Page 32 of The Girlfriend Game
Fifteen
Zeke
“Okay, now jump!”
I tilt my head back and stare up at the sky, to the top of the pole Kendall is currently standing on. The safety helmet covers most of her face so I can only catch a glimpse of her lips as they tremble out of fear and trepidation.
I know this because she’s been up on the pole now for ten minutes, shouting that she’s scared and she wants to come down.
“There’s only one way down, sweetheart. You have to jump.”
The body harness strapped around her stretches tightly across her chest and between her thighs, ensuring her safety while she stands atop a twenty-foot telephone pole.
Smiling, I give her the double-thumbs up as she shakes her head vehemently.
“I can’t, Zeke. Oh, my God, I want to get off this thing!”
“Then you got to let go and jump, Kendall. Don’t worry so much. I’ve got you. There’s a net down here that will catch you and there’s no chance of you hitting the ground.”
I’m not sure how our easy walk around the lake to get to know one another ended up at a ropes course with Kendall high atop a pole, but earlier when Kendall mentioned she’d never been a risk taker, the idea popped in my head and I knew I had to give it a try. I figured if I had one shot at this with her today, I was going to go big or go home. The time she spent with me would prove to be the best day of her life and I was going to ensure she did things outside of her comfort zone with me. It’s my way of proving that taking risks doesn’t have to cost you everything, but can give you the best thrill of your life.
It’s like the association she mentioned pertaining to my anxiety and behaviors. Once you associate something with a feeling or event, it will activate that same emotion in the future. So, in the future, I want her to associate experiencing this thrilling adventure with me, not the hot mess of a man she was treating in therapy.
“Zeke…I’m scared.” Her voice is barely audible from high above the ground, her words tumbling softly from her mouth.
“What’s the worst that could happen if you jump?”
“I fall.”
Hopefully, she falls for me.
“That’s part of the fun. You have to let yourself fall to experience the thrill.”
My words echo between us, and her eyes connect with mine, a flash of annoyance and maybe awe embedded in her gaze. She shakes her head and takes a giant gulp of air, her chest rising and falling with each breath she takes.
And then she closes her eyes. Her lips move like she’s saying a silent prayer, and I watch her literally take the plunge as she bends her knees, pushes off, and goes soaring through the air.
Her initial shriek of terror turns into buoyant laughter the minute she hits the trampoline-like-net. She bounces several times before the ropes course attendant grabs hold of the netting at the side and stops the movement.
I’m at her side in a second, offering her my hands to latch onto, smiling and laughing at her exhilarated expression. She swings her legs over the side and hops off onto the ground, laughter bubbling effervescently from her lungs, her smile wide and her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“I can’t believe I just did that.” She pats down her body, checking out her extremities like she’s searching for her wallet. “Everything is still in working order, right?”
I nod, laughing. “You’re all good. How do you feel?”
Her cheeks are pink and flushed and I know it’s the high she’s experiencing from the adrenaline racing through her bloodstream, but Kendall flings herself into my arms. Throwing her hands around my head and securely locking them around the back of neck, she draws back to smile broadly at me.
“I feel great! Alive. Like I just flew through the air.”
I stare down into her bright green eyes that sparkle like emeralds. She licks her lips.
My voice is raspy as I draw her into my arms. “I’d say that gives new meaning to the Rush Method.”
Our eyes lock and there’s a hint of a tremulous smile edging at her full lips. Something twists in my chest as I notice the way her pupils darken the moment my fingers dig into her hips to hold her steady. Or to hold her against me.
Wisps of hair have fallen loose from her ponytail, poking out from under the helmet and I daringly lift a hand and smooth back the flyaway strands, my fingers brushing over the heat of her cheeks. As if it’s the first touch she’s received in eons, she closes her eyes and sucks in a breath.
Whether or not I’m reading the signals correctly or not, I make another bold move. I drag my thumb over her bottom lip, moistened from her tongue, and her lips part and fall open willingly. And then something I never expected or anticipated happens.
