“Yeah.” The word comes out shaky. “Is it that obvious?”
“Kinda.” He winks. “But don’t worry, it’ll be fun. It’s like flying.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for.”
He tests the harness and then releases it and does the same for Leo. I do my best to listen while he explains what will happen next, but my pulse is drumming loud enough I can barely hear him. I step right up to the edge at the same time as Leo and make the mistake of looking down. The world swims before my eyes as tiny, ant-like figures scurry back and forth on the pavement below. Someone touches my hand and I flinch. When I look up, I find Leo watching me.
“You got this.” He leans over and kisses me, hard and fast. “Let’s go.”
And then, while I’m still dazed from his kiss, I step off the edge of the building. The terror lasts for only a few seconds before exhilaration takes over. My eyes leak as the wind stings them, but I absolutely love it. I spread my arms and whoop as buildings pass by in a blur.
Nowthisis living.
7
Leo
I barely notice the buildings fly by. My attention is centered on the beautiful woman zipping along beside me. Even though her eyes are streaming, they’re bright with joy. I can’t believe I never looked past my assumptions to see who she is on the inside. I’ve been missing out on Camile, and if I’d only been a little less black-and-white in my judgment, we might have been getting to know each other for years now. But I didn’t, and I have to live with that. The best I can do now is move forward the way I wish I had in the past.
We slow as we reach the end, hovering a couple of feet above the ground. An operator unclips Camile and then me. I get to my feet and grab the harness for balance when my legs wobble beneath me. I turn to check on Camile and find her beaming. My breath catches in my throat. Fuck, she’s stunning.
“How’d you like that?” I ask.
She jumps up and down a couple of times and squeals. “Best. Thing. Ever. I’m totally coming back next weekend.”
“It’s addictive, right?” the operator says.
“Is it ever.” She throws her arms around me. “Thanks for coming. It’s so much better to have company.”
“No problem.” I bury my face in her hair and inhale her scent. “Mm.”
She stiffens. “Did you just sniff me?”
“No,” I lie.
She laughs. “Oh my God. You did.”
I pull back and smile at her sheepishly. “You smell amazing.”
She blushes. “Uh, thanks. But we should probably get out of the way.”
“Oh yeah.” I’d forgotten Tony would be arriving at any moment. We move to the side but don’t join Enya and Jimmy yet. I can’t take my eyes off Camile’s mouth. I want to kiss her again so badly.
“You’re staring at me,” she whispers.
“You’re nice to look at,” I reply.
She just shakes her head as though I amuse her and takes my hand. “Come on.” She leads me to the others.
“What did you think?” Enya asks as soon as we’re close enough to speak without raising our voices.
“That was so much fun,” Camile says. “I kinda want to look up the other ziplines in Vegas and do them all.”
Enya grins. “If you’re serious, I’d be keen to join you. I’m always up for something like that.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.” Enya meets my eyes and winks. I love that she’s making an effort to include Camile. I mouth “Thank you,” and she gives me a look that says her friendliness has nothing to do with my dumb ass.
