My Baby, My Darling.

The car ride that proceeded was awkwardly silent to say the least. The way I was sitting made it so that I was leaning up against the door and far away from him.

"You look nice, by the way." He said, his gaze never leaving the road. I sent him a glare and his lips turned up into a grin. It’s like he relished in my irritation.

I scoffed. "Well, I guess I like to look nice when I'm being kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" He laughed. "Sweetheart, that'll be hard to prove in court, considering the fact that you willingly got into my car. Plus, your dad loves me."

I pursed my lips. "You'd swear I'd left you two down there for ten years. ‘Richard?’” I mocked, “What. Are you guys going to start a fucking book club or something?"

His eyes turned to meet mine after we stopped at a red light, "Does it bother you that your father and I are on a first name basis, beautiful?" He raised his eyebrows and smiled as if knowing his question would get on my nerves, which it did.

"Oh, gag me," I muttered. "I just don't want my father being fed false information on stock markets. And stop calling me beautiful like it’s a pet name or something. It won’t work on me."

"Who said the information was fake? I know all about the stock market." He defended while making a right turn. I could tell he was a very cautious, careful driver. I watched his eyes fixate on the road as if he were in deep concentration. His grip on the wheel tightened and I noticed the veins in his forearm bulge at the tension. He caught me staring and I quickly averted my eyes to look at the road ahead, subconsciously pulling down the hem of my dress so that it covered my lower thigh. From the corner of my eye, I saw a smile tug at the corner of his lips. Cocky asshole.

“Please.” I rolled my eyes, “Enlighten me as to how you know so much about the stock market."

He shrugged, looking into his side mirror to change lanes. "Dinner talk. I sit down with my dad every Tuesday for dinner and that's the only way I can get his attention, if I talk business. So I like to keep myself up to date." he quickly looked over at me to send me a smirk. "Why, does stock market talk turn you on?"

I scoffed, "Why do you think every single thing you do has some sort of effect on me. I couldn’t care less.” But I did. It surprised me how much he knew about seemingly irrelevant things. I wouldn’t have expected that. But I would never tell him.

He looked puzzled for a second but quickly recovered, a usual smirk returning to his lips as he pulled up into a dimly lit parking lot. I looked around at the building which showed no signs indicating what it was.

"Where are we?" I questioned, making sure to add a hint of irritation in my voice.

He didn’t answer me. Instead he unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed himself out of the car, quickly making his way to my side. He was one of those, the kind that opens doors and pulls out chairs. I rolled my eyes and pushed open my door before he could get to it. He let out a breath of air and rolled his eyes, waiting until I was out of the car before closing the door behind me.

"It's probably something you've never done before.” He explained, placing his hand at the small of my back and guiding me around the parking lot and to the front exit. I rolled my eyes and reached behind me to swat his hand away as we approached the door.

"I'm not an old lady with a walker, Dexter." I muttered sarcastically as he opened the door for me. That's one thing I cannot stand, when dates try to do everything for me. I can open my own goddamn doors, help myself out of a car, and walk through a parking lot just as easily without a hand guiding me. I guess it was a feminist mentality I acquired over the years.

The lobby was empty. The lights were on, but no one was here. I want to say that I was nervous at this point, but I wasn’t. For some reason, I felt safe with Dexter. The sign behind the counter said “Newbasis Threshing.” The name was not familiar to me at all and nowhere in the lobby was there a clue as to what this facility was. We walked through a hallway and stopped in front of two sliding doors.

"Welcome to my sanctuary." Dexter said, rolling back two sliding doors and exposing a huge arena full of rock walls and ropes hanging from the ceiling. It was huge. Well, it was huge to me because I’d never seen anything like it before. It was a facility specifically dedicated to climbing rocks. It’s like those places little kids pay for to jump on trampolines, but for adults.

"I come here pretty often to blow off steam,” He said, guiding me toward a locker room in the corner of the arena, “and the owner lets me come and go when I want because he owes me."

Another person who owes Dexter McHale. We should start a facebook group or something. I pursed my lips and fixated my eyes on his, "This is all fine and dandy, but I'm not dressed for this."

