InsaneJournal

Closed; Date 2: Marissa
"Come on, it's okay," Clint said, adjusting his grip. "I'm not going to let you fall."

Marissa shook her head, dark curls flying. The wind whipped through them, making them billow like a cloud about her pretty face. Her lips were pressed tight. "Uh-uh, no way--you're crazy if you think I'm going out there with you."

"It's perfectly safe. See?"

Clint let go of the building and took three confident steps backward. Marissa's scream was shrill, piercing, but he just grinned and spread his arms, balancing effortlessly on the tiny beam that ran along the top of the buttress. Below him--very far below him--people crawled like ants in the mosaic courtyard. "If you hold on to me, you'll be safe as houses."

"Why the hell would I want to be out on that ledge, safe as houses or not?"

He fought the urge to show off and instead extended one hand, lips curving up into a warm, sexy grin. "Because I'm out here," Clint teased, meeting her eyes. "And because I have something I want to show you."

He could see her hesitating, slowly relenting. It was just their second date, but things always seemed to move fast with him. Already, she trusted him not to hurt her. Already, she was visibly itching to take his hand. "Well," Marissa said slowly, reaching out. Clint felt his heart lurch when her fingers curled around his, and he was sure she could see it on his face, judging by the way she softened, warmed, began to smile back. "If you promise you're not going to let me die."

"Cross my heart," he said, carefully helping her out onto the ledge with him. It was small, it was high up, it was windy, and it was a very long drop to certain death below, but he didn't feel a moment of fear, and now, neither did she.

Turning toward her warmth, Clint wrapped an arm around Marissa's waist and pulled her close, letting her breath touch his face as he began to move back along the beam, bringing her with him. By the look in her eyes, they could have been safely anchored to the ground.

But the rest of him was soaring.