TWO WEEKS LATER, Cecily zipped up her skydiving suit, her stomach squadron of butterflies flying a zigzag pattern. Was she really going to do this? She adjusted her helmet and wondered if she was actually losing her mind. Skydiving was on her bucket list. She glanced over at Liam, handsome as ever, as he gave her a casual thumbs-up. The roar of wind snapped in her ears, as the operator of the indoor skydiving facility hit the go button. Soon, she and Liam were propelled upward in the clear plastic wind tunnel, made weightless by a huge fan. The wind buoyed them up, and she spread out her hands and legs, feeling as if she were flying. Because she was flying.
“This is insane!” she shouted to Liam, who just grinned and reached out for her hand. They linked fingers and for a second, floated at least two stories above the ground, flying in perfect circles in the wind tunnel. “I’m flying!” she cried, feeling pure, absolute joy rush through every vein in her body. Liam squeezed her hand and as she met his dark gaze, she wondered if it was the fan lifting her up, or Liam’s solid presence, the way he made her feel like anything was possible. She glanced at him, and saw the surprise in his eyes, which were protected beneath his blue plastic goggles. She wore pink goggles, and tried not to giggle as she thought that everything she saw now was rose-tinted.
Cecily felt overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, as they both floated together, defying gravity. He laughed and so did she, but the sounds were drowned out by the whirring tornado of air, the thunder in their ears of wind pushing them ever upward. She didn’t want this moment to end. She wanted to pause right here in her life, holding Liam’s hand, twirling high in the air, weightless. If only they could live in this moment forever.
After the whirlwind—literally—ride, the fan gently slowed, and they were once more lowered to the ground, her feet feeling the solid ground beneath her as they hit the latticed floor. The operator opened the airtight hatch, and the two climbed out, Cecily feeling breathless and...completely and utterly alive.
“I want to do that again!” she cried.
“And we can, anytime you want.” Liam pulled Cecily into his arms and kissed her. What breath she had left he took away. No man she’d ever met could kiss like Liam. No man made her feel pure electricity in her toes. She only thought she’d been flying inside that vacuum tube. Now, right here, she felt like she was soaring.
He broke free and she grinned up at him, unable to contain her excitement as she ripped off her rose-colored goggles. “Could you believe we were flying? We were flying!”
He lifted his own goggles, resting them in his mussed dark-blond hair. He gingerly caressed her cheek, looking at her with a kind of reverence.
“And one of these days, we’ll do the real thing,” Liam promised, and in that moment, Cecily knew he meant that promise. Since meeting him, he’d been attacking her bucket list like a man on a mission: they’d hit the roller coasters on Coney Island and taken pictures on top of the Empire State Building. Every day with Liam had been a new adventure, every day bursting with life. Liam had been deadly serious when he said he didn’t do things by halves. The man was all-in.
“You’re amazing,” she told Liam, and meant it. Who else would take her bucket list so seriously? Who else would help her plan all these adventures? “One of these days, you’ll have to get back to work!”
“I’ve got a little time before my next roofing project,” Liam said. “And we’re going to make the most of it.”
There it was. That reminder of the ticking clock, the hourglass with a finite amount of sand. She tried not to let it deflate her excitement, but it was impossible not to feel the shadow looming over everything they did. Liam was looking on the bright side, and she appreciated that. She blinked away the sadness that threatened to overtake the moment.
“That’s right,” she said. “We’re going to make the most of it.” They walked toward the locker rooms then, where they could change back into their street shoes and return their jumpsuits. “In fact, why don’t we do that right now?” He moved them both into a single-stall changing room. Liam closed the door and flicked the flimsy handle lock.
“What on earth are you going to do?” she whispered, but felt giggly, felt decidedly like breaking the rules was exactly what they ought to do.
“Kiss the life out of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he said, voice low. He moved closer, and then his mouth was on hers. She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck, pressing her body against his, her lips parting for him. His tongue flicked over hers, and her whole body came alive. With the adrenaline already buzzing through her brain, this just added fuel to that fire. She managed to remember they were in a public place, though the locked door told her they were safe. For now.
“What if someone catches us?” she murmured, as he trailed kisses down her neck.
“We’ll just tell them we’re ticking off items on your bucket list,” he whispered into her ear.
“Oh...right.” She’d forgotten number twenty-five: adventurous sex, maybe even in public. “I forgot how seriously you take my list.”
“Damn straight, I do,” he said, sliding the zipper of her jumpsuit down. She wore just a one-piece jumper underneath and he quickly freed her of that, as well. Her hands were on his clothes, too, tugging them off. He spun her around, so her palms were against the cool tile wall. He kissed the back of her neck, and she felt as if her whole body were on fire. This was wrong, but so very, very right. Her heart hammered in her chest, and her breath came in short, shallow gasps.
