“I’m going zip-lining, and you have to come along.”
“You can’t make me.”
“You’ll come,” he said.
“I won’t,” I said firmly.
Two hours later, I was on a bus full of zip lining enthusiasts, each more excited than the next, and I was ready to piss in my pants.
“I can’t,” I said for the 100thtime.
“If you can’t then you can’t, but I want you to at least see what you’ll be missing.”
I saw it, alright. They strapped us with helmets and pads, and we signed our lives away with the waivers. I could see people disappearing one by one from the edge of the platform. Some, mostly the women, screamed. I wasn’t sure why I’d even agreed to come this far. My money was wasted on something I would not do. I went up to the platform, watching Harvey’s eyes glaze over in excitement. Soon it was our turn, and Harvey looked at me. I shook my head, my eyes almost tearing up.
“I’d hold your hand through it if I could,” he said, reaching for it now. His touch singed me. It was pure fire, and those feelings I’d tried to push away the night before came back to me.
“OK,” I said, riding the high.
“OK?” he asked, as if to make sure. His face broke out into a smile, and I melted. Honestly, I melted.
“Let’s do this!” I said, trying to psych myself. Harvey patted me on the back as I was strapped onto the line.
“See you on the other side,” he said. I took one last look at him, gathering all of my courage, and then I was off the platform.
I screamed— oh boy, did I scream. But I was taking in everything around me, too. The screaming stopped, and I let the downward sensation take over. It was exhilarating, gliding through the trees, peeking out over to the bay every time there was a long stretch of space without cover. It was so gorgeous I even laughed. The stop at the end wasn’t as graceful as I would have liked, but I was thanking the heavens I was alive as they unhooked me at the platform. My legs were shaking like jelly, but I managed to move off to the side so I could make way for Harvey. He gave a big whoop as he drew near, and he landed much more firmly than I had.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” he yelled as the worker unstrapped him. He came over and put his arm around me, giving me a little squeeze.
“I was terrified,” I said, the adrenaline still pumping through my veins.
“That makes it all the more thrilling and makes you all the more brave. I’m proud of you. Now let’s go to the next one,” he said, pulling me along.
“Wait, there’s more?” I asked, stopping short.
“Of course. There are like 5 more,” he said, looking at me worried.
I looked into his eyes far longer than I ever had, much longer than was certainly appropriate, but he didn’t break eye contact either. I smiled and looked down.
“Fine, let’s go,” I said, hoping I wouldn’t regret it.
It was great fun, the entire zip lining experience, but I noticed that I was getting sore towards the end. Poor Harvey was feeling it more than me, and we were downright bushed by the time we got back to the hotel. We ate on the terrace and relaxed by the pool. And by relaxed I mean we passed out. I’m just glad we were in a shady spot because I’m sure we slept for an hour.
The pool was one of those infinity pools that looked out onto the ocean, and when I woke up, I stood there for a long time watching the waves hit the cliffs off to the side of our hotel. I was standing there on the pool’s edge admiring the view when Harvey popped up next to me with a drink in each hand.
“Here, a virgin something or other. I told the bartender to give me the fruitiest non-alcoholic thing he could make.” I laughed, thanking him for my drink. We stood there, watching as the sun neared the horizon. It was a fabulous spot to see the sunset, and I was mesmerized by the colors in the sky being reflected on the water. Harvey looked engrossed by it as well, and I smiled, thinking of how little I had really known him before when he was just Natalie’s husband. He was kind, fun, adventurous, funny. Extremely good looking. I had to stop thinking of him in that way, I said to myself with a sigh. It’s surprising how one second he was Natalie’s husband, and the next he was this big, unknown hulk of a man.
That night we were again too tired to go out dancing. We ate dinner at a restaurant nearby, and had a few drinks at the terrace of our hotel, watching the moonlight illuminate the beach. Then Harvey suggested we walk on the beach. I considered it a moment, but then it reminded me too much of a romantic activity. We couldn’t cross that line. Not that I knew whether he wanted to cross that line or not. He’d been a perfect gentleman, and besides that wink and that extra long gaze at the zip line (which could just be construed as him playing around), there was nothing to suggest he would want to cross the line.
“I’m very tired,” I said, not making any eye contact.
“I’m gonna hang for a bit then and have another drink.”
“Try not to punch anyone else,” I said. He smiled and told me he’d try not to.
I went up, glad to have a respite from confusing feelings for a while. The good thing about it, however, was that it gave me less time to think of Greg. That quickly changed as I got to the hallway and saw Greg exiting Natalie’s room. I tried to turn around and get out of there, but I heard him call my name. I froze, not wanting to talk to him, but wanting to get it over with, too.
“Where have you been? Every time I come looking for you in the room you’re not there,” he said.
