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“So you’re a thrill seeker.”
Carter shrugged. “At times. Life without a little thrill is boring, beautiful.”
I really like when he calls me beautiful. I couldn’t believe I was even considering doing this. But he was right. The last few years of my life had been pretty boring. And this trip was supposed to be about finding me. Getting answers. He could tell I was reconsidering.
“Come fly with me.” He held out his hand.
“That’s Frank Sinatra, not the Beatles.”
“I know, but I figured it would be more convincing right now than In Spite of All the Danger.” He smiled, and I actually felt goosebumps break out on my arms when I put my hand in his.
THE REQUIRED PRE-GLIDE training class lasted an hour and a half. My instructor really seemed to know what he was talking about, and it put my mind at ease. Well, as much at ease that was possible when you were about to jump off the side of a mountain. And I do mean jump. It was probably best I had no idea that we literally ran off the side of a mountain to take off when I agreed to this craziness. That crazy run was what I was about to watch when Carter came and sat next to me. He hadn’t needed to do the training class since he’d been here plenty of times.
“Nervous?”
“I’m afraid my legs won’t move when it’s time to run off the platform.”
He smiled and put his hand on my thigh. “They’ll work. You got this.”
I really liked his hand there, so I smiled back. Together, we sat on a patch of grass about ten yards away from two people who were about to take off. When they raced the seven steps and literally ran off the side of a mountain, they disappeared from view immediately. I shot up to look at what had gone wrong. Carter chuckled. “They’ll pop up in a minute. Relax. That’s how it happens.”
>
Thirty seconds later, the two were flying high above our head in the distance. My instructor called over, waving for us to come. “Vêm aqui mulher bonita. Come.”
“You ready?” Carter asked with an unexpectedly serious tone.
I took a deep breath in and out. “Now or never.”
He smiled. “That’s my girl.” And took my hand to walk over to the prep area. In that moment, I realized, with Carter holding my hand and calling me his girl, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t try. The thought was comforting, yet scared the shit out of me at the same time.
Instead of my instructor helping me suit up, Carter did. He helped me step into my harness and checked the connections on my suit by pulling at them a few times. He then suited himself up. “Which one of us is going first?”
Carter’s brow furrowed. “Going first?” We go at the same time?”
“You’re my glide pilot.” I had assumed the instructor that did my training was taking me up in tandem. Couples would be in the air at the same time, but were always with an instructor.
He saluted with two fingers to his forehead. “Captain Carter Clynes, at your service.”
“But…but…are you experienced enough?”
“I’m very experienced.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Seriously. This is my life we’re talking about.”
“And you’re about to put it in my hands. You’re a lucky lady.”
I was near panic. “Carter. Be serious for a minute. You’re trained to fly that thing? You’ve flown it by yourself before?”
He put both his hands on my shoulders and spoke into my eyes. “I would never let anything happen to you.” Then he surprised me by pulling me against his chest for a long hug. After my breathing calmed from being in his arms, he spoke. “You good?”
“I think so.”
He kissed my forehead. “Let’s fly, baby.”
MY LEGS WERE STILL RUNNING, even though there was no longer ground beneath my feet. When we immediately dipped and started to lose altitude, I dug my nails into Carter so deeply, I might have punctured his skin. “Carter!”
“I got you. Hold tight. Here we go.” And just like that, just like the instructor had explained, we picked up a gust of wind and began climbing back up. My heart was beating out of control, and I was holding my breath. My harness was fastened slightly higher than Carter’s, so I was leaning partly on his back and clinging to him while he held the long metal steering bar.
