Page 4 of Fall For Me
“I’m not.”
Taking his hair down, he runs his fingers through the silky strands, then reties the raven locks back into a knot. I don’t know why that’s so hot, but I could watch him do it over and over again. We pay for the jump, then suit up into a jumpsuit and harness.
I catch him fidgeting with the ring on his index finger as the elevator takes us up to the platform and ask, “You sure you’re up for this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You seem nervous.”
“I’m not,” he denies, shaking his head and raking his top teeth over his bottom lip.
Lies. All lies.
We reach the 108th floor and the elevator doors open. “Full disclosure . . . I’m a little nervous, too. If you don’t want to jump, you don’t have to.”
I approach the attendant, and she clips an orange strap onto my harness. Moving me down the platform, she instructs me to grab onto the blue bar and adds another clip for the bungee. I look back at Sean and smile as the woman double-checks everything, then unclips the orange strap. She ushers me to the edge, and I look out over the city’s lights, sprawled as far as I can see. Glancing down, I can barely see the tiny target lit up over 800 feet below me.
You can do this.
I look back over my shoulder and call out to Sean, “See you on the other side.”
Then . . . I jump.
The world drops away, and my stomach plummets. All thoughts of my life vanish. The wind roars in my ears, and the air rips from my lungs. My screams dissolve into a fit of laughter while adrenaline floods my veins, and the lights of Las Vegas blur into streaks of gold. It’s just me, the night sky, and the high of being completely reckless and alive.
My legs shake, and my knees nearly buckle when my feet touch the ground.
Wow. So,thisis what living feels like.
An attendant unclips me, and I strip out of my suit, then make my way to the exit and wait behind the metal railing for Sean to complete the jump.
I hear his screams before I see him.
“Ahhhhh! Fuuuuck! I don’t wanna die!”
Twenty seconds later, he’s on solid ground, looking like he might pass out . . .or puke. I double over laughing as he strips out of everything and meets me at the exit.
“Never again.”
“I thought you weren’t scared of heights.”
“Clearly, I lied.”
“Men do stupid things to impress women. Too bad I’m not impressed.”
He stops in the middle of the sidewalk and spins around, causing me to nearly bump into him. “Let’s get one thing straight. I have never, nor will I ever try to impress you.”
“You’re an ass, you know that? I don’t believe in a million years you would’ve jumped from that tower if you weren’t trying to impress me. So, who are you lying to, Mac? Me or yourself?”
I stifle a laugh at the shocked expression on his face from me calling him out on his b.s.
“I jumped for myself, and I almost died.”
“But did you really? And you seemed perfectly safe from where I was standing.”
He really is an ass, but something about being this close to him is exhilarating. I feel alive, and I haven’t felt that way in . . . well . . . ever. I’ve always played it safe and followed the rules. Jumping into fountains and off tall structures isn’t like me at all.
Sean’s voice breaks me from my errant thoughts. “Where to next?”
