Always Loving You (Danvers #6)(46)
“Hey,” Suzy said quietly, “listen to me. I know you’re all up in your head right now. Trust me, I recognize the signs. I’m not going to force you to see this through. But I will promise you this: I’ll be with you every step of the way. I won’t leave your side. We don’t have to parasail today. We can just hang out. No one is going to bother you; I’ll make sure of that.”
Ava studied her new friend for a minute, seeing nothing but sincerity in her eyes. If there had been one ounce of pity, Ava would have collapsed, but somehow Suzy’s strength fueled her own. She really looked at her surroundings for the first time, seeing other women on the beach dressed just as she was. She didn’t stick out here. No one was looking at her; she was just another face in the crowd. Releasing the breath she hadn’t been aware of holding, she gave a nod of agreement and a tentative smile of reassurance. “I—okay. Can we just watch other people do the parasailing before I commit, though?”
Doing a little victory dance, Suzy threw an arm around her shoulders. “Hell yeah, we can. If we’re being all honest and stuff, I almost pissed my pants the first time I tried it, so I’m all for taking baby steps. Most important thing is that we’re actually considering it, right? Big points for that! Hey, by the way, what was Mac’s reaction to your sext today?”
Ava felt her face go up in flames as she looked around to make sure no one was listening before saying, “He said to be at his house at eight . . . with no panties.”
“No, he didn’t!” Suzy all but shouted. “I bet you don’t make it as far as the bedroom tonight before he jumps your bones! That man probably hasn’t been able to think of anything else all day. You go, girl.”
Next, Ava did something she would never have thought possible while being scantily dressed in public: she let loose a full-belly laugh and felt years of repression start to lighten from her shoulders. She’d had sex, walked on a public beach in a bikini, and done her first ever sext—all in one week—with only minor moments of panic. After so many years of almost giving up on herself, she was getting her life back, and in that moment, she felt like a carefree teenager again. Fun, fearless, and ready to take on the world.
Without stopping to overthink it, she pulled a now-worried Suzy up to the sign advertising parasailing before it hit her. “I didn’t bring any money!” Maybe it was divine intervention, but she didn’t want to stop now. She had been determined to see this through without letting her fears win.
Suzy looked at her disappointed expression before cursing under her breath. In a move that made the young man taking the money gawk, Suzy stuck a hand into her swimsuit top and pulled out some bills. “I know I’m going to regret this, but if you’re all set to go for it, then I’ve got your back.” The poor guy seemed to struggle not to swallow his tongue as he took the hundred-dollar bill from Suzy’s outstretched hand. When he was finally able to get it together enough to return her change, he motioned for one of the thankfully older men on the beach to help them into the boat.
One man drove the boat while the other hooked them in their harnesses and then helped them onto the flight deck. The man handling the equipment explained that they would be launched and retrieved using a hydraulic winch. Ava was relieved to know that they wouldn’t suddenly catapult into the water. When the winch started to launch them into the air, she felt her stomach drop to her feet. “Oh my God, why did I let you talk me into this?” she screamed over at Suzy.
“What! I was happy to stay on the ground! I told you that we’d take baby steps today. That meant walk around and think about doing this shit, but not actually do it!” Suddenly, they both looked down, realizing that the boat was now only a small speck in the distance. “Oh, holy f*ck-a-moly! Remember what I said about pissing my pants? Well, it may just happen this time!”
For Ava, that was all it took. Hearing Suzy curse and toss out threats along with the adrenaline rush of doing something so completely crazy was enough to make her snap. Instead of the panic that she would normally feel, though, she started laughing. Tears rolled down her face, and she could barely breathe, but she only laughed harder. She had well and truly lost her mind this time, but in a good way. She threw her hands up into the air and started to squeal between bouts of mad laughter. “Ahhh, yayyy!” she screamed over and over. After a few minutes, she noticed someone echoing her crazy yells and turned to see Suzy doing something similar. They looked at each other, grinning like idiots.
“Girl, you are crazy!” Suzy gasped out. “Everyone within a five-mile radius can probably hear us, but who in the hell cares? This is the bomb!”
When the guy below hoisted them in, he was grinning at them, trying hard to suppress his own laughter. “Sounds like you ladies had a good time.”
Instead of shying away and waiting for Suzy to answer, Ava gave him a thumbs-up. “It was off-the-charts! We’ll definitely be back, right, Suzy?”
Suzy gave a small thumbs-up in return before slumping back against the boat seat. “Ur—yeah, I’m afraid we will.”
After that, they took a leisurely walk on the beach, laughing over how crazy they had sounded before heading back toward Suzy’s house. Ava had expected to see Mac there and was disappointed when Gray said that he had already left.
At Suzy’s insistence, she left her swimsuit on but borrowed a T-shirt to throw on over it. It did seem crazy to put her work clothes back on after being on the beach. It wasn’t exactly sexy lingerie, but still she hoped that Mac would like it.