“Welcome back to The One,” Spencer said, addressing the group. “We’re here today at Sky’s The Limit Indoor Skydiving Training and Recreation Center. Today you’re getting a special opportunity to do some exciting indoor skydiving.”
Cassidy wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that, but by the amount of “ohs” and “ahs” around her, she assumed the other women thought it was a great idea.
“You’ll each have a turn in the vertical wind tunnel you see behind me. Together with Brad, you’ll soar to new heights and maybe even to love.” When the red light flickered off on the camera pointed at Spencer, he moved to the side of the room to have his makeup retouched.
Susan hustled over with a rainbow of colorful jumpsuits draped over her arms. “I need you to put these on over your clothes. Be sure to empty your pockets and remove any jewelry that isn’t covered by the suit. Anyone with sandals, heels, or boots, please grab a pair of sneakers from that bin over there.” She looked at the tags and started matching suits to girls. She called Cassidy’s name, throwing a suit in her general direction where it landed on the floor in a bright red heap of fabric.
Nice. Why’s she such a bitch to me?
Cassidy wiggled into the one-piece jumpsuit and zipped it up to her neck. It was more form-fitting than she’d expected, and left little to the imagination. She fiddled with the clasp on her necklace before finally getting it open and dropping it into one of the individual baskets provided. The feel of the necklace under her fingertips sent her thoughts back to her room and Evan’s lips pressed hungrily against hers. Her body tingled at the memory of his touch — his kiss.
“Today we have Bill and Austin joining us,” Spencer said, addressing the group again. “They’re the two best flight instructors here at Sky’s. They’ll be helping you inside the tunnel while the rest of you watch from out here through the glass. Now, who would like to go first?”
“Maybe I should be the one to pick,” Brad said, grinning.
“Absolutely. Who will it be?”
Brad walked up to Paige and held out his hand to her. “Care to go flying with me?”
Paige seemed nervous but nodded. After a few minutes getting ready, Paige and Brad held hands and leaned forward into the powerful upward draft. Instructor Bill guided them into the center of the tunnel where they floated on the air like skydivers in a free fall.
Suddenly, Paige flipped upside down in the tunnel. She clung to Brad’s hands, accidentally forcing him to flip over with her. They both lay spread-eagled and suspended in the air on their backs like overturned turtles.
Bill used hand signals to tell them how to flip again, but Paige didn’t seem to understand. Fortunately, Brad got the message and attempted to roll them both back over onto their stomachs, but struggled without Paige’s help.
Paige looked frantic, her face turning red. She tried to shake Brad loose, but only managed to get one hand free and reached for her goggles.
With that, Bill grabbed her by the leg and pulled her to the side of the tunnel and into a standing position. The door to the tunnel opened and Paige jumped out onto solid ground. She gasped for air and pulled her goggles and helmet off, collapsing on the floor. Tears flooded her eyes as she struggled to get her breath.
Cassidy raced to her side. “Paige, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m … not … hurt.” Paige stammered trying to catch her breath around her tears. “I felt like the wind took my breath.”
The medic appeared to evaluate Paige. Cassidy recognized him as the same medic from the stable. “Hey, Cassidy. You didn’t hurt yourself again already, did you?” He winked at her before helping Paige stand.
“Very funny, Mr. Funny Man. But it’s not me this time.” Cassidy turned away from the tunnel as Brad got ready to fly with Holly and focused on Paige, who looked like the lone survivor of a Vera Wang sample sale. Not good.
“Feeling better?” Cassidy squeezed Paige’s shoulder.
Paige rubbed her forehead. “I feel so stupid for freaking out. I just couldn’t breathe with the wind in my face. Then I flipped over and I didn’t know how to get back the right way around. God, I’m such an idiot.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, you did the best you could.” Cassidy shook her head at the wind tunnel and laughed. “You know I’m going to suck at this worse than you, right? I’ve actually tripped up the stairs before and now I’m supposed to fly. Yeah. Right.”
A tap on her shoulder made her turn to find Brad. He took her by the hand, pulling her toward the tunnel. “Hey, beautiful. It’s your turn.”
Cassidy called over her shoulder to Paige. “I’ll check on you when I’m done with my flight, fall — whatever.”
As they approached the entrance, one of the instructors stepped forward. “I’m Austin. I’ll guide you through your flight today. I need you to put these on before you go into the tunnel.” He gave her a pair of safety goggles and a helmet.
Cassidy unclipped her hair and let it fall past her shoulders. Her bulky hair clip wouldn’t fit inside the helmet.
“Wow. You’re so hot in that tight suit with your hair all loose and crazy.” Brad cocked an eyebrow suggestively. “I always loved your hair down and sexy.”