Dexter pushed a few buttons on a keypad beside the door and pushed it open, revealing a room full of body suits and ropes. It looked like some sort of artillery room for hikers. He grinned and gestured flamboyantly to the room. "I have got you covered."
---

"There's really no other colors? Really?" I hissed sarcastically. I pulled at the sleeves of my orange, camouflage patterned skin tight rock climbing suit. I was able to borrow shoes from one of the managers who had an extra pair in my size. Lucky me.

“None that are your size.” He smirked, clipping a few ropes onto the belt in his hands. At least he got to look normal in a black track suit.

“You’re kidding.”

“I am.” He smirked. “But orange looks good on you.”

“Alright, Alexander Wang.”

“Who?”

“Look at that, something you don’t know.” I smiled and he blinked, his eyes scanning over my face. I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

“Would you look at that, a smile.” He said, gesturing toward my face as he finished looping the rope through the last clip.

I looked away, wiping the smile from my face.

"Calm down, beautiful. You look like a pro." He grinned, strapping the belt around my waist like a professional. He wasn't kidding about coming here often. His picture was on the wall by the front counter under Customer of the Month.

"I swear. Quit it with the beautiful crap or I will sincerely chop off your genitals." I hissed, nudging him away after he secured the last strap.

He laughed, "You're right. I'll save the pillow talk for later on tonight."

I let out a puff of air and spun around so that I was facing him. I took a few small steps forward so that there was no space in between us. His face contorted into a mix of both amusement and pleasure, probably expecting me to jump him right there. I moved on my tip toes so that my mouth was directly next to his ear.

"Listen, asshole. I'm not going to deal with your snide comments about getting me into your fucking bed," I hissed and his grin grew deeper. "I was dead serious about cutting off your genitals. So cut the crap, and hoist me up onto this rock wall so this date can be over as soon as possible."

I stepped back and gripped his arms, forcing him to face me. "We're clear then, sweetheart?"

He nodded, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, "Crystal."

“Good.” I nodded, rolling my eyes and turned so that I was facing the rock wall, "So I just start climbing then?"

Dexter cleared his throat, his voice dropping to a serious tone. "Uhm, yeah."

I started climbing the rock wall with ease. I had never climbed before, but I'd seen it done all the time when Nicole would drag me to state fairs. I climbed for quite a while and estimated to be about thirty feet in the air. I made sure that I had a tight grip on the wall and looked over my shoulder to see how it looked from so high off the ground. I gulped, realizing how far I really was. I must have been about a hundred or two feet up into the air. I was suddenly aware of the air and space that separated me from the ground and how it must have gone on for miles. I clung tighter to the rock wall and looked back up at the other pegs ahead of me sticking out of the wall. Shit, did those things get farther? My heart sped up and I clung tighter to the wall. 'Come on, move your arm up just one peg' I told myself, 'Just one'. I took my arm off of the rock and reached slowly, but couldn't reach it. I panicked and clung tightly to the wall again.

I heard a faint voice from below me, "Chelsea? Are you alright?"

It was Dexter. I couldn't hear him clearly over the beating of my rapid heart rate that seemed so close to my ear. My hands started to clam up and I wondered if my hands would get so slippery that I would fall off. I silently cursed myself for climbing so high. He yelled something else, but could not decipher what he was saying. I clung onto the wall for dear life. I tried to breathe slowly, to calm myself.

"Just let go," his voice echoed from below me. "I've got you!"

I closed my eyes tightly. Really, just let go? Those are his encouraging words. Is he fucking kidding me right now?

"I can ease you down.” He explained calmly, "I have the rope. You'll be fine. I've got you."

I felt the rope connected to my belt loop rise slightly, bringing my ass higher into the air. I prayed for dear life that what he said was true as I let to of the wall with my right hand, reaching behind me to grab the rope. The rope remained firm, and I brought my other hand off the wall and onto the rope. Shit, I'm going to die. I then took my feet off the wall and closed my eyes, holding onto the rope for dear life. I felt that I was moving downward slowly, and panicked silently in my head. I convinced myself over and over not to squeal like a girl. Once or twice, I almost let it slip. Suddenly, I wasn't moving anymore. Oh, fuck. I'm stuck. The rope must have gotten caught on the hook or something. Shit, I'm going to die.

