“Life’s too short, lady. Lighten up. It was only a joke. I’ll tell you what,” he spoke softly. “You jump for free today.”
I lowered my head, attempting to calm myself. This was the most poorly run business I had ever seen. They had employees playing pranks on customers, no phone etiquette whatsoever, no one to greet people as they entered, and now they were offering a free jump to pay me off for offending me?
“Sure,” I agreed, my eyes wide, indicating my annoyance. “Let’s get this going.”
She hadn’t spoken a word since we’d left the office. We drove separately to the airfield. Every time I talked to her, she simply nodded to acknowledge me. Even when we climbed onto the plane and I introduced her to Sap, our pilot, she couldn’t even muster up a greeting for him. Damn, she sure was wound up tight. I mean, she was a babe, for sure, but she had an air about her I didn’t much care for. As if she was so much better than me. Whatever. Clearly she had a stick up her ass and lacked a sense of humor. She wasn’t the first one to get pissed over Marcus’s little joke, but usually we had them chuckling a little after they’d cooled down. But not this chick. Hell, no. I couldn’t even get a smile out of her.
As we were ascending, I couldn’t wait to get this shit over with, and send her on her way. When we’d reached 4,000 feet, I got on my knees and yelled over the engine for her to do the same. As I buckled us together, I could feel how tight and rigid her body was. She was scared shitless. Since the day was a bust and I doubted she’d give the business any glowing reviews or bring us any new business, I decided to enjoy myself . . . at her expense, of course.
Leaning over, I put my mouth near her ear so she could hear me. I paused a moment, not sure why I was so stunned by her scent. She smelled like clean linens; like when my grandmother used to hang my clothes out on the line on a hot summer’ day. I have always loved that smell—so fresh and crisp. “You scared or something?” I managed to shout after a beat.
She shook her head no as her eyes squeezed shut. Oh yeah, she was scared.
“Well I am,” I falsely confessed, hiding my smile behind a serious fa?ade. She glanced back at me over her shoulder with a wide, questioning look.
“You never know what could happen,” I continued when I knew I had her full attention. “I mean . . . the chute could fail to open. I could have a heart attack midair. We could land hard and break our legs. You just never know.” I looked at her in the most thoughtful of ways.
She turned her head forward and I felt her inhale as her back pushed into my front. Smiling to myself, I checked the buckles one more time and slipped my helmet on. There’s always risk involved when jumping, but I knew we were safe. I just wanted to mess with her one more time.
“Okay, I’m going to open the door and I want you to stick your feet out on that step right there, hands go here.” Taking her hands, I placed them on her shoulder straps. “When I tell you to, you’re going to push off the platform and keep your hands right here until I tell you to let go. Your legs need to stay between mine and—”
“I can’t do it,” she blurted out as she pushed back, away from the door. As she pushed, pain shot up my back as I fought not to let her topple us over.
“Calm down,” I grunted. “Everything is okay.” Drama queen.
“I can’t do it,” she insisted, panic laced in every word.
“I promise—”
“I’m not fucking jumping,” she hissed, interrupting me. Throwing my hands up, I began unbuckling her.
“We’re not jumping, Sap. Take us down,” I shouted over the engine. Once she was free from me, she plopped down, pulling her knees to her chest and staring off into space. What a fucking waste of my day. The damn jump was free. Come on, lady.
When we landed, she climbed out of the plane, peeled off her suit, and left it crumpled on the ground. Apparently I was also a maid service. As she marched to her car, she didn’t even bother to say bye or thanks or screw you. She just left.
“I hate to see her leave, but I love to watch her go,” Sap murmured.
Cutting a look to him, I smirked. “You’re a dirty old man, Sap.”
He smirked back, the wrinkles around his eyes creasing. “I’ve been called worse.”
As Clara slammed her car door and started the engine, I said, “She’d eat you alive.”
“Nah,” Sap argued. “A woman like that just needs a man that appreciates her spirit.”
“Is “spirit” a code word for ass?”
He snorted a laugh. “Sometimes they like to hand over the reins.”
“Sap.” I chuckled. “What the hell are you talking about, old man?”
He slapped me on the back, hard, knocking the air out of me. “She needs to rule the world, boy, but needs a man that can rule her.”
I snorted. How wrong he was. “She’d likely castrate any dude that tried to rule her.”