by Fiona Starr
“Swooper, stay!” I command my dog and he obeys, sitting at attention next me. I lean down to look at the girl. “I am so sorry. He’s never done anything like that before. Are you all right? Is she all right?”
“Jules? Jules, honey? Can you sit up?” Evan’s girlfriend Cassie is talking to the girl—Jules. Jules nods and Cassie grabs her hand and helps Jules into a sitting position.
She smiles shakily and nods a little, looking embarrassed. “I think I’m ok. Just got the wind knocked out of me.”
“I am really so sorry,” I say, feeling lame and useless.
She gets to her feet and is clearly unsteady but seems determined to carry on.
“You should keep your dog on a leash,” Lindsay says.
Jules waves her off. “Don’t. It’s all right. The dog got carried away by my charm that’s all.” She smiles weakly. When she touches a hand to the back of her head and winces, I realize we’re still standing out in the cold.
“Why don’t we all go inside and sit down? I’ll get you some ice for your head.”
I lead them to the office and direct them to the u-shaped ring of chairs facing the TV over the fireplace. It’s where I hold the orientation meetings and show a video of jump preparedness. Swoop moves over to his dog bed near the hearth and curls up. Everyone sits. Jules is helped to a chair by Cassie and Evan. I head to the fridge, grab an ice pack, and wrap it in a towel.
I sit on the edge of the chair next to Jules and place the pack on the back of her head. “Here you go. I can’t apologize enough. Swoop knows better than that. I don’t know what got into him.”
She slides her hand over the pack and winces a little at the pressure. I let go. “Thank you. It’s okay. Just a little bump. Really. I’m fine.”
Cassie gets up to inspect the back of Jules’ head. “There is no blood. Thank god. But you’ve got quite a bump rising.”
“Maybe we should do this another time?” Evan offers.
Jules shoots to her feet. “No! Don’t.” She wobbles a little and sits back down. “Seriously, I’ll never forgive myself if you don’t all go. It’s okay. I’ll watch from here.” She turns and looks out the window at all the jumpers landing in the field. Some are tandem and some are solo, but all of them are smiling ear-to-ear and high-fiving each other as they touch down.
“It’s no trouble to reschedule,” I say.
But Jules won’t have it. “Absolutely not.” She gets to her feet again and slams the ice pack onto her chair. “I insist that we see this through. I can jump with a bump on the head. Let’s go.”
“That’s the spirit!” Cassie claps her hands in applause.
I get everyone situated with the waiver forms and orientation video as the door opens and Shelly arrives with Chip and Matthew. Since Evan is an experienced skydiver, I need three more instructors so four of us can do a tandem jump with Cassie, Lindsay, Jules, and Pete.
Once the video is over and introductions are made, I collect the forms and Shelly takes over. “All right! If I can have everyone follow me, we’ll head to the hangar and go over all the gear!”
It’s our typical routine with first timers. One of us starts the orientation and paperwork, someone else goes over the gear, and each instructor pairs off with a client for suiting up so they have some time to build trust and bond a little before the jump.
Everyone files out the door behind Shelly. Jules is at the back of the line, and when she turns her head to hold the door open for me, her eyes swim and her knees buckle.
I don’t even think. I move in and catch her before she falls. She goes limp in my arms. Fainted out cold.
I carry her through the office to the staff part of the hangar and place her gently into the giant beanbag chair in the corner of the room. Then I run out and let the others know what happened.
JULES
My eyes flutter open and I am not sure where I am. The ceiling above is at least a hundred feet away, white, and curved like… oh no. I passed out in the hangar. I squeeze my eyes shut and groan. I have a horrendous headache.
“Hey, you’re awake.” His voice is soft and calm, close by.
I shift to sit up but the cushion I’m on gives way under me and I sink deeper into the softness.
“Oh, wait, let me give you a hand.” Ben kneels next to me and helps me sit up.
My head swims a little but I feel okay.
“This isn’t the easiest piece of furniture to climb out of,” he says.
Once I’m sitting up, I realize I am on a gigantic beanbag chair, big enough for several adults. The cover is made of silvery faux fur and it’s nestled into the corner of a break room set up in the back of a hangar.
“I can’t believe this,” I whisper and cover my face with my hands. It’s beyond embarrassing. “I’m sorry I ruined your skydiving plans.”
“You kidding? I’m the one who owes you an apology. If Swoop hadn’t tackled you like that, you’d be in with your friends, suiting up for your first jump.” He hands me a bottle of red sports drink with the top already loosened.
I take a sip. “Oh, so Swoop is the one I should thank, eh?”
At the sound of his name, the huge dog lumbers through the swinging door to the office and comes over to me gently, tail wagging and tongue ready to lick. I scratch the fur between his ears and let him nuzzle me. “He’s sweet.”
Ben sits next to me on the beanbag and rubs Swoops’s back. “So, you didn’t want to jump today?” His eyebrows arch in question.
“No. Yes. I did. I do… but I am afraid.” I look at my hands, nervous to be sharing my personal stuff. “I said yes as a personal challenge. A New Year’s resolution to try new things. Things that scare me.” I can’t meet his gaze.
