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“For loving me,” I answered.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
“For just being you. I don’t want to lose you or the kids. Kiyah would be devastated, and I have to know if Daisy and Nori will ever stop beefing.”
“Jesus Christ,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
“Those girls beef like Pac and Biggie.”
“They’ve been going at it since Day One. Anthony and Simone brought Nori to the jump place to meet my kids. Daisy took one look at Nori and shoved her on the ground, and it’s been hell ever since,” I confessed.
“So, it’s all coming out now. Daisy was the instigator. I’m gonna suggest to Simone to put Nori in karate so she can learn how to defend herself because Daisy was hellbent on choking that little girl out.”
“She probably picked that up from Grant and Casey when they’re roughhousing.”
“It goes to show how observant children are. Which reminds me…have you spoken to your kids about you and me?”
“No, I haven’t. But should I, considering everything that’s going on? I don’t want to get their hopes up only for everything to go haywire.”
“Jonathan, I’m not telling you what to do with your children, but they aren’t stupid. They caught us in bed together, and we’re affectionate in front of them—it’s not that hard to put two and two together. It’s about respecting your children and their feelings. You also need to have an open dialogue about their mother and what their relationship with her may look like in the future. They deserve more than, ‘You can’t see Mommy this weekend.’”
I gathered her hand in mine and kissed the back of it. “You make being a parent look easy.”
Kierra untangled her hand from mine and sank her fingers into my hair, musing the precisely-styled strands. “Maybe I’mjust good at pretending. I’ve just been rolling with the punches and praying that I don’t screw my child up.”
“I’d be satisfied if my children didn’t grow up and hate me,” I confessed.
“So dramatic,” she mocked playfully as I massaged her thigh. She continued to run her fingers through my hair, gently pinching and tugging on my ear occasionally. I loved Kierra’s touch, no matter how soft, hard, fleeting, or lingering. She always brought me comfort and unspeakable pleasure when I was at my lowest. I never knew what my life was missing before her, and I’d do anything to keep her in it.
“My life is full of drama,” I said softly.
“Yeah, but one day it won’t be.”
“I look forward to that day, but in the meantime, it’s me and you for the next forty-eight hours,” I expressed, standing to my feet and pulling her up with me. “This weekend is all about tapping into your inner adrenaline junkie.”
Kierra smirked. “What did you have in mind?”
“Activities that’ll have your heart racing a mile a minute,”
* * *
“Jon? Are you okay?”
“Mhm,” I replied unconvincingly as sweat poured from my forehead.
“We don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, we do. We’re already in the plane.”
“It’s not too late. We haven’t jumped,” Kierra said, trying to give me another out.
“No, we’re doing this,” I said firmly, tightening my helmet.
“Okay, you two. We’ve reached 15,000 feet. Who wants to go first?” Kierra’s tandem partner Jake asked.
“Do you want to go first?” Kierra asked. I shook my head furiously.
