Page 59 of Electric Touch
Was that just a one-night stand with someone famous? Or am I in serious trouble?
Chapter Seventeen
“Tell me again why I agreed to this?” I look at the ground below. It’s at least three stories down to hard dirt. I’m sure if I fall, I’ll kill myself, at the very least smash all the bones in my body.
“You invited yourself,” Adrestia says, checking the strap on her helmet.
There is a torch on top of it. Not only are we out here, about to jump off this ledge on a piece of wire, it’s nighttime, too. When Alessa told me to have Adrestia invite me to her zip wire trip, I hadn’t known all the details. Or that I’m scared shitless of heights apparently.
“It’s safe,” she assures me. “We watched a twelve-year-old do it, Nash.”
I grumble under my breath, looking where the zip wire disappears into the trees. In the dark, I may smash into them. Adrestia walks out of earshot of the staff member and puts both of her palms on my chest.
“Will it help if I promise to blow you when we get to the bottom?”
My mouth drops open in shock. She winks and turns back to the attendant.
“Can you strap him in first? He’s ready to go.”
Am I fuck. I’m not about to let this teenager know though. I’m also wondering if she meant what she just offered me.
I got her to tell me about the zip wire during her guitar lesson and invited myself along. Before I knew it was at night, in the dark, and in New Jersey. She borrowed Apollo’s Tesla, so even though it was a ninety-minute drive, we did it in style.
Now I’m regretting it. Big time.
“Why don’t you go first?” I ask.
She looks at me with an amused expression. “Because we both know if that happens, you’ll unclasp your harness and run down those stairs. Come on, Nash. Face your fears, be a man,” she slaps my shoulder.
I’m about to shit my pants, facing the actual possibility I’m about to die. I can’t help but admire her. She is fearless. I walk over to the bored-looking kid, waiting to attach my harness to the wire. Adrestia wasn’t lying about the twelve-year-old. She’d gone screaming and whooping after her older brother, then their mom.
I blow out a breath and lift my arms, watching to make sure the kid does it right. He yawns as I worry he doesn’t secure it right. After he checks all the lines and clips, I feel a little better.
Adrestia smiles as I move towards the ledge. She sticks up two thumbs.
“See you at the bottom,” she says, and winks, like it’s a promise of what’s coming.
“Fuck,” I mutter as I step to the edge.
“Could be worse, dude,” the kid says. “You could be on the horizontal one. That’s like an out-of-control train going face first,” he snickers.
“Not helping,” I say through gritted teeth.
“It’s safer than a car, man. You could crash in one of those.”
I glare at him. He holds out his hand.
“Just push off like the training video showed you.”
Adrestia cheers. “Do it, Nash!”
I close my eyes, say a quick Hail Mary, then push away from the ledge. I cling to the cable, cross my ankles, and close my eyes. The seat seems flimsy as the air whooshes past, and I pick up speed. I hear Adrestia whooping from behind and risk opening my eyes. Fucking hell, the trees are whizzing past at lightning speed. So fast they’re almost a blur. It’s going on and on. How damn long is this thing?
The longer I keep my eyes open, I see the lights strung up all around the forest. This isn’t as bad as I’d imagined. I let out a little whoop of my own.
The end of the line approaches, the landing platform drawing closer. I know to expect the bump when it hits the brake. It jars me as it hits, swinging me further forward. Then it jerks backwards. Another worker unhooks me as I come to a complete stop.
My legs are like jelly as I step off. I wobble over to the rail, surprised to find I’m smiling. I wait on the platform for ten minutes before I hear the whistling of the wire. She’s screaming. I push away from the railing in concern.