“Be patient.”
“Why does my gut tell me I’m not going to like whatever it is you’re up to?”
He grinned and shook his head like I was oh-so-cute. I wondered if he’d still think it was cute when my panic caused me to jump out of a moving vehicle.
Ten minutes later we turned into a parking lot in front of a plain building. I swung my head around wildly, looking for a sign or any sort of clue to the origins of the building.
“High Flyers,” I read. “Please tell me you’re not making me jump out of a plane. I know you did that with Maddox and Emma, but I’m not as brave as Emma,” I admitted.
“No planes.” He assured me and got out of the vehicle.
I hastily followed after him. “Then what is this place?”
“You’ll see.”
I was tempted to run back to the safety of the car, but something told me he’d only chase after me and drag me back.
He opened the glass door to the building and waved me in ahead of him.
We were standing in some sort of lobby. The floors were a beige tile and the walls were a pale yellow.
I rubbed my hands together nervously as he strode over to the counter and spoke with the lady sitting behind it.
She answered him and I saw her point to a doorway.
“This way.” Ezra nodded his head.
I followed him and when I saw what was behind the door I thought I might throw up. “No, no, no, no fucking way am I doing this.”
I darted for the door and he caught me around my waist, dragging me into his body.
“I’m going to die,” I said dramatically. “I will fall to my death.”
“You’ll be fine,” he chuckled, “there’s a net.”
“So, you’re implying that I will fall?”
“Well, you have to get down somehow.”
“I can’t do this.” My stomach rolled, looking up at the sight before me once more.
We were in a training facility of some sort and above us were these things hanging from the ceiling. People held onto the bars and jumped from one to the next. One man hung upside down on one, holding a woman’s hands in his and spun her around. In another corner of the gym long pieces of fabric hung from the ceiling with a woman spinning from one, exactly like we’d seen at the circus.
“Ezra,” I started, throwing in a dramatic gulp for good measure, “this was awesome when we saw it at the circus, but there’s no way in hell you are ever getting me up there.”
“Come on,” his hand landed on my butt and he gave it a small squeeze, “it’ll be fun. It’s something we’ll remember forever.”
I wanted to argue with him that I would remember every single moment we shared together for the rest of my life, but I knew he’d just find another argument for getting me up there.
“If I die you better tell my parents that I love them…and tell my brother that I was the one that broke his BB gun when we were little. He was really mad about that and I blamed the dog.”
Ezra snorted. “Anything else?”
“Not at the moment, but something might come to me before I plummet to my death.”
He shook his head, trying to hold in his laughter and failing miserably. “If you’re falling to your death then I hardly think you can impart any last words.”
I shrugged, rearing my head back to watch as the man swung back and forth gaining momentum before throwing the woman into the air. She easily caught onto one of the metal bar things.
“Then I guess the world will never know my last words of wisdom. ‘Tis a shame. Maybe we should leave before the world has to deal with the burden of such a loss?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Or maybe you shouldn’t be such a scaredy cat.”
“Scaredy cat?” I wrinkled my nose. “What are we? Five?”
He chuckled. “You’re the one acting like a baby.”
“Ooh,” I mock winced, “that hurts, Ezra.”
“Just calling it like I see it.” He smiled innocently.
“You must be Ezra and Sadie.” A voice sounded behind us.
I turned around hastily and had to rear my head back to see the face of the man standing there. He was so tall that he made Hayes seem short. He had to be at least six-foot-seven.
“That’s us.” Ezra reached out to shake his hand.
The man held his hand out to me next. I placed mine inside his open palm and watched it nearly disappear in his gigantic grasp.
“I’m Oscar. I’ll be your instructor today.”
I glanced over my shoulder once more and gulped.
“Don’t be scared,” Oscar said, drawing my attention back to him, “it’s not as scary as it looks.”
“I don’t believe you,” I muttered.
He chuckled, amused by my words. “You’ll change your mind once you get up there.”
“Why?” I asked, curiously.
He shrugged and a look of contemplation stole over his face. “Because,” he replied, “when you’re up there…it feels a lot like freedom.”
I sighed and lifted my hands in the air. “Alright then, let’s do this.”
“Are you sure?” Ezra questioned. He might’ve been pushing me to do this, but he’d never make me do anything I absolutely didn’t want to do.
“Yeah,” I nodded, steeling my shoulders, “let’s go make some memories.”
Oscar went through countless instructions and made us do several exercises on the ground before letting us go up high. We weren’t made to wear harnesses since there was a giant net beneath the bars to catch us. I would’ve felt better wearing a harness, but I didn’t say anything. I’d already made enough of an embarrassment out of myself.
We climbed the ladder on opposite sides. Oscar chose to come with me. I think he was afraid I’d chicken out. But I’d committed to this. Besides, seeing how happy Ezra was and the effort he’d gone through to make this happen was pretty sweet.
I’d learned that Oscar, and all the professionals here, were a part of a circus in Orlando. This was their training center and they were on a break right now, preparing for a brand new show opening in a few weeks.
I watched as Ezra pulled one of the bars towards him. When he grabbed the bar he hung from it upside down, swaying in the air. I let out a scream like I was the one swaying like a pendulum.
“Your turn,” Oscar spoke.
I shook my head. “I can’t do that.”
“You don’t need to do it upside down. Just grab it like we practiced down below.”
My feet tapped restlessly against the platform. “I can’t do this,” I whimpered.
“Come on, Sadie,” Ezra pleaded. “For me.”
I closed my eyes.
For him.
I reached out and jumped, grabbing onto the bar. I screamed as I swung back and forth, my feet dangling below me. I had no idea how far the fall was, and I hadn’t wanted to ask. Instead I kept reminding myself that there was a net that would catch my fall.
My arms began to burn. “I’m going fall,” I cried.
Ezra swung towards me. “Jump to me.”
“No! Are you crazy?!” I shrieked, trying to hold myself up. Running clearly wasn’t doing anything for my upper body strength. I was going to have to work on that.
Ezra’s face was turning bright red from hanging upside down. “Do you trust me?”
I squished my eyes closed. “That’s a stupid question.”
“Sadie,” he growled, “do you trust me?”
“Yes!”
“Then fucking jump. I’ve got you. I’ve always had you.”
My throat closed up and I swung back gaining momentum.
I waited until I was in the right position and I let go, hurtling my body towards him.
I reached for his hands and he caught mine, somehow managing to hold onto me.
“See,” he said, “I’ll always catch you when you fall.”
“Except when you drop me onto the net,” I mumbled, my legs swaying.