Kelsey was at a rock-climbing place. She HATED rock-climbing. With a passion. And
she was terrible at it. There was this
one date…but that is inconsequential (and so is he). Anyway, her sister was there and really
wanted a ride home and Kelsey is a sucker for tears. She was also having one of those days –
sweatpants, a baggy shirt, and her hair in a messy bun. She was in a foul mood and picking her sister
up was not ideal. When she finds Becca,
however, the birthday party that she was attending was not yet done. Resigned to waiting, Kelsey walked over to
the corner and sat on a bench next to the climbing wall. A man approached, his walk as graceful as a
panther’s – manly and smooth. Kelsey
groaned. No freaking way. He of all people, could not be here. Not now, not when she is looking like
this. She didn’t think that he had seen
her yet, so she quietly slipped around to the shadows of the corner and sunk
down, attempting invisibility. “Please
don’t see me, please don’t see…” Her thoughts were cut off by a confused voice
asking,
“Kelsey? Is that you?”
Many thoughts rushed through her head, most of which concerned melting
into a puddle of embarrassment and shame and horror and every other negative
emotion she could think of. She raised
her head slowly and looked into his perplexed eyes – the exact colour of the
sea after a storm. His perfectly shaped
eyebrows were raised, the confusion written plainly on his face. “Is there a reason you are huddled into the
corner?”
“Not particularly…”
All reasonable answers left Kelsey’s mind right away. “I just lost an earring...” She wasn’t
wearing earrings. “I mean my phone.” He gave her another strange look.
“So are you into rock climbing then?” Kelsey wanted to shrink into the depths of
the earth and burn in the molten core.
“No. I sort of hate
it.”
“Ohhhh” he replied. “If I promise to keep you safe, will you
give it a try?” He flashed her that stunning grin and all rationality fled from
Kelsey’s mind. She answered with a hesitant ‘yes’ and then promptly regretted
her decision. This was going to suck,
she was sure. He helped her into her
harness, his hands sure and confident with the myriad of buckles. She didn’t want to mention it, but the fear
was not the main concern. This was the
man of her dreams, and she was about to miserably fail at a supposedly easy
physical activity. “Alright, let’s get
you onto the wall,” Tom said. Looking up
at the wall, Kelsey bit back a groan of dismay and started grabbing the
handholds. She was only a couple feet
off the ground before she slipped for the first time. Calling encouragement as her belay, Tom
guided her back to the wall with a gentle hand.
The next couple feet were not too bad, but then she reached up for a handhold
and completely missed and went sailing clear off of the wall. Tom began to laugh, a deep, throaty
sound. Looking down at him, Kelsey
admired his biceps as he easily supported her weight and left her dangling in
the air. He slowly lowered her to the
ground, and her shaky legs gave way.
However, Tom was there, his arms wrapped around her, giving her the
support needed to keep her upright.
Their eyes met, and Kelsey caught her breath. He whispered into her ear “can I see you
again?” Breathlessly, Kelsey replied,
“I really have to go. My sister…” she tried to pull away,
but he held her fast.
“Not until I get your number, Kelsey.” He took out his phone and she gave him her
number, and he reluctantly released her.
“Have a good night. I will call
you.” She stared at his retreating
figure in shock and delirious happiness.
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