Ben

I flinch back from Marcie and her question. She just had to ask again, and right when I almost forgot that was why she agreed to come over. My stomach twists, and I feel like a science experiment.

But she hasn’t pulled out of my hold. Her dark eyes search my face. She seems interested.

Whatever it takes to keep her. I suck in a deep breath.

“Believe it or not, I didn’t spend my whole childhood inside playing weird video games,” I say. “I wasn’t much for team sports, but my dad got me into rock climbing. First, we did those little fake walls at gyms, back when...