8
E lion was slipping on his shoes when Clara knocked on his bedroom door. It was a little after five, and they were both getting ready to leave. He called her in, and she looked him over with a furrowed brow.
“Where are you headed this evening?” she questioned with her backpack on her left shoulder.
“Just into town for a bit.”
It wasn’t a lie. He was sort of heading into town.
He’d received the destination for his and Olani’s date a few days ago, after changing the email Clara had used previously, and she wanted to go zip lining.
Elion had been for Clara’s eighteenth birthday before she started college. But he had no problem going with Olani.
He knew that his niece wouldn’t question him further. She may have if he’d been dressed up, but because of where they were going, he’d chosen a simple black T-shirt, dark jeans, and sneakers.
“Okay, I just wanted to let you know I was leaving. I may be back a little later than normal. My group wants to review the guide for our test on Friday.”
“Okay,” Elion responded, tying his shoes. “Be careful, and don’t forget to eat.”
“I will and won’t,” Clara responded, turning and heading down the hall. “Love you.” Filtering back into his room.
“Love you, too,” Elion stated, getting up and going over to his dresser. He grabbed one of his favorite colognes and sprayed some on before grabbing his wallet and leaving his bedroom.
Elion made sure the front and back doors were locked, turning off the lights before grabbing his keys and heading out of the side door.
Locking it behind him. He slid into his vehicle, putting the address of the company into his GPS, and pulled out.
They were supposed to meet at six, so as long as there weren’t any accidents on his way, Elion would make it with a couple of minutes to spare.
When he arrived, he found a parking space, which was fairly easy since only a few cars were there. He chalked it up to the fact that it was a Wednesday and headed to the entrance of the zip line park, where they were supposed to meet.
He only had to wait a couple of minutes before he saw Olani making her way toward him. She was dressed in a pair of jean shorts, a white Levi’s T-shirt, and matching shoes. Her thick hair pulled up on top of her head.
“Hello, beautiful,” He greeted her when she stopped in front of him.
“Hello, yourself. Were you waiting long?”
“I wasn’t, and even if I was, it’d be worth the wait.
” Elion watched as she bit her bottom lip, and he wondered if she was blushing under that smooth, rich penny complexion.
“Should we head inside?” he questioned, holding his hand out to her.
Olani took it, and the two walked through the entrance and over to the ticket area.
There were twelve lines in total and four different packages from which they could choose. He didn’t care which one they did, so he allowed Olani to choose. She opted for the first package. It included three zip lines and would take about an hour or so with training and traveling between the three.
When the total was given, Elion reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed over his debit card.
“Wait. You paid for the last one,” Olani protested.
“Yes, but I asked you out. So, I’ll pay for it. Besides, you said it yourself: I’ll be reimbursed.”
He said it, but he had no intention of actually filing the expenses for their dates with the site. He’d enjoyed his last couple of dates with Olani and getting to know her. In his mind, there was no point in having someone else pay for something he enjoyed.
Once their package was paid for, they were directed to an ATV golf cart. Elion made sure Olani was in first before sliding in beside her. Their driver, who would also serve as a training instructor and oversee their first zip line, introduced himself, and they headed off.
The ride to the top for the first line only took a few minutes. They went through the training reasonably easily, and Elion assumed it was because these lines had passive braking systems, which basically meant that they would automatically slow them down, so they didn’t have to do it themselves.
It was after they’d been weighed, they were in the gear, helmets on, and Olani was being hooked up to the line that Elion noticed her fidgeting.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just…have a slight fear of heights.”
Elion lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Sweetheart, why did you pick this if you’re afraid of heights? We could have done something else.”
“I know, but I’ve always wanted to at least try it,” Olani responded with a little shrug. “I just need another minute, and I’ll be good to go.”
“You can go down together if you want to,” their instructor informed. “The lines hold up to five hundred pounds. So, you’re fine to go together.”
“Would that make you more comfortable?” Elion questioned.