“Well, skydiving is a big one for fear. But lots of people do it. I could take you up another time, if you like.” He leans back on the beanbag and the sun shines across his gray eyes, making them glow and sending a flutter through my chest.
I nod despite myself. “Maybe. Seems a waste to have come all this way.” What are you doing, Jules? You have been given the perfect dodge and you’re signing right back up to try again.
“It’s a lot of fun, very freeing. And a good first step if you really want to let go of your inhibitions.” He leans back on an elbow and sinks into the beanbag.
“This is quite the chair,” I say. “Never seen one so big.”
“Yeah, the Lovesac is pretty sweet.” He runs an arm over the faux fur and arches a brow at me suggestively.
“You call it the love sack? Really?” Gross. I can’t hide my disappointment. He’s just another jerk looking to score.
He sits up. “No. Actually, that’s the brand. I swear.” He fumbles with the rolls of fabric and pulls up an embroidered label that reads Lovesac. “See?”
“Oh. Sorry.” I’m suddenly unsure, having misread everything. “I thought you meant…”
He pats the cushion flat and leans on his elbow again. “Nothing to be sorry about. I was playing with you. I apologize.” He shifts his weight as if to stand up and I don’t know what comes over me. Maybe it’s the challenge to break through my inhibitions. Maybe it’s the fact that I misread him. Maybe it’s just that he’s gorgeous and we’re alone, but I don’t want him to leave. I don’t want to go home knowing I held back out of fear. Again.
I grab his arm. “Don’t. It’s… um.” I work up the courage to look him in the eye. “I’d like you to stay.”
He touches my hand on his arm and lifts my fingers, wrapping them around his. “Really? And what will we do if I stay?” He’s on his knees, facing me.
I shift onto my knees and move in so I am right in front of him. I pull my hand away and plant both hands on his hips, using them for leverage so I can reach up. He’s so tall. When I’m face-to-face with him I look into his eyes. They are gray and green. The left one has flecks of gold in it.
He is completely still, waiting for me to make the first move. I touch my tongue to his mouth and nibble on his lower lip.
“I have an idea what we could do,” I whisper. I pull away and watch his face, searching for a clue to how he’s taking my advance. I have no idea what to expect but my heart is racing rabbit-fast in my chest—my normal cue to run away. I’m done with that. That’s the old me. The scared me. The new me? She wants this. I want him. I’m going for it.
BEN
I watch her kiss me, unsure what to think. Jules doesn’t seem like one of those girls, but there’s no mistaking her signals here. My cock is pressing against my dive suit and I’m only wearing my shorts underneath so there is no hiding it. Fuck it.
I place my hand on the back of her neck and pull her to me. I press my lips against hers, slowly at first, testing to see what she wants. When she parts her lips, I let go and soon her taste fills my head.
Jules is sweet and warm, and her hands are all over me. When she grabs my cock, I can’t help it; I moan and press into her. The pressure feels like it might kill me. I move my kisses from her lips to her neck.
She’s unbuttoning her sweater and exposing more of her neck and chest to me. I help her with the buttons and slip her sweater off, revealing a baby blue bra cupping her small, round breasts. I slip her bra off one shoulder and ease the fabric away and find her nipple, sucking it and bringing it gently between my teeth. This raises a moan from her that sends me over the edge.
I grab her by the ass and lift her off the beanbag with one arm, adjusting my knees to lay her down. Once I have her under me she sits up and I feel her tiny fingers move along my collar and pull the zipper of my jumpsuit down my torso.
Her hands are warm on my chest and her lips are soft on my belly as I shrug out of the top of my jumpsuit. It’s one piece, so it hangs from my hips as I kneel in front of her.
She’s panting on the cushion. My cock is throbbing when she lays back and unbuttons her jeans.
Something about the way the setting sun lands on her skin wakes something up in my brain and I can’t move. She’s perfect.
“My god, you’re beautiful,” I whisper.
She shimmies out of her jeans, watching me the whole time with her green eyes blazing into mine. “I have never…” She closes her eyes and shakes her head as if clearing away the words. “I want you.” She says it like she’s ordering lunch but her cheeks flame bright red and I can tell she’s embarrassed or shy or something.
Her panties are baby blue, like her bra, and I finger the edge of the lace. She reaches up and pulls my zipper the rest of the way down and slips her hands inside my shorts and guides them down over my erection.
I’m naked in front of her and the sun is blazing through the window and I don’t care about anything. I reach down to her hips and slide her panties down her legs, she eases them off her feet and opens her legs for me.
“I don’t do things like this,” she says. “I don’t want you to think…”
“Hmm.” I don’t reply. I don’t have the heart to tell her that this is all I do. All I want. So I just kiss her and place her hand on my rock hard cock and let her guide me inside.
JULES
I can’t believe this is happening. Earth to Jules… holy shit! I really have taken my New Year’s resolution to heart. I’m letting go of my fear and my need to control everything and just going with it. And Oh. My. God.
He places my hand onto his cock as he lowers his incredible body on top of mine. I sink into the cushion under his weight as I rub my hand over the silky skin of his penis, pressing the swollen head against my entrance. I am so wet that he slips easily inside, but he moves slowly, tentatively.