“I’ll be sure to add this suit to my wardrobe,” Cassidy said sarcastically, carefully ignoring his reference to the past. She peeked over Brad’s shoulder at Evan. She wondered how that comment made him feel. His jaw had that familiar clenched look.
Cassidy secured her helmet and goggles. “Okay, Brad. Let’s get this over with before I lose my nerve to try.”
Brad took her hand again and climbed into the wind tunnel with her. The door behind them closed, leaving Evan on the other side peering in. By now, Brad had flown four times and looked like a pro. He told Cassidy to lean into the wind and the instructor helped guide them into the middle of the airflow.
Cassidy had forgotten how in control and confident Brad could be. Surfing huge waves had made him brave and fearless when it came to doing anything adrenaline inducing. His hand gripped hers and for a second, sparked a twinge in her heart.
The force of the air hitting her face took her breath away and she instantly understood why Paige had turned into a panicking, chaotic mess. Cassidy floated in the air like a kite in a tornado. She focused on taking small, shallow breaths.
And still she wasn’t freaked out.
In fact, she’d never felt more exhilarated. The material of her suit whipped around her body in the force of the wind. Her arms and legs pushed up toward the roof as she glided on the strong current.
She was overwhelmed with excitement and assumed this must be what it felt like to fall out of a plane, only better — the ground was still safely located only a few feet below her. This had to be one of the most amazing feelings she’d ever experienced. Cassidy wished she could do tricks like the flight instructors. What would it feel like to do flips and spins in the air?
Before she could wonder more, Austin had grabbed her free hand, pulling her up to the side of the tunnel and onto her feet. A moment later Brad wrapped his arm around the small of her back, steadying himself. The door opened and they stumbled out of the tunnel. Cassidy laughed as adrenaline flooded her system.
“That was amazing.” Cassidy said breathless from the wind and excitement.
Brad laughed and wrapped her into a hug. Cassidy hugged him back for a moment before pulling away, still smiling as she tried to remember every second of her two-minute flight, focused on committing the experience to permanent memory.
Then Brad kissed her and all other thoughts fell out of her head.
Cassidy froze as his lips pressed against hers. She tried to move away, but he held her tight. Finally, after what seemed like years, he let go. All she could do was stare at him disbelieving.
Brad smiled. “Now, that was amazing, and just as good as I remembered.”
Cassidy didn’t respond — she couldn’t. How could she tell him that was without a doubt the worse kis
s she’d ever had the misfortune of experiencing? Sloppy, wet, lukewarm. Possibly, it was similar to kissing a Basset hound, although she couldn’t confirm that since she’d never actually kissed a Basset hound. But, if she ever wondered what it would be like, she thought she might draw back on this moment with Brad as reference. How had she kissed him for months and never realized he was so bad at it?
Because I’d never experienced a real kiss until Evan.
“We’ll have to do that again. Alone,” Brad whispered into her ear. Cassidy stood paralyzed by shock as Brad sauntered away, already sweet-talking the next girl. She wished she could erase that kiss from her thoughts, but unfortunately it was seared into her memory. She hoped she wouldn’t suffer nightmares from the ordeal.
She sighed as her eyes naturally glanced to Evan, as they always did. Her cheeks flamed as she realized Evan had witnessed that kiss, too.
What’s he thinking? It can’t be good. He’s doing that thing with his jaw again. He has to know I didn’t want that kiss, right?
Evan had the camera pointed in her direction, but he wasn’t looking at her. He focused on Brad, glaring at him across the room. She didn’t like the pained expression playing on Evan’s face. She liked even less being the person to cause it.
Cassidy coughed, clearing her throat, hoping to pull Evan’s attention from Brad and back to her. She walked to the changing area and unzipped her jumpsuit, thankful to be in her normal clothes again.
Spencer called for the women to gather together beside the wind tunnel.
“Well ladies, you did a fabulous job flying today.” Spencer clapped for the women, as if applauding their efforts. “Brad certainly has his work cut out for him this afternoon. In a little while, we’ll meet again back at the house where we’ll find out who Brad has chosen to be in the bottom three. Then it’s up to America again to decide who goes home and who stays.”
Concerned expressions crossed the faces of her fellow contestants. You didn’t need to read minds to know they were worried about who Brad would choose, but even more worried about who America would vote for after the surprise at the last elimination. If Zoe wasn’t safe here, no one was.
“Now Brad, there’s one more very important thing you should consider while you make your decision. Up until now, it’s been mostly group dates, and we know it’s been difficult to really get to know these girls. For the next challenge you’ll get to have another private romantic date with each of the remaining ladies.”
“Oh, that does make my decision harder.” Brad dramatically put his hand to his forehead like he was getting a headache thinking about having to make a choice.
