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“You need to put your headset on,” he said, demonstrating for me.
Everything grew quiet around me as I picked it up and studied the funny looking face mask.
“If at any time, you need to stop the ride, hit this button.” Kaiden pointed out the big red button fitted to the bar separating our seats.
“Do you want to choose the track we do?”
“Can you pick one?” I said, inhaling a shuddering breath. “Just don’t pick the worst one.”
“Relax. We’ll take it easy since it’s your first go.” He said it like it wasn’t the last time we’d be doing this. “Okay?”
I nodded again, the giant pit in my stomach already making me feel weightless. I slid on the headset and gave myself a second to adjust to the feel of it. Color exploded in front of me the second I opened my eyes and I jerked back into the seat.
“Relax,” Kaiden whispered. “Your eyes will adjust.”
“I’m not sure I can—” I swallowed roughly.
“Here. This might help.” His hand found mine and he tangled our fingers together.
What was happening right now?
I was about to ride the simulator with Kaiden, the boy who consumed my thoughts, and he was holding my hand.
Warmth flowed through me at his touch and as the simulator began to crank and shift around us, the panic surging inside me didn’t spill over into a full-blown panic attack.
I could do this.
If I didn’t like it, all I had to do was hit the safety button and I’d be back on solid ground.
“Ready?” Kaiden asked. We were already riding the track, the scenery moving past us as it hiked toward the pinnacle.
“Lily?”
“Y-yeah?” I croaked.
“I asked if you’re ready.”
“Too late now.” We were suspended at the top of the track, caught somewhere between hesitation and the point of no return. My heart was already a runaway train in my chest, but it was nothing compared to the rush of adrenaline that exploded inside me when the simulator jerked us forward and down, everything rushing past us at lightning speed.
Kaiden squeezed my hand, but I couldn’t speak. My world was a blur of images and sensations and heart pounding chemicals.
We shunted left and right, up and down. The graphics were so real, so lifelike, that I felt like I was right there. My stomach left my body every time we flew over another hump, but I didn’t feel crippling fear or vomit-inducing anxiety… I felt free.
It felt like flying, soaring through the air like a bird.
Laughter spilled from my lips, punctuated with sharp breaths and gasps of awe as the virtual simulator transported me to another place.
By the time it cranked back into its resting position, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.
I lifted the headset off and slipped it into its holster.
“So?” Kaiden studied my face.
“That was… I’ve never felt anything like it.” I grinned. I actually grinned.
Kaiden chuckled, his eyes crinkling with amusement. “See, it wasn’t so scary.”
“It was… I felt like I was flying.” An awed sigh escaped my lips.
