I watched as Nathan climbed into a bubble. He waved at me from the inside. I barely had time to wave back before the girl called out.
"One, two, three!"
On three, she shoved with all her might and sent Nathan tumbling down the hill. I could hear him whooping with laughter the whole way. It took less than a minute before he reached the bottom. He climbed out, wobbling on his feet and nearly falling to the ground.
"That was fucking awesome!" he called up to us.
"Your turn," the girl said.
With a deep breath, I took my own place inside a ball. I squeezed my eyes shut as I heard her countdown, and then, I was sent head over heels, body bouncing against all sides, spinning around and over and upside down. I screamed out loud, half in terror, half in delight. My stomach did somersaults and my head went spinning.
Finally, I reached the bottom and rolled to a stop. Just as I had expected, my heart was racing. My pulse was pounding. I could feel the blood rushing through my veins.
I stumbled out of the ball and fell to my knees, taking gasping breaths. My heart fluttered madly. I could practically feel it skipping beats.
"Becca!" Nathan ran over to me. He put a hand on my back as I kneeled on the grass. "Are you okay? Are you going to be sick?"
I shook my head, still panting.
Nathan took my face in his hands, alarm in his eyes. "What's wrong?" His thumbs stroked my cheeks. "I'm sorry. Was it too much?"
It was such a caring gesture, his touch gentle and warm.
"No," I managed to croak out. "I'm okay." I hoped. "I just—"
My heart clenched and fluttered. Fear ran through me. I squeezed my eyes and clutched at my chest, suddenly terrified my heart was going to give out then and there.
"Maybe throwing ourselves down a hill wasn't the best idea in the world," he said.
I choked out another breath. Nathan wrapped an arm around my shoulder, guiding me to sit down.
Was he thinking I was some wimp, unable to take the kind of adrenaline rushes he sought out? Did he think I scared too easily, or that I was a weakling? I hated the idea of Nathan thinking I was weak. I didn't want him to treat me any differently. I got enough of that from my parents.
As I sat there, catching my breath, Nathan's soothing hand rubbing my back, my heartbeat slowly calmed, turning steady and strong.
Still, the whole thing had me shivering, my fingers cold and numb.
"Can we go home?" I asked.
He stared at me, then pressed a kiss to the side of my head.
"Yeah. I'll get you back home."
