Roz had never had a jealous boyfriend before. In one way, she liked it, as long as he didn’t act like a jerk or prevent her from doing the things she wanted to do. So far, Konrad had behaved okay.
He stood uncomfortably, as if trying to pretend the plane door wasn’t opening and a wise-cracking guy wasn’t strapped fast to his back. Was he homophobic? Roz almost laughed as she remembered wondering if he was gay, just because he was handsome, buff, and sensitive. He was still mouthwateringly gorgeous, but he looked about as sensitive as a statue at the moment.
“Are you okay, hon?” she yelled over the rushing wind.
He nodded but held onto the strut beside him with white knuckles. It looked like he was perspiring under his padded leather helmet.
“Okay,” her instructor yelled. “Do you remember where the ripcord is?”
They both pointed to it, having been told not to pull it until told to do so. Roz knew the instructor had control if anything went wrong. She just hoped he didn’t have a heart attack and die on her. No, he looked young and healthy.Shewas the one who might have a heart attack. Why did she want to do this again?
“Ladies first. Ready?” her instructor yelled.
She nodded.
“Let’s go, then. We’ll jump on three.” He called out “three!” and pushed her off the platform into thin air.
She shrieked.
Hearing a loud bellow, rather than actually seeing Konrad, she just knew he had jumped out right behind her. Was he supposed to?
Fighting for breath crowded out thoughts of Konrad. When she finally had her breathing under control, she tried to look over her shoulder. He was right behind them, and his instructor appeared to be praying, his cocky expression replaced by a serious one, and his eyes were closed.
Her own instructor looked back, and even under his goggles, she saw his eyes pop. Something told her Konrad wasn’t supposed to have jumped when he did. Now what? If she opened her chute, it would hit the jumpers behind her.
“Holy shit,” her instructor yelled. He veered off to one side, trying to clear a path for the other two. Apparently both Konrad and his instructor were afraid. Roz could barely see Konrad’s face anymore, but he looked terrified, and his instructor was still praying, his head resting against Konrad’s back.
Something was wrong. They were tumbling. Was his instructor that much of a wise guy that he’dtryto scare Konrad?
Roz waited in uncertainty until her instructor tapped her arm and yelled, “Pull!”
She pulled and waited an anxious couple of seconds for the sail to billow and the wind to fill it. The chute yanked them out of their high-speed descent, and she glided more gently. But where the heck were Konrad and his highly religious instructor?
She peered down. Her heart was in her throat when she finally spotted them,waybelow. Their chute finally opened. Thank God! Wait until she got her hands on that instructor. She’d give him a piece of her mind he wouldn’t forget.
At last, out of freefall, and with Konrad out of danger, she could relax and enjoy the view. She looked down at her feet hanging in midair and then at the earth below. She saw a far-off lake and mountains, smaller ponds, and trees. As she descended further, the air strip, parking lot, building, and cars grew larger and more distinct.
The ground came closer and closer. She’d lost track of where Konrad was. The other two must have wound up behind them.
At last her feet touched down, and she bent her knees to absorb the impact. Her instructor landed at the same time in the same way, so she didn’t even fall over. If she hadn’t been so worried about Konrad, the ride might have been fun. She grinned, but mostly because it was over.
She noticed the few people waiting on the ground were ignoring them and shading their eyes, staring with open mouths at something off to the right.
Following their gaze, she spotted the other two jumpers, but it looked like their chute had collapsed, and they were in the trees.
Roz gasped, then let out a scream so loud she barely recognized her own voice.
Chapter 12
Ouch, oh, ouch, ow, ow, oh…Konrad hit pine tree branches, taking the impact to his face and body as he tried to protect the poor guy strapped to his back. He was fairly sure he could survive a hard fall. He didn’t know if his instructor could.
At last they stopped falling and bounced, suspended, above the ground. As soon as Konrad caught his breath, he called out, “Hey, are you all right back there?”
An eerie silence answered him.
“Shit.” He squirmed despite his pain, trying to pull himself loose from the harness so he could turn around and examine his instructor. “Damn trees,” he muttered.
Konrad knew their descent wasn’t normal. He just didn’t know what to do about it. His instructor yelled something like, “Don’t!” as Konrad dragged him out the door. He hadn’t heard him speak since.
