.

"I didn't have a plan. I was surprised when no one at the shoe desk said anything. They all see me here." He lifted his arms as if he was thoroughly confused. "This was your date to plan. I wanted to let you. Isn't it more fun to know that you have someone who can keep up with you, though?"

"You're right. I just don't like being tricked. I think it would have been better if you'd just told me you'd done this before. I've been with a liar, and I'm not doing that again." I closed my eyes as the words fell from my lips. I didn't want to ruin this night, but I wasn't going to hide how I felt either.

"Whoa." His head snapped up. "This was a stupid joke. I'm not a liar." He stepped closer. "We have to be able to joke and tease. That makes things fun. I'll never lie to you about anything important. Come here." He pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I want this to work as much as you do. I really like you. I'm sorry if I upset you." He leaned down and placed a soft kiss to my lips. "Have you ever used the ropes?" he whispered.

"Only once because I begged my dad." I smiled up at him.

"Do you want me to help you?" He grinned back at me.

"Sure." I rose up on my tiptoes and pecked his cheek.

"Let's go." He held out his hand and guided me to the other side to get fitted into a harness.

The rest of our time there was spent on the rope climbs. Carter was almost as skilled as my dad, and I couldn't help but laugh about how this evening was probably a lot like my parents' first date. My dad was the expert, and he brought my mom here knowing that being athletic would help her. He's told me stories over the years about the places and things they did when they first met. I know that Carter is different and so am I, but I feel close to them when I do some of the same things.

"So, where to now?" Carter opened the car door for me.

"The beach." I happily clapped. It was a nice evening. The sun was setting and there was a breeze blowing off the water. It was still too cold to swim, but it wasn't too cold to be outside and enjoy it.

"Is food on the agenda? That workout has me hungry." Carter slipped into the driver's seat.

"That's what the cooler's for, duh." I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"Right." He chuckled as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the public access to the beach.

It didn't take long, and we were climbing over the dunes with my cooler. I'd packed a blanket to sit on, food, and a soccer ball. I'd always had a ball at the beach since I was little.

"Are you going to teach me something else?" Carter nodded at my pink ball.

"Only if you want me to. I always bring it. I learned most of my useless skills on the beach." I laughed lightly remembering all the times my dad would bring me down here, and I'd eat sand because I was trying to do something that I probably shouldn't be doing.

"Like what?" I sensed interest. I kicked my shoes off and tossed the ball onto the sand.

"Like this." I placed my bare foot on top of the ball, making sure I had a good grip with my toes. I stepped up, balancing one foot on the ball, and sticking my other leg out behind me in a sort of arabesque-style movement. When I hopped down, I looked over at him. "I learned that when I was six. It took a while and I fell… a lot, but Dad kept encouraging me to keep trying."

"That's pretty impressive." He nodded before spreading out the blanket.

"You should have seen how proud I was when I finally did it. Useless skill, but impressive." I giggled.

"So, what do we have to eat?" Carter plopped down on the blanket. I set my ball off to the side, and took the spot next to him. I pulled out sandwiches, fruit, and two bottles of water. I knew we'd be thirsty after climbing, and I wasn't really wanting soda or alcohol now that I was going to be in training. "This is great." He unwrapped a sandwich and took a bite.

We sat there in silence, munching on our dinner and staring out at the ocean. It was peaceful, and I wondered what he was thinking. Carter was always kinda quiet. His face was blank when I glanced over, the breeze ruffling his hair. The sun's rays glimmered on the water, and highlighted his features. "Whatcha thinking?" I finished off the last part of my sandwich.

"I'm not sure you wanna know that," he murmured. He reached for a grape and popped it in his mouth. My stomach dropped. I'd done something wrong, and he was trying to figure out how to tell me it was over, I just knew it.

"I do. Whatever it is." I swallowed. I was not weak.

"I was trying to decide which was more beautiful, you on the beach or you at the climbing gym." He rolled onto his side, keeping himself propped up on his elbow. His legs had been stretched out in front of him. "I'm completely obsessed with you."

I froze, letting his words sink in. Why had I doubted him? This was still new for us, but he was laying it all out. I mimicked his pose and smiled at him. "I'm kinda obsessed too." I picked at the blanket. Residual feelings from earlier in the day were creeping back in, and I wasn't sure if I should move things forward, or let him.

"I wasn't really looking for you when all of this started. I guess that's how life works, but now I'm wondering how things would have gone if we hadn't met."

"All things happen for a reason," I whispered. "My dad's taught me that."

"Your dad's a smart man." He leaned closer. "I think you're most beautiful when you're happy" — He cupped my cheek with one hand and pulled me closer to him — "and I think I might be falling for you." His lips closed over mine, and as the kiss deepened, he slowly rolled me to my back.