Tina smiled and turned around, moving back against Bette. “Not quite” She whispered to herself.

Soon, the two women were face to face with the wall, each focused on winning the bet. After signing the waiver and putting on appropriate shoes, Bette and Tina strapped on the harnesses and positioned themselves on the wall accordingly.

Tina looked over at Bette and lifted an eyebrow. “You ready?”

Bette nodded. “Are you?”

The innuendo dripped from the succinct phrase, and Tina caught every bit of it. She unconsciously licked her lips, nodding to her opponent. “On three. One.”

Bette tightened her grip on the rope, bouncing back and forth slightly and tried to loosen herself up.

“Two.” Tina fixed her footholds, making sure she wouldn’t slip when she started off.

“Three!”

Both women started up the wall, each focused on their prize. Bette was soon ahead of Tina, who lagged behind almost a head. She dug her foot into the crevice of the rock and pulled herself up, reveling in the strain she felt in her hamstrings.

Tina was struggling to keep up with Bette, who seemed to have transformed into a monkey the second they started the race. She grabbed on to a hold and swung her leg over above her torso. Quick and determined, she made her way up the wall. There was no way Bette was about to beat her.

Bette steadily worked her way to the top, getting cockier by the second. She was going to win, she thought, and grabbed for another hand hold – only this time there wasn’t one.

“What the hell?” Asked Bette, pissed off that there was nothing more above her head. She looked up and saw that she had another fifteen feet to go. She the looked to her left and saw Tina gaining on her quickly. Bette then glanced to her right and saw a handhold about ten feet away. “Fuck.”

Tina gripped a rock with her foot and snaked herself up to the next level. When she looked over, she saw that she was now face to face with Bette, who seemed to have gotten herself stuck. Tina chuckled and shook her head, checking for the next series of handholds. “Hey, Bette,” She began, her breathy voice full of amusement, “you’re going to have to make a run for it.”