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After a few seconds, I took a sharp, very needed breath, and Carter began to circle us around, flying higher and higher above the mountain we had just launched from. My grip around him loosened slightly as we began to soar. Catching small gusts of wind, we glided smoothly through the air.
“Oh my God, Carter. We’re flying! I feel like a bird.”
His entire face smiled at me. “Feels incredible, right?”
“Yes!” It was an indescribable feeling. Looking down at the sparkling turquoise Atlantic, miles of sandy beach shoreline, and the lush green mountains around us was completely breathtaking. I was glad Carter had talked me into it. And I was even more ecstatic that I was experiencing it with Carter.
As we flew around, Carter was whistling. Even though we were right next to each other, it was sometimes difficult to hear because the wind was filling our ears. But after a while, I caught on to the song he was whistling. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
“You sang that song on the flight, over the PA system after you turned down the lights. I almost forgot. Is it your flying song or something?”
“Something like that.”
For more than two hours, we glided around the sky of Rio de Janeiro. I don’t think the huge smile left my face once. We saw everything I wanted to see—Sugar Loaf Mountain, the Christ the Redeemer statue, Tijuca Forest, giant waterfalls, the favelas, beaches, extraordinary landscapes. We didn’t see Rio, we experienced it. I felt like if there was a canvas in front of me, I would be able to bleed the beauty from my veins. It was the most incredible, invigorating experience of my life.
When we had seen everything I wanted to view and more, the wind began to die down, and Carter said it was time to land. We touched down on a beach with only the slightest of bumps. My legs were wobbly when I attempted to move on the sand.
“Careful. You have air legs. Takes a minute or two to get your vertical balance back.” A team of guys from the glide company unhooked us and then made us drinks on the beach.
I was still smiling as I sipped my Caipirinha from a hollowed pineapple. “I’ll admit, I definitely can see how you can get addicted to that feeling. Is that what it feels like every time you’re sitting in the pilot’s seat?”
“It’s different, but still a rush. Today had that adrenaline that it always has. But—” He hesitated and seemed to rethink what he was going to say. “I’m glad you liked it.”
“What were you going to say?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar.”
Carter did that squinting and staring at me thing he seemed to like so much. Then he chugged back the entire contents of his pineapple in one gulp. When he was done, he leaned in. “I was going to say today felt better than it ever has for me. That I fucking loved your arms wrapped around my body the entire time, and the way it felt when your nails dug into my skin and your tits pressed into my back. That seeing your smile, knowing I had something to do with putting it on that beautiful face, was a fuck of a lot better than just raising the tip of a plane or flying a solo glider.”
I swallowed. Our eyes locked, and Carter was searching for something in mine. Then he turned away. “You ready to blow, Amelia Earhart?”
“Excuse me?”
Carter laughed. “Bad choice of words, I suppose. I meant, you ready to hit the road?”
“Oh. Yeah. I’m ready.”
The ride back to Maria Rosa’s was quiet. Carter seemed to be lost in thought, and I was coming down from the high brought on by spending the day flying like a bird. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so free. It had to have been back when I was a teenager, riding horses with Emilio. I quickly shook the thought of that from my mind, focusing instead on the realization that Carter and I only had half a day left in Rio. Tomorrow morning, Carter would be flying off to some other exotic destination, and I couldn’t stop thinking about whether he would be staying at hotel or a place like we were staying tonight. Knowing what staying at a hotel meant, it hurt to even think about it.
And me. I had to go back to reality. My reality. The one I had been dreading for the last two years, and now there were only eight days left before I had to decide which way my life would go. I was on the cusp of a proverbial fork in the road and still wasn’t ready to chose my path. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I would ever be. But that’s the thing. If I didn’t choose by next week…my path would be chosen for me by default. I couldn’t do that anymore. My whole life had been a series of following down paths that someone had set me on. It was time I picked my own path, no matter which it was.
As we drove through the residential neighborhood, Carter must have realized how quiet I’d been. “What are you thinking about over there? You’re somewhere else entirely.”
“Just life. In general, I suppose.”
“Anything you want to share?”
“Not really.”
He nodded. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do after I leave tomorrow? Will you stay at Maria Rosa’s?”
My heart sank. He was really going to be gone tomorrow morning. “No. But I guess I should leave Maria’s. I don’t speak Portuguese or know my way around. Without you there, I’d feel uncomfortable I think.”
Carter’s eyes slanted to mine and then back to the road. “There’s a Westin not too far from the airport. It’s nice, clean, and I’m pretty sure it has a spa. We can share a cab in the morning if you want.”
I nodded.
