I hadn’t invited Sam out for a public quickie in the woods. I’d tossed out the invitation because…the realization struck me. Because I wanted to spend more time with her. I enjoyed the hell out of just talking with her and that weirded me out more than the hard-on I’d just gotten kitting her out in safety gear. I finished as quickly as I could and stood up. Sam's face was flushed and her breathing was uneven. Ignoring those telling signs and praying my own erection wouldn’t spring up again, I stepped back and busied myself testing all the connections. Satisfied that everything was in order, I hooked us to the anchor and then came back and went through some internal safety checklist a second time.

"Do all adventures require safety checks and harnesses?" she asked.

"Only the good ones." Over her hands, I pulled short fingerless gloves that would protect most of her palm and fingers from a rope burn. "I'm going to go first. You'll follow right behind me. Don't grip the rope too tightly, but let it flow through your fingers. You’re going to walk the wall, and I'll be right underneath you, so if you let go too fast, I'll catch you."

Samantha

EM>I'LL CATCH YOUEM. I LIKED that promise. In fact, I liked a lot about Gray this afternoon. His calm demeanor. His patience with me. His refusal to mock me for my little fears. I did feel secure in the harness he so carefully buckled me into although I almost passed out when he knelt between my knees. Eve's recounting of her favorite up-against-the-wall position had flooded my mind. "If you haven't tried that position then I’m really sorry because up against the wall or door while he's between your knees, one leg slung over his shoulder is un-friggin-believable."

I believed her because I felt ready to orgasm just looking down at him in that position as he was trying to put me in the safety harness. But my own feelings of lust were clearly not returned because, when he stood up, it was like he couldn't get away from me fast enough. I wasn't going to be sad about that. I was going to hang off a cliff holding on to a rope. That was pretty damn big for me.

Gray took hold of his rope and stepped over the side of the cliff like it was nothing. My heart climbed back into my body once I saw him braced against the side of the cliff with his feet, just below the edge.

"Ready?" he called.

I gave him a short nod and turned around. Slowly I let out the rope between my fingers and then started edging down over the cliff's edge. It was freaky and I almost let go. He must've climbed with amateurs before because he called out a warning.

"Don't let go of the rope. The rappel is all about the rope. Let it do the work." I slowly let the rope release through my hands, the friction miraculously allowing me to slide down slowly. I imagined I could feel Gray's body beneath mine and the thought steadied me. We slid down the rock wall and I felt like the action hero I’d thought about earlier. I wanted to throw up my arms and yell out but refrained, figuring Gray would bark at me to keep hold of the rope.

The mile-long distance between the top where we started and the rappel station below us sped by and before long, Gray was unhooking my harness and pulling the rope through the anchor. "Step back, I don't want the end of the rope to catch you in the eye."

Obediently, I stood off the trail. There was a smooth flat rock situated under a big canopy of trees. I guessed this was where Gray thought I could knit. It was a pretty perfect place. Gray was a conundrum. He’d turned me down last night but taken me out on an…outing, excursion—maybe even a date. Everything had been planned down to the last detail, and so thoughtfully. Even if I wanted to be mad at him for turning me down, I couldn’t be. So he didn’t want to have sex with me. He had taken me out and encouraged me to do something I’d never done before. Rappelling was incredibly fun and how many people could say that they’d done this?

After the rope fell down, I flew at Gray and gave him a big hug. "Thank you," I said, and then drew back, feeling a bit embarrassed at my exuberance.

"Fun huh?"

"Yes, very." The smile I was sporting actually hurt my cheeks. "Super fun."

Gray grinned back. "I'm glad." His eyes were warm and affectionate, like he was proud of his kid sister. I grabbed the backpack that Gray had discarded and tried not to be bummed out by the idea of Gray thinking of me like a little girl. He'd turned my advances down but was apparently willing to have me tag along for a little fun. The fact that he was sexy, nice, and thoughtful were things I should admire about him instead of objectifying him as a hook up. "I'll just sit here, then, while you rappel down and back up?" Given the quickness of our descent, I figured I wouldn't have a super long time to myself.

"I won't be long." He gave me a quick smile and jumped off to rappel down to the bottom. I sat down to knit under the shade but didn't even pull out the project. Instead, I stretched out on the rock and let the heat bake into me. It felt great. I felt great. I had been in a state of hibernation—and not just about guys. I’d shut myself off, and now I needed to work on being more social, enjoying interaction with others beyond my family and a few coworkers. Bitsy was right. I needed to start hanging out with other people my age, not just the over-fifty widows in my knitting support group.

I opened the backpack that Gray had shoved my knitting in and found sandwiches, chips, protein bars, and bottles of water. And napkins! My god, a girl could only be so strong. Mentally I prepared my police station confession. I'm sorry, Officer, but he held my hand, smelled amazing, and then provided me food. I had no recourse but to attack him. Go easy on me. Pushing to my feet, I decided to check on Gray. I stood and stared down at him—past the jutting rocks and the branches of trees growing out of the side of the cliff and long stretch of space until there was land. I leaned forward and felt the vastness take hold of me. And I laughed. It was more like a scream or a cry outside of my body but inside I felt relief and exhilaration. I didn't hear him at first because I was caught up in my own feelings. His voice was just an echo, like a free bird cawing to its flight formation in the wind.

"Get back!"

The sound was closer now, and when I looked down, my toes were poking into the space of the blue sky, and for a moment I tottered forward, startled by his shouts.

"Get the fuck back!" Gray roared. He was waving his arm at me. I wasn't sure if he was coming or going, but I stepped back obediently, my pleasure fading quickly. He clearly had a thing with people standing close to the edge. I didn't want to him to freak out anymore, so I lay down on my belly and dangled my arms over the edge as I watched his body get bigger and bigger as he closed the distance between us.

He was fuming mad when he got to the top. Even though he didn't say much, the jerky way he coiled the ropes and stuffed things into the backpack were pretty telling. Anxiety took hold of me. I hated when people were angry with me and when I disappointed them. It's why I kept having lunch with Will's mother once a month, even though it was more painful than a root canal as she tried to reminisce about the good old days when Will was still alive. Looking down at my shoes, I tried to shut out Gray's movements.

"Do you want to have something to eat?" he asked. Impatience rang out clearly in his voice even though he tried to pretend like he really wanted to sit on the nice rock under the nice shade and have a nice afternoon snack.