“You’ll be just fine, darlin’, I promise. It’ll be the best ride of your life,” my brother says right before he gives the countdown.
Three.
Two.
One.
***
Cricket
Worst. Idea. Ever.
I don’t want to do this,I almost yell as Royce counts down from three. The moment he hits one, my eyes squeeze shut, and I hold my breath.
I feel the fall. The wind is whipping through what little hair isn’t contained in the helmet. It smacks me in the face. It chokes the scream that’s ripping from my lungs. I know I should open my eyes, but don’t want to witness the ground approaching, getting ready to send me to my death.
“This is unreal!” Royce hollers. I want to punch him. Hard. “Cricket! Do you see this?”
“No, I’m good,” I tell him, squeezing my eyes so tight the tears seep through the corners. I don’t even care I’m recording this fall, my screams of terror, and my less than graceful reaction to ziplining. All I care about now is surviving this stunt and getting both feet safely on the ground.
There’s a jolt and I stop hard, two hands wrapping around my arms. “You okay, Cricket?” Royce asks. I admit, it does give me the slightest sliver of comfort knowing he’s making this trip with me.
Out of respect for him and his profession, I crack open my eyes. “Am I alive?”
Royce chuckles, moving his harness from one line to the next. “You’re very much alive, darlin’.” When he’s securely locked in place, he turns to face me. I glance up at the man beside me, moving my security cord from one line to the next, a reminder that this trip is only a fourth of the way done.
Royce looks me square in the eye. “How about this? Close your eyes for a second as we make the initial fall, but then I want you to open them up. Can you do that?”
I shake my head.
“Yes, you can do this, Cricket. Open your eyes. You’re not has high up as you think you are,” he says, glancing down.
I make the mistake of doing the same and I swear the landing platform moves under my wobbly legs.
“I promise it’ll be worth it,” he whispers, stepping over and squeezing my arm.
“I don’t know,” I whisper, my throat thick with emotion.
“Crick?” I hear through the walkie talkie at Royce’s shoulder. He takes it off and hands it to me.
“Rueben?” I ask, wondering why he’s on the radio.
“Hey, baby. I just watched your first leg, and I have to tell you, you did good.”
I can’t help it, I laugh, though it lacks any actual humor. “Good? Did you hear me screaming?”
He laughs too. “Yeah, I heard. The entire city heard, baby. But you can do this. I know you can. Just listen to Royce and relax. Enjoy the fall, Crick.”
I swallow over the very large, very hard lump in my throat. “Listen to Royce? Aren’t you the one who’s usually telling me tonotlisten to him?”
That makes both men laugh. “True, I have been saying that. But this time, promise me you’ll listen to him. Just this once.”
Exhaling, I look over into Rueben’s brother’s eyes. They’re full of respect and trust, and I realize I need to do the same. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Good girl. Now get that sexy ass down this mountain so I can kiss you,” he says into the walkie talkie, making me giggle.
Royce takes the device and reattaches it to his shoulder. “You heard the man. Let’s get down this mountain. You ready?”