“Hey, Alex. Mom just dropped me off. I hope that’s okay?”
Alex’s face creases with stress. “Well, actually…”
Henry sighs, his gaze falling back to his bowl, and Alex stops herself. She wanders over, leaning down to put an arm around his shoulders and give him a squeeze.
“That’s totally fine, bud. This is your home. You know you’re always welcome here.” She catches my eye and sends me a worried look. I know she was planning to write today and I think Michael has a meeting later.
“Why don’t you come out with us today, Henry?” I hear myself say. If I’m going to go sightseeing with Luke, Henry could come along. In fact, that’s brilliant! With Henry there, things will have to stay PG-13.
“That’s a great idea.” Alex looks at Henry with a hopeful smile. “What do you think, bud? A day out with Uncle Luke and Aunt Harriet?”
Uncle Luke and Aunt Harriet. I think back to what Michael said last night about us being family and cringe. I should definitelynotimagine Luke bending me over his kitchen island.
I glance at Henry, suddenly desperate for him to join us. He happily agrees, and I realize that this could be my chance to show him I’m a fun aunt. This could be good.
I pull my phone out to let Luke know Henry will be coming too, and he responds right away.
Luke: Great! Make sure you bring a change of comfortable clothes and wear contacts.
What? I reread his words, frowning. Where the hell is he taking us?
* * *
“This is awesome!”Henry exclaims, racing ahead with excitement.
I stare at the ropes in front of us, trying to make sense of the absurd scene. A man swings from a trapeze before releasing his grip, spinning through the air and landing below.
“Do you like it?” Luke asks, turning to me. His eyes are bright and his mouth is curved in an expectant smile. It reminds me of that moment on the plane where he asked me in a rough voice,Do you like that?My gaze strays to his navy-blue hooded sweater and jeans as I recall my fantasy from in the shower last night, and a flush creeps up my neck.
I force my attention back to the ropes, relieved he can’t read my mind. So far, not off to a good start.
“When Alex suggested I take you out, I knew you wouldn’t want to go to any of the big tourist spots,” he continues. “But I thought this would be perfect for you.”
I blink uncomprehendingly. Why the hell would Luke think this is perfect for me? What does he have planned next? Lion taming? Flame-throwing? Perhaps I’ll have to walk on a high-wire over the Hudson River?
“You love this sort of thing, right?” Luke’s grin is huge. “It’s not exactly skydiving or zip-lining, but it’s supposed to be fun.”
Oh, right. Of course. My alter ego loves this stuff. She’s probably done it a hundred times before and is a complete natural. I bet this is how she warms up for an afternoon of BASE jumping.
I’m about to tell him I can’t do this—to shatter this illusion he has of me as some outgoing, adventurous person—but I stop when I see his expression. He’s proud and excited; he’s gone out of his way to bring me here because he thought I’d love it.
Shit. I’m going to have to go through with this.
I plaster on a smile, trying to ignore the way my gut is turning like a corkscrew. “This is… fantastic. Thank you.”
He beams back at me. “I’m so glad you like it! Let’s get changed, then we can get started.”
I wander into the bathrooms in a daze. My hands are shaking as I change into the leggings and T-shirt I brought in my bag. I can’t believe I’m about to climb up thirty feet to a tiny platform and hurl myself off. Sure, I’ll be attached to a rope and clinging onto a thin bar, but is that really any consolation?
There must be some way I can get out of this. I could fake a heart attack, or faint, or pretend I’ve suddenly got intense, uncontrollable diarrhea…
My legs feel robotic as they take me back out to meet Luke, and I realize that if I’m not careful I might have a very real panic attack. I can already feel my lungs tightening and adrenaline spiking through my veins.
Luke isn’t there when I get out, so I take a seat beside Henry, making myself take careful, calming breaths.
There’s nothing to be scared of, I tell myself. People come here forfun. It can’t be that bad. If they have a whole business based on this then it can hardly be risky, right? This is America, where everyone sues everyone at the drop of a hat. You couldn’t run a business like this if it was dangerous.
Except, what was that waiver I signed on the way in? I might have signed it without paying much attention—notbecause I was looking at Luke’s ass in his jeans—but now that I think about it, I’m certain the words “serious injury” and “death” were in there.
