Maggie stood first, the scrape of her chair loud against the tile. She hesitated just long enough for Gwen to notice, then slipped back inside without looking over her shoulder.
Gwen stayed a moment longer, breathing in the night air and neon and ache, before following her in.
CHAPTER 15
Maggie
Shockingly,Maggie woke up clear-headed. Tired, sure, but not drowning in the pounding regret that usually followed a night like last night. Maybe because after the piano bar she’d stuck mostly to water, letting Pete and Danica take over the shots.
Now, standing on the tarmac with the rotor blades whipping the air, Maggie was wide awake and very aware that she might die. “Jesus Christ,” she muttered. “This thing looks like it’s made out of Legos.”
“Technically you mean LEGO bricks.” Gwen was standing silently beside her, observing the helicopter with a sense of calm boredom, like it was her most common mode of transportation.
“No, I mean fucking Legos, Gwen.” Maggie rolled her eyes. “This is really the pedantic hill you want to die on?”
“Arlo and Jude would agree with me,” Gwen said with a shrug.
Beside her, Danica was pale, one hand pressed to herstomach. “I already feel motion sick and we haven’t even lifted off.”
Pete threw an arm around Danica’s shoulder, grinning like she’d just won the lottery. “Baby, it’s going to beepic.I’ve been waiting for this all week.”
Danica groaned. “That’s not reassuring.”
Izzy adjusted her oversized sunglasses and smirked. “We’ll live. Probably.”
Kiera gave her a look, then squeezed Danica’s arm. “It’ll be fine. It’s short. And if you puke, at least we’ll have a good story.”
Maggie was clenching her jaw so tight it hurt. The helicopter gleamed under the Nevada sun, its windows curved like a toy capsule, the blades thrumming loud enough to rattle her teeth. “People weren’t meant to fly in things this small,” she said, mostly to herself.
“Don’t worry,” Gwen said. “It’s like an Uber with wings.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” Maggie shot back, but her voice cracked on the last word.
The pilot, cheerful in mirrored aviators, waved them toward the open door. “All right, folks! Adventure of a lifetime. Buckle in and grab your headsets.”
Danica whimpered. Maggie considered bolting. Pete, naturally, bounded forward like a kid at Disneyland.
And somehow, caught between terror and the ridiculousness of her friends, Maggie climbed in after her, Gwen tight behind her.
The cabin was smaller than Maggie expected, all narrow seats and Plexiglas curves. The pilot’s voice crackled through the headset — cheery, like he didn’t realize he was about to fling seven women to their deaths.
Maggie buckled herself in, knuckles white on the straps. Danica sat directly across, eyes squeezed shut like maybe she could fast-forward the whole ordeal. Pete was already leaning over her, narrating the controls like she knew a damn thingabout aviation. Lillian sat on Pete’s other side, practically glowing, her sunglasses perched like she was starring in a travel commercial.
“This is incredible,” Lillian said, voice tinny in the headset. “Best bachelorette idea yet.”
“Thank you,” Izzy beamed as if she’d personally invented helicopters.
Kiera looked less certain. She gripped her seat belt with both hands, her smile too tight. “It’s all going to be fine,” she said, but the way she stared at the horizon said otherwise.
Maggie’s stomach dropped as the rotors picked up speed. The helicopter lurched, a stutter of movement that had her swearing under her breath. “Nope. Nope, nope — this is a bad idea.”
Beside her, Gwen’s hand settled gently over hers, steady and grounding. She didn’t say anything at first — just left her warm palm there until Maggie unclenched enough to breathe.
Finally, Gwen’s voice came through the headset, calm, even. “It’s okay. Just look at me.”
Maggie did, though her pulse still hammered. Gwen’s expression was maddeningly composed and confident, like she was waiting for a meeting to start instead of about to be lifted into the sky in a plastic bubble.
The ground fell away. Maggie’s breath caught.
