Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty- Four
O ne by one, the rest of our group joined us and soon our little platform in the sky became way too crowded for my liking.
Being wedged in next to Roman made it bearable though, even if Miss Italy and her quivering thighs had hijacked his focus on me.
Victor was the last man to climb up the ladder and he wasted no time in drawing our attention with a sharp clap of his hands that made Lydia jump. “Well done, everyone. You passed the first challenge. That was the hard part. The rest is as easy as falling off a cliff.” He laughed and a couple of my group laughed with him.
Not me though. And definitely not Lydia.
“Okay.” Carmen took over the instructions. “Watch and listen to what I’m saying as Victor shows you how easy this is.”
The two guides worked together unclipping ropes and herding us all around into various positions. Victor gripped the T-Bar, hung his toes over the edge of the platform, and stuck his bum backward .
“Right, everybody, see this.” Carmen slapped Victor’s butt and he did a little yelp. He wiggled his butt in what was obviously an act they’d been doing for a long time. I could relate to that—some of my jokes I’d repeated on nearly every one of my tours.
“This is the position I want you all in.” Carmen identified the angular position of Victor’s body. “Now all he has to do is raise his legs.”
Victor jumped up and backward, raised his knees, and then shot forward like he’d been released from a catapult. A bloodcurdling scream burst from his throat as he barreled between the treetops, but it was only when Carmen burst out laughing that their in-house joke became apparent. A bad one at that.
“Victor.” Carmen shook her head. “He’s so funny.” She pointed at me. “Right. You are next.”
Oh fuck . “I . . . I am?” I was the smallest person there. And probably the least athletic. Why the hell did she pick me?
“Sure. Why not? Show these pussies how it’s done.” She jabbed her thumb toward the remaining guys on the platform.
I shot my gaze to Roman, and he smiled at me. With a wink, he touched my arm and said, “You got this, babe.”
Babe! Woah. I blinked at him. Did he realize he’d said that in front of Lydia?
I didn’t care. Babe. Oh yeah. I've got this.
His faith in me was the equivalent of an adrenalin shot.
“Okay.” I waggled my head like a cocky rooster. “Let me show you boys how it’s done.”
Bloody hell, I’m an idiot.
Carmen attached the harness at my navel to the wire over my head. She handed me the T-Bar, and my pulse boomed like a cannon in my ears as I inched my toes closer to the edge .
Strangling the T-bar, I shoved my bum back.
Carmen touched my shoulder, all serious. “You ready?”
My mouth was so dry I couldn’t speak, so I nodded like a bobblehead doll having a seizure.
She smiled. “Good. When you’re ready just jump your knees up, and you’ll be free as a bird.”
I told myself not to glimpse at Roman, but my fucking eyes didn’t obey. Our gazes met and he looked right into my soul. It was like taking a calming pill. He did that to me—made me feel whole.
I winked at him, pretending that this sassy chick was A-okay.
Not!
With a clutch of madness screaming through me, I turned back to the giant drop in front of me. This was it. Do or die, sista.
Hopefully not that latter.
“One.” I inhaled a huge breath.
“Two.” The crowd joined in.
“THREE,” I squealed and jumped at the same time. Next second, I was zipping across the jungle at thirty miles an hour with nothing but an inch-thick wire keeping me from certain death.
Fuck yeah.
“Yeehaaaaaa.”
Birds burst from the trees as I shot past them like a predator. Below me was a moss-green river, complete with white-water rapids. Above me was a brilliant blue sky.
Ahead of me was a tree the size of the Eiffel Tower. And I was hurtling straight toward it.
Shit! If they’d told us how to stop, I’d missed that instruction.
“Raise your legs,” Victor yelled out .
I yanked my knees up and with a scream burning in my throat, I prepared to slam into him at full speed.
Seconds before impact, my harness snagged on the zip-line and my body was thrown forward.
Victor caught me around my back before I hurled backward. “Put your feet down.”
Clutching at him, I planted my feet. I am safe.
I did it. I fucking did it!
“Holy shit! That was awesome.”
Yeah, baby! I am on top of the world.
Grinning, Victor tethered me to the safety bar. “You did good. Now stand over there or you’ll get smacked in the teeth.”
“Oh, right. Good to know.” I shuffled backward and with one hand resting on the coarse bark of the giant tree, I watched and waited for the next person to come zipping across the canopy, hoping that it was Roman.
A prickle of excitement teased my insides when Roman finally appeared. He was all huge grin, bulging muscles, and wind blowing in his hair. The smile on his face grew to spectacular when his eyes fell on me. “Woo hooo.” His whoop of exhilaration was manly perfection.
With nimble athleticism that I’d come to expect, he planted his feet onto the landing and Victor changed his tether over.
