Driving around the city isn't my idea of fun, it's just a suffocating journey having him and me inside a moving vehicle with no words passed between the both of us. I wouldn't be the first to start a conversation because I'm not good at making small talks especially starting them. What am I going to say?

I think he's nervous, he keeps glancing at me and I can tell by the look on his face that he wants to talk but he doesn't.

He parks in front of a gym. Frowning, I look at him and ask, "what are we doing here?"

"It's a climbing gym, I bet you haven't done wall climbing before," he replies and unbuckle his seatbelt.

I don't know what it is about that reply that made my heart race and make the feeling spread all over me. Guys like him would take a girl to the movies, restaurants like Dave and Buster's and then invite them back to his room to have sex but the fact he brought me to a climbing gym says a lot about his character. It means he knows me or at least as much as he knows. I would have hated it if we went to the movies or do all the cliche date but he brought me here.

Wait... Why did I say date? This isn't a date. We are not even friends and I don't even like Ethan.

"I, um, haven't actually." I unbuckle the seatbelt and open the door.

He claps his hands in excitement. "You are luck. I intend to do everything you haven't done before."

Gazing at his emerald eyes and my heart skips a beat and pound so loud that I can hear it. "why?"

Not sure what I'm asking. Why is he doing this? Is it because he knows about my family? And this is way of showing me pity. Why did he want to do things I haven't done? Does he feel the same?

I don't even know how I feel about him but this day will help me in getting to know him.

This time in my life isn't ready for anything but if my heart won't listen to me and continue thinking about him, I need to know if he's worth the headache. I would hate to waste my thoughts on him.

"I want you to remember me."

Hmm... What?

"I will always remember you as the guy that ruined my shirt, the shirt that's still hanging in my closet as a constant reminder of how you ruined it. You don't need to prove yourself to me, Ethan, I will always remember you."

He clears his throat and says, "all right then, take this as an apology."

"That's acceptable, come on let's go." I get out of the car and wait for him to join me.

He stands in front of me and offers me his hand, I look at his opened palm to his eyes. "Take a leap."

"How is taking your hamd a leap?"

He smiles making him boyish handsome, different from the side of him I know. "How about we both forget ourselves today and just have fun with each other. Think about forgetting to hate for just today."

My thoughts makes me who I am. I don't know who I am without them and he's suggesting I throw that away. How can I?

"You want me to let loose?" I ask and he nods. "Fine but don't complain when you don't like me letting loose."

His smile only grows more. "I like you as tigress, trust me when I say getting to know other sides of you is a bonus and a dream come true."

It's the way he's saying all this with confidence. If you'd ask me last week that I will be out with Ethan, then I would probably punch you in the face but here we are. No one except Marklin likes me, yeah maybe Darren does too but he didn't stick around to show me, to have Ethan say that he does makes my heart race more than he's made it race before. Although there's no way to tell that he's being sincere or just trying to woo me so he could get me into bed. There's only one way to find out.

"Okay," I agree with his suggestion and place my hand on his. Goosebumps erupts all over me, it's a good thing I'm wearing a long sleeved shirt, much to Ethan's option for going casual. The sensation I feel in between my legs is something I have never felt before in the twenty years I've been alive, not even when I–

No such thought today. I'm letting loose, forgetting who I am for a moment.

Ethan reposition out hand and intertwine our finger, and looks at me with a smile I find too sincere. I think this is real. Him here, spending time with me.

We walk hand in hand into the climbing gym. "Wait here, I'll go register and get our kits," he tells me and leaves, breaking out hands. I feel the loss of him immediately he removed his hand from mine but the feeling doesn't last long as hear cheering coming from inside.

My feet carries me there before I can stop it and there I find the climbing gym. "Wow," I whisper in admiration.

I've never done wall climbing before or seen the gym and it's definitely something I would love. Danger. Adventure.

The wall around the gym is filled with holders and routes while in the middle of the gym is a resting area with couches and tables. There are people here already, to my left are a group of teenagers taking a video of a man climbing the wall with no safety rope, it's the only wall with no rope, that wall is reserved for the best of the best.

