Page 27 of Hating the Boss

Trent stood first, gripping the seats as he moved toward the door. He grinned at Brad and me before giving us a little salute and jumping off the ledge of the plane. I gasped as I watched him disappear from view, my stomach doing a somersault.

“Let’s go,” said Brad to the instructor seated beside him. He placed his goggles over his eyes and stood up confidently, as if trying to keep up with Trent. “Come on,” he called to me.

I nodded, my legs shaking as I pulled myself to stand. Another instructor guided me toward the open door of the plane. He attached our harnesses together, securing the strap tightly, as Brad’s instructor did the same for them. We inched our way to the edge of the plane. My hands shook as I adjusted my goggles and looked out at the clear blue. I realized there was no backing out now.

“On one!” shouted my instructor. His voice seemed far away, though his mouth was right by my ear.

“Three!”

Oh shit.

“Two!”

I can’t do this.

“One!”

With one step, the floor below gave way to nothing and the plane disappeared somewhere behind me. I screamed shrilly as my body plummeted down, the jumpsuit fluttering in the roar of the wind. I couldn’t close my eyes. Couldn’t breathe. And then the initial drop was over and my body felt like it was floating.

“Put out your arms,” said my instructor calmly.

I did as he said and laughed maniacally as the air flew around me. I couldn’t believe I was doing this right now. The jitters I had felt before had melted away to something else as I finally let out a long sigh. It was an incredible feeling, like the world was so far away.

I caught sight of Brad, whose eyes were searching the sky until they landed on me. His face lit up and his mouth opened wide in a smile. He gave me a thumbs up and I gave him a thumbs up back. Maybe it was him, or the fact I had conquered a fear, or the wind that pulled my mouth into a grin I couldn’t hold back.

As the ground grew closer, our instructors pulled the latch for the parachute. My body jerked upward several feet as the rainbow of colors expanded above me.

“Keep your knees and feet together,” the instructor advised as the grass below me closed in.

He maneuvered the toggles expertly, the parachute above us steadying with each movement. I watched as our feet glided just above the ground, moving too quickly to stop yet. Finally, my feet touched down in the grass, my instructor’s following close behind as we ran a ways before coming to a stop.

“You did awesome!” said my instructor, unhooking our harnesses from each other and giving me a high-five.

“Thanks,” I said, wiping my brow as I turned to look for Brad.

To my surprise, he was already running toward me with a look of awe on his face.

“You did it!” he said breathlessly, pulling me into a hug and twirling me around so my feet were splayed out behind me. “I’m so proud of you!”

I had just jumped out of a freaking airplane, but feeling Brad’s arms around me was somehow the most exhilarating thing I had felt all day. I melted into his strong body and laid my head against his chest as he set my feet back on the ground. He was solid. I needed that after falling from the sky.

“I can’t believe we just did that,” I whispered shakily, as I felt his chest rise and fall quickly under my cheek.

We stood there in the tall grass still holding each other, catching our breath. After several moments, Brad cleared his throat and let me go, taking a step back. We heard applause to our left and quickly turned to see Trent standing there with a big smile on his face, looking between the two of us, as he clapped his hands together. I removed my helmet and nervously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as if that would help the tumbleweed atop my head. My cheeks were warm.

How long had Trent been standing there?

How long had we been hugging?

“You two make a cute couple,” said Trent.

Before Brad or I could object, he continued. “I’ll sign the contract when we get back to base.”

Chapter 12 Brad

As I watched Trent walk through the tall grass, my mouth instinctively widened into a triumphant grin. My heart was still beating in my chest from falling through the sky, and this just made it quicken its pace. I turned back to Sarah, who was practically bouncing on her toes as she looked up at me.

“We did it!” I exclaimed.