Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
I wasn't surprised when, true to his word, the next Saturday Nathan texted me with a brief on my way message.
I panicked and hurriedly wrote back.
Don't pull into the driveway! Park around the corner.
All I got was confused silence, until the next message read, can Becca come out and play? which I assumed was his way of saying he'd arrived and was waiting for me.
"I'm heading out," I told my mom as she stood at the kitchen counter, making a sandwich.
"Where are you going?" she asked, her gaze flicking to mine curiously.
Oh, just about to go careening down a hill in a giant bouncy ball, no big deal.
"Tracey and I are going shopping for that New Year's in July party," I said.
I should have felt bad lying, but at this point, what was one more?
"You're not going to eat?" she asked.
"I had breakfast earlier."
"Becca…" her eyes turned concerned. "You know you need to eat something every few hours."
"I'll grab a granola bar," I interrupted.
"Marie, are you fussing over her again?" my dad said as he entered the kitchen, a frown on his face.
"I'm not fussing, Michael," my mom snapped. "I'm looking out for her. She needs to eat."
"Hounding her over every little thing is only going to stress her out?—"
"I said I'm fine," I interrupted them before they could really get going. "I'm going out now. I'll be back later."
The frowns didn't leave my parent's faces as I made my way down to my apartment to grab my sneakers and bag.
I hated worrying them, but then again, they worried about everything anyway, no matter what I said or did. Sometimes I thought that was the only way my parents knew how to live — in a perpetual state of anxiety and fear. I understood it, but I couldn't live that way. Not anymore. I couldn't deal with the heavy cloud of dread lingering over my family. I'd finally learned to forget about all my problems and just have fun.
And by fun, I apparently meant sleeping with rock stars and hurling myself off cliffs.
I caught a glimpse of a sleek, shiny black car two blocks away. With a furtive glance over my shoulder, making sure my mom wasn't watching through the window, I opened the passenger side door and slid in.
"Go," I said urgently.
With a quick look out of the corner of his eyes, Nathan revved the engine and took off. I gripped my seatbelt with both hands.
"Oh my god, you're one of those adrenaline junkies, aren't you?" I bemoaned. "And here I thought you were all laid back and cool."
"Nothing compares to the rush of being on stage," Nathan said with a glance in his rearview mirror. "But speeding down a highway comes close."
"If I die in a car crash, I'll come back as a ghost and haunt your dreams forever."
"You're already in my dreams, gorgeous." He winked, but eased off the pedal and we slowed to a more moderate pace. "So why did I have to park down the street, again?"
"I didn't want my mom seeing you. She'd ask too many questions."
"About zorbing?"
"About everything."
"Hm." He looked at me out of the corner of his eye again but didn't say anything else.
"This is kind of a fancy car." I nodded to the leather seats and the computer screen on the dashboard flashing with a dozen different numbers and gauges.
"One of my few vices," he said.
"Is that why your apartment is so normal? You spend all your money on cars and guitars?"
There was a beat of silence.
"Yeah," he said, but didn't elaborate.
I had to wonder if there was something more to it than that. Surely a famous rock star like Nathan could afford anything he wanted.
"So this zorbing thing," I began. "How safe is it?"
"I haven't heard of anyone dying while doing it yet."
I sat straight up. "Yet?"
"It's safe," he assured me. "We're going to a designated zorbing area with instructors who will give us training and watch over the whole thing."
"That makes me feel a little better," I said. "I thought you were just going to buy a blow up bubble, shove me inside and push me down a hill."
"We can do that, too," he grinned. "But let's start off letting the professionals show us how it's done."
We finally reached the place, and, after parking at the base of a not-too-steep hill, we found ourselves walking up a winding trail.
"You didn't tell me hiking was a part of this game," I said, panting.
"Winded already?" he teased. "I thought running after all those kids would keep you in shape." He elbowed me in the side with a friendly jab. "Come on, I'll race you."
"Wait—"
Nathan ignored my protest and sprinted ahead.
"Slow poke," he called back.
With a grin of my own, I hurried to follow him.
It had been a long time since anyone had challenged me to a race. My parents always made sure I stayed back when the other kids took part in physical activities. I liked that Nathan didn't treat me as if I might fall apart at any minute.
When I crested the hill, there was a group of people under a makeshift tent with a handful of human-sized, hollow plastic balls. Nathan went right up to one of the girls wearing a company branded golf shirt. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but he gestured to me with a grin and the girl waved me over.
"So it's your first time?" she asked with an enthusiastic smile as she handed me a pamphlet. "You're going to have a lot of fun."
She walked the two of us through the safety rules and had us sign a waiver form. I gave Nathan the side eye at the wording absolving them of all responsibility in the case of injury, death or dismemberment.
"It's a standard form," the girl reassured me. "We haven't had a single accident since we first opened up."
"I still don't know…" I said, hesitant.
I was sure most of their previous patrons had no trouble, but what about someone like me? This zorbing thing looked pretty intense. Even cushioned inside a bubble, I was still going to be tossing myself down this hill. That was no doubt a heart-pumping, pulse-racing, thrilling experience. Was I up to this?
"Want me to go first?" Nathan asked. "You can see there's nothing to it."
I nodded, relieved.
I watched as Nathan climbed into a bubble. He waved at me from the inside. I barely had time to wave back before the girl called out.
"One, two, three!"
On three, she shoved with all her might and sent Nathan tumbling down the hill. I could hear him whooping with laughter the whole way. It took less than a minute before he reached the bottom. He climbed out, wobbling on his feet and nearly falling to the ground.
"That was fucking awesome!" he called up to us.
"Your turn," the girl said.
With a deep breath, I took my own place inside a ball. I squeezed my eyes shut as I heard her countdown, and then, I was sent head over heels, body bouncing against all sides, spinning around and over and upside down. I screamed out loud, half in terror, half in delight. My stomach did somersaults and my head went spinning.
Finally, I reached the bottom and rolled to a stop. Just as I had expected, my heart was racing. My pulse was pounding. I could feel the blood rushing through my veins.
I stumbled out of the ball and fell to my knees, taking gasping breaths. My heart fluttered madly. I could practically feel it skipping beats.
"Becca!" Nathan ran over to me. He put a hand on my back as I kneeled on the grass. "Are you okay? Are you going to be sick?"
I shook my head, still panting.
Nathan took my face in his hands, alarm in his eyes. "What's wrong?" His thumbs stroked my cheeks. "I'm sorry. Was it too much?"
It was such a caring gesture, his touch gentle and warm.
"No," I managed to croak out. "I'm okay." I hoped. "I just?—"
My heart clenched and fluttered. Fear ran through me. I squeezed my eyes and clutched at my chest, suddenly terrified my heart was going to give out then and there.
"Maybe throwing ourselves down a hill wasn't the best idea in the world," he said.
I choked out another breath. Nathan wrapped an arm around my shoulder, guiding me to sit down.
Was he thinking I was some wimp, unable to take the kind of adrenaline rushes he sought out? Did he think I scared too easily, or that I was a weakling? I hated the idea of Nathan thinking I was weak. I didn't want him to treat me any differently. I got enough of that from my parents.
As I sat there, catching my breath, Nathan's soothing hand rubbing my back, my heartbeat slowly calmed, turning steady and strong.
Still, the whole thing had me shivering, my fingers cold and numb.
"Can we go home?" I asked.
He stared at me, then pressed a kiss to the side of my head.
"Yeah. I'll get you back home."