Page 8 of A Little Bit Wild

“I trust you!” She yells back, nodding.

I don’t think she gets just what those words do to me. Every time she says them, my heart leaps in my chest.

I nod and reach over, opening the plane door.

“See you on the ground!” Huck yells back to us, giving me a thumbs up as we move to sit in the open plane door.

“Ready?” I yell, and she nods. “One… two…”

I push us out before we can get to three, and I hear Aria suck in a deep breath as we start to fall. I put my arms out, loving the feel of the wind whipping by. The free fall doesn’t last very long, and I want to soak up every minute of it.

Soon enough, it’s time for me to pull the parachute cord. The fabric unfolds above us, and we jerk to a stop, starting to slowly glide down to the ground.

It’s dead quiet now, no noise reaching us this far up, and I take a deep breath.

“How are you doing?” I ask Aria, and she laughs.

“I’m good,” she says, sounding surprised.

I grin, letting her soak in the view.

“Want to steer?” I ask her, and she laughs.

“Are you crazy?”

“Too wild?” I ask, and she seems to think about it.

“Alright, what do I have to do?”

“Reach up and grab these handles. If you pull this one, we go this way,” I say, demonstrating. “And if you pull this one…”

“We go that way. Got it.”

Her hands grab the handles over mine, and I leave mine there as we slowly lower back to the ground.

“We want to aim to land over there,” I say, pointing with my toe to the open field next to the office building.

“Okay,” she says, and I help her pull on the left handle to steer us that way.

“When we land, you want to lift your legs to a ninety-degree angle so they’re parallel with the ground. I’ll handle the rest.”

She nods, and I steady us as the ground approaches.

“Lift now,” I say, and our legs rise.

I put my feet down, walking slightly forward as the parachute hits the ground behind us. I make sure that Aria is stable before I unhook our harnesses and spin her around in my arms.

“How was that?” I ask, and instead of answering, she launches herself at me, wrapping her arms and legs around my body.

“Thank you,” she whispers against my neck, and I nod, holding her tightly.

“I’ve got you,” I promise, and she nods.

“It wasn’t so bad. I guess,” she admits, and I grin.

“Good to hear. I’ll ask Huck if he wants to add that quote to his website.”

She laughs, and I let her slide down my body to the ground.

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