by Susan Stoker
Not sure what she was expecting, Harley was surprised to see only one person who looked like he worked at the club milling around. There were six other people clumped together chatting happily near a table in the back, obviously all friends. Her heart dropped.
The last thing Harley wanted to do was go through this experience with a group of people who knew and liked each other. She already felt like enough of an outsider in her everyday life.
“Hey, you must be Harley. Welcome! Come on over here and we’ll get introductions done with before we get started with the legal stuff.”
The man who’d spoken had a goatee and a slight beer belly. His hair was blond and slightly mussed. The jeans looked worn but comfortable and he wore a T-shirt with the words “Waco Skydiving Club” across his chest. He reminded her a lot of her dad, and that made her relax a bit. It was as if he was there looking over her.
“Thanks, Dad,” she whispered, then took a deep breath.
She walked over to the group, and seeing them all laughing and talking together made her already shaky confidence take a nosedive and she was once again ready to scrap the entire idea, but the man who resembled her father didn’t give her a chance to even open her mouth.
He addressed the entire group. “I’m Tommy and I started this club about eight years ago. There are a lot of active duty and retired military guys around here, as you know, who were looking for a way to have some fun in their down time. We follow the US Parachute Association rules and regulations and we keep a close eye on the weather. If there’s even a chance of it turning, we won’t jump. Safety is our number one priority here. So with that out of the way, why don’t we go around and you can introduce yourself and say why you’re here today.”
Harley felt like she was in the fourth grade again. She’d been the new kid in school and she had to stand in front of the class and tell everyone who she was and her favorite subject in school. Science apparently wasn’t the right answer because from that day forward, she’d been made fun of and picked on, not only because of her odd name, but because she was a science nerd.
“I’ll start,” a good-looking man with a deep voice said. “I’m Joe and this’ll be my fifth jump. I did my first a couple of years ago and was hooked.” He nodded to the woman at his side.
“Oh, okay, I’m Sarah. This will be my fourth jump. Joe convinced me to go with him after he’d gone his first time, and even though I was reluctant, I decided to go for it. Now he won’t let me live it down that he’s been one more time than me.”
Everyone around the beautiful couple tittered. Harley mentally groaned. Great. Now she was not only going to have to do this with a group of friends, but she would bet everything she owned that she was the only newbie there.
Her fears were confirmed when the rest of the group also chimed in with the fact that they were repeat jumpers. When it was finally her turn to introduce herself, she kept it short and sweet, wanting nothing more than to get on with it.
“I’m Harley. This will be my first time. It’s good to meet everyone.” Just because she didn’t like to be in groups, didn’t mean she didn’t know the rules. Be polite. Smile. Look interested.
“Hey, Harley, cool name. So you’re the only virgin here, good to know,” Tommy boomed out, his words echoing across the room.
Harley blushed and bit her lip. She knew the man was talking about the fact that she was the only one who hadn’t jumped out of a plane before, but it suddenly felt as if he knew the one sexual encounter she’d had when she was in college had ended in embarrassment. Harley supposed she was technically still a virgin, even though the guy had shoved his fingers inside her and broken her hymen. It had hurt, and she’d jerked her knees up, nailing him in the balls. Needless to say, that had ended the night, and the pseudo-relationship they’d had.
Harley went through the motions of laughing along with the others. Thankfully Tommy didn’t dwell on his little joke and continued, “Okay, most of you know the drill. We’ll get your IDs and weigh you so we can pair you up with the best tandem master. We’ve got snacks and coffee and water, but I don’t suggest guzzling too much liquid. Once you get strapped in, you won’t be able to use the restroom for at least an hour or so.”
He eyed the group up and down and nodded. “Looks like you’re all dressed appropriately, thank you. Harley, since you’re wearing glasses, we’ll want to make sure we have a pair of goggles that fits over them. Remind me later if I forget, okay?”
Harley nodded, stupidly embarrassed that she was the only one wearing glasses. It wasn’t anything to be embarrassed about, but she still was. She’d tried wearing contacts, but staring at the computer for hours at a time dried her eyes out and gave her awful headaches. It was simply easier to wear glasses.
“Once everyone is settled, we’ll watch a couple of videos. The first will describe the process you’re about to go through. From how the parachutes are packed, to fitting the harnesses and what you’ll do once it’s time to jump. Then we’ll get the legal stuff out of the way and have you sign the waivers. There’s another video about the dangers of jumping out of a plane, just so you know what you’re getting into, then if you’re all still interested, we’ll take payment and get you suited up. Any questions?”
Harley had about a million, but when she looked around and saw the rest of the group looking bored, she bit her tongue. This was why she didn’t want to go with a bunch of people who’d done this before. She was nervous as hell and wanted as much information as she could get, but instead of relying on other newbies to ask questions, she was on her own.
Keeping her mouth shut for the moment, she followed behind the others and settled into a chair in the front row. She wanted to be able to see and hear the television clearly. The other couples immediately started talking amongst themselves, but Harley’s complete attention was on the screen.
