The Freefall Trilogy (Complete Collection) (14 page)

Stop it.

Her eyes blinked open; the dappy grin dropped.

You're nesting,
her subconscious warned. 

She remembered that episode of
Two And A Half Men
where Charlie Sheen was dating the psycho homemaker from hell.  Lucy shook herself.

It was still cloudy.  Who was
Froggy trying to kid?  That wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.  She tugged the white broderie anglais curtains across.   Lucy wrenched off the sweatshirt, slipping out of her jeans, grinning down at his red boxer shorts; cheekily getting back into bed.

'Hello,' she croaked.

'You all right?' he asked quickly, voice unusually high.

'Yeah course,' she yawned, rubbing her eyes.

'Lucy?  ...Did you go back to sleep?'

'No,' she squeaked, sitting up, grimacing at the squeak of the traitorous metal bedstead.  'I...  I was just resting my eyes.'

Lucy smiled at Joshua's laugh.

'I've rung you four times,' he grumbled.  'Have a look out of the window.' 

Lucy's eyes shot open, pupils constricting with the influx of light.  Her smile withered away.  She unravelled herself from the warm duvet, hauling herself up.  She could see it already through the flimsy curtain, even before she pulled it back.

'Blue skies, baby.'  She could hear his grin.   'You'd better get your arse into gear.'

She grabbed her clothes from the end of the bedstead, throwing them on, thundering down the stairs.  She snatched the keys from the coffee table, scurrying to the front door.  She reached towards her trainer with her toe, and froze.

Lucy skulked back to the lounge guiltily, arms wrapped across herself.  The tick-
tock of the grandfather clock in the hall was punctuated by the floorboards groaning beneath her; the hum of the refrigerator out in the kitchen.  She wandered over to the mantelpiece and paused.

The photograph sat in a heavy silver frame.  Lucy blinked up at the old black and white.  A pretty brunette in harsh, horn-rimmed specs.  Lucy sagged with relief. 

She was sitting in a stripey deckchair, smiling.  She had strong cheekbones; beautiful teeth.  A broad-chested man in a vest and trousers stood at her side.  He had an impressive head of cropped curly hair.  She squinted at them, searching their features.  It was his nan and grandad - it had to be.  Lucy grinned, turning on her heels and running out of the room, heart soaring.  The two of them just looked so happy.

Lucy slid across the gravel into the first space she saw.  It wasn't like how she'd left it.  The car park was rammed.  She ran across to the manifest, quickly signing back in, before heading straight to the hanger. 

The dropzone was bedlam.  The sky was perfect blue now, everyone wanted to be up.  She squeezed through the kit room, shrinking back from flailing elbows and arses.  She tore her jumpsuit from the hanger, quickly pulling it on.

'
Hiya!'

Lucy looked up.

'Oh hi,' she smiled back at Andy. 

He was doing his
AFF too. 

'How's it going?'

'Great!' he grinned back.  'I've just done Level 6!'

Lucy's face dropped.  She gaped at him.

'Oh, that's really good!' she murmured, shaking herself, thrusting her arms into the padded sleeves, trying to sound pleased.  She yanked her zip up loudly.  'Well done!'  She pushed the velcro together.  Lucy looked up and froze.

He was wearing his navy blue jump pants; the grey t-shirt he had on that morning.  Lucy stared at him as he knelt on the floor.  She watched his long brown fingers working, tightening the harness.  Just like he had with Lucy, when they first met, a month ago and a day. 

She watched his hands working at her skinny thigh.  She couldn't have been more than twenty.  Joshua gazed up at his little tandem student and smiled: that blistering smile - the one that made birds fall from the trees. 

Lucy clenched her teeth. 

She swallowed as she saw Joshua's hands move up to the strap at the girl
's chest.  She was saying something: her fat, pink lips were flapping.  She heard Joshua laugh, the girl's giggle bubbling up.  Lucy scowled, clenching her fists.

Her long blonde hair ran down her back in a thick plait.  It was shorter than Lucy's, before she'd been stupid enough to have it chopped off.  Her waist was smaller.  She had bigger tits.  No wonder he looked so pleased with himself.

Lucy closed her eyes briefly with a sigh.  She had come full circle.  A man had brought her here, and soon a man would be driving her away.  She cocked her head, chewing her lip.  There was always that dropzone in Cornwall.

'Simkins?  Where the fuck are'ye?'

