The Freefall Trilogy (Complete Collection) (5 page)

'Oh baby...' she heard him breathe. 

Lucy's eyes sprang open, pupils constricting with the influx of light.

He gazed down tenderly, brow furrowed, mouth pressed in a line, the corners inclined downwards.  Lucy's heartbeat quickened.  His fingers gently raked her hair, drawing it back from her face.  She shuddered.  His eyes followed his thumb as he wiped a tear from her cheek.  They flicked back to hers; she breathed in sharply.  Such a vivid colour, shot through with rays, like shards of broken green glass.

She felt his thumb sweep her top lip, feather-light.  His eyes were following it again.  Lucy's heart thundered, a deafening tattoo.  Her heart lurched as josh cupped her face. 

She saw him leaning in, tilting her face upwards.  Her eyes instinctively closed.

...BABY?

Joshua's heavy eyelids shot open.

No-no-no!  What the fuck are you doing?  What did you say THAT for?

He drew back quickly, releasing her, running his hands through his hair, glancing into the café. 

He was just in time to catch half a dozen shadows darting away from the window.  He cringed, looking down at Lucy.

The stare was blistering, those piercing blue eyes, just a little too big for her face.  Josh briefly closed his, then opened them again.

'Your lip's a bit swollen,' he told her, in a voice that seemed to get stuck in his throat.  He drew his head back and cleared it.  'Do you feel OK?'

...Rule number one of skydiving.  Never lie to your instructor.

Lucy blinked back. 

Feel OK?...

The sting in her face was residing.  Nonetheless, she felt like an absolute dick.

...
Shit!

She gaped down at her traitorous arms.  They were wrapped around his waist.  Lucy pulled back quickly, stepping away.

'Come back in and sit down,' Josh coaxed, oblivious once more to the audience waiting in the café.

She shook her head, lips tight.

'I've got to go.'

'Lucy...'

His brow contorted, eyes pleading.  He looked torn. 

She forced a smile.

'I'll call you,' she said hoarsely.

In a blink, she was walking away.

Josh watched the brake lights of the black Ford Focus disappear down the lane, a cloud of dust rising from the back wheels.

'Knock it on the head, son.'

Josh span around. 

Martin smirked back, cocking his head, the folds around his cognac eyes deepening. 

Josh frowned.  Martin shook his head.

'You know what I'm talking about,' Martin asserted.  'Everyone on that lift knows what I'm talking about.'

'What?  I haven't got a—'

'And for them that missed it, there was your little performance in the bar,' he said, folding his arms.  'They're all on about it,' he said, nodding to the
café
.

'
Grinding The Crack?
' Martin grinned.  'Honestly, I've heard some chat up lines in my time...'

'I wasn't chatting her up!' Josh protested, eyes wide, laughing nervously, voice a little too high.

'Snowy, lad,' Martin chuckled.  'You were singing!'

Josh paused, running his hand through his hair.

'I was only—'

'I've never heard you sing in my life!'

Joshua frowned.

'I sing...' he said sulkily.

'To be honest, mate,' Martin smirked.  'I think I'd advise against it.

'Listen, Snowy,' he said placing his hand on Josh's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.  'A distracted student is one thing.  We can live with that.  Let's face it, with a pretty boy like you, we're going to have to.  And you're a good teacher...  You do a good job of bringing them round...'

Martin fixed Josh's stare, all trace of humour disappearing from his face. 

'...But a distracted Instructor?'

Martin slowly shook his head.  Josh watched him turn and stroll off towards the manifest.

'Knock it on the head,' Martin called back, without breaking his stride.  'It'll all end in tears, you mark my words.'

Lucy sat in the car park at Kennford Ken service station, peering into the rear view mirror, prodding her nose.  It looked a little puffy.  It hurt a little bit.  Her top lip was fat and pink.  She cracked open her bottle of Malvern Spring and downed two Nurofen.

She could still see him, the little figure in that mirror, standing hands on hips, disappearing into the dust as she drove away. 

Hi. It's Lucy Simkins. Do you have any availability for next weekend?

Her mind was racing as she swung down the country lanes, finally meeting up with the M5.  The sky was steely grey, the dazzling blue consigned to memory.  Fat spots of rain dashed her windscreen, her wipers soon working overtime to keep up. 

She kept thinking back to the jump: the terror at the door; cringing as she remembered how she froze; the exhilaration of freefall.  Her speed crept up on her as she headed on down the motorway; she pushed the other stuff to the back of her head.  She was over-thinking it - it was all just a misunderstanding.  She hadn't been looking for any of that.

It was only a text.  Just a text.  She wasn't going to risk someone else getting in first for the sake of politeness.  A few minutes later, Lucy's phone lit up with a ching.

