Page 62 of Nitro

“Right. Well, we had a slight plane malfunction, but that was an older model. We upgraded a decade ago. Everything’s ship-shape now.”

“What happened during your lastincident?” Holly asks.

“Oh, unfortunately, there were a few casualties.” The receptionist leans in conspiratorially before continuing, “But we don’t like to talk about that. It’s all in the past now.”

“Nitro,” Holly narrows her gaze at me.

“You can still pull out,” I tell her.

“I thought we had a rule, no pulling out.” She smirks.

“We’re not in bed right now, kitten. That’s the only place that rule applies.”

“You guys are so cute! When did you get married? Are you on your honeymoon?”

“Not yet,” I say, mostly just to test Holly’s reaction. I have no idea if she’d even want to get married again to anyone, let alone me.

“No.” Holly cocks her head and gives me a questioning look.

“You can always come back and get married in the sky. We sell wedding packages.”

“If I ever get married again, it’s going to be on terra firma,” Holly says.

“A skydiving wedding. Now that’s something I could get behind.” I scribble my signature on the forms and hand them back. Holly does the same.

“Head out to the yellow-striped plane. Your crew is waiting.”

We find two men already suited up. They introduce themselves as Mike and Jackson. They’re both in their thirties, old enough to be experienced but young enough to still stick the landing. I approve.

“First, we’re going to have you watch a safety video,” Mike says.

“Then we’ll get you geared up and onto the plane,” Jackson says.

“After that, it’s go time.”

“Unless it’snotime,” Holly mutters under her breath. I didn’t realize she was still considering backing out. I’m proud of how brave she’s being. This can’t be easy for someone unaccustomed to taking risks.

We watch the video then get into tandem harnesses with our partners. I’m jumping with Mike while Holly’s jumping with Jackson. I don’t particularly like the idea of some other dude being on her back, but he’s certified for this shit. I’m not. Still, I’ve got my eye on him. If he gets handsy I’ll have to kick his ass.

“Once we’re in the plane, we’ll fly up to 13,500 ft and get ready to jump.”

“You’re going to have to push me out,” Holly says to Jackson.

“The worst part is getting out of the plane. After that, it will be the most exhilarating time of your life. First, there will be about forty-five seconds to a minute of free-fall time. And then under canopy, it’s about five to seven minutes of floating time.”

“Before we smash into the ground,” Holly says.

“Land like graceful butterflies,” Jackson says, winking at her.

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“When we’re about to land, I’ll tell you to put your legs out at a ninety-degree angle. Then I’ll yell ‘stand up’ when it’s time.”

“Maybe you should call Nina and have her take a life insurance policy out on us,” Holly says to me.

“I already have one.”

“Oh my God, what the hell?” Holly’s hands fly to her hips, and she gives me her best death glare. She’s so cute, even when she’s angry.