12
This is the worst day ever.
When Levi said he was going to surprise me, I should have known it’d be something crazy and death defying. He’s insane. A madman. I’m going to kick him in the nuts.
“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to do this,” I yell over the deafening roar of the engines.
We’re flying in a plane I don’t know how many feet up in the air, but it’s enough to see the top of the clouds and that’s not okay with me. My heart is pounding so hard it’s about to leap out of my chest and Levi has the nerve to laugh. I’m glad he finds my terror so amusing. I’ve decided to break his nose, too.
“There’s no turning back now!” he shouts back.
We’re inches apart, and we have to yell to hear one another. How awesome is that? I think I’m going to puke. Worse yet, the instructor claims that the only way to leave the plane is to jump. Ha! I’ll tell Levi what I told him.
“Go fuck yourself. I’m not jumping out of a plane!”
“Then why did you get on in the first place?” He’s still laughing, and I’m getting angrier by the second.
“It wasn’t my choice, asshole!”
When we arrived at the hangar, at few scenarios ran through my head. Maybe we were going to see an air show. Maybe he was learning to fix planes. Maybe he was taking flying lessons. I never minded flying. I just never dreamed Levi was planning to make me jump out of one. When I realized his plan, I spun on my heel with the intention of waiting in the car until he returned. If he returned. I was already planning a eulogy. Something heartfelt. Something a sister would say about her beloved asshole of a stepbrother. Now, all I’m planning is how I’m going to murder him.
As soon as Levi realized where I was going, he chased me down—literally—and threw me over his shoulder. Of all the indignities, being carried off with your underwear exposed for all the world to see has to top the list—he could have at least warned me that a dress was not appropriate attire.
Despite kicking and screaming, no one batted an eyelash. No one offered to rescue me. I guess being the son of a rich and powerful man and being a national heartthrob means you can kidnap people and get away with it.
“Come on, princess, you’re gonna love it,” Levi swears.
I don’t trust a damn word that comes out of his mouth. I’ve heard those words before, and look how things turned out.
“Fuck you, Levi! If you want to be an idiot and risk your life, then go for it. But leave me out of it!” One of the attendants or whatever the hell he is comes up behind me and loops a backpack onto my shoulders. When I look over my shoulder at him, he shouts, “Safety precaution!”
Well, you can’t have too much of that this high off the ground.
Lifting my arms so he can fasten the thing on me, I turn my attention back to Levi, ready to tear into him. “Does your father know you’re doing this?” He’s going to kill him, and I plan to be there handing him the weapon.
“What?” Levi motions to his ears.
Great, he can’t hear me.
I lean in, raising my voice until I can hear myself speaking in my own ears. “Does your father know—ahhh!”
That son of a bitch! Levi snatches me up by the straps on my shoulders and my body pitches off balance as he yanks me up hard against his chest. Then...
We’re plummeting through the air. Racing toward the clouds...through them...Seeing the ground rushing up to meet us, I scream and grapple for Levi. I’m fighting the force of gravity as I struggle to climb his body, to wrap myself around him. My heart is in my throat, beating like a drum. Chaos is racing through my head, my life flashing before my eyes as I clutch Levi’s shoulders and bury my face in the side of his neck.
He certainly hadn’t lied when he said I’d be using my fingers a lot today. They’re currently embedded in his shoulders. If I had it my way, they’d be clawing his eyes out, but I’m too busy hanging on for my life.
“I’ve got you!” Levi yells.
Surprisingly, that does make me feel better, but only marginally. I can feel my breakfast climbing higher up my throat. It’ll serve him right if I throw up on him.
The wind whips around us, flattening our bodies together as we hurdle through the air. I hate him. I hate him so much right now. I want to punch him. I want to cry. I want to wake up and find that I never left Chicago. That I’m still in my bed, safe and warm, miles away from this madness.
Just when I think I might actually have a heart attack, we’re jerked backward violently and then...everything grows calmer. We’re still in the air, wind whipping around us, but we’re no longer speeding like a bullet to our deaths. We’re sailing, coasting along on the air currents. That’s when I realize Levi’s pulled the cord on his pack, releasing his parachute.
“Look, Vista,” Levi says softly into my ear. “You don’t want to miss this.”
I shake my head, trying to catch my breath, to calm my frantic pulse, but I’m curious. I’m also freaked the hell out. I like my feet on the ground, and we’re so far from it.
“Come on, princess. The hard part is over. Don’t puss out on me now. Just look.”
I sneer at his remark. I’m not a chicken, and I’m entitled to have fears. It’s natural. Everyone has at least one and this is mine. Still...
I find myself following his command. Lifting my head, I catch his blue eyes first, my stomach finally beginning to calm as I hold onto his gaze. The skin around his eyes crinkles, giving me silent encouragement, and I take it. Peering cautiously over my shoulder, I can’t help but to gasp at the sight surrounding us.
Blue conifers. Rolling green hills. Houses that resemble Monopoly pieces, they’re so small. Farther out, I see a group of horses grazing and a thin stream cutting a winding path through the landscape. It’s so picturesque. I never knew nature could be like this.
“Levi,” I breathe, struggling to take it all in.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I nod, because I can’t find words eloquent enough to express what I’m feeling. Beautiful doesn’t begin to cover it.
Shifting my weight, I twist my head around to take in every angle of the view. Levi’s strong arms cinch tighter around my waist, holding me securely against him, reminding me that he’s got me and he’s not letting go. And that’s when I realize...I trust him.
Why? I don’t know, but for some reason, way up here, I feel safer than I ever have with anyone else. Levi’s hold on me is powerful, and I don’t just mean that in the physical sense. He’s held me since day one, and despite the time and distance that’s passed between us, here we are again.
I can’t believe it took jumping out of an airplane to finally see it, but I do now, and I know I can’t go back. I can’t pretend that this month doesn’t mean something. I can’t continue pretending that Levi doesn’t matter. Because he does. Maybe too much.
Of course, all of this is inappropriate. Our parents are married, which means there’s no hope for us. Even if Levi returned the feelings, we could never work. But this arrangement? It has to. Like it or not, my mother has given me an opportunity to excel. If I walk away now, it would be disrespectful, not to mention embarrassing. No doubt, Levi would think it was because I can’t handle being with him, and I’m not about to give him the satisfaction of proving him right. I’ll do what I have to do and stick this month out, but Levi was right. I might as well live while I’m here. So, I’ll take what I want from Levi, and when time is up, I’ll go. I buried these feelings before, and I can damn well do it again.
As Levi brings us safely back to earth, his smile is so wide and filled with joy that I can’t help feeling it, too. He has this infectious quality about him that makes it impossible not to empathize with his moods.