"Hey!" Ethan returns with climbing equipment.

"You got me a climbing shoe?" I arch my brows at him. He nods. "How did you know my size?"

He shrugs. "I just picked the smallest size," he tease but I don't find it amusing. "Kidding, it's size six and half." He winks.

It is actually.

"How did you know?"

He shrugs. "I know everything." He bends down and before I can ask what he's doing, he starts unbuckle the hook to my sandals and wears the climbing shoe for me before doing the same for the other leg. "There you go, I don't need climbing shoes, I've been here before so I know everything I need."

"You forgot to mention that when telling to prepare for a casual outing."

"My bad, I wanted it to be a surprise."

It's not a bad surprise.

"Time for harness, raise your leg for me." I do as he says and the harness goes and the second leg goes up for the harness.

He secures the harness in place, my waist and thighs and pulls a part of my shirt that's poking out of the harness. "This is where the rope goes," he tells me.

Nice to know.

I watch him secure himself before leading us to a free wall, I try not to think about how his hand is on my lower back.

The wall terrain is constructed of plywood and metal frame with bolted on plastic foot and handhold. Ethan pulls and twist the rope attached to the holder and attached it to me.

"There are different routes, so you choose one color and stick to it to avoid confusion and falling," Ethan tells me.

I nod in understanding. "But the rope is to prevent any damage, right?" I ask as I tug the rope, it's strong.

"It could catch you."

"Could?"

He leans closer. "What, are you scared?"

I give him a smirk. "Scared, oh no, I'm just excited."

"Oh, I knew you would love it. Since you aren't scare, how about we make things interesting?"

"How?"

"A little competish,"

A competition would be fun, I'm quite competitive. "Let's do it."

"If you're the first one to get up you're planning next date and the same goes for me if I win."

So this is a date. We haven't started today's date and he's already thinking about the next one. Why do I suddenly feeling a different kind of emotions? Ethan is doing something to me and I'm not sure how I should take the new emotions. I'm not sure what I feel for him but it's definitely not hate. I shouldn't be feeling like this especially not for him.

"This is a two way street. I should be allowed to pick what I want if I win," I voice.

I half expect him to argue but he agrees. "You're right, I'm sorry, I got carried away. You choose what you want."

There's only one way to stop this growing feelings from growing even further. "If I win, you will stay away from me."

His smiles fades and I almost feel bad for saying that but it's for both our good. I'm not in the place where I can allow people into my heart, especially not Ethan, and I don't think he wants me in his life either.

"Then I will make sure I win," he sounds hurt but is fast to shake it off. "I won't be able to stay away from, so I just have to win another date from you."

He secures himself in place and looks at me. "Are you ready?" He asks and I nod. "In one, two, three, go! I'll give you a headstart."

Without saying it twice, I put my hand on the handhold and start climbing. I've seen people do this on tv and YouTube while exploring new hobbies, and I can see people doing it around me and it doesn't look that hard.

It isn't.

I keep climbing, my eyes keeps going to the top, I'm almost there, I will win and when I do, I'll tell Ethan to stay away from me.

Do I really want that? No I don't but it's what I need. Ethan is a man I don't know, except from the obvious, I don't know anything else about him and the same goes for me, he doesn't know me and I don't want him to.

The top is in sight, just five more climbs and I'm there, but before I can hold the third handhold, Ethan shoot above me, getting to the top before me.

What? How is that possible? He gave me headstart. I had an adventure.

Fucking bastard. He knows he's going to win that was why he gave me the headstart, making me wonder how good he is at this and how many times he's done it.

He reaches the top and looks down at me. "I win." He winks at me. "I'll see you below deck." He falls down using the rope.

Not bothering going to the top, I place my hand on the wall and push myself back, going down with the rope.

When I reach down, I see Ethan smirking at me, he thinks he's won.

