The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
Author:Steven Rowley [Rowley, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2023-05-30T00:00:00+00:00
* * *
â
Once they hit cruising altitude, Naomi was living a waking dream. The horizon was a stunning blue that didnât look real, and the only clouds visible were perfect puffs of spun sugar candy sparsely dotting the passing sky; it was almost like she could reach out and touch them. Their aircraft was a tight squeeze of a hug, so warm and sturdy that the idea of jumping from its safe environs was comical. Naomi sat on her hands to contain her excitement and to give herself that extra half inch of a boost to see everything out the window more clearly. When she turned to Jordan, she didnât even realize what she was saying until it was already out of her mouth. âI want to fly the plane!â She had to shout to be heard over the noise.
âYOU WANT TO WHAT?â
âI WANT TO FLY THE PLANE!â
Jordan recoiled. He didnât think that was a good idea. Naomi indicated the pilot. Tell him.
No.
Naomi bit her lip. TELL HIM.
NO FUCKING WAY.
Marielle leaned into Craig and spoke loudly into his ear. âAre we really doing this?â It almost seemed inescapable now, like they had passed some point of no return. And yet the real moment would come when they opened the planeâs door, so there was still plenty of time to back out.
âBeats me!â Craig hollered. He looked to Jordy and raised an eyebrow. Jordy bobbed his head so slightly in return it could have just been the planeâs vibrations. Not knowing what else to say, Craig yelled, âIâm not the one calling the shots!â He gave a thumbs-up to his diving partner, Mateo, who clasped his hands around Craigâs fist.
Witnessing this, Diego shouted, âCARPE DIEM!â; it didnât need translation.
âMine speaks Latin!â Jordy boasted to Jordan. He responded by high-fiving Diego, and their hands remained clasped as they held intense eye contact.
âI can see you, you know!â Jordan shouted, looking at his love holding hands with another man.
âIsnât he great?â Jordy shouted back, undeterred, a smile spread across his whole face.
Jordan turned to his own partner in this mess, Yolonda. She reminded him of a lesbian poet they once knew in the West Village who uncomfortably referred to her bathing suit area as a flower bed. He smiled, but not anywhere nearly as wide as Jordy had; she responded by tightening his harness until he couldnât easily breathe.
Naomi tugged on the pilotâs sleeve. After a beat he turned to face her. She mimicked driving a car, wildly turning an imaginary steering wheel back and forth, as if she were racing the Autobahn, and then when she felt that was clear, she stuck out her thumb and pointed to herself. âMe. Avión.â
âYOU JUST SAID YOU ARE A PLANE,â Jordan hollered.
Naomi smiled at the pilot undeterred. âFly a plane! I want to fly the plane.â
âPLEASE. IâM BEGGING YOU. STOP.â
Naomi put her hands on the controls in front of her, even though she was quite sure they werenât engaged. The pilot flicked on the autopilot and removed the cans over his ears.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Action & Adventure | Classics |
Coming of Age | Family Life |
Historical | Horror |
Humorous | Literary |
The Thirst by Nesbo Jo(5822)
120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade(2460)
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer(2140)
Angels in America by Tony Kushner(2061)
A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne(2030)
The Femme Playlist & I Cannot Lie to the Stars That Made Me by Catherine Hernandez(1901)
The Patrick Melrose Novels: Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, and Mother's Milk by Edward St. Aubyn(1850)
Alpha Awakened (Waking the Dragons Book 1) by Susi Hawke & Piper Scott(1849)
The Goodmans by Clare Ashton(1833)
Shawn by Catherine Lievens(1797)
A Chance in Time by Naomi Lance(1729)
Well Traveled by Mills Margaret & Ward Tedy(1689)
Iggy by Catherine Lievens(1669)
Rabbit by Catherine Lievens(1623)
Neriah by Catherine Lievens(1606)
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith(1584)
His Fragile Heart by Jamie Lynn Miller(1537)
Unlawfully Claimed by Kian Rhodes(1486)
The Mating Game (The Omega Auction Book 3) by Kian Rhodes(1480)