Kim assures us we have nothing to fear. She’s been flying helicopters for over 15 years. She walks us through a quick safety briefing of seatbelts, headsets, and how to communicate once we’re airborne. Then asks if we want the doors off or on, and of course I tell her on. The windows are large enough to see everything I need to see. Seatbelt or not, I do not need nor want the off-door experience.
Othello helps me into the helicopter, his hand on the small of my back. The small, simple gesture quivers through every inch of my limbs every single time he does that.
Inside the helicopter, it’s snug, our shoulders brushing once we’re strapped in. The headset swallows my ears, muting the outside world. When I feel the aircraft vibrate and hear the blades above us rotate with a rhythmic thunder, I squeeze my eyes closed, my nerves rattling viciously. Othello grabs my hand, and it’s déjà vu all over again.
The ground slips from beneath us, and we’re floating, up, up, and away. I lean in closer, gripping Othello’s arm with my free hand.
“You should openbotheyes,” he says, laughing. “You’re going to miss the views.”
I open both of my eyes this time.
Adrenaline surges through me at the fact that we’re in this confined space and thousands of feet in the air. Everything is shrinking and looking like a gorgeous tropical postcard. I admire everything before my eyes. The rainforests, rolling hills, palm trees, and endless stretches of turquoise. Kim’s voice filters through the headset, pointing out valleys and lava fields that were shaped centuries ago.
My fear disappears the longer we’re up here.
“You having fun yet?” Othello asks.
“I am. This is really nice.”
“This is one of the best ways to see all of Hawaii,” Kim tells us.
“This view was worth the peek, right?”
I laugh, agreeing with him.
I grip his hand a little tighter. No longer holding on because I’m scared, but because I don’t want to let go.
25
muscle memory
OTHELLO
The energybetween us feels familiar. Back to how it was in the beginning before my slip-up. I’m determined to keep it this way. My biggest mistake was letting Marley get away from me the night we met at her friend’s party. I don’t want that to happen again. I’m treading lightly, and I want to make the rest of her stay in Maui everything she needs and more.
The scenic ride has been nearly an hour before Kim circles back around.
“You’re about to see the Molokini crater,” she tells us.
We fly faster over the clear waters until we arrive at the location she wants us to see. A partially submerged, crescent-shaped mountain comes into view. There are sailboats, yachts, and catamarans scattered about. And it’s jaw-dropping. I’ve never seen anything like this before, so I’m amped, my eyes bulging like a little kid.
“That’s wild,” I say out loud.
“Right,” Kim says enthusiastically. “It’s my favorite thing to view from the sky. But even better if you go there by boat. You can scuba dive and snorkel.”
Marley’s hands cover her mouth, which has fallen open in surprise.
“It’s so beautiful. We should go.”
The word “we” leaving her mouth is music to my ears. As if realizing what she’s said, Marley lowers her head and turns away bashfully.
“Well, never mind. We probably won’t have time with everything Carina has planned.”
“True, but if we get some time,wecan go,” I respond, squeezing her hand tighter.
It dawns on me that we have been holding hands this whole time and not once has she let go.
The helicopter starts to dip low. The vast blue of the ocean slowly becomes a mass of bright green. A sprawling estate slowly reveals itself once you get through the thick of it. A jungle.
