“For the record,” she says quietly, “I think this is a terrible idea.”
“Be ready to catch her! Three . . . Two . . . One . . .”
It feels like we’re playing human bowling as Emilia and I launch poor Maya in the direction of the guys a little too enthusiastically. Thankfully, they catch and squish her against them to keep her on the platform. There is physically no more room for people and I’m not sure how we’re supposed to do this.
“Get on someone’s shoulders, Maya!” Emilia shouts. Russ and Clay hold Maya’s arms and help Xander move her onto his shoulders, once again creating a tiny bit of space for another person. Emilia nudges me lightly, something she can do now there’s a tiny bit more space. “You next.”
“Absolutely not. You next.”
Xander is once again looking at the other groups. “Aurora, as much as you think you’re not, you are tall enough to jump.” If he thinks I’m more qualified because I’m five foot seven to Emilia’s five foot three, he clearly doesn’t know she’s capable of leaping across a stage like a freaking gazelle. “Emilia, I have an idea, do you trust us?”
“Not even a little bit,” Emilia calls back. I shake my head too, trying not to smirk when Xander immediately looks irritated.
“Can you learn to trust us in the next five seconds? Jump forward with your arms out. Like you’re diving to catch a baseball.”
“Do I seem like the type of person who knows anything about baseball?” she snaps.
I’m laughing before I’ve even said what I want to say. “You know a lot about third base . . .”
“No! No! No!”
I manage to stay on the platform by clinging to Emilia, even though she’s the one trying to push me off, much to the horror of our teammates and their screams.
“Jesus Christ this is stressful,” Clay groans. “Arms out, Emilia. Me and Russ will grab your hands and pull you over, you just need to get far enough for us to reach you.”
“I hate you for convincing me to come here,” she mumbles before setting herself at the edge of the platform with her arms out. To Xander’s credit, it works perfectly and within a few seconds Emilia is across and sitting on Clay’s shoulders.
There’s no way that Clay can help pull me across with Emilia on his shoulders, which means I’m really going to have to jump. The urge to just step off the platform and make us lose is overwhelming. “I’m scared,” I yell, trying and failing to visualize myself being able to cover the distance. There’s a lot more room now I’m over here on my own, but it’s not enough for me to have a run up before jumping.
“You can do it, Rory,” Emilia shouts from above Clay. “Please do it quickly though, I think I’m developing a fear of heights.”
“I don’t think I can . . .”
“Aurora,” Russ says softly, shuffling so his body is the one closest to the last space on the platform. “Look at me. You can do it, you just need to jump toward my arms and I’ll catch you, okay?”
“What if you fall?”
“Then we’ll fall together.” He smiles at me and my heart bashes brutally against my chest like the traitor she is. We’re supposed to not be caring about anything, remember? “And Xander can be pissed at both of us.”
“I will be pissed at both of you,” he grumbles.
“Ignore him, just look at me,” Russ says. “I believe in you. Take a deep breath, I’m going to count down from three and then I want you to jump as far as you can.”
“And you’ll catch me?”
“I promise I’ll catch you. Three . . . Two . . .”
He leans forward with his arms out and I zone out when he reaches one, instead concentrating on launching my body toward his. His hands are on my arms almost immediately, dragging me forward until I hit his chest.
“Brown Bears! Thirty seconds to be the winners,” Orla announces through her megaphone.
“Nobody fucking move,” Xander snaps.
I wiggle my arms free from the position they’re locked in against Russ’s chest, but he doesn’t loosen his grip on me and my body stays flush against his, keeping us both on the platform. He smells like clean laundry, sandalwood and vanilla and when I look up toward his face, his eyes are shut tight and he’s quietly muttering names of hockey teams.
And then I feel it against my stomach and his hold on me finally loosens, but it’s too late.