Chapter 21 #2
Jasper cackled, closed the distance between them with a few quick steps, and groped Vincent’s ass twice, once with each hand in rapid succession, with a “Beep beep!” Then he hurried past and up the rest of the stairs, where he waited with as much patience as he could for Vincent to catch up.
Only when they neared the launch point did he notice Vincent was paler than usual, and he kept flexing his fingers while keeping his other hand on the nearest railing or support.
Oh.
“Wait, are you really scared of heights?” Fuck, he was so stupid. Vincent had been anything but enthusiastic about coming here. “We don’t have to do this.”
“A bit late now,” Vincent replied tightly, looking anywhere but at the edge and the sharp drop.
“We can go back down the stairs.”
“No.” Vincent curled his fingers into a tight, bloodless fist.
“Next!” the operator called.
Jasper glanced over to find they were the only ones left in line, but the operator could wait. He reached for Vincent’s hand and forced his fingers open and apart until he could get his own between them. “I don’t want to do it that badly. You should have said you didn’t want to.”
Vincent’s fingers went lax for a moment before he squeezed them around Jasper’s. “It was the only thing you asked for.”
Jasper’s chest turned squishy, and he bit his tongue before he could call Vincent an idiot. “Doesn’t mean you should have agreed,” he said instead. “Aren’t you supposed to be setting an example? What if this was some kink you didn’t want to do?”
Vincent narrowed his eyes but notably didn’t have an immediate response. “Then I’d be an adult and weigh the gains against the risks before making a decision. Same as I did before bringing you here. Now let’s go.”
He huffed and turned for the platform without letting go of Vincent’s hand.
His stomach swooped as he stopped by the operator and saw how far down the ground was.
Maybe he should have picked something else after all.
He would have probably died trying to climb a rock wall, but surely there was some activity around here that didn’t involve risking life or limb.
“You gentlemen ready?” the operator asked, offering them a bright smile as she waved a metal hook at them, which likely wasn’t meant to look as threatening as it did.
“Nope!” Jasper squeezed Vincent’s fingers tight enough he probably cut off their blood supply. “Can we go together?”
“Sure.” She motioned them closer to the line stretching out across the trees. The end wasn’t in sight, but that was the least of his worries. More concerning was the faint tremor in Vincent’s hand.
The operator was speaking, but between the nervous excitement clawing through Jasper’s gut and the tingling sensation forming in his fingers, everything else was a rush of white noise.
He blinked and they were hooked to the line, Vincent standing behind him with an arm wrapped around Jasper’s chest, the trees stretched out below and around them.
“Step off when you’re ready.”
He was going to be sick.
“Pet,” Vincent murmured, close enough his lips brushed Jasper’s ear.
He leaned back with a shiver and sucked in a deep breath that was still too shallow. “Ready,” he lied, gripping Vincent’s hand on his chest.
Vincent’s fingers twitched tighter in Jasper’s shirt before he tipped ever so slightly forward.
Jasper’s lungs seized as his feet hit empty air, and he clawed at Vincent’s hand as the trees rushed past and the ground came closer.
His stomach somersaulted, his lungs unfroze, and he screamed.
He kept screaming until he had to take a breath, and then he started laughing as the shock gave way to exhilaration, and he realized they weren’t moving as fast as it felt.
They were still dangling a few stories off the ground, but the gear felt solid around his body. Part of him was sure they would fall at any moment, but that was part of the thrill—the same uncertain swoop of excitement as when Vincent restrained or blindfolded him.
He squeezed Vincent’s hand with a delighted laugh, releasing the death grip of his other hand on his harness and stretching his arm out.
He was flying, or at least as close as he’d ever get.
The trees racing past, the warm wind on his face, Vincent’s solid, sturdy body against his back.
He wouldn’t mind if it took hours to get to the end.
All too soon the landing area came into view, and they slowed to a stop.
He stumbled forward once they were free and steadied himself against the nearest wall, a giddy lightness making his legs shaky.
“That was fun. Wanna go again?” he asked, grinning when Vincent eyed him in dismay.
“Wasn’t there another one that starts even higher?
” When that earned a grimace, he pushed off the wall and propped himself against Vincent’s chest instead.
“Or you can wait here while I go again.”
Vincent grunted softly and hooked an arm around his waist. “No,” he murmured.
“Gonna come with me, then?”
“No.”
Jasper snorted and looped his arms around Vincent’s neck before nuzzling into it. “Come on, it wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“Worst thing I’ve done this year.”
Jasper rolled his eyes and wiggled his fingers into Vincent’s hair, but he couldn’t deny it was almost a relief to see at least something could get under Vincent’s skin. It made him seem more human instead of a perfect sex god, though in a different way from his needing reading glasses.
“I’m going again,” he said, kissing the tip of Vincent’s nose before twisting away despite the tightening arms attempting to keep hold of him.
The second time was as exhilarating as the first even if the lack of Vincent against his back was a disappointment, but he did manage to coax Vincent into joining him on the third run, even if Vincent looked like he was going to pass out on the climb up the stairs.
By the time he’d gone another two times, it was afternoon, and he was getting hungry, so they headed back to the cabins to have lunch with Zach and Ash.
Jasper was a strange mess of anxious excitement and exhaustion from the adrenaline crash, which was probably why he stared at Vincent with a pout when he headed downstairs with Ash to go through the pictures from the photo shoot.
The only bright side was when Zach tugged him into the living room to play video games.