Last To Know

13

Maddox's sleek sports car wound around the windy road. Rocks jutted out to our right and on the left side of the road was a straight drop down to the river.

I wasn't scared. Not at all.

That was a lie. I was totally freaking out—especially since he was driving like we were in a race, then he pulled off on the side of the road where several other cars were parked. Dust floated up around the car when it came to a stop.

"What are you doing?" I asked, holding onto the seatbelt strap like it was my last hold on humanity.

"Parking the car," he said like I was stupid.

"I can see that, but why?"

"Because we're going zip lining." He stated with a proud smile.

My body suddenly buzzed with excitement and I forgot all about the scary road I'd been bothered by.

It was kind of funny that I'd been terrified of this stupid road and Maddox's crazy driving, but not the thought of zip lining. Clearly, I was weird.

I hurried out of the car and together we crossed the road. I followed him down a narrow path, wondering how he ever found this place.

The gravel path soon turned to dirt and I spotted people up ahead.

"We're really doing this?" I asked.

He glanced down at me and a small chuckle escaped his lips. "Yes, Em."

Maddox introduced himself to one of the men and I figured this must be the guy in charge.

I rubbed my hands together and Goosebumps broke out across my skin and my whole body bubbled with an excited energy.

It was mostly guys standing around—some clearly working the zip lining rig and others getting strapped into harnesses. There was a lone woman and she seemed to be working here.

"I'm Brad," the guy reached out a hand to me.

"Oh, I'm Emma." I hoped he hadn't been waiting long for me to respond. Oftentimes I got too lost in my thoughts to notice what was going on in the real world.

"Nice to meet you," he said, smiling pleasantly. If I'd had any fears about doing this his smile would've put me at ease. "Let's head over here and fill out some paperwork."

It took us about ten minutes to fill out the paperwork and sign a waiver. Once that was complete and Brad was satisfied, he and another guy that introduced himself as Jim helped to harness us.

My heart thundered in my chest.

Fear was beginning to settle in my body, but I wasn't going to back out. The thrill would be worth it.

The harness cut into my hips and thighs, but at least I didn't have to worry about it falling off of me. The people working this clearly knew what they were doing.

"Who's going first?" Stan asked the two of us.

Maddox raised his hand to volunteer. "No chickening out," he warned me.

"I won't," I assured him, grinning. My legs began to shake with adrenaline. We were going to fly—at least that's the way I looked at it.

They fixed a helmet onto both of our heads and then lined up Maddox to strap him on.

"See you on the other side." He grinned at me and gave me a thumb's up before taking off. He let out a cry of joy as he flew down the line, over the river, and onto the other side.