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Well, it’s ask now or never.Maybe finding out the truth about if this is a real date or just a friendly hang will help me get a grip.
“Is this a date?” The words spill out, and I admit now, a tad louder than I expected. You could hear a pin drop, but here I am nearly yelling.
His brow furrows. That can’t be good. He doesn’t know.
“You know what? Never—” I rush out, but he shakes his head.
“No, wait. Let me answer.” He scratches his jaw, but when he looks at me, his eyes are full of desire but also trepidation—so much so that I feel it in my core. So I let him answer my question.
“I want to spend time with you. I know that for sure. And I don’t want to share you with others, so asking you to hang with just me, well, it does feel an awful lot like a date.” But here is where the trepidation overcomes his other emotions. “I’m not sure where this goes… Being anything other than friends.”
I press my lips together. It’s not exactly what I want to hear, but I guess I can understand where his head is at.
Taking a hard swallow, I nod. “So this will remain a maybe date, then?”
He chuckles. “A maybe date will allow us to see where things go.”
I don't think my crush on Wade is going to go anywhere anytime soon so agreeing to see where things go seems like a fair compromise. I offer him a smile and agree. “Okay, that works for me.”
He stands and holds out a hand for me. I take it and he pulls me up. He drops my hand almost immediately, and I remind myself: baby steps.
“Alright, let me give you a crash course in rock climbing. Then we’ll start on the easy walls, and as you feel comfortable enough, we’ll move to more intermediate.”
Nodding eagerly, I listen to him talk about the harnesses and ropes. He explains which knots to use and how to belay. He called it a crash course, but he takes his time making sure I’m confident with the harness and ropes.
We start on the easy walls as promised. I’m not amazing, and I’ll admit it’s hard work, but it’s fun. He shows me how to belay before he tackles a more challenging wall. When I worry that I’m not sure I can keep him from falling, he sends me a sexy smirk and tells me not to worry.
We spend a good two hours climbing and testing out different crags, and I can see why he loves climbing.
“Do you ever climb for real?” I ask him after we remove the harnesses from our bodies.
“I’ve been bouldering before, but I haven’t actually climbed outside. I’m an inside climb guy.” He chuckles as we leave the gym and head back into the gear room. “Rock climbing outside, on a real side of a mountain, well, it takes a lot more experience. There are a lot of variables to deal with when climbing outside.”
“So you don’t want to try it someday?” I ask.
“I didn’t say that. I’m just content with climbing the amazing facilities Chicago has to offer. Plus, since I know the owner and teach classes on occasion, I get to climb for free.” He taps the counter where he placed his shoes, and I set mine next to his. He walks around the space and grabs a can, then sprays down our shoes.
“Don’t you have your own gear?” I ask as he puts our shoes back where they belong.
He laughs. “Yeah, but I didn’t bring them with me today.” He meets me back in front of the counter, and we collect our coats.
“Why not? Wouldn’t that have been more comfortable?” I mean, I only use my own controllers. It’s a preference thing for sure. I grab my hoodie, about to put it on.
“Hold up,” he says. I lift my head to him, and he’s wearing the biggest grin as he reaches out and plucks my glasses off my face. “Continue.”
I snort and pull on my hoodie with little issue. He steps in close and carefully places my glasses back onto my face. The gesture is intimate, and I suddenly forget how to breathe with him so close.
“There. Thought I could help ya out this time.” He looks down at me while his fingers linger near the back of my ears.
My voice is all breathy when I thank him.
He takes a step back, putting space between us. I steady myself and then put my coat on. We leave in silence, stopping only to tell Luke goodbye.
As we stand out front, welcoming the wintry air, Wade pulls out his phone. “So do you want to grab some food?”
My stomach picks that moment to rumble. Thankfully, I don’t think he hears. “Yeah, sure.”
“I was thinking we could grab something and maybe take it back to your place? I’d say mine, but you know how that would go.” He says and he’s right. I know exactly what would happen. One or both of his roommates would be there, and then they’d want to join us. And they’d ask questions.
