Page 55 of Bastard Bartender

“No, but I can guarantee it’s not as many people who die in car crashes, yet you drove here on the big, bad freeway,” he says like he’s terrified, bringing his arms to his chest and shrugging his shoulders. “That didn’t stop you from getting in the car.”

“You know that’s totally different. Why did you want me to come anyway? You knew there was about zero percent chance I’d jump with you.”

“I know. But it will be nice to celebrate my landing with you here.”

The way he said that sends tingles through my entire body, and he notices. I give him a shove because he’s too damn endearing when I’m trying to be straight with him.

“Come on. It’s not my first time. I’m certified to skydive solo. I have my B license.”

“You have a license to do this shit? How many times have you jumped?”

“Over fifty,” he says matter-of-factly.

“Over fif—” I pause, covering my mouth, not even able to comprehend how someone could throw themselves out of a plane that many times. “Does your mother know about this?”

He leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “You’re cute when you’re worried. Now, come watch me jump.”

He’s out of the car, grabbing his gear that I didn’t notice was sitting in the back before I can even catch my breath from the emotions swarming through my body right now.

I exit the car, my nerves a jumbled mess. I’ve never been a huge fan of flying in big planes, let alone tiny ones. The roar of an engine catches my attention, and when I see it lift off the ground, I feel my stomach fall like it was a bottomless pit.

I stand still, watching until Nic comes up, gripping my hand and walking me toward the building. When I turn his way, I notice the way his face is lit up with excitement.

“I love this rush. That feeling of not knowing what’s going to happen next. It’s like when I was a little boy about to ride a new roller coaster.”

“Is that what this is about? Did you ride too many roller coasters when you were young, so you feel you have to search for that high it once gave you?” I ask.

He lets out a roar of laughter. “No, not exactly.” He stops and faces me. “Have you ever had so much fear that your stomach literally feels like it’s eating itself and your chest is so tight that taking the smallest of breaths is seemingly impossible?”

I slowly shake my head as I let his words sink in. “No, I can’t say I’ve had something that frightened me that much—thank God.”

“Well, I have. And when you come out the other side, you have no idea what a rush it is. You’ve never felt so alive.”

I look into his eyes, not sure how deep of a comment he meant that to be. I’m still learning so much about him. On the surface, if someone else said something similar, it could be blown off as an adrenaline junkie, but knowing his history and what we just did today, I feel like this is way more than a surface emotion.

“How often do you take risks like this?”

“As often as I possibly can. Now, let’s go.”

We greet the employees, who Nic seems to already know. As every second passes, my fear grows, and his excitement seemingly starts to overflow.

After he’s all strapped in the gear, he poses and asks, “Here, take my before picture.”

My hands tremble. All I can think about is the possibility of this being the last photo taken of him. I shake the thought out of my head and take a deep breath as I show him.

He laughs at how silly he looks, but it doesn’t seem to faze him a bit.

The instructor slaps him on the back. “Okay, you ready for the ride of your life?”

“Hell yeah, I am!” he says and then turns to me. “Wish me luck!”

A lump in my throat forms so big that I can’t get any words out. I feel my face flush, and Nic turns to the instructor.

“Give me just a second, and I’ll meet you by the plane.”

“No problem,” he responds, leaving us alone like this is something he sees every time he jumps.

Nic places his hands on either side of my arms and lowers his head to meet my gaze. “Are you upset I brought you here?”