Page 54 of Bossy Bride: Emma and Jesse

“Why would he lie to me about that? It makes no sense. And Fingers? This whole day was his idea.”

“I don’t know, but we did a thorough background check on him before I hired him.”

“I’m sure you did a thorough background check on me at one point too, right?”

“Not the point.”

“Totally the point! Anyway. I kinda remember the map. After this we can go see if we can find him. He’ll know what to do.”

“Everyone ready?” Sven asks, pulling on our harnesses to make sure we’re secure.

I’m not really sure I’m ready for this, but here we are. And if this is our only shot at a wedding today, it is what it is.

“Ready.” Emma answers for both of us.

Sven goes over the procedure as the plane begins to taxi. We’re gonna go up to cruising altitude, which is just about fourteen thousand feet. Then, as the plane gets into position, Emma and I will be clipped to the harness of Sven and his buddy, Blain. The ceremony starts in the helmet headsets, we all jump out, link up on the way down, hold hands for a few seconds, say “I do,” drop hands, parachutes release, land on the ground—presto. We’re married.

Who knew getting married in Vegas could be so hard? Hopefully third time’s a charm.

I look over at Emma, take her hand, and smile. “This is it, babe. It’s really gonna happen this time. For real. Nothing can go wrong.”

“Jesse. We’re in a plane and in ten minutes we’re going to jump out of it. Everything can go wrong.”

“Yeah, but… I was only talking about the wedding.”

She laughs and shakes her head. Then the plane takes off and we’re slammed into the hard backs of our jump seats. My heart starts to beat fast, but not so much because we’re about to skydive. We really are going to get married this time. This is it. Our moment when we pledge our love to each other forever.

As the plane climbs up into the sky I think back on those first few moments when we met back in Mallory Square. I never forgot her. OK, maybe I forgot her a little bit since I didn’t immediately recognize her when she was kidnapping me that night of the bachelor auction, but this girl has been in the back of my mind for over a decade. I always knew there was something wrong with me. Something missing. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was until Emma took me on a dream date.

Now it feels like we were never apart. I know that’s dumb since we were apart for thirteen years, but we just slid right into this new relationship like we didn’t miss a single minute. We really are ‘that couple’ and this whole adventure in Vegas just proves it. Because for sure, it’s been a crazy few hours, but I kinda love this craziness almost as much as I love Emma Dumas.

Sven’s voice is suddenly in my head. “OK, folks. This is it. Let’s get hitched!”

Sven unbuckles me and Blain unbuckles Emma. And then we’re standing up and they’re clipping us to the tandem harnesses. Just as that happens, another guy whooshes open the door of the plane and the wind whips in.

The captain’s voice is now in our helmets as Sven and Blain maneuver us towards the edge.

“We are gathered here together today to join Emma and Jesse as…” the captain begins.

“Holy shit,” Emma says. “What are we doing?”

“It’s OK,” Blain assures her with a little nudge towards the open door.

“… they proclaim their love and commitment to the world. This is a moment for reflection, and rejoicing. To acknowledge their bond and…”

“OK, let’s go, folks!” Sven yells over the captain’s speech.

And then I’m thinking… Yeah, what the hell are we doing? We’re gonna jump out of a plane? “Wait!”

But it’s too late. Sven pushes me forward and we go tumbling out the door. And even with the helmet on, the whipping wind is loud. My suit is flapping and it’s cold. Very cold.

“Holy shit!” I yell.

Over the headset, the captain continues. “Jesse, you are here to proclaim your love for Emma. Emma, you are here to pledge yourself to Jesse…”

Then… there she is. Emma. My beautiful bride. Laughing and smiling as she reaches for me with her hands. And somehow, Sven and Blain have maneuvered us so we’re facing each other. I reach for her too. Our fingertips touch and I grab onto her with everything I can and pull her closer to me.

“Do you, Jesse…” But that’s all I hear. Or, actually, I hear things, but only static.