It all seemed to go in slow motion.  For the second time in 24 hours, the crowds seemed to part.  The buzz of the room fell into silence.  Lucy grabbed her helmet and turned on her heels.  This time, it was her stepping through them. 

She was well aware of the thirty two eyes gawking at her; two of them in particular.  She gritted her teeth, face set like stone, stepping around the back of his tandem student.  She wouldn't look at him.

Froggy's glower melted as she reached the counter, dark eyes blinking back. 

'Everything
alraight?'

Lucy cleared her throat.

'Yes,' she said, snatching her altimeter. 

The bespectacled lady behind the counter stared up.  Lucy gave a Mona Lisa smile. 

'Thank you, Delia.'

She turned to walk out of the kit room and paused.  The two
AFF girls flanked the door, smirking smugly.  There was barely a trace of civility between them.  Lucy closed her eyes momentarily.  Fucking hell, they were tall.  She took a steadying breath, tucked her helmet under her arm, and stepped straight through the middle.

'Lucy!' Froggy called out after her as she stalked down the path.  'I think y'might be needing this...' 

Lucy paused, scowling back. 

Oh...

He was holding her parachute.

'Thank you,' she muttered embarrassedly.

'
Y'sure y're alraight?'

She pushed her hands through the main lift web quickly, pulling the parachute out of
Froggy's hands and onto her back. 

'Yeah, fine.  It's just there's no room in there.'

She quickly started fastening and tightening the straps, cheeks blazing.  She could hear the AFF girls laughing behind her.

'How far behind am I?' Lucy muttered.

Froggy frowned.

'…Behind what?
'

'Behind everyone else?'

Froggy sighed.

'Lucy, it
is'nay a race!' 

He crouched down in front of her, examining her leg straps,
tutting loudly.  She'd done them up far too tight.

Josh watched Lucy bolt through the kit room door in a daze.

'Excuse me a sec,' he told his tandem student.

He marched over to the counter, resting on his elbows, quirking his eyebrows.

'What's going on, Delia?'

Josh had gone out of his way to make sure Lucy didn't end up on any of his lifts.  Hell, he'd even passed up
AFFs for tandems so it wouldn't happen.  Despite the extra money; despite his aching back.  He thrummed the counter impatiently.

'Well?'

Delia snatched the phone receiver, cutting him a look.

'Hello,
Dumbleton Dropzone?' Delia crooned through her nose, smiling politely, peering down at her perfectly manicured nails.  'No, I'm sorry, all our lifts are full for today...  Yes, that's right.  Uh-huh...' 

Joshua watched her grit her teeth. 

'Well, I suggest you try again tomorrow,' she said blinking, raising her eyebrows, the smile turning blatantly fake. 

'Yes...  Thank you so much.  Goodbye.'

She glowered up at Josh, slamming down the phone.

'In case you haven't noticed, I've got a
dropzone to run,' Delia snarled.  'I can't be organising it around your love life!'

Joshua flinched.  He stepped back.

'OK, change of plan,' he said wandering back to his tandem student.  She sat waiting patiently on the slatted bench.  The kit room was deserted. 

'I'm afraid there's been a cock up with the numbers, but we're up on the next lift.'

She looked up at him, smiling sadly.

'Go and grab a coffee.  They'll call you when they're ready.'

Josh turned on his heels, stalking to the counter, snatching the walkie talkie.  He could hear the engines firing; he burst out of the door.  He jogged out just in time to see them hurtle down the runway, running his hand through his hair, swallowing as he saw the wheels pitch.  He squinted up through his fingers.  They were off.

It's his job. 

Lucy stared out of the window, bracing herself against the turn as the plane started banking to altitude. 

That's what he did when you met him.  That's what he does now.  Build a bridge and get over it.

Where was he though?  Why weren't they up on the lift?  Had he taken her to the café?

She waggled her jaw from side-to-side as far as chin strap of her helmet would allow.  She heard the reassuring pop as her ears equalised.  Lucy sighed.

Needy and insecure didn't exactly work out last time.  He thinks you're beautiful.  Didn't you hear him this morning?

Lucy smiled.  Phil never said that to her.  Phil never said anything close.

'There's nay sense getting jealous.'

Lucy nodded. 
Froggy was right.  She was just being stupid. 

Her face dropped.

'…What did you say?'

'I said, there's nay sense getting jealous,'
Froggy shouted again through the roar. 

Her helmet whipped around, wide eyes fixing him hard.