Calendar Boy by Helen Hardt

Author:Helen Hardt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Waterhouse Press

* * *

“I think I’m going to throw up.”

Michael adjusted the hooks on Stacy’s gear. He spoke loudly over the aircraft engine. “You’ll be fine, Stace.”

She tried to soothe her stomach by breathing deeply. The sporadic lunges of the small aircraft weren’t helping her cause. How could practicing jumping out of a plane and studying free fall maneuvers and parachute deployment for only an hour prepare her for this?

“What if the chute doesn’t open?”

“I’ll take care of the chute. You let me worry about that.”

She and Michael would be tandem skydiving, which was the best method, he had explained, for the first jump. Rather than jumping on her own, she’d be harnessed to Michael, her qualified instructor—help!—who would be responsible for safe and timely deployment of the parachute. This method freed Stacy to concentrate on freefall, piloting the canopy, and landing.

Yeah, right.

Like she’d remember anything about piloting a canopy when she was plummeting to the earth at a gazillion miles per hour.

“You’ve secured the extra parachute, right?” she said loudly but timidly.

“Yes, baby. It’s all secure.”

“’Kay.” Her heart slammed into her sternum. Why was she doing this again?

“We’re going to be strapped together, your back to my front. That’s kind of a turn on, don’t you think?” Michael’s low voice carried across the noise.

“Michael, if you wanted to be strapped to me, we don’t have to jump out of a plane to do it.”

His buoyant laugh filled the small aircraft. “I’ll hold you to that. After our jump.” He tightened another buckle. “You’re all secure, Stace. Now, let me just hook us together, okay?”

“No hurry.”

The loud roar of the small aircraft engine buzzed in her ear. Calm down, she told herself. You’re an intelligent woman. You know what to do. And Michael’s an experienced sky diver… Just words. Words that weren’t helping her nerves one bit.

“We’re about ready, Oliver!” Michael yelled to the pilot.

The small plane swerved. Stacy nearly lost her balance, but Michael’s arms steadied her as he fastened the straps of their equipment together.

“We just hit 13,000 feet!” Oliver’s voice rumbled from the cockpit.

“Perfect!” Michael said. “It’s a great day, too. So clear and warm.”

Yeah, just perfect. Perfectly nauseating. Stacy’s stomach churned. “Michael,” she said shakily. “I can’t do this. I just can’t.”

“You’ll be fine, beautiful.”

His breath caressed her neck. And was that his erection? Couldn’t be, not through all their gear.

“I promise you’ll be fine.”

A jolt of turbulence hit the plane, and Stacy’s feet nearly left the floor of the aircraft.

“I promise our ride will be smoother than this,” Michael said. “Ready?”

Stacy squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. “What if I can’t steer?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll steer, okay? You just enjoy yourself. Ready now?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Okay, baby.” He edged her to the opening. “Let’s go.”

Once airborne, Stacy couldn’t remember Michael’s exit count or actually leaving the plane. For a moment, she had the feeling of jetting forward as well as down. Michael had told her about that. Physics. It was the momentum created by the plane’s speed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
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.