“Yes, it would.” Their instructor also hooked him up, and he approached Olani. “How are we going to—” Her question cut off mid-sentence with a gasp as he placed his hands under her thighs and picked her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and her hands went to his shoulders.
He supported her with one arm tucked underneath her, his other hand grabbing both drop lines above them.
He only waited a few seconds, figuring that giving her too long to think about it would just have her nerves flaring.
He then walked to the edge and stepped off, receiving a little push from their instructor.
Olani tightened her legs around him, and her face went to his shoulder as a small shriek left her lips. Elion shifted the arm that was under her, and her hands came down to fist the front of her shirt.
“Don’t let go,” she requested.
“I won’t,” he responded, pulling her even closer.
They were halfway down when she timidly pulled her face from his shoulder, peeking one eye open before opening the other. Elion watched her look around, her eyes widening at the foliage that sailed past them before coming to him.
Some of the nervousness had faded from her eyes, and she seemed a bit content. Her grip on his shirt loosened but she didn’t let him go.
Once they were almost to the bottom, their speed began to decelerate, and it wasn’t too long after that that Elion placed his feet on the ground. He slowly put her down, and they were unhooked before they got into another ATV golf cart and were taken to the second line.
“I’m sorry,” Olani told him as they went.
“Don’t be,” he responded because he had no issue with what just happened. “You did great for someone with a fear of heights.”
When they reached the second line, it went much the same way as the first. When she was hooked up, she turned to him, approaching him once he was hooked up as well, and placed her arms around his neck. He picked her up, and again, they were sailing down the zip line.
This time, she didn’t place her face in his shoulder. She watched as all the scenery went by, and Elion knew she’d gotten over her nerves. It typically took someone going down a couple of lines before they were comfortable with them.
They were hooked up at the final line, and Elion watched as Olani looked over the edge of the platform.
“Do you want to try this one by yourself?” he asked.
Turning, Olani approached him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Looking up at him, she bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “I’m still nervous,” she said.
He refrained from smirking because he was sure she more so wanted him to go down with her again than she actually was nervous, but he in no way minded.
“Well, we can’t have that,” he replied, wrapping his arm around her waist. When hers came to his neck, he picked her up, and again, they were soaring.
This line was longer than the other two.
There was more to see, but he didn’t see any of it.
He was too engrossed in watching the interest that overtook Olani’s eyes as they passed one tree or another.
As she saw a cluster of flowers or a group of bushes with colorful buds.
When her eyes came back to him, and she caught him watching her, he decided to tease her to lighten whatever tension had just blanketed them.
“You don’t look so nervous to me.”
“Maybe I just wanted you to carry me,” she countered.
“So that means I could let you go,” Elion returned with a smirk.
“No,” she told him, legs tightening around his waist. “That’s not what it means.”
He chuckled as she glared at him playfully for a moment before laughing as well.
Her fingers went to the nape of his neck, and he found his eyes dropping to her lips.
As he went to lean in, their speed began to decelerate, and he looked over her shoulder to see that they were almost to the other side.
When his feet touched the ground, they were unhooked and driven back to the front. Elion checked his watch and saw that it was a little after seven. He knew he shouldn’t have, knew that the rules of the site were specific, but they weren’t there to catch him.
“I know we aren’t supposed to do this yet, but do you want to have dinner with me?” he inquired.
“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Olani responded as they walked out of the entrance. “You choose, I’ll follow you there.”
Elion walked her to her car, which wasn’t far from his. He’d passed an Italian restaurant on his way to meet her and figured they could go there. He pulled out of the parking lot with Olani behind him.
O lani pulled into the parking lot of the little Italian restaurant behind Elion.
She was glad he’d asked her to dinner because she wasn’t ready to leave his company yet, and well, Olani owned the site, not that he knew that, so she could do whatever she pleased as far as bending a rule went.
She’d honestly been about to ask him if he wanted to do a few more zip lines just to spend more time with him.