“And, I told you, I don’t talk unless you do.” I smiled, my lips firmly closed. “I mean, if you want to start out super slow, we could do the fun slide. I could tell you the name of the girl I had my first crush on in third grade.” I leaned back in the metal chair, watching her eyes shift with panic, excitement, curiosity, and desire.
I knew she wanted to let loose. Just like she had last night in that club. She wanted to be pulled from her comfort zone, shaken up, and made to feel alive. We all had that craving somewhere. Some of us held it deeper than others, pushing it down every time it reared its hungry head. Others, like me, we fed that hungry beast, giving it every last drop of adrenaline we could muster up.
“You weren’t exactly in your comfort zone last night,” I brought up carefully.
Her cheeks brightened, and her eyes glistened against the shimmering moonlight. She nodded in agreement.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” I asked.
It was obvious she didn’t want to respond. But just as obvious she wanted desperately to respond. That war inside of her was so evident, so fucking exciting to watch.
“Yes,” she finally answered in a whisper.
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
Her eyes glazed over with desire as her lips pursed tightly together. Yes, she trusted me. She let me handcuff her in a strange room, whip her with leathers, tease her body into submission, and fuck her delicious pussy while she moaned out my name. That wasn’t what you did with someone you didn’t trust.
“Yes,” she whispered.
I stood from my chair, extended my hand, and waited for her to accept. When her fingers stretched out, touched mine, and gripped onto me, I knew she was ready to feed her hungry beast. It had gotten a taste, and a taste was never enough.
I knew that from experience.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Katrina
Why did I agree to this?
My heels were sticking into the metal stairs, which were growing higher and higher with each step. My stomach twisted and turned, the corn dog that I'd once loved was now a hated burning in my gut I feared I might spew out all over my Louis Vuittons.
“Are you sure this is safe?” I asked, staring up into Todd’s beautiful blue eyes.
He took my hand, held it tightly, and smiled. “You really don’t like heights, do ya?”
I shook my head. Don’t like wasn’t strong enough to describe what I felt for heights. I hated them. Despised them.
The roller coaster flew by, taking the corner at speeds I couldn’t begin to calculate. I tried not to look down, but I did anyway. Oh God, I was going to be sick.
“It’s okay,” Todd whispered in my ear.
I felt foolish. There were kids behind me, in front of me, and already on the roller coaster. They couldn’t have been older than ten, some maybe younger. Here I was, a grown ass woman, ready to piss my panties as I stood in this line. I wasn’t even on the ride yet and I was already reeling with fear.
“I’m proud of you.”
His words did soothe me a bit, but not enough to make this okay. My breathing started to accelerate, my heart pounded hard against my chest, and my pussy tingled like it was growing numb.
Todd was sweet. Sweeter than I'd expected. I squeezed his strong hand, closed my eyes, and took long, deep breaths to calm my nerves. “Why are you so afraid of heights?” he asked.
My mind flashed with wicked memories of why my fear had grown out of control. It wasn’t an irrational fear like some, it had merit.
“Were you always afraid?” he asked.
I hated that word, afraid. But, it was true. I was more than afraid, I was terrified.
“No,” I managed to mutter.
“When did that change?”
I took a deep breath. “I used to go on road trips with my dad when I was younger. My mom always told me to take plenty of pictures for my scrapbook. To remember all the places I’d seen,” I started my story, suddenly feeling better with the distraction.
The line continued to move. As I spoke, it didn’t seem to bother me as badly that I was climbing higher into the sky and moving farther from the safe ground below.
“At a hotel where we stayed once, I loved looking over the railing. We were on the top floor, high above the city. It was magical. The elevators were made of glass. The hotel spiraled like a circle, so when we walked into our room in the open halls, we got to see the view of the entire city before reaching our door.”
Todd squeezed my hand. We took another step upward. The line in front of us was growing shorter. We’d be on the ride soon.
“There was a waterfall in the lobby. It looked so cool from above. From the top floor. I wanted a better picture, so I climbed on top of a planter to get the shot I wanted. A couple of drunk guys walked by, knocked into the planter, and sent me flying downward, toward the ten flights below.”
“You fell?” Todd’s eyes widened, his grip on my hand tightened.
“No. I grabbed the railing, but I couldn’t hold on. I knew I’d fall. Probably die. My dad showed up, on his belly, his hands stretched out through the railing and holding onto mine. As my fingers slipped from the metal, he grabbed me, holding me there until help arrived. He was so sweet, talking to me, keeping me calm. But I thought I was going die. I stayed calm for him, not me. I didn’t want to see him upset. I hated that look of fear in his eyes. I hated that I’d made him that scared.” I sighed, stepping up to the front of the line.
“I’m so sorry. I should’ve never pushed you. We don’t have to do this,” Todd offered, genuinely concerned, and ready to leave the long line we’d just waited in. “I won’t force you to do anything else.”
I felt a relief come over me at his offer to let me off the hook. The coaster screeched to a halt in front of us. I watched as people exited, all excited and smiling. “No,” I said.
“I want to do this. I need to.”
His eyes filled with admiration, and his smile grew wider than I’d ever seen. “I’m so proud of you right now.”
I was proud of myself too.
I stepped onto the coaster, sliding into the deep seat. Todd climbed in beside me, pulled down the heavy bar to our lap before ensuring it was locked in place. The worker pulled on it to double-check, quickly making his way down all the cars. The tracks cleared, the worker hit a button inside a small box, and we were off.
The hill was higher than I’d imagined. My stomach churned, my body tensed. I screamed out with both fear and excitement as we dropped down the hill. It felt like we were flying, and I was terrified every second of the way down. The coaster whipped around corners, climbed more hills, and then dropped again and again. By the time the ride stopped, my throat was sore, my knuckles were aching from gripping the metal bar so tightly, and my stomach felt as though I would puke. But, I didn’t. I made it. I survived, and that was exhilarating.
My body raced with adrenaline as we exited the ride. Todd gripped onto my hand, pulled me into him, and held me close to his chest. His heart was beating so hard, so fast. “You amaze me, Kat,” he whispered.