"You can open your eyes now, Chelsea." Dexter said from in front of me as he unhooked the rope from my belt. His face serious as I extended my feet and made contact with the ground. I furrowed my eyebrows and realized that I was now on the ground, and not dead. I opened my eyes widely and a huge smile spread across my face. I leaped into the air and wrapped my arms around Dexter's torso.

"Holy fuck! I'm alive." I grinned into Dexter's shoulder. His arms remained limp at his sides and I quickly pulled away rejoicing to myself. He was probably still butt hurt over what I said because he made no move to wrap his arms around me. His body remained stiff.

"Did you see that?" I exclaimed, "I was fucking flying. Holy fuck, I was like 200 feet in the air. I almost died. Shit, I almost died. Hol-y fuck!"

Dexter stood in front of me, a hint of a smile on his face as he coiled up the rope. He made no attempt to look at me. "I'll take you home now. You can go get changed and stuff." He muttered, walking off towards the manager's office with a rope in his hand. What the hell was his problem?

After I changed, Dexter led me back out to his car, never saying a word. I convinced myself to let him close the car door behind me. I could sense his crappy mood and it irritated me. Right when I was starting to enjoy myself, he goes and throws a bitch fit. Silence filled the car again as he pulled out of the parking lot and I wondered if he ever used his radio.

"Okay what's up with the little bitch fit?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

He shrugged, his eyes fixated on the lane.

"Are you kidding me? I really said something to offend you." I threw my hands into the air, "You know. You should prepare for shit like that when you force girls into going on dates with you. I already thanked you for what you did at that party, and I really do appreciate it. But it shouldn’t surprise you that I told you I didn't want to be on this date in the first place."

He nodded slowly, his jaw clenched. His grip on the wheel tightened as he made a left turn. It’s like he was holding something back. It’s like he wanted to say something, yell at me, something. But he didn’t, it’s like he shut off entirely. My eyes fixated on him for a few moments, wondering if I could get any hint of emotion out of him.

Suddenly, a cell phone ring echoed throughout the car. Dexter pressed a button on his phone sitting on a stand by the radio and adjusted the volume.

"Hello?" Dexter answered. His voice was bored, monotonous.

“Dex?” A muffled voice slurred and I looked at the clock. It was only 10:30. Who would be shit-faced at 10PM? "Dex, can you c-come and g-get me? I'm I-I don't feel well."

It was a girl's voice. I rolled my eyes at the possible booty call erupting all throughout the car. Seriously, he was going to take this call in front of me? Could he really be that much of a prick? I looked over at Dexter and there was worry on his face. His brows furrowed in concentration and his eyes frantically searched the road as if he were in deep thought.

"Annie, Where are you? Can you tell me where you are, darling?" His eyes shot up in urgency as he looked over his shoulder for a lane change. 'Darling?' I thought to myself.

Annie coughed on the other end, "I'm at J-Jason's." She mumbled, sounding groggy.

Dexter hastily hung up the phone and pressed on the gas pedal, driving at a high speed. He then abruptly turned the steering wheel, making a dangerous U-turn. I clung onto the dashboard, trying to steady myself. What the fuck was he doing? That turn alone could have flipped the car. His eyes narrowed at the road ahead and he abruptly made a right turn onto a dark street. He drove at 60 miles in a residential street. I widened my eyes as I fixated on Dexter's flaming mad face. His nostrils flared and he scanned the houses. He hit the brakes abruptly and quickly threw his right arm over me so that I wouldn’t jerk forward and bang my head on the dash. When the car came to a complete stop, he quickly put it in park and jumped out of the car, leaving his door wide open. He sprinted into a creepy, dark looking apartment building. I watched as he disappeared into the complex and took deep, even breaths, trying to steady my rapidly beating heart for the second time tonight.