Five

Blaze

“Are you kidding me?”

The disbelief and excitement with which those four words were communicated made it impossible not to smile.

Of all the things I’d done in my life that I’d found thrilling—and there had been a lot—nothing I’d done had ever felt like this.

I couldn’t begin to quantify the feeling it gave me to know I was going to have a day with Harlow where I’d give her an experience she hadn’t ever had before.

From the moment I realized just how much of her life had been focused on work and that she wanted to start seeking some adventure, I knew I wanted to be the one to give it to her.

When we discussed everything at dinner last night, the only request Harlow had made for our day together today was that we do something outdoors. The spring weather had arrived, and she was keen on getting out to enjoy the warmth and sunshine.

So, after discussing it at length and learning just how much she hadn’t had the opportunity to experience, I thought it was worth doing something particularly bold for our first adventure. I wanted this to be something she’d never forget.

Judging by the list of things she hadn’t ever done in her life and claimed she wanted to do, I decided to take her ziplining.

When I picked Harlow up this morning, I hadn’t shared where I planned to take her. Now that I’d just pulled into the lot and she realized what we were going to be doing today, it seemed she could no longer contain her excitement.

I drove to the far end of the parking lot, pulled into a spot, and twisted my neck to look at her. “I am not kidding you.”

Harlow was grinning from ear to ear, practically bouncing out of her seat. “This looks like it’s going to be so much fun. I can’t wait.”

“I think we’re going to have a blast.”

“Have you done this before?” she asked.

My lips twitched. “There isn’t much on your list I haven’t done before.”

Nodding, she replied, “Yeah, I guess that’s pretty easy to do.”

Jerking my head in the opposite direction, I asked, “Are you ready?”

I wasn’t quite sure how it was possible, but Harlow’s grin grew. “I’m so ready.”

“I’ll come around to get your door.”

Barely a minute later, I was holding Harlow’s hand in mine as we walked across the parking lot toward the registration building. I loved the feel of her soft skin against mine, even if she was practically skipping beside me.

Harlow and I finally made it to the building, where I paid for our time, and we got our harness systems. We were then moved through to the next stage of the process, which consisted of getting a quick lesson on how to use the harnesses on the tree and rope courses, as well as a brief rundown of the rules. There was heavy emphasis on the dos and don’ts, since folks would essentially be climbing trees and could get seriously injured if they didn’t follow the specific instructions.

While I did pay attention to what was being said, I’d already done this before. So, I found myself keeping my focus on Harlow, and the look on her face was priceless. She was so happy to be here, doing something fun.

I was so caught up in her that before I knew it, the instruction session had ended, and we were free to start our ziplining adventure. Though the emphasis and most of the appeal were on ziplining, that wasn’t all we would get to do. Harlow and I would be able to sample a number of different courses with varying levels of difficulty. The courses consisted of a variety of rope, cable, and wood configurations between tree platforms that would challenge us with swinging log steps, rope ladders, aerial tightropes, and more. The highest point on the most advanced course was more than forty feet off the ground, so I thought Harlow would find it exhilarating.

Since this was Harlow’s first time, we started with the easiest adult course to make sure she’d be able to get the hang of it.

We stood at the bottom of the first tree, which had several wooden steps affixed to it, along with the cabling system beside it, to hook ourselves onto. I pinned my eyes on Harlow and said, “Ladies first.”

She pulled the corner of her bottom lip in and bit down with her teeth as she smiled. “I’m nervous,” she confessed.

I reached out for her hand, gripped her fingertips softly, and squeezed. “Don’t be. This is going to be fun. I promise.”

Nodding, she said, “Okay.”

“Do you remember what you need to do?”

“Yep.”

At that, she hooked her harness to the cable system and started climbing the stairs. Though I’d been focused on other things throughout the morning—namely that I was getting to spend the day with her—I couldn’t seem to focus on much else besides her ass once Harlow began climbing the ladder. The view was impeccable.

She made it to the top, looked down at me, and bubbled, “Come on.”

God, she was so happy.

Refusing to do anything that would wipe that smile off her face, I didn’t delay. I climbed up the tree to the platform and met her there.

“I’m so excited to get on that zipline over there,” she said.

“You’ve got to cross this swinging log bridge before you can make that happen,” I pointed out.