Roman strode to me and wrapped me in a bear hug. I squeezed my arms around him, and as I listened to his thumping heart, I knew there wasn’t a thing in the world I wouldn’t do if it promised a hug like this afterward.
He pulled back all too soon and smiled down at me. “How good was that?”
“It was amazing. I can't believe I've never done that before.”
He gave me his sisterly love look, draped his arm over my shoulder, and the two of us stood side by side, waiting for the next person to lob in.
And waiting and waiting.
Victor put his walkie-talkie to his lips, but he spoke in German so I couldn't understand a word—until he said ‘Lydia’.
Roman stepped away from me, the look of worry marring his beautiful features. “What is it?”
Victor bobbed his head. “Lydia is stuck.”
“Stuck.” I blinked at Roman. “What does he mean stuck?”
His brows drilled together. “I have no idea?”
Victor turned to us. His smile, I assumed, was meant to placate us. “Just gotta go rescue her.”
“Is she okay?” Roman was rigid with concern.
“Ahhh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry. Happens all the time. She just didn’t give enough of a push-off, so without momentum she didn’t make it all the way. I’ll go get her and bring her back.”
“You mean she’s stuck in the middle?” I bulged my eyes at him.
“No, she’s closer to the beginning.” Victor clipped himself onto the wire as he continued talking. He was so upbeat it was like he was talking about winning a darts competition. “But the only way to get her is from here.” He pointed at us. “You two hang here. Okay?”
Stuck in a tree with Roman? Okay. No objection from me.
“And whatever you do, do not unclip those carabiners.” His parting words were muffled as he launched himself off the platform. Hand over hand, he began dragging himself back along the zip-line.
“Do you think she’s okay?”
Roman didn’t take his eyes off Victor. “Yeah. She’ll be fine. ”
When I’d last seen her, she’d looked like she was going to vomit. Lord knew what she’d look like now. Roman’s distress was horrible to watch. He needed a distraction.
I thought about doing a couple of topless handstands, but figuring I didn’t have enough room, I said, “So you really like Lydia, huh?”
He glanced down at me with a curious expression, and for a split second, he seemed frozen with indecision. Finally, he nodded, and with sagging shoulders, he said, “Yeah, she’s pretty cool.”
Pretty cool. Woah, that was not exactly the unequivocal response I was expecting. Maybe things weren’t so perfect in Mr. and Mrs. Italy’s house.
God damn it, Daisy. Wing-woman . . . remember?
He needed cheering up. And I was the woman to do it.
I bumped my hip to his. “So, ahhh, you two been doing the—” I made a circle with my thumb and finger and poked my other finger through it.
Roman chuckled and shook his head. “I’d hate to see you do the birds and bees talk for kids.”
I grinned. “What? You mean this isn’t how you were taught?” I repeated the hand signal.
Laughing, he slapped my hands down. “No.”
“Me neither. Mother showed me with a beer bottle and a baby carrot.”
His jaw dropped.
I nodded, all serious. “I thought dicks looked like baby carrots for a very long time.”
Roman burst out laughing.
“It’s true. Not the orange color of course. But all bumpy and hairy.”
A strange sound had us both looking along the zip-line. Victor’s butt was facing us and he was pulling the zip-line over his head, dragging himself and Lydia toward us .
The strange sound was her. At least, I thought it was Lydia unless she’d somehow rescued a piglet along the way.
Roman and I stayed in our little corner as instructed, but Roman was forward as far as he could reach, clearly itching to help.
Victor arrived at our platform, and when Lydia was finally in view, she was a different woman from the one I’d last seen. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her face was red and blotchy. Her hair was a mess. Dirt-smudged tears had created grubby lines down her cheeks.
“ Ehi, Lydia, stai bene ?” Roman spoke Italian.
“Yeah, Lydia, are you okay?” I repeated in English.
Her shoulders heaved as Victor pulled her upright, unclipped her from the overhead zip-line, and tethered her to our safety wire. She and Roman strode together, gripping onto each other as if they’d just been rescued off a lifeboat after weeks at sea.
She was full-on ugly crying.
I mean, I ugly cry, but when someone as beautiful as Lydia cries like that, it takes ugly crying to a whole new level. Stepping up to her, I put my hand on her shoulder. “What happened?”
“I got fucking stuck!” she barked at me. “That’s what happened.”
Woah. Alrighty. “Okay, well. You’re here now. You’re safe.”
“Safe.” She spun her head my way. Her eyes were enormous. “Does this look fucking safe?”
I glanced left and right and instead of pointing out just how safe we were, I stepped back, leaving her and Roman to have a moment. I wasn’t sure what I’d categorize that session as being, but it was a moment all the same.