LUCY, YOU'D BETTER NOT BE TEXTING AND DRIVING. IF YOU ARE, THAT'S A FAIL BEFORE YOU EVEN STARTED THE COURSE.

She frowned down at the white speech box, listening to the rain hammering down on the car roof.

I'm not driving. And there's no need to shout.

IF YOU'RE HOME ALREADY YOU MUST HAVE BEEN SPEEDING. WITH REGRET, MISS ALONSO, THAT'S A FAIL ALSO.

Lucy smirked.

I'm not back yet. I had to get petrol.

ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES + FUEL VAPOUR = BOOM! TURN YOUR PHONE OFF!

Lucy rolled her eyes.  The windows were steaming up.  She turned the fan on to clear them.

I'm not on the forecourt, I'm parked up. I needed some pills. I have a headache. Please stop shouting!

I'M NOT SHOUTING! I ALWAYS TEXT IN CAPS.  I'M LAZY, THAT'S JUST HOW I ROLL. SORRY ABOUT THE HEADACHE :(

She smiled for a moment, then bit her bottom lip.

So can you do next weekend?

There came a two minute silence.

IS IT OK IF I COME BACK TO YOU?

Lucy's heart sank. 

Fine.

She sighed.

LUCY...  ARE WE SULKING AGAIN?

Her eyes flickered; mouth twitched.

No!

IF YOU SAY SO ;)

She grinned then winced, holding her top lip.  Her phone chinged again.

WE'LL SORT SOMETHING OUT. I JUST NEED TO CHECK SOMETHING FIRST. OK?

Ok.

OK! SAFE JOURNEY HOME. I'LL SPEAK TO YOU SOON. PLEASE DRIVE CAREFULLY.

Lucy giggled at the irony.  On the other hand, he evidently considered jumping out of a moving plane to be perfectly safe.

Will do XXX

She slung her phone into her bag, firing the ignition, wipers whirring, heading for home at a snail's pace.

'Eh up me duck!' grinned Jean from behind the counter, peering up through her oversized spectacles.  'Oh, flower, look at you!' she cooed.  'You're soaked through to the bone!'

'Everything alright?' Lucy ventured, shaking the rain from her hair, peeling her dripping cotton jacket from her shoulders.

'Smashing!' Jean told her.  'It's been really busy. 

'Oh...  I did try to get you earlier.  I weren't sure where the till rolls were, but I found them in the end.'

Jean went on arranging the counter display, warbling to herself. 

'Been anywhere nice?' she asked distractedly.

Phil hadn't called her making a fuss then.

'Oh, you know.  Here and there,' smirked Lucy, scanning the shelves, her eyes drifting across the perfectly aligned rows of confectionary.

'Thanks for all your help, Jean.  You can get off now, if you like.'

Lucy perched on the stool, elbows on the counter.  Back to earth with a bump.  How hard had she worked for all of this?  Business plans at 19, loans from Barclays, guarantees from her mother.  She peered around it all like a stranger.  She'd wanted to be a
chocolatier ever since reading about Willy Wonka at the ripe old age of 7.  By 26, she'd done it, with bells on.  Business Woman of the Year Awards; Young Entrepreneur of the Year from the local Chamber of Commerce.  Stories in the Herald Express; fancy evening dos - she was a bit of a celebrity locally.  Lucy looked around the shop that had once been a dream; the shop she owned lock, stock and barrel.  She glanced around the brightly-coloured packets of confectionary with new eyes.  She didn't want any of it.

The door tinkled open.  Lucy smiled at the young guy in jeans and a khaki jacket.  She glanced down at her wristwatch: half past four. 

She groaned inwardly as he approached the counter, a slab of white chocolate in his hand.

'Would you like that iced?'

Of course he did.  They always do. 

He smiled meekly at her and nodded. 

'To Miss Jones.  Congratulations on the new job.  Love from Christopher.'

Lucy smirked at the address, remembering Josh's Miss Simkins remarks.

'She's a school teacher,' the guy explained sheepishly. 

Lucy looked up from her icing, smiling back politely, nodding.  She wiped away a stray blob of dark fondant before packaging it up, holding it up to him for inspection. 

The guy in the khaki jacket stared at it, pulling a face.

'Do you think you could put a kiss on there?' he asked pensively. 

Lucy stared at him. 

He held out his forefinger. 

'Just there, at the bottom?'

'Of course,' she murmured and undid it.

Two little lines.  By the time Lucy had finished them and taken his money, her cheeks were on fire.  The second the door tinkled shut, she was rummaging in her bag for her phone.  She opened up her text conversation with Josh.