“So? What do you think?” Tommy asked his friend, Beckett “Coach” Ralston, as they stood inside the small office at the Waco Skydiving Club looking out at the group of civilians who would be skydiving in a few hours.
Coach shrugged. “Looks about like the group we had yesterday.” Jumping out of a perfectly functioning plane wasn’t exactly Coach’s idea of a good time, but he’d taken two weeks of leave after the kidnapping of his teammate’s girlfriend and daughter. Emily and Annie were fine, but Jacks, the vindictive ex-soldier who had orchestrated the entire incident, hadn’t been so lucky. He’d spent a few days in the hospital recuperating, and was now currently a guest of the State of Texas. Jacks would be going on trial in a few weeks, and Coach hoped he’d spend a good chunk of time behind bars.
Coach and the rest of his Delta Force team were taking some time off and Tommy had been in a bind. One of his regular jumpmasters had broken his leg. He had a replacement coming, but the other man couldn’t get there for another month. Since Coach had the time, and nothing else planned, he’d agreed to come and help his friend out.
Coach and Tommy had met a couple of years earlier. He’d heard about a new technique for packing a parachute and had wanted to try it out. He’d researched and found that the Waco Skydiving Club had an excellent reputation and was already using the new procedure. Coach had gone out to check into the organization, and they had clicked from day one. Tommy was older, and more redneck than Coach was used to, but he was a great guy with a heart of gold. There was no way Coach could turn down his plea for help.
“The three couples have all jumped several times before, we’ve only got one virgin this time,” Tommy told him, raising his chin, indicating the tall woman sitting in the front row of chairs intently watching the safety video. She was the only one paying attention, sitting with her eyes glued on the screen, and apparently tuning out the chatter from the rest of the group behind her.
Coach chuckled. “As if I couldn’t figure that out on my own.”
“Yeah, kinda hard to miss.”
“Think she’s gonna go through with it?” Coach asked, knowing Tommy had a good eye
for who might chicken out when the rubber met the road.
“Oh yeah. She might be new at this, but she’s got determination oozing from every pore of her body.”
Coach narrowed his eyes and examined the woman, wondering what it was that Tommy saw in her. She wasn’t anything special to look at. She seemed tall, but slender. He couldn’t really tell since she was wearing a baggy T-shirt, but her legs looked miles long in her jeans, without many curves. Her hair was shoulder length, a light brown color, and hanging loosely over her shoulders. She was currently biting her lip and jiggling one foot, watching the television nervously, pushing up her glasses, which kept sliding down her nose.
“She’ll be with you,” Tommy told Coach. “She’s tall, and she won’t fit comfortably against the others.”
Coach knew the man was right. At six-five, he was a couple inches taller than any of the other jumpmasters. The woman could go with someone else, but it made more sense for her to be with him since she seemed to be the tallest woman of the bunch. She’d fit against him better since they’d be strapped together from hips to chest. If he was paired with the smaller women, their feet wouldn’t even touch the ground once the harnesses were strapped together.
Coach nodded at his friend. “I figured. What’s her story?”
Tommy shrugged. “Don’t know. She didn’t say much in the introductions. Just that she’d never jumped before.”
Coach was always fascinated with the reasons why people decided to do a tandem jump. For some it was because they’d beat cancer, others because they wanted the adrenaline rush. A few had only agreed to accompany their partners because it was something they’d wanted to do. But for some reason, Coach figured none of those explanations fit the woman completely engrossed in the safety procedures.
He turned to Tommy. “I hope she doesn’t back out. It’s a beautiful day. I’m actually looking forward to jumping today.”
Tommy’s laugh boomed out through the small office. “Good. I knew if I could get you out here and have you jump enough, you’d see the beauty in it.”
Coach smiled ruefully. “It’s not like we see much beauty when we do this for our jobs.”
“I know, that’s why you needed this,” Tommy retorted immediately, obviously having a good idea what it was Coach did for a living, even if they’d never talked about it.
Coach rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. I’m enjoying it. Happy?”
“Immensely.” The older man looked through the glass again. “Looks like the videos are almost over. I’ll get them to sign the waivers and take care of payment, then it’ll be time for them to meet everyone. You ready?”
Coach nodded. “See you in a few.”
He watched as Tommy strode out of the office and went over to stand next to the television, ready to stop the video as soon as it was done. Coach’s eyes went to the woman in the front row. He’d been with his share of women over the years, fewer now that he’d reached thirty-five. In the days when he’d first joined the Army, he’d been like most young soldiers, taking home anyone who showed an ounce of interest.
Once he’d joined the team, however, he was more interested in working hard, staying alive, and making sure his teammates made it home in one piece as well. When he got home from missions, all he wanted to do was relax, not deal with the intricacies of picking up a woman in a bar or even having a long-term girlfriend. His days of dating women he met in bars were long over. It’d been years since he’d been in a relationship, and he could count on one hand the number of sexual encounters he’d had since that time.