As Victor watched the zip-line, waiting for the next person, I pondered how many times he’d had to rescue people. I also wondered how many of them had had a little hissy fit like Lydia was doing. I mean, she was here now, in Roman’s arms no less, and she was still carrying on.
Roman ran his hand over her hair in the soothing strokes that he was so good at. “You’re okay. Nothing happened.”
“A . . . lot . . . happened.” She spoke between sobs, and it occurred to me that Miss Italy was a bit of an attention seeker.
I put my tour-guide hat on. After all, it was my job to ensure all my guests had a marvelous time. Stepping into Roman’s view so he could see how sympathetic I was, I lightly touched her shoulder. “Would you like to try again?”
“What? Are you an idiot?” Trembling, she pushed back from Roman, but squeezed a handful of his shirt in her fist. “I’m getting off this thing. Right, Victor?”
Victor turned to us. “Yes, once everyone is on here, I’ll take Lydia down.”
Roman gripped her bicep. “I’ll come with you.”
“No. I won’t let you.” She wildly shook her head.
“But I want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I will be okay when I get off here.”
“But—”
“I said no.” She barked her order and the way she did it, with absolute finality, convinced me she was used to getting what she wanted.
Roman raised his hands in a peace gesture and she backed away, still clutching his shirt though.
Each new person who landed on our platform asked Lydia if she was okay, and each time, she barked no at them.
I tried to give them warning with my eyes, but I was pathetic at that non-verbal facial stuff. Maybe it stemmed from my shitty childhood. Whether mother had been yelling at me or happy with me, she usually had the same expression. Drugs would do that.
Carmen was the final person to touch down and the second she did, she and Victor set about shuffling Lydia from the back of the group to the front. They opened a hatch in the door that I’d missed altogether, and Victor climbed down. “Okay, Lydia, you can do this.”
Easing onto her hands and knees, she sucked in shaky breaths. I thought she was going to make this all very difficult, but to her credit, she fed her feet, then legs into the hole and within a minute, she was gone, and Carmen had sealed the hole back over. “Right. You.” She pointed at Roman. “You’re my wingman until Victor catches us up again.”
“Sure.” Roman rubbed his hands together. “What do you need me to do?”
YAY, Roman. Our hero.
Roman stepped up, and as Carmen detailed exactly what he had to do, I watched him. It was hard to read what his thoughts were about Lydia’s little tantrum. Okay, big tantrum. But it would be interesting to see how they were tonight.
I, on the other hand, was going to carry on. I’ve finally found a sport that me and my boobs can do. And no sobbing princess is gonna ruin it for me.
After the briefing and with Carmen’s approval, Roman took off, zipping along the line until he disappeared in the distance. It seemed an eternity before Carmen’s walkie-talkie finally crackled to life.
“The eagle has landed.”
I burst out laughing at Roman’s joke and lightly punched Mitchel’s arm. “That was funny.”
Mitchel looked at me like I’d farted on him. Which I totally didn’t.
What’s wrong with everyone today?
“Okay, who’s going?—”
“Me.” I stepped forward before Carmen finished her sentence and she waved me up .
Repeating the take-off stance, I gripped the T-bar and poked my butt backward.
She hooked me up then nodded. “When you’re ready.”
I didn’t need a countdown this time. Instead, with a deep breath, I jumped as high as I could, yanked my knees up to my tits, and squealed as I took off. Trees whizzed past in a blur of green and brown, but I only had eyes for what was ahead.
When Roman appeared, I yelled, “Here I come!” And screamed with delight.
His smile was enormous as he stretched his arms out, ready to catch me. My harness snagged and as I swung in the air, Roman wrapped his arms around me, saving me.
I stood and as he unhooked and re-hooked me, I had a crazy urge to kiss him. The second he turned his attention back to me, I clutched his cheeks, pulled him down, and planted my lips on his. Just a quick little peck—nothing sexual, of course.
When we parted, he looked down at me, grinning. “What was that for?”
“For saving me.” I spread my arms. “For making me do this.” I smiled. “For everything.”
His grin was spectacular and gave me the impression he was proud of me.
Hell, I was proud of me.
He flicked his hand at me. “Get back, you naughty girl.”
I smacked his ass. “Yes, boss.”
He burst out laughing.
The rest of our afternoon involved seven more zip-lines, each one more exhilarating than the last as I grew more confident. I even did the last one without my hands on the T-bar and flying upside down. By the time we’d finished, I was utterly exhausted, but there was one more activity for today that I had every intention of using to show Roman yet another side to me.
Daisy Chayne was no longer the shy tour guide who couldn’t hold a conversation.
She was fun, and interesting, and did stuff.
Fun stuff and sexy stuff.
Tonight, was going to be both.