We visit a welcome center and participate in a short safety demonstration. Afterward, we’re joined by staff who prepare us for the plunge.
Cortney’s smile doesn’t leave her face for a second. We’re about to throw ourselves off a several-hundred-foot-high platform, and this is the calmest she’s been since I boarded her plane. She’s either an adrenaline junkie or slightly insane.
Maybe both, my lips quirk.
Some guy’s rigging my balls into the safety harness when Cortney taps my shoulder.
“Take a picture of me.”
I dig my phone out of my pocket before she can hand me hers. If I happen to survive this, I want my own image to revisit once this trip is over.
She smiles broadly, cocking her hip. For the second pose, she gives me a thumbs-up.
“Let me get the two of you.” A woman I recognize from the shuttle here offers.
“Oh, that’s okay,” Cortney declines.
As I open my mouth to answer, the staff member gives the strap around my sack a hearty tug. I grunt and fight the pained expression on my face. “Okay.”
Cortney slides up to my side, and I hand off my phone.
I lift my arm, draping it over her shoulders. She stands stiff beside me, her hands limp at her sides.
“Get closer,” the lady instructs.
“Um, Spence?” Cortney whispers.
I tip my chin to my chest, catching her concerned eyes. “Yeah?”
“I don’t know where to touch you. I don’t want to hurt you anywhere.” She’s still whispering, looking at me with such intensity that my chest hurts. The concern painted across her beautiful features sends a pang to my gut.
Reaching between us, I lift her hand and press her palm flat against my abdomen. The warmth of her hand feels like a brand, seeping through the thin layer of nylon separating our skin. “Here is good.”
She smiles, relaxing into our new position. We turn to the camera at the same time.
“So cute. You guys are a great-looking couple. Almost done. Look at that ring sparkle!” Our novice photographer snaps off what I can only assume is an excessive array.
“Thanks,” I say, pocketing my phone again.
The group splits into four, each setting off for a different platform behind two guides. The only thing separating me from the ground and soaring above the jungle is about a hundred steps.
“Ready?” Cortney nudges my side somewhere around the fourth landing. My lungs cinch tighter the higher the climb becomes.
“I have to know. Was this your idea or the ex’s?” We ascend the next flight of stairs, and I grip the railing tighter.
Fuck, this is high.
Don’t look down, dumbass.
Cortney laughs. “Oh, totally mine. Sebastian only had fun when I planned something for us, and even then, he complained most of the time. This was all my idea.”
“So you’re saying there’s no way I can talk you out of this?”
“Hell no. And you’re coming along with me.” She pats the back of my helmet. “Husband.”
“Well,wife,what if I’m feeling a bit nauseous all of a sudden?”
“Are you?”