The Freefall Trilogy (Complete Collection) (3 page)

'Should I lift my legs now?'

'No, not yet,' Joshua decided.

The ground was coming up at them.  It seemed like they were just a few metres away.

'Are you sure?' she asked anxiously.

'Are you questioning my
authoritah?'

She giggled nervously at the Eric
Cartman impression.  The warning was there though.  It was implicit. 

She'd been
questioning
his
authoritah
before they'd gotten out of the plane.  Lucy cringed, realising how annoying she'd been.

'OK, you can lift them up now,' Josh said cheerily.

She placed her hands under her knees, surprised by how high her feet rose in the air.  It was a lot easier than it had been on the floor of the training room.  And with that, they touched down, sliding across the damp grass on their backsides, the catchers grasping the lines, the parachute slumping down.

Stu was back, the camera whirring in her face.  Lucy wiped her nose on the back of her glove, praying she didn't have a booger.

'Good job!' said Josh, patting her shoulders, adeptly unclipping her.  He undid the throat strap of her hat.  'All right, Miss
Simkins.  You're free to go.'

Giddily she stood up, yanking the awful rubber hat from her head, wrenching off the goggles, running a hand through her hair.

Oh...

It seemed like a good idea at the time.  It was meant to be cathartic.  She loved Sienna Miller's new cut.  Sandra tried her best to dissuade her.

'Wow, that's drastic,' she gasped, scowling down at the crumpled photo ripped from Cosmo.  'You've got beautiful hair, Lucy.  Don't you think it's too much? 

'...Look, if I take it up to here,'  Sandra coaxed, resting her fingers on Lucy's shoulders.  'Put some layers in—'

Lucy stared back in the mirror, mouth pressed into a line, obstinately shaking her head.

By the time she left, it was already kinking, a red-cheeked Sandra sweeping twelve inches of blonde locks from the floor.  Another hour and she'd gone from the sleek Sienna Miller cut, to a messy Meg Ryan in
City of Angels. 
Her hair was too thick and rebellious.  Sandra had tried to warn her.

Lucy ran her fingers through the mass of golden corkscrew curls, so light and unruly in the wind.

'So, Lucy.  How are you feeling?'

Stu was in full snapper mode.  She grinned back at him.

'Fantastic!'

She saw the twinkle re-emerge in his vivid blue eyes.

'What was the best bit?' he asked, camera still whirring away.  'Freefall, the canopy ride... sitting in Joshua's lap?'

Lucy gaped for a moment, then narrowed her eyes, cocking her head.

Oh, you little bastard...

She and Stu smirked at one another.

'Freefall,' she blurted, cheeks flooding with colour.  She ran her hand through her hair again.  'Definitely freefall.'

I am going to kill you...

Stuart grinned back
goadingly from behind the camera.

'Well then, there's only one thing left to do...'

Lucy cocked her head.

What's he up to now?

'Go and give the man a hug.  He just saved your life!'

Oh...  Oh you little bugger...

She looked across at Joshua shyly.  He was standing there, arms outstretched.  It was the drill; he'd evidently done it thousands of times.  She embraced him awkwardly. 

Lucy's cheek touched his shoulder briefly.  She could feel the warmth of him through his damp t-shirt.  He smelt of fabric conditioner and a faint woody scent. 
Wow... 
She stepped away giddily.

A few more snaps and Stu scurried off to do his editing.  She looked down at Josh as he knelt over the canopy.  It looked straightforward over their heads, but so complicated on the ground, a mass of lines and silk.

'Is there anything I can do?'

He'd pulled his crash helmet up, the chin wresting on his forehead, goggles wrapped around it.  She saw a trace of stubble, gazed at his full, soft lips.  He glanced up.  Lucy looked away.

'No,' he said dryly.  'I think I've got it.'
 

Lucy prodded the grass with her
Adidassed toe.  She wanted to do something, she didn't like just standing there. 

'Sorry,' she muttered.  'I only wanted to help.'

'Lucy...' she heard him growl.  'Are we sulking again?'

He rose up, the blue and white parachute bundled up between them in his arms.

'I... I...'

'You got in a right little
tizz when I took your toggles away, didn't you?' he teased.

She looked up from his Converse trainers.  He grinned back, eyes a bright green blaze.

'I liked it,' she admitted.  'I want to do it again.'

'Yes,' he nodded.  'I had a feeling you might.'

'On my own, I mean.  Can you teach me?  I've got the money,' she gushed excitedly, 'I've been saving.  I've got some tunnel time booked in Milton Keynes.  Do they do AFF courses here?  I was looking at static line, but then there's no freefall and... and—'

'Whoa, whoa, whoa!'

The atmosphere between them switched in an instant.  He studied her anew. 

Josh had just had her pegged as a day jumper.  Those crystal blue eyes were sparkling now; she was talking too fast.  Josh bit his lip and frowned, suddenly on the back foot.

