Chapter Thirteen — Sandra

Sandra felt like she was waddling as she made her way out of the pizza restaurant. She paused at the car door. The thought of having to open it and lift her leg to get in the car was more than she could bear. “I am so full,” she said with a groan. “I don’t think I’m going to make it.” Thankfully Gracie’s dress provided more room than her pants would have. She’d have had to undo the top button by now.

“Allow me, my lady,” Blair said, hurrying over to open her door for her.

Dang, he looked so hot in that suit. When he had first arrived at her house to pick her up, she’d had to pause on the stairs to avoid him seeing her drool.

She gave a small curtsy. “Thank you.”

Okay, one foot in, then the other. She could do this.

Sandra placed one foot in the car, then leaned against the frame. Nope. She couldn’t.

Blair offered her his arm and she held on to it as she collapsed onto the seat. Wow, even without being able to see his muscles, she could tell they were incredible. They needed to hurry over to the dance so she’d have an excuse to hold on to them a bit more.

With a dramatic flourish of his arm, Blair closed her door, then got in on his own side. He leaned back against the seat and rubbed his stomach. “You were totally right. That place has the best cheesy bread.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Sandra nestled into the seat and closed her eyes, suddenly sleepy from all the carbs that were attacking her. She’d eaten an entire pizza, plus four cheesy bread slices. Blair had bet her she couldn’t. She’d proved she could.

And it had been awesome.

“Guess we should get over to the dance now,” Blair mumbled, his eyes still closed. “Cameron texted me. He was annoyed we skipped out on dinner, and I promised him we’d at least get to the dance in time for pictures.”

It took some effort, but Sandra managed to open her eyes and look over at Blair. “You look way too comfortable over there.”

He cracked an eye open and gave her a side look. When their gazes met, he gave her a tired smile. “Right back at you.”

Sandra realized they were acting like an old married couple. It was only six-thirty and they were half-asleep in the car. She wasn’t going to stand for it. Sitting up, she hit her palms on the dashboard in front of her. “We’re not going to that dance.”

Blair jumped halfway out of his seat, startled by the sudden noise. Good, he looked more awake now.

“We’re not?”

“Nope.” She didn’t know what they were going to do instead of the dance, but swaying awkwardly while sappy music played over the speakers wasn’t her idea of a good time. Even if it would give her an excuse to touch Blair.

He gave her a hesitant smile. “So…” He left his words hanging, like he was unsure what to make of Sandra’s declaration.

“Let’s go rock climbing.”

What the heck? Why would she say something like that?

Immediately Sandra regretted her words and wished she could snatch them back before they reached Blair. She’d never been rock climbing before and she wasn’t dressed for it, but she’d heard there was an indoor wall close by.

That wasn’t quite true. She’d been climbing once, and it had been fun. Except, it had been a kiddie wall at an amusement park.

“Rock climbing.” Blair’s gaze moved across Sandra, and she knew he was taking in the fancy dress. Maybe the climbing gym would have a change of clothing she could buy.

Sandra saw the skepticism in his eyes and knew that she now had to stand behind her words. “Yeah, why not?” Her voice didn’t betray her own hesitancy.

“Well…”

Sandra worried Blair would rather go to the dance. Maybe he was into that kind of thing. Or maybe he didn’t want to be stuck with her by himself.

“It’s okay,” she said, her words escaping quicker than she would have liked. “We don’t have to. The dance sounds cool too.”

Blair watched her for a moment, then surprised her by laughing. “No, it doesn’t.”

She blinked. “It doesn’t?”

“No way. I was only going because I thought you wanted to.”

It was Sandra’s turn to laugh. “Seriously?” She shook her head. “I’m glad we got that cleared up.”

Blair turned the key in the ignition. “Rock climbing it is. I have to admit something though.” He hesitated and rubbed the back of his neck, like he was about to be the bearer of bad news. “I’ve never been rock climbing before.”

That wasn’t a surprise, considering there weren’t many options in Lakeview, unless you drove into the mountains and did rock climbing for real. His inexperience would also mean less pressure for Sandra. She’d have been more worried if he was a rock-climbing expert or something like that.

“Perfect, we’ll be terrible together, then,” Sandra said with a grin.

Blair put the car into drive, and in less than ten minutes, they were walking through the front doors of the rock-climbing gym.

Sandra made a beeline for their merchandising shop. Dang, their clothes were a lot more expensive than she’d anticipated. After checking price tags, she found a pair of shorts that would work for her, but she didn’t have enough money for both the shorts and a shirt. She’d have to also rent a pair of rock-climbing shoes to use for the hour.

With shorts in hand, she rejoined Blair at the front of the gym, where he was paying for them to climb, as well as the shoes.

“That doesn’t seem very fair,” Sandra said in protest. “It was my idea to come here in the first place, and you had already purchased the tickets for the dance.”

Blair shot her a grin that told her he wouldn’t be giving in on this one. “And you saved me from paying a ridiculous sum of money for food we didn’t want to eat, so I think we’re about even.” He nodded to her arm that hung at her side. “Nice shorts.”

They were a bit shorter than what she normally wore, and tighter. She felt her cheeks warm, and she hid them behind her back. “Thanks.”

Sandra went into the bathroom and pulled the shorts on. Her dress fell back down over them. No one would be able to see them unless they stood right under her as she climbed, but that was kind of the point.

“You ready?” Blair asked as they walked into the large room that housed the climbing wall.

Sandra’s gaze traveled up. And up. The wall was a lot taller than she had anticipated. She didn’t have a fear of heights, but she might after tonight.

“Sure,” she said, though she wasn’t at all sure.

“Yeah, me too.” He sounded just as unsure as she felt.

Two employees stood by, ready to harness them up.

“How do we get down?” Blair asked them, his voice shaking slightly.

