Page 35 of Something Blue

“Of course, but—”

She moved forward, and Captain Jack hooked her into the harness. He gestured for Andy to join her. He was all too aware of how close they were as Jack hooked them together and then attached the parasail to the back of his harness so that it fell behind them.

“Put your arms around her waist,” Captain Jack said, taking Andy by his arms and wrapping them around Sadie. “And the two of you step backward toward the edge of the boat. When I start up the boat, Dan will make sure the rope pulls you up, and then you will step back off the boat and fall back into the air.”

“F-fall back?” Sadie said. She looked back at them with a trembling look. “What if we fall in the water?”

“The rope will pull you tight, but the water might get your toes.”

“Toes?” She sighed. “Okay, I can do that.”

“When it’s time to come down, the parasail will lower and drop you in the water.”

Sadie gasped, but the captain continued talking without noticing. “It’ll take me a minute to flip around, and then you’ll swim to the back of the boat and climb in. Easy peasy.”

“Yeah, right,” Sadie muttered under her breath.

And with that, Captain Jack returned to the wheel and took off. He gestured to his partner, and suddenly, the rope pulled at both of them.

“Step back,” Dan said to them.

It was a good thing Andy was in the back or else she might not have moved an inch. He held her tightly and took a gigantic step backward. Sadie screamed as his one foot felt the back of the boat and the other one splashed against the water. And then they were up, higher and higher every second.

“We’re gonna die! I’m gonna die in the middle of the ocean!”

Andy chuckled and patted her back. “We’re fine. Are your eyes closed?”

“You bet.”

“Well, open them. We didn’t pay all that money for you not to see this view. The ocean looks amazing from up here.” He watched her look down. “Are you okay?” he asked Sadie. “You’re not saying anything.”

Her hand slipped around his and squeezed. “This is really amazing. I’m still scared to death, but this is so cool!”

A smile grew on his face, and he whooped for joy. “That-a-girl! Way to be strong.”

The strap tightened around their harness as they reached the highest they would go. And then they floated above everything. Andy looked over Sadie’s shoulder at the many resorts that lined the beach. Tiny toy boats bopped around below them.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. Still, he heard every word clearly.

“It feels like we’re the only ones here.”

She looked around and laughed. “We are the only ones here.”

He squeezed her hand. “You know what I mean. It’s nice. Just the two of us.”

“It is nice. Thanks for helping me be brave.”

After another minute, the parasail started dropping. It was a slow descent that pulled at the straps around them.

“Look, there’s the resort,” Sadie said. “And Chase.”

Andy looked to where she was pointing and deflated. Even from far away, he recognized the guy’s prison-orange board shorts. And he was looking right at them. “Well, at least they know you can do it!”

“Yes, I can! Wait until we rub it in their faces.”

Andy smiled at the thought.

As they crawled closer to the water, Sadie’s bravery seemed to sink like an anchor. “What if a shark comes? Or a jellyfish? Destin has tons of them.”

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