“Oh, gosh, I hope I don’t slip on the logs,” she worried. “I’ll be so embarrassed.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen, but if it does, I promise to do the same, so you don’t look clumsy all on your own,” I told her.

Surprise washed over her. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course.”

Something warmed in her expression, her features softening as a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I’m sort of tempted to fall on purpose now, just to see if you’d stay true to your word.”

My eyes narrowed slightly. “You don’t need to risk injuring yourself just to see if I’d keep a promise to you, Harlow. There are a lot of other ways you can make that happen that would be a whole lot of fun.”

Harlow understood the intention in my words, and her lips parted slightly. It was all I could do not slip my arm around her waist and pull her close to kiss her. By some miracle, I managed to do that and urged, “Go ahead. Whatever you decide to do is fine by me.”

Relieved I’d given her an out, Harlow turned and cautiously started making her way across the bridge to the next tree platform. I followed behind her, and we didn’t waste any time moving around the platform to hook ourselves up for the zipline.

“Can you go first on this one?” she asked me.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Yes. I’d rather wait and see you do it before I go.”

“Okay.”

I went ahead and rode the zipline to the opposite side. Once there, I unhooked my harness, attached it to the next cable, and watched as Harlow took that leap and followed me. Her face had been marred by the look I imagined most individuals had when they rode a roller coaster or some other amusement park ride with a massive drop. With her mouth open, her eyes were squeezed shut. It looked like she was screaming, but there wasn’t any sound coming out of her mouth.

Once she made it to the end and had come to a stop, she allowed one eye to open. “Is it done? Did I make it?”

A laugh escaped as I reached my hand out. “Yes, you did.

She grabbed my hand, placed her feet on the platform, and got herself hooked to the same cable as me. “That was so much fun.”

I was surprised. “Really? You looked like you were terrified.”

“I was, but now I’m ready to do it a hundred more times. Wow, Blaze, that was incredible,” she sighed, something that sounded a lot like relief present in her tone.

For the next twenty minutes or so, Harlow and I continued to make our way through the beginner course, and as soon as we finished, Harlow declared, “I want to go on one of the more challenging ones. Can we do it, please?”

With that level of excitement and the way she was looking at me, I didn’t think I’d ever have it in me to deny her a single thing. “That’s why we’re here.”

Her face lit up, her eyes sparkling. Damn, she was beautiful. I wanted to do so much more than just hold her hand occasionally, like I had been.

We made our way through the grounds and toward one of the more challenging courses. As soon as we were standing at the bottom of the tree to start the course, Harlow didn’t hesitate. She hooked up her harness and started climbing. I kept my focus on her ass, and it was a good thing I had, because she lost her footing and became unsteady.

Harlow let out a shriek.

Instinctively, I reached my hands out to her, one hand going to her hip, the other to her ass. “Whoa. Are you alright?” I asked.

“Oh my God,” she murmured, looking back at me as she held on and readjusted her hands and feet. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright. I’m the one standing here with my hands on you, so I’m not complaining,” I replied. “As long as you’re okay, I’m completely fine.”

Her cheeks flushed. “You do have your hands on my ass.”

“Only one hand,” I corrected her, loving the turn things had taken and seeing this flirtatious side of her. “And if you’re steady, I can let go now.”

“You could,” she said. “Or you could keep it there and give me a boost.”

That response surprised me, but I didn’t let myself get caught up in the shock, because I didn’t want her to think I was against helping. I sent a knowing look her way and gave her a boost. I kept my hands on her until I could no longer reach. Then I followed behind her up to the platform.

And that was the point at which everything changed. For the remainder of our time on the courses, there was a new level of comfort between us. We exchanged a lot of smiles and many laughs. Our eyes connected with one another several times, and it was always more than just a passing glance. My favorite part, though, was the increased frequency of soft touches that passed between us. Harlow’s fingertips would brush up against my bicep, or she’d move her body in a way it was impossible for me not to graze her hip or arm.

It was easily the best day I’d had in a very long time, and it had gone far better than I had anticipated.

That’s why I was so bummed when we noticed the storm clouds rolling in.

Harlow

This was the most magical day of my life.

It didn’t even bother me that it had started to drizzle. From the moment Blaze took me home last night and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek, I decided I was going to immerse myself completely in whatever experience he chose to give me today.

On the surface, it was ziplining and a ropes course.

