Page 77 of The Upside of Falling
Opening the door for Rory, I usher her in and one of the instructors I’m close with spots me. “Colby, my man. It’s about damn time you visited us.” He eyes my hand in Rory’s and a knowing smile spreads across his face. “And I can see why we haven’t seen you around lately.” Holding his hand out to Rory, he says, “You must be the girl Stryder’s told us about when we ask him where Colby is. I’m Blake.”
A pink blush spreads across her cheeks. “Blake, nice to meet you. I’m Rory, the girl who’s been sucking all of Colby’s jumping time.”
Blake laughs and pats me on the shoulder and then points behind him toward the dressing area. “Stryder is back there. Have fun.”
“Stryder’s here?”
Blake nods. “It’s where he’s been spending a lot of his time lately. Ten to twelve jumps each day on the weekend. He’s been living in the sky.” A pain of understanding hits me, because this is probably as close to flying as Stryder is going to get. I haven’t tried talking to him about applying for flight school again, but given I barely get to talk to him, I feel he’s given up hope completely.
Fuck.
I let out a long breath and take Rory to the back room. Skirting past the swinging door, I find Stryder in the corner, quietly strapping on his harness, tightening the straps with more force than needed.
“Hey man.” Stryder looks up, surprise masking his features before they soften as he takes in Rory and me.
“Hey.” He looks between us, our connected hands, and then goes back to tightening the straps to his harness. “What are you guys doing here?”
“I’m taking Rory up for her first jump.”
Things are awkward. The tension in the room grows, as he goes through the motions of getting ready, the silence between us rare and abnormal. From the very first day we met, conversation has never been difficult. But over the last few months, this tension between us has been building and building, and it’s more than obvious that Stryder and I aren’t the same friends we used to be. Is it only because of what’s gone wrong in Stryder’s life?
“Cool,” he answers, keeping things short with me.
Sighing, not wanting to draw out this awkward conversation, I kiss Rory on the cheek and say, “I’m going to grab us some gear and talk to Blake about which plane we get to jump out of. I’ll be back soon, okay?”
She nods, a downward turn in her lips, and I know she’s probably just as upset about Stryder as I am.
* * *
“Are you nervous?”
“Terrified,” Rory answers as I strap her into her harness. Pausing, wanting to make sure she’s still good to do this, I’m about to ask her if she’s sure when she smiles, which as usual, sputters my heart in my chest. “Terrified and excited. Thank you for taking me. This literally is a dream come true.”
I give her harness one last tug. “I wanted to do something special with you, something we would always remember.”
“Believe me when I say I don’t think this is a day I will ever forget.” She bites her bottom lip and leans close to me. “And you packed the parachute properly?”
I laugh and bring my lips to her forehead, pressing a kiss to the crease in her brow. “I’ve folded a parachute so many times I could do it with my eyes closed. There is nothing to worry about, okay? I’ve got you, Rory, and I would never let anything happen to you.”
“I know.” She shakes her entire body. “I’m just nervous, that’s all. Nervous excited. I mean, I’m going to jump out of a plane. That’s crazy!”
“But you’re going to be strapped to me, so you have nothing to worry about. Promise.” Placing one last kiss on her lips, I secure her helmet and then lead her to the tarmac where the plane is waiting. Having already gone over all the training and safety precautions, we’re ready.
“Hey Stryder,” Blake calls out, pulling my attention. “Why don’t you head out with your boy Colby?”
Curtly, Stryder nods and walks up to us, and I take the opportunity to pull Stryder in by the neck for a side hug before pushing him away. “Just like old times, right?” I nudge his shoulder, winning a small smile from him. “Remember our first jump?”
“Ohhh, tell me about it,” Rory coos next to me, leaning in.
Stryder pushes his hand through his hair, a small smile playing at his lips, reminding me of the man I’ve lost. “We were scared shitless.” He levels with Rory, recalling how we almost peed our jumpsuits before flying out of the plane. “We both wanted to be on the Wings of Blue badly because it was badass, and only the elite at the academy were accepted. So we went balls to the wall, showed no fear, strapped our bodies up, and fucking jumped.” Looking to the sky, I recollect the feeling that pulsed through me at that moment, and wonder if he’s thinking the same. It feels like years ago, when we were just kids. “I’ve never been so enthralled and scared at the same time. For me, it was that moment that confirmed flying in the sky was what I wanted.”Fuck.
Clearing his throat, Stryder continues, “When we landed, we gathered ourselves, put on a show for the guys around us, and then went to the locker room where we, no joke”—we both chuckle, knowing what he’s going to say next—“held on to each other like an old married couple and shook in our damn jumpsuits, unable to comprehend what we’d just done.”
“You held on to each other?” Rory laughs as we both nod our heads.
“We hugged for a good couple of minutes, thanking the good Lord above that we were alive.”
“Minutes?”
