"So what's the plan for today?" I asked Mark. He was grinning to himself when he heard my question.

 

"You'll see." he said. He turned to look at me for a brief moment before returning his gaze to the road. I thought about the possibilities of today's events. Knowing Mark, he would probably come up with something to surprise me. Wow, that surely doesn't make it any easier for me to guess what we're doing today. I chuckled softly to myself.

 

"What's funny?" Mark asked. Apparently he heard. 

 

"Nothing...it's just," I began. "You always know how to play the surprise card in a relationship. How exactly do you come up with all this stuff?"

 

"Mm it's cuz I like surprising people," he said. "I like the look on people's faces when they get surprised. That's why I surprise people a lot."

 

"But how do you come up with them so easily?" I asked.

 

"No I don't," he replied. "It takes me a while to come up with surprises for people. Sometimes I have to get a piece of paper and brainstorm first."

 

"But how come you can come up with a lot of surprises for me?" I asked, obviously still confused. He turned to me and flashed me a deadly smile.

 

"Because you're Rhyth," he said. "And Rhyth is special." I felt my cheeks heat up at his last line. Gosh Mark... I can easily call you Mr. Cheesy... You know, cuz you're really cheesy... Although you are cheesy Mark, you still know how to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world. Like I'm special.

 

We arrived at our destination in a matter of minutes. I looked through the window and saw a huge open field. It looked like we were in the middle of nowhere, but as I looked around more, I started to notice other things. There was a building nearby and behind it, there were planes and helicopters lined up in a row. Where are we? I looked to Mark for an explanation. He looked back at me and smiled, then exited the car. What? No explanation? Fine then Mark... 

 

He came to my side and opened the door for me. He took my hand and led me to the small building. We stood outside the door, where Mark pointed up at a sign above the door.

 

Sky Dive was what the sign read. 

 

*Flashback*

 

"I bet you can't do it."

 

"I bet you I can."

 

"I bet you can't."

 

"I cannn." 

 

For a while now, Mark and I were bickering over whether or not I can drink soda nonstop for 2 whole minutes. We finished training for the day and decided to eat out together. 

 

Mark and I were betting each other to see if we can drink soda nonstop for a certain amount of time. The last bet I told Mark was to drink it nonstop for a minute and a half. As I observed Mark, he drank the soda like it was water. Wow, that guy can really drink soda. 2 minutes? Sure, no problem. I've never actually done it before, but if I try really hard, I could win this bet.

 

"What're we betting on this time?" I asked as I got the soda ready.

 

"If you win, then you can drag me anywhere you want to go for a whole day." he said. Hmm, go on...

 

"If I win, then the both of us are gonna go sky diving together." Mark finished. Sky diving? Was he serious? Looking at his expression right now, it was obvious that he was pretty serious. Should I take on this dare?

 

"Ok," I said. "Let's do it." Mark looked at me weird for a second. 

 

"Are you really gonna take on this dare?" he asked. I nodded vigorously and got my soda ready. Mark got the stop watch ready. At the count of three, he started it. I sipped and sipped, even though my lungs were already starting to burn. My mouth felt like it was being eaten away by acid. I could feel the coldness of the drink as it went down my throat. I then realized that I was starting to sweat and that my face was getting red out of exhaustion and I guess, perseverance. 

 

I couldn't take it any longer and set my cup down. I breathed in and out in and out... I don't know how long I've been drinking, but hopefully I met the goal of 2 minutes. Mark saw me stop and stopped the stop watch on his phone. He showed me his phone:

 

1:50

 

*end of flashback*

 

"Ten seconds!" I yelled. "It was ten seconds Mark!" I gotta admit that I was a tiny bit upset that Mark still remembered the bet. But then I realized that if I were him, I would remember the bet too. As I thought about it more, this actually could be really fun. Right? To be honest, for a guy like Mark who's afraid of horror movies, is he any less afraid of heights? And I'm not just talk about heights. I'm talking about heights higher than roller coaster, higher than Ferris wheels. Are you willing to go through with this Mark?

 

"I am a dude of my word," he said. "Therefore if I ever win a bet, I will always remember it. For sure." He made a move of poking my chest to prove his point some more. Mark was careful not to touch me in "that area" so when he poked me, his finger was a lot closer to my neck than my chest. 

 

"Are you sure you'll be able to do it?" I asked Mark. He looked at me like I was doubting him.

 

"You don't think I can do it?" he said. He looked kinda hurt too. 

 

"No..." I said. "I mean, this isn't a roller coaster Mark. It's sky diving, which is like 100 times more thrilling. Do you think you can do it?"

 

"Sure I can," Mark said. "My favorite part of the roller coaster is the drop, so I'm pretty sure I can survive an even higher drop."

 

"But roller coasters and sky diving aren't the same..." I said.

 

"Rhyth, are you sure it's me you're worried about?" Mark interrupted. Mark took two steps closer to me. I laid a finger on his chest.

 

"Yah, I'm the bravest person you know." I said. "You don't need to worry about me." I smiled up at him, to make sure he got my point. Sky diving? No problem. This is gonna be fun!!!