Wilson Mooney Eighteen at Last by Gretchen de la O Read Free Book Online

not a big deal; I just thought
it would be an exciting way to celebrate your eighteenth
birthday.”
    As he wrapped his arms around me I
could feel his need to make me feel loved on my birthday. It was
his attempt to surprise me, and here I was letting my fear ruin a
memorable moment.
    “ No, you don’t need to
rent a car—I love it.” The words lodged in my windpipe as I spoke.
I tugged at his shirt, waiting for him to lead me over to the
frightening bird. He didn’t move.
    “ Are you sure you’re okay
with this?” His hands swayed in the air toward the pilot and
helicopter.
    I swallowed. “Yeah, Max, I am. Now
come on, let’s get out of here.” I caught his hand and tried to
pull him toward me. He smiled and yanked me back to his
chest.
    “ Happy Birthday, Wilson.”
He leaned down and kissed me. His lips, sweetened by his words,
were as reassuring as the sun’s warm beams on a brisk winter
morning.
    Max brushed his lips across my
forehead before leading me to the helicopter. I couldn’t believe
he’d been able to pull this off. Little did he know that getting me
into the death trap was going to be a whole separate challenge—he
didn’t know how grippingly terrified I was of heights.
     

Chapter Five
     
    It only took the
helicopter pilot pulling his headphones up from around his neck and
flicking switches to get my heart racing and my blood pumping
violently through my body. I chanted—okay I screamed in my head—to
myself to suck it up and quit being a
baby . Max noticed and snatched my hand.
Funny, he didn’t even react to the apparent dampness that
accompanied my grip.
    The propellers struggled as they began
to build the momentum they needed to lift us from the ground. The
deafening whine of the motor and the thumping rhythm of the blades
as they sliced through the thick Denver air were menacing. Max
pulled on his headphones before pointing to the set that hung just
above my head. I slipped them against my ears, working to make sure
my hair was tucked behind the big cushy part that protected my
hearing.
    The rails of the helicopter scraped
and dragged across the tarmac before we began to ascend toward the
heavens. Fear swelled in my heart and clutched the bubble of panic
that clogged my chest and robbed my breath. My hand tightened
around Max’s and I felt him squeeze back.
    Suddenly, there was nothing but blue
sky enveloping us and the burden of the hammering blades that kept
us afloat. Lines of sweat trickled and itched down the back of my
neck. I couldn’t force myself to look down out the peek-a-boo
window by my feet. I felt the same fear that had encompassed me
when I was on the ski-lift with Wayne. The helicopter’s back and
forth movements, the wind that rambled and shook the bolts holding
plastic to metal—all caused me to drink shallowly from the stagnant
air in our delicate bubble we occupied, hovering in the
sky.
    Max must have noticed how freaked I
was when I grabbed the charm of my necklace and slid it ritually
back and forth along it’s chain; or maybe it was the shade of white
that flushed across my skin and made me look like a corpse. Either
way, he unsnapped his five-harness seatbelt and slid close to
me.
    “ You okay?” he shouted. I
couldn’t answer him. I tried, but I couldn’t voice the words that
filled my head with the terror of falling out of the sky. He rested
his hand on my knee before sliding it up across my thigh. The
warmth of his touch began to wrestle my fears back to the unsettled
place they’d come from. I was able to force a smile. I guess it was
enough—he nodded and started to point out landmarks below us the
size of nickels and dimes. I tried to focus, but the idea of
looking down at what we could possibly crash-land into just didn’t
sit right with me. At least in a plane you have the chance of
surviving—hell, maybe even walking away—but in a helicopter…I just
couldn’t find the ability to feel safe.
    When the helicopter jolted and dropped
in