Page 52 of One Night in Paris

“No, stay here.”

She turned and looked at me, and I could see in her eyes she was really scared about all of this. I wanted her close to me so that I could make sure she was all right.

By then, Trevor realized that sitting in the back seat meant that he got to sit by the beautiful single woman, so he got in with no more fuss and said, “How’s it going, babe?” to Kylee in a voice that made her laugh.

For the rest of the ride to the skydiving school, Trevor talked about how sick this was going to be, and the rest of us gave little grunts and murmurs of agreement but didn’t really talk. I was worried about Harper, and Harper was worried about dying. What Kylee was thinking, I didn’t know.

At the school, I pulled into a spot and put the SUV in park. Trevor practically broke through the door, he was so excited, and Kylee was laughing as she went around to catch up with him. But I took a moment to check on Harper. “You okay?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I think so. I’m sorry. It’s just… this seems different than bungee jumping to me. I’m not sure why.”

“I understand,” I told her, and I did. I had been the one freaking out at the bungee jumping place. “We all have irrational fears from time to time.”

“Irrational?” Her eyes widened, and I could tell by her tone that I’d offended her. “Logan, we’re going to jump out of an airplane. That’s not irrational.”

“You’ll have a parachute with a safety chute, as well as the instructor attached to you, Harper. It’s perfectly safe.”

Looking into her eyes, I could see that she wasn’t buying it, but she nodded. Together, we got out of the vehicle and entered the school.

Six other people were with us to make the jump today. I’d been in huge groups of thirty or more, and sometimes it was just me and Trevor.

The owner was there, as he usually was when we came in. “Hey, Logan. Nice to see you.” Kurt offered me his hand, and I shook it. He’d already greeted Trevor, who was talking to one of the instructors.

“Nice to see you, too. This is my friend, Harper.” I gestured at her, and she meekly stuck out her hand, greeting him.

“Nice to meet you, Harper. We’re glad you’re here. Have you ever jumped before?” His smile was friendly. I hoped it would set her at ease, but she still looked petrified.

“N-no,” Harper stammered.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll have a great time. We take great care with all of our clients here at Touch the Sky. If you need anything at all, just ask any member of our staff.”

We both thanked him, and he dismissed himself. It looked like the instructors were about to start, so we took our seats next to Kylee and Trevor.

The instructor who led the safety discussion was one I’d jumped with before. Tony was an energetic guy who really lovedjumping. He also went into a lot of detail about every aspect of what we’d be doing.

Perhaps it was too much detail.

“The likelihood of your primary chute not opening is slim to none,” he said.

Looking at Harper, I hoped to see her at ease.

“However, if it happens, remember that we’ll have a secondary chute,” the instructor continued. “Most of the time, that one will open.”

“And if it doesn’t?” someone asked, laughing.

“Well, then… you’ll probably be a few inches shorter when you go home.”

Everyone chuckled, but I could tell by Harper’s face she didn’t think the joke was funny. Before I knew what was happening, Harper got out of her chair and darted out of the room. I thought I saw tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Mr. Winters, I’m so sorry,” the instructor said, looking embarrassed and apologetic.

“No, it’s okay,” I assured him. “She’s just a bit nervous. I’ll go talk to her.”

Without a second thought, I got up and chased after her, seeing her pushing through the door to go outside just as I rounded the corner.

Harper had helped me when I was scared, and I’d ended up loving the bungee jump. I needed to do the same for her.

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