The instructor went through his spiel. “Sit back in your harness. Slowly step off the platform.” Henry listened intently to all of it, nodding when asked if he was ready to go.
It felt a bit like an out of body experience. Like it was someone else shuffling towards the edge and stepping off intoabsolutely fuckingnothing.
Oh my god!
Henry’s heart was in his throat for that split second before the zipwire took his weight, and then he was whizzing downwards, the wind whipping his face, and a laugh bubbled out of him.
This is amazing!
He’d never felt anything like it, and he grinned wildly,finally taking the opportunity to look down and around him as he flew over the lake. He could see everything: the trees stretching out in all directions, the top of the dome in the distance.
And Dom next to him, legs indeed flailing around like everybody else.
Perfect.
The whole thing was awesome, but over way too quickly, and Henry came to a jarring halt at the bottom.
Grabbing the rope tossed to him by another instructor, he hauled himself up the netting and onto the very last platform.
His legs shook and his pulse was still way too fast, but Henry had never felt more alive. He climbed down to the ground to meet Dom, unable to stop smiling, even though he probably looked like a crazed idiot.
And totally forgetting where they were, Henry wrapped his arms around Dom and hugged him tight. “Oh my god, that was amazing. Thank you so fucking much.”
Dom’s laughter, warm and rich, sounded in his ear, and Henry buried his face in Dom’s neck, letting it wash over him. “Don’t thank me, that was all you. You were awesome up there.”
Henry snorted. “Yeah, right. I was petrified. There were ten-year-old kids way braver than me.”
Dom pulled back to look at him, and the intensity of his gaze stunned Henry silent. He didn’t remember anyone ever looking at him like that before. “You were terrified, but you still did it. I’m in awe.” Dom kissed him quickly, a fleeting touch of lips, then stepped back looking sheepish. “I want to do inappropriate things to you right now.”
The flutter in his stomach wasn’t from fright this time.
How am I supposed to let you go when you do things like this?
Was this still a no-strings arrangement? Henry felt off-kilter suddenly, but that might’ve been the adrenaline still flooding his system. Who knew?
“Let’s go back to my vi—”
Fuck.
They had no villas anymore.
The unfinished sentence hung between them and Henry stood there, unsure of what to do. “Do you fancy another coffee?” Lame, but it was the only thing he could think to offer.
Dom’s sigh said it all, and Henry’s stomach dropped, the fluttery feeling all but stamped out with Dom’s next words. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I need to leave soon.”
“Soon?” Henry tried to sound nonchalant but knew he’d failed to pull it off.
Dom blew out a breath, the warm air misty in the chill afternoon. “In the next thirty minutes or so. I wish I could stay longer, but...” He held out his arms in a slightly helpless gesture. Like it was all out of his hands.
Of course, he had a life to get back to.
They’d both been playing pretend for the last week, Henry reminded himself. None of this was real.
It sure as fuck feels real.
“Well,” Henry said, clapping his hands together and plastering a smile on his face. “We better get these back, then.” He tugged at his harness, then gestured behind them to the small clearing where all the gear was stored.
Dom studied him, probably wondering why he was so over-the-top cheerful all of a sudden, but Henry couldn’t seem to rein it in.
