“Let’s check in,” Jay said energetically, clearly trying to keep everyone’s spirits high.
When we got inside the cabin, a guy with short blonde hair and a contagious smile strode over to us. He was wearing a red T-shirt and shorts and appeared to be one of the zip-lining instructors.
“Well, hello! You must be the Summit Dental clan!” he said, and Jay reached out to shake his hand.
“That’s us,” Jay said.
“We’re glad you could make it! I’m Tony, and I’ll be guiding you all through your experience today. Why don’t you join me over here, and we can get you all harnessed up!”
We all shuffled after Tony to a desk that had rows of harnesses behind it. We told the girl working the desk our sizes, and she handed us each a bundle of nylon straps with buckles. Tony then led everyone outside to an expanse of trees and helped us put on the harnesses, using Jay as an example.
“This strap goes over your left shoulder, then you’ll want to situate this part over your waist like this?—”
Erica and Jenn were bickering as they helped each other fasten their harnesses. Shelby and Devin silently went to work on theirs, methodically tackling the puzzle of material. Macey and Tyler, who were a few feet from me, were laughing as Macey put hers on backward.
“Need help, Hope?” Tyler turned to me after helping Macey, and I shook my head.
“No, I think I got it. Thanks, though,” I assured him. Surely if I could pass the DAT, I could put on a zip-lining harness on my own.
I managed to get most of the harness on, but the last strap, the one that ran right up the front of me, wasn’t… cooperating. I tugged on it twice, then a third time, but all I managed to do was cinch it tighter.
A shot of panic zinged up my spine. Oh gosh. No.
Essentially, I had given myself the most painful wedgie in existence.
“Uh—” I tried to discreetly adjust it, my cheeks blazing hotter and hotter when nothing budged. “Oh gosh,” I muttered, my fingers becoming frantic as I pulled at the straps.
A few seconds later, a hand fell on top of mine, stopping my wild tugging.
“Hold still,” Jay murmured, appearing in front of me.
I froze. My limbs locked up, partly out of fear that I might be eternally stuck and also from the all-consuming awareness of him. He crouched in front of me, his black beanie brushing the edge of my shirt as he examined the harness.
His fingers brushed my thigh as he found the jammed buckle.
“Oh,” he breathed softly. “Yeah, this is way too tight.”
I couldn’t help the whimper that escaped me. It really hurt. “I tried to loosen it, but I accidentally tightened it instead.”
“I can tell,” he said, his brow furrowing in concentration. “Relájate, Amapolita.I almost have it.”
He didn’t tease me about the location of the issue,thankfully. But heat still flushed down my neck as he knelt there, steady hands working the clips. Finally, after a few painfully long seconds, the pressure eased up, and I was able to breathe again.
“There,” he said, tugging once more before his navy eyes shifted up to meet mine. “Better?”
I swallowed. “Yeah. Thank you.”
“I’m going to check on the others.” He rose from his kneeling position and then headed over to Erica and Jenn as if he hadn’t just helped me out of my embarrassing wedgie situation, leaving me slightly breathless and red as a tomato.
“You good over here?” Tony, the instructor, asked Tyler and Macey.
“We’re good,” Macey and Tyler said in unison.
“And you?” Tony asked me.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I said, hoping I didn’t look too flustered.
Thankfully, a few minutes later, the harnessing was complete, and we started up the mountainside. As we walked, the embarrassment slowly eased from my body.
