揟hanks, Dave.?Not many people have congratulated me about my upcoming wedding. They抳e acknowledged it. Nodded knowingly. Told me good work or well done. Every one of them has known why I抦 marrying Scarlett. But I don抰 know how to tell Dave I抦 a multi-billionaire marrying for money, so I do my best to act genuinely enthused by the prospect. Made easier and harder by my fianc閑抯 presence a few feet away.
揑抣l go grab you guys some gear,?Dave says. 揟here抯協our of you??
揊ive,?Asher corrects, nodding toward the front desk where Oliver is standing, talking on the phone. He took a call as soon as we arrived and hasn抰 moved since.
揂ll right. We usually start in pairs.?Dave glances around, then looks at me. 揌ow about you wait for the straggler??He smiles at Scarlett. 揥e can work together.?
I don抰 wait to see if it抯 an arrangement Scarlett will protest. 揘o. She and I will work together.?
Dave raises his hands in an all good gesture. 揝orry, man. I get the overprotective brother thing. I抦 the same way with my sister.?
Asher snorts a laugh. Jeremy starts coughing. If I looked over at Scarlett, I抦 guessing she抯 wearing the same expression of horror I am.
Dave looks between me and Scarlett, his dreadlocks bobbing with each confused movement. 揙h. Are you two not siblings??
揘o,?I grit out. 揝he抯 my fianc閑。？
揑 just assumed厰 he trails. 揘ever heard of a fianc閑 attending a bachelor party before.?
揥e like to do things together.?How I manage to say that sentence with a straight face, I have no idea. I抦 equally impressed no one laughs.
But Dave nods, looking completely serious. 揑 get it. My folks are the same way. They each get one activity to indulge the other one on, since they hate doing things separately. My mom hates football and hasn抰 missed a Giants game in twenty years. My father couldn抰 draw a stick figure but goes to an oil painting class with her every week.?Dave pauses and smiles. 揑 bet you guys will be just as happy. Whose activity is this??His eyes bounce between us again.
揢h厰 I抦 slow to speak after that. I抳e never witnessed that sort of relationship in person. I know my father loved my mother. She may have been the only person he抯 ever loved. When it comes to me and Oliver, he hands out occasional praise, not affection. However he expressed any sentimentality toward my mother, I was too young to remember any of it.
揅rew.?Scarlett clears her throat. 揟his was Crew抯 idea.?
揈xcellent choice, man.?Dave smiles at me before his attention returns to Scarlett. 揂nd what are you going to pick??
揢h厰 she stalls. For the first time ever, I see Scarlett look unsure. Rather than revel in it, I scramble to come up with some random hobby I can blurt out. Golf?
揑t can be anything,?Dave urges. 揂nything you抳e always wanted to try??
揥e doing this or not??Oliver appears, phone in hand. 揑f not, I抦 heading back to the office.?
揧ou can think it over some more,?Dave tells Scarlett, then turns to the rest of us. 揑抣l meet you all by the wall over there.?He points vaguely toward the right before heading to the left. We抮e surrounded by nothing but walls. Not just the four typical ones, but lots of additional ones covered with colorful, fake rocks meant as continual handholds.
揇o we think he抯 qualified to teach people how to scale cliffs??Jeremy questions.
揇ave抯 great,?Asher replies. 揝uper chill.?
揟hat抯 exactly what I抦 worried about,?Jeremy replies. 揝uper chill isn抰 the first qualification I抎 consider in an instructor.?
I ignore their bickering and ask Oliver, 揥hat was the call about??
My brother grimaces. 揚owers wants to come back to the table without the marketing division.?
揌e抯 folding??
Oliver nods. 揌e held out for longer than I expected him to.?
揗e too,?I agree.
Dave reappears with ropes and harnesses for a short tutorial on what we抮e supposed to do in order to leave the ground. Despite Jeremy抯 misgivings, Dave seems knowledgeable. I抦 more concerned with the woman beside me than Dave抯 laid-back personality. If anything, his ease is a welcome addition to the group. Scarlett seems to be growing tenser by the second.
Once the demonstration ends, we抮e sent off to a corner of the gym. Asher immediately starts climbing while Jeremy spots him. Oliver is further down, talking with Dave. Probably trying to get out of doing this.
Scarlett clips on her harness and stares up at the rock face that extends fifty feet up in the air. I stare at her. She looks over suddenly, catching me studying her profile.
揥ell??I prompt.
揥ell what??
揥ell, are you going to climb the damn thing or not??I drawl.
揋ive me a minute,?she snaps.