The boat clicks again, and I’m nearly laid on my back as we start up what has to be the final lift hill. Before darkness fully enshrouds us, I spot a disembodied head resting at the base of a tree. Why didn’t we think of that? Sawing off the head might have been easier than shoving the body out.
But my thoughts turn to Quinn and what risks she’s taking by going over this final hill in this position. Instead of gripping the sides of the boat, I grip her.
If we go, we go together.
“Aven, I’m scared!” Quinn screams against my crotch.
I do something uncharacteristic of me, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t feel like the most natural thing once I’ve done it. I raise her and kiss the top of her head and reassure her. “Aye, lass. Me too.”
Her grip remains steadfast, but I feel her relax against me.
“Here, get closer,” I say. “You can’t turn around like this, but you can straddle my lap so that I can hold you better.”
Quinn nods and carefully positions herself as the boat continues to rise. She straddles my waist, and if we weren’t soaked, freezing, and fearing for our lives, I’d definitely have a hard-on with all of her sweet softness pressed against me. Her arms wrap fully around my neck and link at the back, and I wind my arms around her waist and do the same.
And yet the damned boat keeps climbing.
“When does it stop?” Quinn screams.
She isn’t trying to make this worse for me, but she’s pouring gasoline on my panic fire. I’m asking the same thing in my head, simultaneously wishing for this to end and hoping it never does. Holding her like this feels incredible, despite what’s to come.
The clicking stops, and the boat’s nose levels off. As we’re brought to a flat position and dropped into a slow stream, the boat drifts into another dark forest scene, though this one has a different vibe. Instead of ripping past terrifying demons, loud noises, and flashing lights, we slowly glide through trees decorated with twinkling, soft-glow bulbs that mimic fireflies. Soothing, melancholic music plays in the background.
“Maybe we still have time to move. Before the drop,” she whispers.
Her head pulls back a bit, putting our faces dangerously close together. She licks her lips and looks at me in the dim light. She doesn’t try to sit the right way around, though this would be the opportune moment. No, the lass just stares at me as if she badly needs to be kissed.
She isn’t the only one, so I do what I can’t as Green Guy. I grip her face in a gentle hold, and I press my mouth to hers.
The world slips away as our lips meet. We’re both tentative at first, both asking,Is this really okay? It’s not, but that doesn’t stop us from saying fuck it, even if it’s cautiously. This act is somehow more intimate than the moment we shared in her bed. Her nails dig into my shoulders as I deepen the kiss, and I caress her cheek with my thumb in the same way she caressed mine when I was Green Guy.
Games and amusement parks are all but forgotten as we float on a high of our own creation. Quinn’s hungry hands pull me closer, demanding more. I want to give her all of me, but it’s hard to do in these cramped quarters.
She whimpers into my mouth, and the sound hardens me instantly. Feeling my need beneath her, she rocks her hips and grinds down on me. I pull away from her greedy mouth and tip my head back with a groan.
The boat bumps against the sidewall as it drifts around another turn, and the spell breaks. Quinn freezes and looks down at me, breathing hard.
“Shit, what are we doing?” she says.
And she’s right. Fuck, she’s right. Why would I do something as stupid as kissing her?
There’s no time to consider our mistake, however, because Jim Reaper appears again.
“The drop!” Quinn screams. She wraps her arms around my middle. “The boat will stop one more time, and then we’ll go down the drop. I remember now. Fuck, I’m such an idiot.”
Aye, and so am I. Instead of sucking the girl’s face off, I should have demanded she right herself in the boat.
“Do you have time to turn around when we stop?”
She shakes her head.
I wrap my arms around her again and refuse to let go, come what may. She might regret that kiss, but her safety is still my priority. Maybe even beyond a paycheck at this point, and maybe even if the feelings aren’t reciprocated. Hell, maybe it’s best they aren’t.
The boat stops, just as Quinn said it would. The Jim Reaper animatronic bends at the waist suddenly, nearly dropping on top of us, and we let out a scream as he says, “Don’t forget to stop by the gift shop on your way out of hell!”
We drop.
“Oh shit!” I scream as we barrel down a pitch-black tunnel. We go down and down and down for what feels like forever, and then we finally level off in a blast of sunshine.