"What do you think of riding a dirty bike? Or actual rock climbing or paintball or–" I cut off him off.

"I want a rematch."

"But I already won," he reminds me.

Shrugging. "You want your next date? I want a rematch."

He nods. "Okay, but no headstart this time." Playing dirty.

I should give up now but I won't. I want to try again.

"Deal." We face forward, and I call. "Go!" I position myself and start climbing.

Much to his earlier words, he gives me a headstart and I use it wisely, climbing up as fast as I can but still careful because I'm not use to it. Ethan's hair catch my peripheral vision.

What...?

How can he be so fast?

He's not getting to the top without me, over my dead body.

I hold onto the handhold with my right hand and stretch my left to where Ethan is, and tickle his ribs.

"Cheater!" He shouts and chuckles. "I'm not ticklish." He sticks out his tongue like a kid and climbs up but I grab his shirt hard to prevent him from going further. "Hey baby, you want to, um, let go of me? I'll let you grab onto me whenever but you need to let go, it's a dangerous–"

I release but he can get other cliche stuffs out of his mouth but he drops, making me yell out his name. "Ethan!" It happens so fast, one minute he's joking and the other he's falling.

My eyes watches as he goes down, my heart is beating fast because he looks like he's going to hit the ground. I pull back and try to ride the rode down but my foot slips from the hold and I fall.

"Oh shit!" Hearing Ethan mutter but I shut my eyes and brace myself.

I am not afraid but it's good to not know what's beyond the veil.

I hear a grunt as arms comes around my waist. Opening one eye before the other, the familiar wall is the first thing I see before looking down to see the raven tattoos I've become obsessed with on the arms of the man I try my hardest not to think about.

"Are you okay?" He asks, turning me in his arms, keeping his hands on my hips. His eyes searches me for any injuries.

You can be a good liar but the eyes never lies and this time his eyes shows that he's concerned and worried.

"You faked that fall," I accuse.

He looks at me and sighs in relief. "You aren't hurt. I thought my prank had gone too far, I–"

"You faked that fall."

He nods. "I did. It was a stupid joke and–"

I cut him off again. "You won, you pick the next date."

His lips parts but nothing comes out. Yeah, I rendered him speechless.

"Let's go again," I suggest to him.

He nods. "All right, no headstart this time."

I scoff. "No prank this time."

He smiles. "Agreed. No tickling this time."

So that's what we do, we climb and climb and climb until we decide to stop climbing.

Ethan takes off the harness and the climbing shoes and goes off to return it while I go off to find the restroom and wash my face with water and return outside to see him leaning against his car, holding orange juice.

"Hey!" He leans away when he sees me and meets with me halfway. "Here, I got you orange juice, I don't know exactly what you like so..."

I take the juice from him and a chilled drink is definitely what I need right. "I love coffee and tree tea but I like orange juice," I tell him and it's after that I realized what I just said.

I just willingly gave him an information about myself.

"You want to take a walk with me?"

"Hmm... Sure, why not."

"Good, let's go, we'll be back for the car." He leads the way out of the parking lot of the gym. "Tree tea, why?"

"I just like natural stuff, every morning I make a ginger, garlic, cinnamon, black seed and plant milk smoothie and I add chia seeds and honey. It's the best thing to drink early morning and before going to bed."

"Wow, I never... I just take coffee," he says. "You should make it for me."

I look at him to find him looking at me. "Hmm... Sure."

"So... You are an artist?"

"I am."

"Is that something you've always wanted to do? I mean that drawing you made shows that you have mad talent."

This is exactly what I am but in a more reversed way like it's me that wants to gets to know him.

"It is. I have always loved drawing and painting, there's no other way for me. What about you?"

He takes a sip of his orange juice which prompts me to open mine. "I'm doing Business Admin because I've got a rich daddy that wants me to inherit his company, other than that I don't think I have anything I'm good at."

"You're good at being an asshole," I say which makes him laugh.

"Tell me something you think I won't know,"

"Oh, you will regret it," I tell him.

