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boyfriend had up his sleeve next. They were standing in
an open field, and he had made her cover her eyes and
promise not to peek.
Molly and Eureka were looking better and better
with each passing minute.
 Don t look until I tell you to, Paul announced.
Great, another order, she thought.
 I don t really like surprises, remember?
Cordelia bit her lip after she d said that. If this had
been Jake, maybe she would have been revved up for
this. But he d taken off by himself earlier that morning
to rent a bike and do his own tour of the park.
 You ll like this one, I promise.
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Getting Lost with Boys
Suddenly, there was an incredibly strong gust of
wind that almost knocked Cordelia on her butt. A
whirring sound became louder and louder as the air
whipped through her Anthropologie ruffled miniskirt
like a tornado.
 What s going on? she screamed above the deafen-
ing noise.
 Okay, open your eyes! Paul shouted back.
Cordelia was in a state of sheer panic when she saw a
helicopter landing a few yards away from them.
 It s a new thing we re trying out. Tourists love the
helicopter rides over the Grand Canyon, so why not
over Yosemite? It hasn t officially started yet, but I know
the pilot, and he agreed to take us up, he yelled.
She choked back the taste of bile that was creeping up
the back of her throat. When she found her voice, she
shrieked,  Are you crazy? I M AFRAID OF FLYING!
Paul screeched into her ear,  I know. This is exactly
what you need, Cordy. Thirty minutes in a helicopter with me
holding your hand. You ll get over your fear, and when you go
back to San Diego from Eureka, you ll be able to take a plane!
The propeller kept whizzing above Cordelia s head.
She could barely think straight.  I can t do this, Paul. I m
serious. Call it off, okay?
But Paul continued to smile knowingly.  Cordelia,
listen to me. Fear is what traps people and keeps them from
achieving their true potential.
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Hailey Abbott
Her mind flashed back to the other day, when Jake
had told her how Molly worried about her little sister.
Maybe Paul was right. Maybe he knew her better than
she knew herself.
 Going on this ride is the best way to deal with your fear of
flying, he continued at full volume.  You can t spend your
life like this. Think of what you ll miss out on.
It was eerie hearing Paul utter almost the exact same
phrasing that Jake had used seventy-two hours ago.
 Hey, what s going on?
Cordelia turned to see Jake leaping off his bike and
running toward them.
 Don t worry about it, Jake! I have everything under con-
trol! Paul shouted.
Jake glanced at Cordelia, who was visibly shaking.
Her hands trembled and her teeth chattered. She looked
as if someone had thrown her in a blender.  She has a
really bad fear of flying, man. You re not thinking of taking her
up in this thing?
 It ll be fine, Paul yelled, and reached out for her
hand.  Let s go, Cordy.
Cordelia s eyes began to fog over, so much so that
she couldn t tell Jake from Paul. She just wobbled along
behind whoever was yanking her arm and prayed that a
bolt of lightning would strike the helicopter and the
insanity would stop.
But something even better happened.
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Getting Lost with Boys
As Paul pushed Cordelia into the backseat of the
cockpit, Jake hopped in next to her.
 I m right here, Cordy. We re going to do this together,
okay? he said as he laced his fingers in between hers.
Cordelia s heart lodged in her throat. She couldn t
say much of anything except for something that
sounded like,  Gurgle.
Paul jammed himself in next to Jake without much
of an argument. But when he saw that Jake was hold-
ing Cordelia s hand, he seemed very annoyed.  Take
her up, Bob.
The pilot gave the crew a big thumbs-up, and sud-
denly Cordelia felt the helicopter rising off the ground.
Her head began to spin as quickly as the propellers.
Maybe I can get through this alive. It s just mind over mat-
ter. Concentrate. No, don t concentrate. Let your thoughts drift
away; pretend it s not happening. Wait, be zen. No, don t be
zen. Don t be here now; be somewhere else in my head.
 Hey, are you (something incoherent)? You just went
(something garbled)!
She wasn t even sure who was talking. Could be Paul
or Jake, or maybe it was the pilot. Her hearing was get-
ting as fuzzy as her vision. However, when she looked
out the window, she was able to see that they were about
a hundred feet off the ground. Immediately, her chest
tightened as if she were having a heart attack.
 No, no, no&  Wait, was that her voice?
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Hailey Abbott
She thought she heard Paul.  Cordelia, you can handle
this! Stay centered.
 Dude, she s freaking out. That was Jake, probably.
 We have to land this thing.
She wanted to agree with whoever that was, but she
couldn t speak. Her teeth were chattering so much that
all she could do was moan.
 Cordelia, be strong, she heard Paul say, but she was
sure she felt Jake s arms holding her tightly.
 That s enough, Jake said.  Bob, could you bring us back
down?
 No! She needs to do this; it s good for her, Paul snapped.
 Can t you see that she s terrified? Jake said boldly.
 Take us down, now!
Cordelia didn t remember what happened after that,
but the second the helicopter touched down and the
pilot cut the engine, her mental faculties began to return
to her. Jake picked her up and carried her out into the
field. She held on to his neck very firmly, and he
whispered into her ear:  I got you.
If she d had any energy whatsoever, she would have
kissed him.
Then all of a sudden Jake faked these wheezing noises,
like he was out of breath. His knees buckled and they
both came crumbling to the ground. Cordelia rolled a lit-
tle bit in the grass, and Jake fell flat on his back.
 God, you re heavy. I m surprised the helicopter
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Getting Lost with Boys
could even take off, he said while reaching over and
poking her in the stomach.
It was kind of a mean joke, but when Cordelia saw
the endearing look on Jake s face, she smiled. Then her
smile turned into a giggle, which transformed into a
series of laughs that were accompanied by the hiccups.
Jake began laughing, too, and before long, he was in
tears himself.
Paul appeared on the scene and peered down at them
as they grabbed at their sides and gasped for air.
 Cordy, are you okay? You sound hysterical, he said
with concern.
 It s just Jake said something really funny, she
blurted. She couldn t tell if she was laughing or crying,
but she felt so& relieved.
Paul scratched his head in bewilderment.  I guess I ll
tell Bob that we ll try again some other time.
For some reason, this set off the giggling once more.
Jake snorted a few times, and this just made things
worse. Paul shook his head and wandered back to the
helicopter.
It dawned on Cordelia that her boyfriend had never
made her laugh like this and that her sister s ex-
boyfriend had somehow become a professional at it.
She glanced at Jake, who was lying down on the grass
with his hands behind his head. Then he looked back
over at her and grinned.
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Hailey Abbott
 It s okay, Cordy. The clouds look fine from down
here too, he said.
Her heart was still rattling inside her rib cage. She
inched over a bit closer to him, so that her hip barely [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]