Deep down, it was connection, companionship, smiles, touches, and undeniable looks.

It was everything I could have ever hoped for it to be, and then some.

There wasn’t a time in my life, not even when I was a kid, where I could remember having as much fun as I did today, and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind I wouldn’t forget a single moment of it, especially not him.

It was all thanks to Blaze that I got to do this; I never would have done it on my own.

So, even though we were now making our way back from the courses beneath the dark clouds in the sky so we could return the harnesses, there wasn’t anything that was going to wipe the smile off my face.

“I didn’t think to check the weather,” Blaze declared. “If I would have known, we could have done something else today.”

“Are you kidding? I’ve had the best time with you,” I assured him.

“Really? You’re not disappointed it’s starting to rain?”

“Of course, the rain is a bummer, but it’s not like we haven’t had a few hours of fun. This was wonderful.”

The rain picked up, more droplets landing on my arms and face. Blaze and I increased our pace and made it back to the building to turn the harnesses in just as the skies opened.

Once we dealt with the harnesses, Blaze said, “You wait here, and I’ll go grab the truck.”

As he turned to walk away and out into the bad weather, I reached for his arm. My fingers curled around his wrist, and he stopped, looking back at me with curiosity in his expression.

“I’ll go with you.”

“But you’ll get all wet,” he noted.

I shrugged. “At least we’ll be doing it together.”

Blaze tensed, his body reacting to my words. He eventually turned completely toward me, and for several long moments, he simply stared at me. I didn’t know what was going through his mind, but I was desperate to know.

Eventually, a smile spread across his face. “You’re amazing. Do you know that?”

“What?”

He let out a laugh and tugged his arm in the opposite direction, forcing me to move toward him. Then he took me by the hand and led me outside. For a moment, we stood there and watched as the rain fell hard.

Blaze glanced over at me. “Are you sure?”

I pressed my lips together, smiling, and nodded.

The next thing I knew, we were running through the parking lot toward Blaze’s truck at the far end, and we were getting drenched.

I was screaming, he was laughing, and we were both attempting to avoid the puddles on the ground.

By the time we made it to the passenger’s side of the truck, my hair and clothes were soaked. I probably looked dreadful. But I wasn’t eager to get inside. Instead, I prevented Blaze from opening my door, stepped closer to him, and said, “Thank you for bringing me out here today to do this. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had.”

He swallowed hard. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, Harlow.”

The rain was pounding down on us, but it felt like the perfect moment. “Do you know what I forgot to add to my list last night?”

“What?”

“I’ve never been kissed in the rain.”

The look in Blaze’s eyes grew dark and intense. “Harlow,” he whispered.

“Will you kiss me?”

Without a second of hesitation, he slid his arm around my waist, hauled me up against his body, and drove his other hand into my wet hair. I was a bunch of nerves, my belly trembling. It felt like there was a swarm of butterflies dancing there, and my fingers dug into the material of his shirt at his chest and shoulders.

When Blaze’s hand settled at the back of my skull, he gripped my hair firmly there, angled my head slightly, and brushed his lips against mine.

He was teasing me, and for someone who hadn’t been kissed in more than ten years, it felt like torture.

I whimpered.

And that was all it took.

Blaze captured my mouth in a bruising kiss. My fingertips pressed in firmly against him, my body melting into his. Blaze took my weight, held me tighter against him, and delivered the best kiss of my life.

We’d had such a wonderful and fun day together, and all the tension that built between us throughout the day had led us to this moment.

It was perfect.

It was everything I could have ever wanted in a first kiss with a guy.

And when Blaze’s tongue ran along the seam of my lips, I parted them instantly. The way he kissed was indescribable. I didn’t know how it could feel like he was taking everything he could get from me while giving me all he had in return.

Just like the day we’d had together, our first kiss was magical.

Blaze groaned and eventually tore his mouth away. He rested his forehead against mine as the both of us fought to catch our breath. “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met,” he declared.

With our lips just inches apart, I smiled and said, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“I need to kiss you again, Harlow.”

The rain fell harder.

“So, what are you waiting for?”

Blaze didn’t wait any longer. He kissed me again, and his hand on the arm that had been wrapped around my waist drifted south.

When he squeezed my ass and groaned, I knew.

This man was going to change my life, and I couldn’t wait to see where we wound up.