Page 56 of Shielding Lexi (Temptation)

“It’ll be okay,” the man next to me says, a wide grin on his face as he straps his backpack into place. “Weren’t you at practice? This isn’t the hard part. The hard part’s going to be looking for food.”

“Practice? Hunting for food?”

The woman slides open the door on the opposite side of the plane and my head begins to spin as heavy wind blows past us, and below us nothing but clear blue ocean.

“I’m sorry,” I say again, unmoving in my seat, my buckle still securely fastened. “This is a major mistake. I’m not supposed to be here!” I holler toward the blonde woman who’s guiding other jumpers out of the plane one by one. Each of them is less scared than the one before, as though they’re enjoying this, as though this is what they live for.

Why is this happening? How did I end up here? Maybe if I just stay in place, they’ll take me to wherever I was supposed to go.

“Ma’am!” I shout, as loud as I can manage.

“Sara?” a man says from behind me. The voice is deep and comforting, but I’m too scared to turn. “What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were going home?”

Is it really him? Is it Brad? I want to turn, but I don’t want to be wrong. I’ve been wrong about so many things today.

Slowly, I twist back in my seat until his body comes into view. It’s him. It’s really him. I stand and wrap my arms around his neck, holding him close until my brain comprehends how real he is.

“I got on the wrong plane,” I say. “What are you doing here?” Wind whips in from the side, as another jumper heads off the plane.

“We’re on this show… my buddies and me. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but they made us sign all these confidentiality waivers. It’s—”

“You’re next,” the woman barks toward Brad. “Let’s go…”

Brad ignores her and holds my body against his. “What are you going to do? Are you staying on board?”

“I can’t jump,” I say, a faint nausea waving through me. “I’ll die.”

He smiles. “Well, I wouldn’t let you die…”

“Now!” the woman barks again, but Brad keeps ignoring her.

“What if you jumped with me and we figured things out from there? I could talk to the producer. They had a girl pull out this morning. Maybe this is fate… you need the money and—”

“You have three seconds, or you forfeit the competition. We can’t keep hovering here,” the woman yells, her blue eyes narrowed.

I look toward Brad, my entire body shaking as I take his hand, strap on the backpack, and edge toward the side of the plane. The wind whips past us as we look down into the turquoise abyss, his arms locked around my waist.

“You ready?” he asks, his eyes locked with mine.

My stomach is trembling, my heart is racing, and I’m not sure my brain has really processed what’s happening, but there’s no turning back. Ahead of me is a chance at a million dollars and a few more nights snuggled up with Brad… so I squeeze my eyes closed and jump.

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