Page 15 of Plus Size Player

“Did her form say she wasn’t?”

“Well, no. B-but she looks—”

Russ stepped up. “I’d tread very lightly before finishing that sentence if I were you.”

“She’s beautiful.” He turned to me. “You’re beautiful. My wife is also a bit heavy. So I meant no disrespect. It’s just that people lie about their weight, and it’s my job to make sure the aircraft doesn’t exceed the maximum weight of two hundred seventy-five pounds per person.” His phone rang and he pointed to it. “It’s my supervisor.” He answered the phone, and I could see the defeated look on his face and the change in his tone. “Yes, sir. Okay. Yeah. Yes. Okay.”

“Are you okay?” Russ asked me. “I’m sorry he’s on some dumb shit.”

I shook my head. “I’m fine. He just took me by surprise, that’s all. I’m cool. I mean, he basically told me I was going to bring the helicopter down.”

His eyes darkened. “He said that shit?”

“No, no.” I fanned the thought away. “I was exaggerating. But he did come with that energy though.”

“Well, first and foremost, that’s some bullshit. Second, I would never put you in a situation that wasn’t safe,” he assured me.

“This is an amazing date idea. Even with his”—I gestured to the employee—“bullshit, I’m excited about this.”

“Have you ever done this before?”

I shook my head. “Never.” I reflected on why I hadn’t ever done it and the weight restriction crossed my mind. “You called and told them how much I weighed?” I wondered.

“I read the guidelines, so I called and asked some questions. No big deal.”

“But how did you know what I weighed?”

“I guessed. I know how it feels when I pick you up. I know how it feels when I pick up weights at the gym. I did some quick math.” He shrugged. “I knew you weren’t at the max, so I called and talked to the owner of the company.”

“Oh, wow.”

I was impressed.

Before I could say more, the employee cleared his throat. He refused to make eye contact as he beckoned to us. “You two are cleared. Let me introduce you to your pilot. Follow me.”

“Let me get your name,” Russ requested. “I want to make sure your supervisor knows the type of bullshit you’re on.”

Staring up at Russ, I’d never wanted him more.

After a brief introduction, the pilot launched into a safety overview of what to do and not to do. Once he answered our questions and felt confident that we understood the directions he had for us, we followed him to the helipad. I took everything in, and excitement ran through my entire body as we approached.

“You ready for this?” Russ asked me.

“Absolutely.”

“Let’s do it.”

The noise-canceling headphones were slipped over my head, and then I was strapped into my seat, Russ next to me. We had a shoulder harness and a lap belt connecting us to the backseat. I tried to move around, and while the straps had enough give that I could lean to the left or right to see out of the windows, I was securely in my seat. It gave me peace of mind knowing that I wasn’t going anywhere. The pilot got himself situated on the right side of the helicopter—right in front of me.

“Are you ready for the ride of your life?” the pilot asked, his voice sounding different in the headset.

“Yes,” we said in unison.

“We’re going to be traveling about one thousand feet above ground, so the views of the sunset over the city will be incredible. Get your phones out and take as many pictures as you’d like. You can talk to each other freely through the headset. Hit the red button to get my attention and I’ll switch to your channel. Otherwise, I’ll be back and forth between being on your channel and being on the channel with the control center. Neither of you are afraid of heights, correct?” He waited for us to confirm before he continued. “Because there’s a mute button if you start screaming. The entire trip will take about fifteen minutes, but it’ll feel like longer if this is your first time. Any questions before we begin?”

“No,” we said in unison.

We looked at each other, and I felt like my cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. I gripped the seat belt straps and closed my eyes to say a quick prayer.

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