Rugged Guard - Jason Collins Page 0,58
explain myself. “I spent a lot of time working on getting the Bed & Breakfast up and running. I didn’t have a lot of chances to leave Park City, not if I wanted everything to go smoothly with the business.”
“So, you’ve never even taken a vacation or anything?”
“I take vacations,” I answered. “Just… not to Vegas. Honestly, when I get a few days off, I mostly just spend time catching up on TV shows or hanging around with my friends at the firehouse.”
“Hmm.” Derek hummed as he eyed me up and down. “Well, if you’ve never been to Vegas before, there’s something I really need to show you.”
“Is it another casino?” I asked. “Because after Rollin’ Dice, I feel like I’ve seen enough of them to get the idea. And I’m not really into gambling like my dad was so—”
“It’s not a casino.” Derek grinned. “But quick question. You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”
“No?” I nervously replied, unsure of where Derek was going with this conversation. “I mean, at least not all the time.”
“Good.” Derek grinned even wider as he finished off the beer still in his hand.
A Ferris wheel.
I was currently standing in front of a large Ferris wheel, complete with blinking, colorful lights and what looked like sheer, silver panels in every carriage of the ride. The wheel was so huge that it looked like it could’ve taken up the entire night sky, which made it both magnificent and terrifying in its scope.
“It’s a Ferris wheel?” I tilted my head to the side as I stared up at it. “You wanted to show me a Ferris wheel?”
“Not just any Ferris wheel,” Derek went on. “It’s the High Roller, Parker. It’s the highest Ferris wheel in the whole world.”
“Oh.” I nodded toward the wheel before I looked over at Derek. “Do you think it’s… is it safe?”
“Are you scared?”
“I’m not scared. I’m just…” I tried to find another word for scared. “I’ve never been on anything that’s the biggest in the world. I’m just… I mean, you’ve seen Titanic, right?”
Derek grinned. “If you’re scared, baby, you can just hold my hand the whole time. I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if you can guarantee that.” I grimaced.
“You don’t think your personal bodyguard can guarantee your safety?”
“What happens if I fall out the side or something?”
“You’re not going to fall out the side,” he continued. “And even if you somehow did start to fall out the side, I’d be the first to catch you.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.” Derek grinned again. “Now, are you going to step into the carriage or what? People are starting to look at us like they’re ready to kill us for taking so long to get on this thing.”
“Okay, okay…” I let out a deep sigh as I stepped onto the ride. “I’m getting on.”
Once I was on the Ferris wheel, I made my way toward the back of the carriage, not stopping until I nestled myself into the furthest corner of the orb-like structure. Derek followed right behind me, his body squeezing beside mine, his arm wrapping around my shoulders.
“How long until we—oh,” I started to speak, but was immediately interrupted by the shifting of the carriage all around me, the orb beginning to lift away from the ground. As the motion went on, the Ferris wheel taking us higher and higher and higher, I felt my stomach flip over and over and over, my nervousness starting to make its way through me.
Eventually, the orb stopped in place, with our carriage at the highest point in the sky. And despite our lack of continued motion, my stomach was still doing flips, and my nervousness was still stuck everywhere in my bones.
“Are you okay, baby?” Derek whispered.
“I’m…” I pursed my lips, my breaths coming out a little quicker than usual. “I don’t…”
“You should look behind you,” Derek instructed. “Right outside the window.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Derek.”
“Trust me, Parker,” Derek whispered again. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes. I trust you,” I relented as I slowly turned around, my anxiety swimming through my every pore.
But my eyes went wide when I caught a glimpse of Las Vegas at night, each building lit up like a twinkling star in the sky. The view was a sea of pure silver and gold, so bright I wondered if astronauts would’ve been able to see it from space. And the longer I stared at the image, the brighter it seemed to become,