'We do the
AFF course here,' he said, trying to sound blasé, biting his lip.  'I'm qualified'  ...
just. 
'I can teach you'  ...
if Martin will let me.

The
beestung lips parted in a blinding white grin.

Fuck me.

This was not the same girl he'd seen earlier, glancing up from the picnic bench with a broken smile.  Trembling in the hangar as he tried to fit the harness, shifting annoyingly from foot to foot so he had to keep adjusting the straps.  Staring out of the window on the plane, looking as though she might burst into tears.  No.  Whoever she was, he'd left her up there.

Josh smiled back at Lucy.  It was difficult not to.  Happiness radiated from her.

Moments like this were the reason why Josh loved his job.  It wasn't just the kudos from his old school mates (though he liked that well enough).  It wasn't the teenage fan club (though an ego stroke is always nice).  It was the fact that you could take someone, obviously damaged, and make them all shiny and new.  He'd seen it happen hundreds of times.  He wondered what the story was with her.

'Do I
book at the counter?' she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.  'Would we be able to start next weekend?'

He lowered his eyebrows, struggling with the smirk.

'Look, just...  One step at a time, eh?' 

Josh turned away from her, watching the minibus roll up. 

'Let's go back, sit down, have a drink and a chat.  I'll explain everything this entails, and we'll talk about your options.'

Lucy copped the catcher's smirk out of the corner of her eye.  She watched Joshua's eyes narrow, giving him the evils.  The catcher quickly looked away.

'I...  I don't want to keep you from your work,' she said.

She followed his finger to the windsock.  It was billowing.  She followed his hand to the sky.

Jeez...
             

'Columbus...'

The cloud was closing in fast.

'I think we're done jumping for today.'

'Your phone's been ringing,' the lady behind the counter told Lucy as she collected her bag.  'Quite a lot, actually...' 

Lucy pulled out her mobile, rolling her eyes.  Right on cue, it started ringing again.

'Somebody certainly wants to talk to you,' said the lady in the specs.

'Ready?' came a voice from behind her.

Lucy tapped on
Decline
, silencing the xylophone ringtone, smiling at Joshua.

'Yes.'

Two missed calls from Suzie, five from her mother, one from Jean at the shop.  Nine from Phil.  Lucy glowered. 

What on earth is his problem? 

'Everything all right?' Josh asked innocuously as she sank into the couch. 

'Fine,' Lucy said distractedly, still gazing down at her phone.

'What would you like to drink?'

She opened up her text messages.

What are you doing at dumbleton airfield?

Lucy snorted.  There was only one reason why people went there.

Are you skydiving? Answer me please.

Lucy frowned. 

Why do you care, all of a sudden? 

Third message from Phil:

You need to ring your mother. She's worried. We all are.

Lucy rolled her eyes. 
Great. 
Trust Phil to go telling on her.  She frowned chewing her lip.  More to the point, how did he even know she was there?

'Lucy...' Josh called in a singsong voice.

'Yeah?'

'What would you like to drink?'

She glanced up briefly. 

'Beer,' she blurted out.

He hovered over her. 

'You drove here, didn't you?'

Who are you, my mother?

'All right. 
Shandy then,' she said irritably.

Suddenly remembering herself, Lucy jumped up.   

'It's OK, I'll get them,' she called to his back, softening her voice.

He turned back gave her a look.

'Sit down, Lucy,' Josh growled. 

She did, after a beat.

Is he still in instructor mode, or is he always like that?

She stared down at the phone.  Suddenly it clicked.  Lucy opened her web browser.

how to track an iphone

It had to be that.  She hadn't told a soul where she was going.  And there it was, in the very first Google result. 

iCloud: The New Infidelity App

Lucy snorted angrily.  Phil's paranoia ran deeper than she'd ever imagined.  He'd signed her up for iCloud the very same day that pretty little white Apple box arrived.  He'd talked her into buying the damned thing.  He must have been tracking her ever since, all paid for with her own money.

What a bloody weirdo...

Phil finished with her, rather unceremoniously.  He didn't even try to be nice.  One minute they were going on holiday, the next he was packing his bags.  Suzie was right.  His eyes really were too close together.  Lucy was well shot of him.  

She thought back to the few times he'd called since the breakup - all off the back of her doing something outside her usual routine.  It seemed so uncanny: how did he know? 

And then it rang, AGAIN. 

'Yes,' Lucy hissed.  'Listen, I've got nothing to say to you... ... ...  No. 
You're
going to ring her and tell her I'm all right, because you're the idiot who's caused all this mess... ... ...  I don't care, Phil...  Listen.  I know you've been tracking my phone.  It's not on, you're not right in the head... ... ...  What I do now is none of your business.  If you don't stop this shit, I'm going to call the police.'

She promptly ended the call, flipping the case shut with a loud crack.

'I'd ask you again if everything's all right,' said Josh, clunking their drinks down on the table, 'but I really don't think you lying to me twice in one day would get us off to a very good start.'