Page 28 of Memories with Fire

Naturally, the worst of it came when I stumbled into the bathroom, still feeling half drunk, and eyed the porcelain I’d hugged.

“Ugh,” I groan to myself as the humiliation washes over me anew. I hate myself for the shots I took.

If I’d had just a little bit of self-control, I would have simply walked away, found someone to talk to, and forgotten Luke was even there. Or I would have just kept my mouth shut and given him the cold shoulder. Something. Anything.

Stopping at the door that seems like a safety net between walking my path of shame, and staying on the other side of it, I look through the window, taking it all in. I’d rather know what to expect versus charging straight ahead.

A coffee kiosk and snack concession to the right, picnic tables to the left. The trail straight out the door leading to the other thing that has had my stomach swimming with nerves all morning. The aerial ropes course.

The walking death trap.

Everyone always tries to convince me that it’s safe, but I want nothing to do with hanging bridges and rope obstacles, suspended a million feet in the air, where I need to go from one platform to another. I know if something happened, I’d be surrounded by the best people to help in a dire situation—my team—but even they can’t work miracles if someone falls and snaps their neck.

My eyes slide to the picnic benches. Luke sits on top of one, his back to me, elbows on his knees, in a conversation with the rest of the guys. Liam, Brody, and Shawn all stand in a semi-circle around him, facing the building, something causing them all to laugh as Luke tells a story.

Oh god. What if he’s telling them about my drunken night?

“What are we looking at?” A voice, unexpected and sudden, says in my ear.

Screaming, I nearly come out of my skin, jumping at the abrupt intrusion. The fright has me stumbling straight into the door, which opens with my weight against it. I try to catch myself. I really do. But the door is opening too quickly, and my forward momentum has me falling without anything to grab. One second, I’m upright, and the next I’m hitting the ground and rolling.

I really, really hope that I look like some kind of action movie star, but I have a feeling I look more like someone who would win on a TV show for funniest video.

There’s a moment of complete silence all around me—I don’t think the chipmunks even breathe—and then the damn hyenas erupt. Laughter from the picnic benches. Laughter from the doorway. I’m pretty sure even the damn chipmunks are laughing.

“Oh my god,” Quinn says through wheezing gasps. “Are you okay?”

From my place on the ground, I glare up at her in the doorway. The embarrassment is there, striking hot and deep, but anger overrides it.

“Really, Quinn?” I hiss at her, jumping up as quickly as I can, the humiliation settling in. “Did you need to do that?”

“What? I only asked a question,” Quinn says, looking over me at the picnic area. A grin so wide I’m positive it can’t get any bigger, suddenly gets bigger on her face. “Ah, I see what we were looking at. A certain blond firefighter, perhaps?”

Dusting myself off, I scowl at her. “Shut up.”

“You hurt?” the one voice in the group I don’t want to hear calls.

The group of men are still trying to control themselves. Brody and Shawn have mostly recovered, but Liam is in stitches. I’d bet he saw the whole thing happen. The only one not laughing is Luke. His eyes are trained on me, his brows furrowed.

“Fine,” I grind out, wishing I could go back inside to disappear. Wishing this whole day wasn’t a thing in the first place. Silently, I curse Nate for his stupid bonding experiences.

“Ladies,” says the man from my thoughts, coming up behind Quinn. Nate looks between the two of us. “Let’s not block the exit, yeah?”

Somehow I manage to refrain from giving him a death stare, and move forward with Quinn, who goes straight to the group of men standing around. Of course. I follow a few steps behind her, with Nate on my heels along with one of the staff from Tree Toppers, who, at a quick glance, is already suited up for the aerial course.

Though I don’t look at him again, I can feel Luke’s eyes on me. I can’t help but wonder if he’s thinking of the other night, and all the embarrassing moments I had. Shame starts at the top of my head and slowly slides down the length of my spine, continuing until it reaches my toes.

“Okay,” Nate says, clapping his hands together. “I want you in pairs. Brody and Quinn, Liam and Luke, Shawn you’re with me.”

Wrapping my arms around myself as everyone starts shuffling about, my stomach sinks when Luke says, “Wait, what about Hailey?”

Everyone, Nate included, chuckles. My cheeks flush deeper with humiliation. The crew all know that I’m risk averse. That this place scares the hell out of me. My dad fell to his death, and while I do understand that he wasn’t safety harnessed the way he should have been while on a roof, heights and falling are at the top of my fear list. It’s why I always hated the Double Drop at the Boardwalk, and why my friends were all shocked that Luke got me on it.

“Hailey doesn’t do this,” Liam says, waving at the course. “Between her dad, and her accident, she’s deemed this too dangerous.”

“Accident? Too dangerous?” Luke repeats, shock evident in his voice. “We’re harnessed in.”

The way they talk like I’m not standing ten feet away from them irritates the hell out of me. And when I glance over to tell them to both knock it off, I meet Luke’s eyes and can see all the questions in the green-blue depths. Out here, with all the redwoods surrounding us, they look more green.

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