I look up at him and he’s waiting, watching. I lift my hips to him, bringing his cock deeper inside me, slower than slow. I’ve never let go like this before. Nothing has ever felt this easy in my life. I let him take me, not thinking about what’s next, or how wrong this is, or how completely irresponsible we are having sex in the open like this. I let all my thoughts drift away and it’s only Ben and me and this amazing moment in time.
He wraps an arm around the small of my back and rolls us over, guiding me on top. I can feel his hardness inside me, every inch of him pressing against me. He’s so big and yet so gentle, so alert to my needs.
He sits up and takes my breast in his mouth, sucking and flicking my nipple with his tongue while he squeezes the other. I wonder if he is disappointed in my small chest but then I quash the thought and curse myself for letting it intrude. Then his hands are on my hips and he’s moving me in time with his thrusts. He’s so strong I don’t have to do anything, he lifts me and pulls me down, lifts and pulls.
My body responds by squeezing his cock tighter. The sensation raises a moan that begins in my belly and rises to my throat. If this is what life is like when I throw off all my fears, then I don’t ever want to go back.
BEN
Her body writhes as she rides me. She’s smells like sugar and she’s so tight and wet that it feels like every inch of my cock is being consumed by her. The feeling is like nothing I’ve ever known and I don’t want it to end, ever. She moans as she relaxes her body, letting me rock her back and forth on my hardness. She’s amazing and gorgeous and literally a perfect fit.
She opens her eyes and looks down at me and I can’t hold on much longer. I roll us over so she’s under me again and I pull out; I don’t want to come just yet. I lift her knees and spread her wide and finger her wetness, guiding my tongue to her clit.
She grabs my hair and moans as I dive into her with my tongue, sucking her clit and pressing my fingers into her swollen wet pussy. I move a hand up over her belly and move upward to find her squeezing her own breasts to pleasure herself. She thrusts her pussy into my mouth in time with my fingers and when she is almost on the edge I pull away and ease my cock back inside her.
“Yes! Yes!” She screams as she pulls me into her. “My God, yes!” We move together for another moment until I feel her body tighten against mine and I can’t hold on any longer.
I let go and my warmth fills her as I come.
We lay together on the beanbag, kissing and snuggling under a blanket, facing each other. For the first time in forever, I have no thoughts of getting up and leaving. She’s so easy to be with. So… comfortable.
“This is really nice,” she says, smiling up at me.
I move a lock of hair off her face and kiss her nose. “Yeah, it really is,” I say, and I mean it. I really mean it.
We stay like this for another half hour that feels like forever. We talk and ask each other questions and get to know one another a little. I don’t know when it happens exactly, but something in me aches to make this last.
The radio on my desk squawks and pops the magical bubble surrounding us. It falls away and reality is back. I get up and pull on my shorts and zip up my jumpsuit.
“Your friends are in the air,” I say, collecting Jules’ clothing and placing them in a neat pile next to her.
JULES
The radio signal was like a lightning bolt on a perfect sunny day. It tore the moment from us and that was that.
Ben and I step outside and walk to the edge of the airfield, our eyes skyward. The wind has picked up a little, and I hug my coat around me. He stands in his jumpsuit and doesn’t seem at all affected by the cold.
He points up to the sky, a little east of us. “They’re in free fall for the first minute, then you’ll see their chutes open.”
We stand there, watching, until one by one, four bright red chutes appear one after the other in a cluster. I have a hard time processing that that’s Cassie and Evan and Lindsay and Pete. The sight takes my breath away.
“They are up so high.” I can’t look away as my four friends descend from the impossible height. “Is it very loud?”
Swoop appears with a tennis ball in his mouth and sits at Ben’s side. Ben takes the ball and throws it into the field, in the opposite direction of the jumpers. Swoop takes off.
Ben nods. “The wind is pretty intense when you’re in free fall, but once you open your chute, ev
erything feels quiet and smooth. You glide down slow and get to enjoy the view.” He’s watching the four red chutes circle in the setting sun. “It’s just you and the clear blue sky. There’s really nothing else like it.”
I watch his face and realize he really loves this.
Evan touches down first. He seems to glide across the grass and places hit feet down in a gentle jog and then gets to work picking up his chute. Then the others land with their tandem instructors who skip across the grass on their feet but they look more like unwieldy geese the way they are strapped to each other.
Cassie disengages her buckles, detaching herself from her tandem instructor and runs over to me, whooping. Her cheeks are red from the wind and the cold, and her eyes are alive with the intensity of the jump. “Jules! You have to go up. You have to! I can’t wait to do it again!” She hugs me and then touches the back of my head. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better. I am sorry I missed it.”
“You’re not mad that we went without you?” Cassie asks.
I shake my head and glance over at Ben. He’s watching Evan. “Not at all. I would have felt awful if I’d ruined the whole day.”
The others arrive and the energy coming off them is palpable.
Evan high fives Ben. “Man, I have to make more time for this! Every single jump is better than the last one!”
Cassie sidles up to Evan and puts her arm around his waist. “I’d love to do it again. And Jules still needs to go.”
“How’s your head, Jules?” Lindsay asks.