He gently spread her legs, and she stood, splayed, breath coming fast. He teased her first, the head of his hard cock against the back of her thighs. Just when she was going to tell him to do it, he took her from behind then, hard, fast, possessive, filling her up. She groaned, unable to help herself. This was what she needed. She needed him, inside her, along with the promise of everything yet to come. He pressed his hand against her mouth, and then she remembered they were in public, in a changing room, and people were walking back and forth in the small hallway outside.
She’d need to be quiet, but how could she? Especially now that Liam’s hands were cupping her aching breasts, squeezing her nipples, which came to life with the pressure. She wanted to cry out but bit her lip instead. Liam’s hand traveled lower, pressing against her belly, gliding downward. The tip of his finger found her clit, swollen and needy. She nearly gasped again. She sucked in a breath and held it, trying to be quiet, fighting the urge to scream. The pleasure built in her, and she wondered how she’d ever be able to keep silent, as her want, as her need, grew. He had her now and he knew it, as he began his gentle caress. The combination of him filling her, rubbing her, driving her wild, she couldn’t concentrate on anything but his amazing cock, his hands, the way he was pushing her, no—carrying her—to an inevitable climax.
“Come for me,” he urged her in a low whisper. It was a command and a promise, as he worked harder, faster, and the urgent need in her built. She could feel it, the slow climb, the steady build, as the pressure grew. It had to be released. She felt the cool, hard tile against her palms, braced herself against every one of Liam’s thrusts, each new one deeper than the last. She loved it, this feeling of being taken by him, being pinned. His mouth was on her neck, driving her wild. His hands on her body, teasing, commanding.
Had she ever been with a man like Liam? A man who set her very soul on fire? She’d never wanted a man like this. Never needed a man like this. He would make her come, just as he had before. There could be no resisting him. Her body tensed as the climax ripped through her, his hand was on her mouth, muffling her cry of pleasure. And then, he came, too, one last deep thrust inside her, running over the last vibrations of her own come, as the two of them collapsed, gasping against the wall.
A hard knock came on the door then. The two, half-naked, froze. Cecily stared at the doorknob and watched someone try to turn it.
“Hello?” a strange voice asked outside.
“This one is occupied,” Liam managed, voice loud.
“Everything okay in there?” Whoever was knocking seemed like an employee of the place. That couldn’t be good.
“Yeah. Just one minute.”
Cecily bit her lip to try to suppress a laugh. “We’d better get out of here before they call the cops,” she whispered, as she hurried to put on her street clothes. Liam jammed his feet into the legs of his jeans.
Another knock came at the door. “One second!” Liam cried again as he scrambled for his shirt on the ground.
He gave her a lopsided smile. “I think you’re right,” he said, tugging the T over his head.
They giggled all the way into the parking lot. Cecily felt carefree and amazing as she held Liam’s hand, walking toward Liam’s steel gray pickup truck.
“We almost got arrested,” she breathed.
“I doubt he would’ve arrested us,” Liam added. But Cecily wasn’t so sure. The burly manager at the Fly High Studio didn’t look pleased when the two of them hurriedly exited the dressing room, shirts untucked and bags in tow. “Probably does happen all the time. Adrenaline rush and all that. Still, he’s not likely to complain too much. I gave them all a good tip.”
“Good,” Cecily said, as Liam pulled his remote key fob from his pocket and unlocked his truck. The lights flashed and the telltale beep told them the doors were open. Liam went around to open her door and Cecily only just put her toe on the running board, when she suddenly felt light-headed. A sharp pain struck her temple, and she pressed her palm against her forehead as she leaned against the truck’s door.
“Are you okay?” Liam asked, strong hand on her elbow. She was grateful for the contact, and glad for the literal support. Her legs suddenly felt like spaghetti.
“I just...” Her eyes clouded with stars as she tried to shake her vision clear. Her doctor had told her that fainting spells, light-headedness, might come with the territory.
“Here, let’s sit.” Liam lifted her up into the truck bed, sitting her on the plush seat.
She nearly collapsed.
“I’m sorry. I just...” She felt like she couldn’t breathe in that moment.
“Here. Maybe this will help.” Liam helped her lie down, so that her head was on the driver’s side and her knees were propped upward, the loose fabric of her jumper accommodating the position easily. “Maybe you need more blood to the brain.”
He moved then, jogging around the front of the car so he could be near her head. She glanced up at him, frowning. Stars still bounced around her vision. But they slowly cleared. “How did you know this?”
“My little brother always got light-headed when we played sports. Doctors said it was because his brain was starved for oxygen. Happens if you get your heart rate up too fast.”
Or if you’re dying of cancer. The thought popped into her brain and she immediately squashed it. She could be light-headed from anything, right? From the sex. From the adrenaline of flying. This didn’t necessarily have to do with cancer.
“Oh.” Cecily covered her eyes with one arm and breathed deeply. She remembered, though, the conversation with the doctor who told her this could be a symptom. That as her liver failed, her blood wouldn’t be cleaned as well. Fainting spells could occur. Or worse. Was her body already failing her? What if she couldn’t complete her bucket list? What if she got too sick too fast?
