Page 31 of The Bratva's Virgin Bride

We've had four groundwork lessons, and Riley has caught on quite quickly. I'm really impressed with how well she retains knowledge. She has an inquisitive mind and isn't afraid to admit when she doesn't understand something. She asks all the right questions for a beginner, which makes me so proud of her. I've done over a hundred jumps myself, but I have a skydiving coach guide us through everything on the third and fourth days. She seems to amaze him with how much she remembers.

So why am I so nervous about today's jump? I can see Riley fidgeting as we drive toward the airstrip, and her nerves make me more nervous. I don't want to traumatize her more than she already is.

She sees me glancing at her and smiles. “I'm okay. I promise. I'm excited.”

“You're not nervous?” I ask. “Cause you're fidgeting.”

“I am a little nervous, but I want to do this,” she says resolutely. “I want to do this with you.”

I give her a hesitant smile. “You don't have to if you don't want to.”

“Viktor, I promise, I want to.” She puts a hand on my arm and I nod.

“Okay then.”

“Have you done a tandem jump before?” she asks. “I didn't ask.”

“Yes, I've done a few tandem jumps. I have done more solo jumps, but tandem jumps aren't that hard. I'll take care of you, don't worry.”

“As long as you don't let me die,” she says.

“I would never let anything or anyone harm you,” I say confidently

She smiles broadly at me. “See, we're good.”

I nod, but I still feel nervous. I pull into a parking spot and get out. The diving instructor is there, double-checking our parachutes.

“How many of us are jumping today?” she asks me as we walk toward the instructor.

“Just us and the instructor. I want this to be private.” I stop at the parachutes. “Hey Glenn, we good?”

“Yeah, we're good,” he says. “How is it going, Viktor? Riley?”

“We're good,” I answer. “Ready for our jump.”

“Well, everything is triple-checked. Do we need to go over the groundwork again?”

“No, we're good,” I say.

“Good, get strapped and ready to board. The plane is ready.”

He picks up his own chute and starts to put it on. I pick up our chute and strap myself in. “I'll strap you in on the plane,” I say. “Come on.”

We walk to the plane, and before you can say Bob's your uncle, we're up in the air, and I'm securing Riley to me. I check over everything, and then Glenn triple-checks that we're secure. We wait for the plane to reach the right altitude, and once the pilot gives the go-ahead, Glenn opens the door. “See you out there,” he shouts over the noise of the plane. He launches himself out.

“Ready?” I shout to Riley.

“Ready,” she shouts back.

“Jump,” I shout and we launch out of the plane. We free fall toward the ground. Riley is holding her arms out as we freefall as I taught her. My nerves are gone. I'm focused on getting Riley to the ground safely. That is all that matters right now.

When it's time, I pull the chute, and we're suddenly jerked up. Riley squeals but otherwise doesn’t make another sound. We float gently toward the drop zone. I can see Glen below us by a few feet.

It makes me think of my first jump. I was so nervous. I was pedantic about all the groundwork and panicked when we went up on the plane. I didn't jump the first, second, or third time. By the fourth, I knew I just had to do it and jumped with two instructors to guide me. It was the most exhilarating thing I'd ever done. I just hope Riley feels the same way.

We land, and I manage to stop us from toppling over. The chute falls around us, and I unhook Riley. “Are you okay?” I ask her.

She explodes into laughter, turns around, and hugs me. “That was awesome.”

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