But there was something about the woman drinking in every scrap of information that flitted across the television screen. She wasn’t his type. He liked smaller women who he could dominate easily. He liked the feeling of being bigger and stronger than any woman he took to bed. He liked being in charge. Coach figured it was a side effect of being a Delta Force soldier. He wasn’t an asshole in bed, or out, but he spent so much time ordering people around and having them do his bidding immediately and without question, that it had become ingrained in his psyche.
And he definitely liked curves. Lots of them. He was a tit man, and he’d been known to spend hours worshiping a woman’s breasts. He preferred a woman to be natural; there was just something so wrong about seeing a woman naked with boobs that didn’t sag at all. He liked long hair on a woman, didn’t matter what color it was, and he definitely liked his women to have some sort of intelligence. Ditzy women who only wanted to sleep with a soldier, and didn’t care what kind, weren’t for him.
After observing the woman who’d stood up and followed Tommy to the other side of the room to pick up the waivers she needed to sign, Coach decided she really wasn’t his type at all.
But that didn’t keep his eyes from straying to her ass as she walked. She was tall and slender, but perfectly proportioned. Her legs were long and her hips were wide. She swayed sexily as she walked, even when she didn’t know someone was observing her. Coach’s eyes widened when she put both hands on the small of her back and stretched, arching her back, working out the kinks that had formed while she’d been seated on the metal chair.
She was standing at the back of the group, her profile to him. Coach sucked in a breath. When she arched backward, her T-shirt tightened against her chest and he could see that she indeed had some curves hidden under her oversized shirt. Her tits weren’t huge, but against her slim frame, they stood out like little apples.
She curled her hands over her upper arms and rubbed them, her eyes glued to Tommy, who was explaining how the equipment they’d be using worked. Coach remembered that the air was turned way down in the outer room, to combat the rise in temperature that the customers usually experienced when they got nervous.
The woman’s nipples were prominent under her clothes, and Coach could clearly see them against her shirt, even from across the room. God. Damn. Yes, he was a breast man, but nipples were his weakness, and it looked like this woman had a pair he’d like to get his hands on.
She turned away then, holding out a hand to grab the pen Tommy was holding toward her, and Coach shook his head. Jesus. He was ogling the woman as if she was a stripper writhing against a pole. It was rude, and unprofessional, and…
Coach’s thoughts dropped off.
She’d leaned over a table in the back of the room to sign the release form and her ass was fucking perfect.
Coach spun around and wiped a hand through his short hair. Jesus, he had to get a grip. The last thing he wanted to do was go out there with a hard-on to meet her. They’d both be embarrassed, and since she had to be strapped up against him, it would be extremely obvious and awkward.
Coach took a deep breath and tried to think of anything that would make the blood pooling in his dick evenly distribute itself throughout the rest of his body. He thought about his teammate’s new daughter, Annie. He’d heard from Blade, another member of his team, about her first rappelling lesson.
Fletch refused to teach her, he was way too protective of the first grader, so Blade had volunteered. He reported that the little girl was absolutely fearless, squealing in delight when she’d pushed off of the training wall at the gym on the base. Coach smiled. Annie was a delight and he couldn’t be happier for Fletch. He and Emily were perfect together; her daughter was simply the icing on the cake for Fletch.
Coach relaxed, feeling his erection deflating now that he wasn’t thinking about how the mysterious woman on the other side of the room was just the right height for him to bend over and take—
No. He couldn’t go there. One of the drawbacks of being attracted to smaller women was that he wasn’t able to comfortably take them in many positions, at least not without a lot of work on his part. Coach hadn’t minded before, but now, he was visualizing how much easier it would be to take her from behind, or even standing upright in the shower…and liking it. He just may have to rethink his “type” of woman.
Coach groaned and shifted his dick in his pants, willing it to calm do
wn again. Fuck. He had a job to do, and he had to get himself together in order to do it.
Finally, feeling like he had himself under control, Coach turned to the office door. He had to get his mind in the game. He couldn’t be distracted, not when he was about to throw himself out of a plane and go hurtling toward the ground. Especially not when he had a woman strapped to his chest. Hurting himself was one thing, but hurting someone else, a woman who was probably someone’s sister—and hopefully not someone’s girlfriend or wife—was another thing altogether.
He opened the door and walked toward the group, smiling in what he hoped was a friendly way. Showtime.
3
Harley was having second, and third, thoughts about this whole thing. The safety video scared the shit out of her. There were so many things that could go wrong it wasn’t even funny. The plane could crash, the parachute might not deploy, the reserve chute might fail…she was crazy for even thinking she could do this. This wasn’t her. She was Harley, the chick who sat on her butt all day.
She was in the middle of her internal freak-out when a man appeared in front of her. She tilted her head back to look at him. He was tall. Freakishly tall. And he was hot. He was wearing a buttoned-down blue shirt, which should’ve looked weird, considering where they were, but it didn’t. She couldn’t see what kind of pants he was wearing because he had some sort of overalls covering them, obviously his jumpsuit. A harness was sitting low on his hips, the straps dangling between his legs as he stood there.
“Hey, my name is Beckett Ralston, but my friends call me Coach. I’ll be your jumpmaster today. Do you have any questions?”
Did she have any questions? Uh, yeah, only about a hundred.
