Our Love Story

“Wow,” she says. “And yet somehow you aren’t a spoiled brat.”

I raise my eyebrows. “My parents were down to earth folks. But love was never lacking in our house. I wish I’d known you back when I was growing up. My mom would have fallen in love with you, bella. She’d have probably adopted you and never let you out of her sight.”

“Would have?”

I smile sadly. “She died two years ago. Fucking cancer.”

Chloe’s thumb circles my skin, sending tingles over my body. “I’m so sorry, Enzo.”

“I know, it’s awful. But I’m from a big Italian family. And one thing we were never short on growing up were family dinners or the importance of family. And my mom? She was the best at knowing what matters most. She taught me a hell of a lot. Like how to love deep and wide.”

Chloe wipes a tear from her eye. “Sounds like an amazing woman.”

“She was.”

“Well, it makes sense then, why you are so generous with your words and touch. You don’t hold back.”

“Why would I?” I ask, putting the car into park. “The world is dark enough as it is… might as well fall head over heels if you ever get the chance.” I open her door and take her hand. “Speaking of falling… how do you feel about heights?”* * *“Enzo,” she yells over the engine, her hand so tight against mine, her knuckles are white. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Yes, you can,” I say, leaning in and speaking directly in her ear. I may or may not have slipped in a tongue while I was at it. I can’t help it, she looks so cute in her jumpsuit, the parachute on her back, her eyes bright. “We will be face-to-face the entire time, we will pull the chutes out together. I swear you aren’t alone.”

She licks her lips before reaching out and squeezing her arms around my waist. “But when do we jump?” she screams. It’s so loud in the plane and hard to hear one another. I adjust the MovePro on my helmet and look my girl in the eye.

“We jump now!” I leap from the plane, holding onto Chloe nice and tight.

For a minute, she is stiff as a board in my arms, screaming and terrified as we plummet from the safety of the plane. The speed is uncanny, unexplainable if you’ve never made the jump yourself. One second everything in the world makes sense. Gravity. The meaning of life and death.

And then you are shooting through the sky with nothing to hold onto but yourself, and you are trusting a piece of fabric with your life.

But then you pull the cord, let the parachute go, and watch it catch the air.

Then, all at once, you are soaring.

We are soaring.

And her screams of terror become full-on peals of pleasure. Excitement and adrenaline are written all over her face. She’s still holding me as tightly as ever, but she moves her head to the left, then to the right, as she takes in the magnificent view that you can only achieve from the fall.

She is speechless, and so am I.

The bright blue sky surrounds us, the deep blue ocean, and the white sand beaches are below us, and the lush green forests are on the horizon. It is a beautiful place, all the more beautiful because of the woman in my arms.

I’ve jumped from planes probably a thousand times, but never have I found my breath stolen, my heart racing, and my devotion so completely focused on another person.

Her legs are wrapped around me as we fall from the sky, gliding through the clouds, and I find myself wanting the moment to last forever.

Her face is bright as she takes in this experience, and I love that about her. For a virgin, she sure has given her all to this time in her life. She could be a scared little dove, but instead, she is soaring headlong into what she wants. What she’s giving herself permission to accept.

After we finally make our slow descent, with the camera catching everything, we safely land in a pile on the ground, sharing gales of exhilarated laughter.

“Enzo, thank you, I can’t believe I just did that,” she says. The parachute wraps around us both, the soft grass under us, her little body pressed tightly against mine. “How can I properly thank you for that experience?”

I grin. “Oh, love, there is only one kind of payment I accept.”

Her eyes twinkle, the high from the fall still working its way over my sweet thing. “Yeah? And what’s that?”

And then I kiss her.Chapter TenEnzoWith her lips against mine, I feel the layers of ourselves peeling away. She is nothing short of a goddess. A goddess I want to make my own. And I am doing my part to ensure that she will be ready for all of us guys in a few days.