“Hey.” Liam brushed a bit of her hair out of her face. “You okay?”
“Yeah. The light-headedness is going away.” She inhaled slowly. “I can’t believe I can skydive and...” She felt a hot blush creep up her neck when she thought of the delicious quickie they’d just shared in the changing room. “But a short walk in the parking lot did me in.”
“We did a lot today. Maybe we pushed you too hard.”
“No.” Cecily reached up and grabbed his wrist. She met his dark, worried gaze. “We didn’t do too much.” She refused to believe she was already getting weak, already losing her battle. She had a lot of living to do yet, and she planned to do it.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Liam repeated. “And I don’t just mean physically.”
Cecily peeked out from under her elbow, meeting his concerned brown eyes. Why couldn’t she hide anything from this man? He seemed to know her every thought. Every mood. Every feeling. It was as if they shared the same brain.
“I just... I guess I’m not fine.”
“That’s what I thought.” He stepped into the cab of the truck, sitting next to her head. He stroked her face. “I know we haven’t mentioned this much, but have you given any more thought to a second opinion?”
Cecily sat up, wanting to flee this conversation. The stars came back and she felt woozy.
“Whoa,” Liam said, pulling her against him. “Easy now.”
She cuddled into him, glad for his strength, his warmth. “I don’t know—about another doctor. It’s expensive.”
“I’ll pay.”
“I don’t want you to have to.”
“Besides cost, what’s the reason?”
Cecily paused, thinking. She wasn’t sure how to explain it, but she was just starting to process the idea that she only had a limited time left. She had her bucket list. She had Liam—in this moment. Thinking about a second opinion, or more treatments, scared her. She knew that sounded crazy. Who wouldn’t want hope? But sometimes if she felt like she let hope in, and then was disappointed again, she might not survive it.
“Let’s just try?” Liam’s voice was soft. Honest. “Let’s just see if there’s a different treatment. If there’s not, there’s not. But at least we tried.”
“What if it’s all just false hope? The idea of seeing a new doctor. I don’t know. I’ll get my hopes up and then what...just to be told the first one had it right all along?”
“Doctors rarely agree on anything,” Liam said. “My mother saw tons of them. For all kinds of ailments, including her addiction. Believe me, there’s not always a consensus.”
“But what if...they do have a treatment, but it doesn’t work anyway? And it’s painful and it makes me...sicker?” Cecily felt fear choke her. The idea of losing what little time she had left in bed, unable to move... It just made her feel hopeless. So helpless. She’d never seen herself as either. She was a planner, and she liked having a plan. Liked making the most of the time she had left. The idea of anything shortening that time terrified her.
“But what if there is a treatment and you can beat this thing?” he asked. She gently pulled away from him, meeting his gaze. In it, she saw all the hope he had, all the desire to prolong her life.
“But what if going to the doctor means that it shortens what time I have left? Or at least, shortens the quality of the time I’ve got left? I don’t want to lose any time.”
“And you won’t.” Liam sounded so certain, but Cecily knew in life certainty didn’t exist.
“Besides,” she said, grasping for straws. “I don’t even know any specialists.”
Liam squirmed then, looking a little uncomfortable as he glanced out the windshield to the half-full parking lot. “I might know one. Dr. Kelly is an oncologist with a pretty impressive résumé. Groundbreaking studies, cutting-edge stuff.”
“Really?” Cecily felt unease at the pit of her stomach.
“Yeah, and I might have made a call for you.”
“You did? When?”
Liam wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I know you’ve been hesitant to talk about second opinions, but I’ve been thinking. What if a second opinion meant that we had more time for the bucket list? If we had more time together?”
“Yeah, but what if it meant we had less?” She didn’t want to risk what time she had left on unproven treatments that could make her worse. “If it’s experimental, then it’s not proven. It might make me worse, or...even kill me faster.” She hated to admit that, but it was a real fear.
“Look, Dr. Kelly is the best of the best.”
“You just happen to know the world’s leading oncologist?”
“I have friends in high places.” Liam shrugged. “If you don’t want to do this, I get it. But the office had a cancellation this week, and can get you in. Dr. Kelly is normally completely booked.”
Cecily told herself not to be angry that Liam had been making calls to a doctor’s office. He was only trying to help. Looking at his face, she knew this. Cecily let out a breath. Maybe Liam was right. Maybe she should get a second opinion. What could it hurt, really? Yes, she was scared that the doctor would tell her exactly what the last one did: that there was no hope. But wasn’t she already trying to come to terms with that?
“And, look, if the doctor tells you there’s no treatment, then I won’t push you to find another doctor, okay?”
Cecily knew Liam wouldn’t let this go. He never let anything go. It was one of his most infuriating and admirable traits.
“Okay,” Cecily said. “I’ll go to see your doctor friend. But on one condition?”
“Name it.” He grinned.
“You’re staying at my place tonight.”
He leaned in. “I was already planning on it,” he said, and kissed her so deeply that she nearly forgot why she’d been so stubbornly against a second opinion in the first place.