Secret Santa Set-Up

Date #4: Chris...

  After a full round of eighteen holes and a good laugh through laser tag the couple finds themselves standing in front of the rock climbing wall. 

  Chris cuts his eyes to the side, watching Calliope take a deep breath. "Intimidated?"

  She knows she could act tough and well put together, and if things weren't going so well then she might. But, she feels like she can be herself with Chris, so she admits, "Scared of heights."

  He gives the slow nod as he looks all the way to the top. "Nobody says you've got to go the whole way, ya know. You could go just up to that first ledge over there," he points only about fifteen feet in the air.

  "Surely I can go higher than that," she mutters under her breath, readjusting the harness. "You going first?"

  Chris shrugs, "I can if you want. But,  is that really only going to give you more time to freak out?" She rolls her eyes and mumbles something about him knowing her too well so early on, making him howl in laughter. He steps forward as she takes a step back, hands on her hips, watching Chris begin his trek towards the top.

  The man's legs are so long that she swears he can reach clear to the other side of the rock wall, making her groan at her own lack of confidence. And within five minutes he's already at the top, ringing the bell to announce a completed climb. 

  "Couple holes in one, three bullseyes in laser tag, and now you're a professional rock climber?" she moans from her spot on the ground, making his smile grow wider as he makes his way back down. "You good at everything, Chris?"

  He gives a funny wiggle of his brow and a little pout of his lip, "Maybe," he admits as he unclips his harness.

  "Cocky SOB too apparently," she teases him as he tickles her sides with his fingers.

  "Come on Calli, you got this," he tells her as he passes her the clip. 

  With her right foot and left hand in place she begins her own journey, praying to reach the top before her fears become too much. After five minutes she's only managed to get to the first ledge that Chris challenged her to. "That's good, Calli! Think you can go further?"

  She whimpers from her spot, resting her forehead against the back of her hand that clings to the step. "Maybe if there was a cannoli at the next stop."

  Chris huffs out a laugh before clapping his hands together. "Alright then. You make it over to those yellow and green pegs and I'll get you some cannoli."

  Calliope's eyes move to where Chris is pointing, noticing it's not too much further from where she's at. "Gotta be from Mike's though, none of that Caffe Paradiso mess!" she calls down to him. 

  "Two of Mike's best! You got it!"

  With a deep breath she pushes herself over to the left and up again a good ten feet more. Once she's got both hands on yellow pegs and her feet sitting on green ones she breathes a sigh of relief. "Shut the front door!" she yells out, laughing.

  "Good girl! That's awesome!" he yells up as she hangs her head back a bit, ready to push off from the wall and go back down. "How about the top?"

  She jerks her head around, her eyes falling down towards the smiling bearded face that's filled with encouragement. But as much as she's appreciating his handsome face, she's also seeing just how far up she is, making her cling tighter to the wall. 

 "Just don't look down! Come on,  you're so close, Calli. You got this!"

  "I do better when I know there's something for me at the end of it," she giggles, trying to mask the unease in her body. "And before you say I'll have the knowledge of knowing I conquered a fear, that doesn't work for me."

  "Alright, alright," he says loudly, pausing for only a moment. "Okay, I got it. You get to the top and not only will you get two of the largest cannoli's Mike's has to offer, I'll take you to dinner to one of the nicest places in Boston, tonight."

  "Tonight?" she questions further, still clinging to dear life. "Bold of you to assume you get a second date, Chris."

  "Call it wishful thinking! So, what'll it be Calli? You hit that bell and I get a second date with you, or you come on down and we say our goodbyes."

  Talk about being put on the spot. In order to let him know she most definitely wants another date she has to actually conquer her fear. He's smart, she'll give him that. 

  Going down without ringing that damn bell isn't an option.

  She reaches up, maneuvering herself reach by reach and step by step. Chris giving constant encouragement from the ground below, thrilled that she's willing to see him again. Giving her the extra push to push herself was just a bonus. "Keep going! Almost there!"

  She falters, losing her footing almost causing her to lose her grip as well. "Ugh!" she grunts, trying to swing her legs back into place. 

  Chris, while wanting to push her further, takes a step back. "It's alright, Calliope. You can come down. I'll still take you out."

  She blows a large breath out of her mouth before regaining her grip and reaching to the original spot her feet were in. Much to Chris' surprise she continues up the entire way until she's ringing the bell as well. 

  While she's ready to squeal and celebrate, Calliope decides she'd prefer to do that back on flat land, pushing back and lowering herself down quickly.  As soon as her feet touch the ground she's met with Chris' arms around her waist, spinning her around in his own excitement, making her laugh.

  "It's not that exciting," she chuckles, tapping his shoulder for him to put her down. 

  "Anytime you overcome a fear should be celebrated, Calli. And that's exactly what we're going to do tonight."

*Unedited

*You can probably tell that I'm not putting as much effort into this story like my others. This one really is meant to just be a short story and won't quite have the twists and turns that the others do. Sometimes, you just need some fun and light heartedness. We're okay with that, right?