He shakes his head. "I doubt it. Lay it on me."

I take a large gulp of the orange juice and the cold melts my inside in the best way possible.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, I–" for the first time today, he interrupts me.

"Why do you think I would regret it?" He asks as stops walking to look at me.

He's right. Why do I think he's going to regret it?

I shrug. "Animals." He raises his eyebrows in question, do I elaborate. "I know facts about animals, like weird facts about animals."

"Good I've always loved animals, hit me as hard as you can with the weird facts."

Since he asked so nicely.

"The male seahorse has a pouch on its stomach in which to carry babies as many as two thousand at a time, and they goes through pregnancy and gives birth to babies. So technically they are the only animal on earth where the male carries the baby rather than the female."

There are so many wonders in this world that I would love to explore but I prefer animals. Animals are... We see them every day but we don't really know and understand them. I like knowing the smallest details about them. Although this is the first time I'm talking about them with someone. My family always thought it was weird that I enjoy watching documentaries about animals.

"Shit really?!" He chuckles and I look at him to see him curious and excited. "Wow that's the coolest, weirdest thing I've ever heard, you have to tell me more."

Oh I will, I will definitely tell him more until he gets bored of it.

"Animals often stay away from ostrich. An ostrich legs are so powerful that their kicks can kill a lion or a person. Each two toed foot has a long, sharp claws, making them formidable weapons."

"I think I knew that about ostrich," he says and I furrow my eyebrows, he explains further. "My sister told me about it. She read it somewhere."

I like Willow.

"Otters hold hands while sleeping, so they don’t float away from each other. I have a video on my phone, it's so cute."

"Then you'll have to show me someday."

I don't reply to that, I just continue.

"Dolphins use toxic pufferfish to get high."

"Really? How? Dolphins get high, that is so cool, dolphins are cool."

They are.

"They deliberately handle pufferfish causing them to release toxins as a defense mechanism. These toxins can be deadly in high doses, but also have a narcotic effect and are a powerful hallucinogenic, which dolphins appear to enjoy. I also have a video of–"

"You have video of dolphins getting high, I have to see it. Are you sure we shouldn't just go back to the car and watch the videos?"

I stop walking and look at him, really look at him. He's really enjoying it, I thought he was going to find it boring but he looks like he wants to know more.

"Elephants mourn their dead. They will return to the place where family members died and stand in silence over the bones, sometimes bowing their heads.

"Baby elephant suck on their trunk like how babies suck their thumbs."

Ethan turns around the corner that leads back to the gym, not commenting on the elephant, just asks, "how do you know all this?"

It was the only thing I could do after I spent an entire summer in that little room with the old television that only showed animals. It was quite lonely being alone in that room but the animals kept my company and what I'd learned saved me.

I can't tell Ethan the truth of how everything started because I haven't told anyone, in fact thinking about it is hard for me. Those days were the darkness time of my life.

"Hmm I watch a lot of Natgeo wild and do lots of research, as a kid I wasn't allowed to have a pet, so I just learn about them, and they kind of became a part of me." It's not all lies. We weren't allowed to keep pets but I never wanted one because if I had, there's no way they'd tell me not to keep it

"It's your security blanket." He isn't asking. He knows.

"What? No. It's not like that." Denying it is the only one to show that I'm damage. Yes, they are my security blanket but he doesn't needs to know that.

"Okay, if you say so." He doesn't sound like he believes me.

"It is not my security blanket."

We enter the gym and head for the car. "And I said okay." It's so obvious that he doesn't believe me.

"You don't believe me."

He opens the door to my side. "I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to. Are you taking me home without feeding me?"

How rude.

He chuckles. "Of course not, Jump in, I have a surprise for you."

I place my hand on top of the opened door and look at him. "If you take me to the woods to murder me, let me tell you that others have tried and no one have succeeded because I got to them first."

"Scary." He continues looking at me with a smile on his face and it's making me conscious.

"What?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing. It's just so good to see you like this."

Okay...