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“Look, I promise I won’t push you off anything,” Jordan said. “And how about this? If your line breaks, I’ll dive into the abyss after you. If we both die, at least we’ll get to explore the afterlife together.”
“Okay,” Emily whispered. She fumbled for Jordan’s hand. Jordan looked nervously back and forth, then laced her fingers in hers. Though they’d kissed in private plenty of times since their boat tour yesterday, they hadn’t been public about anything yet. Emily was hesitant to ask why. Maybe it was too fast. Or maybe Jordan was worried about what her new Ulster classmates would say about her having a girlfriend, which is how Emily had come to think of her.
Jordan was totally perfect. Last night, after their secret boat cruise, they’d opened up about everything, covering topics Emily hadn’t dared to explore with anyone before. Jordan revealed that she’d had a few lackluster boyfriends, and then she’d fallen for a toxic girl named Mackenzie. When Emily pushed for details, Jordan couldn’t go on. “It was just too painful,” she admitted. “You’re actually the first person I’ve ever talked to about her. You officially know more about me than anyone else.”
Another boy went on the zip line, letting out a keening wail as he drifted across the gully. Suddenly, Emily and Jordan were next in line. “You girls ready?” the instructor asked.
Emily’s feet felt buried in the mud, but Jordan dragged her forward. “Yep.” She grabbed Emily’s hand and squeezed it hard. “I’ll hold on to you the whole time. I promise.”
Emily shakily let the instructor harness her up. She could barely hold the zip line handles, her palms were sweating so badly. The instructor counted down, then yelled, “Go!” and Jordan jumped off. Emily had no choice but to go with her.
She felt her body being pulled downward toward the gully and screamed. But then, suddenly, she realized she wasn’t falling—she was floating. The harness held, and the mechanism speedily pulled her across the ravine. The wind whipped through her hair. Below her, she could see the forest floor, carpeted with tons of brilliantly hued flowers. Beside her, Jordan was laughing her head off. Emily shot her a euphoric grin.
In seconds, they were on the other side, breathless. Emily’s whole body trembled as the instructor removed her harness and helped her take off her helmet. Then she turned to Jordan. Her lips felt wobbly as she smiled. “Can we do it again?”
“Of course,” Jordan said. “I knew you’d love it.”
They rode the line across the ravine three more times. When they boarded the Jeep that would take them back to the boat, Emily checked her phone. Aria had texted, asking if Emily could meet her and Spencer in the common room. Emily didn’t ask why, but she assumed it was to rehearse their hula routine.
“I wish you could participate in the talent show,” Emily sighed, resting her head on Jordan’s shoulder. “Hanna dropped out, so we need one more.” She hadn’t told her friends about Jordan yet, but maybe she should. Would they really care that Jordan was a stowaway? Even Jordan herself didn’t seem too worried about it.
“I wish I could, too,” Jordan sighed. “But you know I can’t. I’ll watch from the audience, okay? And if you win, you’d better give me a ride on your Vespa.”
“When I win,” Emily corrected her.
At the boat, Jordan slipped past the guard in a group of kids so she wouldn’t have to show ID. They parted at the elevators, Jordan saying she was going to lie down in the room while Emily went to meet Aria. Then Jordan leaned in for a kiss. When they pulled away, Emily pushed a lock of hair behind Jordan’s ear. “I thought you were uncomfortable about us being affectionate in public,” she said.
Jordan shrugged. “This is new to me. But with you, I don’t have anything to hide.”
She kissed Emily once more, then disappeared into the elevator car. Emily glided toward the common room, humming the salsa song she’d heard on the radio on the ride back to the ship. As she passed a long bank of mirrors in the hallway, she laughed. Her lips were swollen and full, her skin pink from too much sun. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d looked so happy.
She rounded the corner for the common room and scanned the couches. Neither Spencer nor Aria were there yet. She settled down on one of the couches, staring at the satellite feed of CNN on the TV that was mounted to the wall. PREPPY THIEF STILL AT LARGE read a banner across the bottom.
A reporter appeared. “We’ve been following the story all morning about how an eighteen-year-old New York girl known as the Preppy Thief escaped from her holding cell in Philadelphia three days ago.”
There was a video of a bunch of lawyers walking into a courthouse. “Notorious for stealing private planes, expensive boats, motorcycles, and cars for extravagant joyrides, Katherine DeLong was being held until her trial was set to begin later this week,” a voiceover said. “But early Sunday morning, security guards found her missing. Authorities suspect she is trying to flee the country. She’s very dangerous, and if anyone has information about her whereabouts …”
A mug shot of the Preppy Thief popped on the screen. Emily squinted at it, then did a double-take. Was that … Jordan?
“Emily?”
Emily looked up. Spencer and Aria stood behind her, the grass skirts they had made a few days ago in their hands. They looked from the television to Emily’s stricken face, confused.
“I …” Emily trailed off, not knowing what to say.
