Page 53 of Don't Look Down

A shiver makes its way down my spine, and my heartbeat spikes. Almost time.Fuck yes.Anticipation rises. That first leap is so satisfying, it’s hard to put into words. It quiets all the noise in my head.

Pulling out my phone, I hold it out to Andrew. “Can you take some pictures of me real quick? Before we jump.”

“Sure. If you’re posting them, can you tag us?” His question draws a smirk out of me. It’s a running joke that I have more followers than they do. Turning my nose up and away from him, I pretend to think it over a moment before finally meeting his eyes.

“Negative, Ghost Rider.” He laughs, as I hoped he would; he knows I’m full of shit. He doesn’t even have to ask at this point. I’ll always tag the DZ when I post content. These pictures are primarily for Landon, but a few others will make it onto my feed. “You know I got you, boo. Now, make sure you get my good side.” I place my hand on my cheek and smile while fluttering my eyes at him. Instant regret. I had forgotten the awkwardness from earlier, but it comes screaming back with his next comment.

“You know you don’t have a bad side.” He leans in close and snaps a selfie of us. Pause.Thattone is back. That definitely wasn’t him being just friendly. “Now smile for the camera,” he orders, snapping another picture. I’m still staring at him in bafflement as he gestures for me to pose.

I’m frozen. Confusion must be evident on my face. And honestly, I’m sure those pictures are going to be extra flattering, with my face showing all kinds ofwhat-the-fuck.Because what the actual fuck was that?

I’ve entered an alternate dimension. Or he’s been body snatched.He’s totally eyeing me now. This cannot be reality. He can’t be.

Abort.

Discomfort tenses my limbs, and I shake my arms out to rid myself of it as much as possible.

Because this? This is not what we’re doing.

Moving right along, I’ll just act like he didn’t cross a line. If I ignore it, we can move past it. He’ll take the hint, right?

Moving forward, and distinctly away from him, I grab onto the strut above my head in the doorway, and place my foot onto the step outside.

My fight-or-flight instinct is triggered, and the temptation to toss myself into the ether is high.

But first, pictures for Landon.

Tossing up the shaka sign with my free hand, I wink and stick my tongue out. This one is definitely for him. I pose a few more times for social media.

Andrew nods at me, signaling he got the pictures. I scoot back inside to take one final selfie and secure my phone.

“If you’re done with your photo shoot, get the fuck outta my plane,” Gary shouts back at us. The plane is small, but the rush of the wind is loud.

“Aye, aye, captain.” He can’t quite see, but I send a mock salute toward him anyway. Turning to Andrew, I see he’s still watching me. “All systems go, boss?”Just a little longer. Keep playing clueless, Sky, and it’ll be over soon.

“Yeah, Sky, all systems go.”Ew.That tone again. Oh, hell naw.

Scooting forward, I again grab the overhead strut and stand on the step just outside the door. I rock my body forward and backward to gain some momentum, then throw myself into a front flip.

Fucking finally.

You know that feeling you get when you feel like you’re falling? Like you’re on a rollercoaster and your stomach drops? That is not what happens here. Quite the opposite.

The drag from the wind immediately catches me like an old friend welcoming me home. My mind goes blank. All of my senses seem heightened, enhanced. The blue of the sky and the color of the grass way down below rush up to meet me.

Lake Okeechobee legit looks like an ocean from up here. It’s huge, which makes me feel like this teeny tiny piece of the great big world. It’s a humbling experience. Everything is so vivid and sharp, even through the lenses of my protective goggles. Because who would want their contact lenses to be aggressively dehydrated during a freefall toward earth?

My blood is rushing through my veins. The sound thumps rhythmically in my eardrums, palpable, but not quite audible over the rushing wind. That wind is roughly tugging at the strands of hair that have escaped from my helmet. Loose ends tickle around my forehead. I’m numb to the cold, practically sweating from the rush.

This is nirvana. I am weightless, gliding through the air. I’m practically Thor. Or maybe Iron Man is more accurate, since I too need a suit to fly. Giggling, I extend my arms back, and slightly away from my body, in a classic pose. Yep. I am Iron Man. Take that, RDJ.

This feeling rivals an orgasm. I could live on this high forever. Adjusting my position, I slow my descent a tad. I’ve already reached terminal velocity; I'm not actually trying tobreak the sound barrier. Adrenaline is coursing, and the high is top tier.

Almost exactly sixty seconds after leaving the plane, my altimeter goes off, signaling I’m close to deployment altitude. I shift to ensure I'm belly down. My arms extend out in front of me at ear level, increasing the amount of my body surface area in the wind. Arms relaxed. My accelerated freefall speed slows considerably. Looking below, the ground is steadily getting closer and closer. Almost to 3,000 feet.

I wave my arms and cross my forearms above my head. Andrew is above me, so he’ll be looking for my wave off signaling I’m about to deploy my main. Another notification from the altimeter.

A quick glance above confirms Andrew is a safe distance away. This part is just as thrilling for me. With asquee,I pull the main handle. The parachute is ejected behind me and catches the air at a slightly less aggressive pace than usual, thanks to the way I packed my chute.

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