“Hey,” I greeted as he made his way to me.
He pulled me into a back-slapping hug. “You ready for this?” Toby’s massive grin told me he couldn’t wait.
“Born ready.”
“Always thinks she’s such hot shit,” Jinx said as he walked up.
Calla followed him, finding her way to Toby’s side.
I rolled my eyes at Jinx. “I learned from the best.”
“Damn straight.” He grasped my hand and pulled me into a half-hug.
I sent Calla a smile. “Sorry you had to put up with these two alone.”
She ducked her head. “They are kind of annoying.”
“Hey,” Toby complained, pulling her into his arms and kissing her soundly. “That’s not nice.”
I scoffed. “It’s the truth. It’s a miracle Calla hasn’t left your ass in the dust.”
Jinx sent Calla a wink. “You could always leave that loser and take up with a real man.”
Toby clutched his chest. “You assholes wound me. You’re supposed to be my best friends.”
I chuckled and bumped his shoulder with mine. “Don’t worry. I’ll never leave you. I need your camera skills too much.”
Jinx barked out a laugh. “And because we know all your secrets.”
They didn’t know all of them, but they certainly knew one of the biggest—this double life I’d started living the moment Calder had taught me how to fly. Just the thought of that night had a fissure of pain slicing through me. I shoved away the avalanche of memories that could fall with the barest breath.
I didn’t need him. Because when Calder had bailed on our friendship, I’d found other people to fill the void. I’d found Toby and Jinx while riding this very trail. And Toby had brought Calla home with him after college last year. They were the friends I needed. The people who let me be whoever I wanted to be and cheered me on the whole way.
I met Jinx’s gaze. “Is the drone charged?”
“This ain’t my first rodeo, cowgirl.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled.
Toby motioned for us to follow him. “I’ve been checking out the angles, and I think this is where I’ll set up.”
There was a clear line of sight to the dip where I’d be pulling the trick. “Looks good to me.”
Calla shuffled her feet. “What can I do?”
She wasn’t as into all of this as the boys and I were, but she was supportive and rode with us for fun. But Calla’s fear kept her restrained. If you wanted to soar, you had to let go of every what-if that held you back. It was the thing I loved the most. There was no space in your brain for all of the weight life threw at you—it forced you to be fully present and alive.
“I’ve got an extra GoPro in my SUV. You want to shoot from the opposite side of the trail?” I asked.
“Sure.” She paused for a moment. “And maybe after, you can walk me through how you did it.”
I could do my best to explain my approach, but you just had to go for it at some point. There wasn’t a perfect step-by-step guide. “I can do that. And we can all take the south trail after, do a little freestyle.”
Calla smiled. “That’d be great.”
Toby clapped his hands. “All right, let’s get this show on the road.”
I walked back to my SUV and unhooked my bike from the rack. Resting it against the side of my vehicle, I opened the hatch. The first thing I went for was an old cell phone. I didn’t have it hooked up to get service anymore, but it held a ton of music. I popped in my earbuds and turned it up to a decibel that would block everything out.