Sandra elbowed him lightly in the side. “Why, you worried I’m going to leave you at the top?” she teased.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard and gave her a weak smile. “Just curious.” It could have been a trick of the light, but he seemed slightly paler than he had been a moment ago.

One of the employees spoke up. “Rather than having to have someone belay, our system slowly lowers you to the ground. If you fall and can grab a rock to stop your descent, perfect. If not, no worries. We’ll be standing by, making sure you have a soft landing.”

Some of the color returned to Blair’s face. “All right. I can do that.” His voice was stronger, and the smile he gave Sandra seemed genuine.

The two employees harnessed up Sandra and Blair, attached them to the rope, and then gave the go-ahead to climb. Sandra and Blair shared a grin, then, side by side, they began to climb.

Sandra hadn’t realized how tight the harness would be, and her dress bunched up around her waist. Thank goodness for the shorts. Her sleeves billowed around her as she pushed herself from rock to rock. The climbing shoes made things way easier to find purchase on some of the smaller rocks, and she began to relax. She glanced over to her left and saw that Blair was right there, easily keeping up.

Dang he looked good. He had shed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, giving him a James Bond vibe—classy but relaxed. The harness should have made an odd combination with his suit pants, but only served to make him look more rugged.

Blair caught her staring.

“Nice night for a climb,” he said, his eyes as bright as his smile.

Sandra’s stomach twisted and her hands suddenly felt moist. Blair’s smile tended to do that to her.

“It is,” she said, returning his smile. She pushed up to grab the next rock, but her foot slipped, and she launched herself forward and hugged the wall to keep herself from falling.

That was when she looked down. It was the first time since they’d started climbing, and she immediately regretted it.

Sandra’s stomach roiled and she felt dizzy; it had nothing to do with Blair this time.

“You okay?” he asked.

Sandra squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, even though it was obviously a lie. She wasn’t close to doing okay.

“Look at me,” he said.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. Because as soon as she opened her eyes, the dizziness would return. And she’d fall.

The logical side of her knew she wouldn’t get hurt. The employees had told her it would be a slow descent and a soft landing. The freaking-out side of her didn’t care. She was going to hug this wall. And probably live up there. Because there was no way she was letting go.

Blair’s voice was soft as he said, “Trust me. We’re both going to get to the top. And we’re going to do it together.”

Sandra heard the sincerity in his voice. She forced one eye open and saw he was closer now, within touching distance. His gaze was on her, intense. It was totally hot. And it gave her the courage she needed.

“All right.” She looked up. They were more than halfway there. This was possible.

“With me,” he said.

Sandra nodded and met his gaze. “With you.”

Blair reached up and grabbed a rock above his head. Sandra followed his movement. They both stepped up to the next rock. Because of the random placement of the rocks, they found themselves moving further from each other, but they eventually moved closer again, an ebb and flow to their movements.

Sandra no longer felt the fear she had, her attention now on the wall, and Blair. There was nothing else. There were times when her attention was more on Blair than it should have been, and she would slip. But then his lips would quirk up as he waited for her, like he knew he’d been the cause of her misstep, and she’d find purchase again.

Time passed quickly as they climbed together, and it wasn’t long until they found themselves at the top. Right above their heads was a bell with a small rope for them to ring and announce their victory.

“Together?” Blair asked, moving close to Sandra.

“Together.”

Sandra placed her hand on the rope, and her breath caught when Blair placed his hand on hers rather than the rope.

“It’s all you,” he said.

She felt her cheeks flush, and she pulled the rope, the bell ringing loud throughout the gym. The sound sent a thrill through her, and she knew she’d only accomplished the challenge because of Blair. He’d pushed her to do what she had felt was impossible, and he’d been with her every step of the way.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice coming out hoarse.

Their eyes locked, and he gave her a small nudge. “Anytime.”

Now was the time when they were supposed to push off and be lowered to the ground, their victory complete. But neither of them looked away, and Sandra had no desire to be the first.

And then Blair was moving in even closer, his gaze flicking to her lips. She licked them, and her breath stalled.

Anticipation made the air between them electric, but he was taking too long. And then he stopped completely, his lips hovering above hers. His eyes were still open, questioning.

Well, if that was how it was going to be…

Sandra closed the gap, pressing her lips to his. It was a strange sensation, holding onto the rock in front of her while trying to reach him at the same time.

Blair pulled her in close with one arm, deepening the kiss, and a shudder of desire made her lose her grip on the wall. She should have been freaking out. But Blair didn’t let go of her and instead gave a small push off the wall. They were slowly lowered to the ground together, his arms holding her tight as their lips continued to explore each other. Her hands raked through his hair as she struggled to express the intense emotions coursing through her. She’d never felt like this with anyone. And she didn’t want to stop.

It wasn’t until they touched down that she was aware of the catcalls of the employees and a couple of other climbers who had arrived since they’d started their ascent.

Sandra shot back from Blair, her cheeks blazing, and she tried to adjust the dress that was still pulled up tight with the harness.

How in the world had that happened?

One of the employees loosened the straps of her harness, and she slipped it off, her dress now falling mid-thigh like it should. He swung the harness over one shoulder but shot her a grin, a knowing look in his eye, before he walked away.

Blair joined her, also harness-less. His suit pants were wrinkled, evidence of their digression from the original plan to attend the dance.

They didn’t talk about the kiss on the ride home. In fact, they didn’t talk at all, but instead rode in a comfortable but dense silence. They both exchanged shy smiles, but neither was willing to acknowledge what had happened. Sandra didn’t regret it, but she also didn’t know how to process it.

She had just made out with Blair on a rock wall. And in midair. In front of strangers.

It was one of those instances of fact being stranger than fiction.

Maybe she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it.