“Yes it does, Brad.” Spencer laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “If only every man suffered your difficult decisions, right?”
Spencer held a huge smile on his face for the camera until given the all-clear signal then he turned and walked away without another word to the women. Cassidy was always amazed at his ability to turn his television personality on and off like he had a hidden power switch on his back.
Chip walked forward and addressed the group. “I want to see all of you out by the pool at seven, sharp. I expect everyone will be awake and on time for this evening’s ceremony,” he added directly at Evan and Cassidy. “You’re free to head back to the house now.”
Evan switched off his camera and brought it down to his side. He rolled his shoulders back and stretched his neck. “Ready to go?” he asked.
“Yeah,” said Cassidy, following him out of the building and back toward the car.
The ride back to the house was silent. An awkward tension filled the tiny space between them. Earlier, they had to tear themselves away from each other, but now because of Brad’s kiss, it was as if Evan couldn’t get enough distance from her. Cassidy slouched in the seat. They’d had rare time alone, without any prying eyes or ears, and they hadn’t even said two words to each other, let alone talked about what happened earlier in her room.
Cassidy reach for the door handle.
“Cassidy,” Evan said quietly.
Oh good, he’s still talking to me.
“Yeah?”
“Would you mind hanging out in your room for a few minutes so I can have a break? I need to clear my head and it would be easier if I weren’t following you around. Maybe fifteen minutes?”
“Oh, okay.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Cassidy got out of the car and walked up to her room. Evan followed silently behind her. She got to her door and paused. Should she say something to him? But what? If this was about that kiss with Brad, she didn’t know what to say. It’s not like she could take it back or apologizing for something that had been out of her control.
As she turned to talk to him, the door to his room closed. Cassidy was left in the hall alone and she suddenly felt very lonely. Her chest ached. She hadn’t felt this way since Brad had left her standing alone on the sidewalk, brokenhearted. Why did everyone leave her?
• • •
“We’ll see you back here in a few days to find out who stays and who goes home.” Spencer turned from the ladies to the camera. “America, it’s up to you to decide which of these three young ladies still has a chance at becoming The One.”
Paige stood beside Spencer in the bottom three again, already looking crushed. Cassidy knew all the girls had their own reasons for being here and that everyone deserved to stay, but she couldn’t help wishing that this time it would be Holly and Lauren who went home instead of Paige.
“I’m sorry, Paige.”
“Thanks,” Paige said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I hope they send me home this time and put me out of my misery. I can’t take hanging out for another week just to be in the bottom three again. I mean, it’s obvious he doesn’t like me.”
“I don’t know what he’s thinking.” Cassidy wrapped her arm around Paige. “Let’s get you a drink and we’ll drown your ‘bottom three’ sorrows until you’ve forgotten them.”
“Sounds good. Anything to dull the humiliation of being in the bottom three — again.”
Cassidy and Paige walked into the kitchen. As Paige got comfortable on the stools beside the kitchen island, Cassidy found a bottle of champagne in the fridge and a couple of glasses. She filled them and handed one to Paige.
“Champagne? Does my humiliation make you feel like celebrating?”
“Don’t be silly, Paige. We’re going to celebrate this experience and our friendship, which we wouldn’t have had without coming here and sacrificing our dignity for the betterment of American television.”
Cassidy and Paige clinked their glasses and polished off the champagne in one shot. “How ’bout another?”
“You certainly know how to put a positive spin on things.”
“I know this is hard, Paige, but coming here was about more than just meeting Brad, right? It’s about the experience, too. Just because Brad is too stupid to see what an awesome girl you are, doesn’t mean the whole thing was a waste.”
“I guess you’re right. I just really wanted to fall in love, ya know?”
“I know. But you can’t fall in love unless it’s the right guy, and maybe Brad isn’t him. I bet Mr. Right is out there now, shaking his head at the TV, wondering how Brad could be so stupid to let you go and thanking his lucky stars he’ll get a chance with you.”
“I hope you’re right,” Paige said, emptying her second glass in one last gulp of champagne. “Maybe I’ll take a refill up to my room to help me pack.”
“Who said anything about packing? You don’t know you’re going home.”
“Call it a hunch or intuition or whatever. But I feel like I’m definitely going home.” Paige sighed and put her head in her hands. “Honestly, I’m ready to go home. I don’t think my ego can stand another round in the bottom three.”
“You want help packing?”
“Sure, if you don’t have anything better to do.”
Spending quality time kissing Evan
was out of the question since he was still acting pissy toward her. Hanging out with Paige sounded exactly like what she needed right now. Cassidy grabbed the bottle of champagne. “It could be a long night of packing. We might need refreshments.”
“Good thinking.” Paige grabbed it from her hand and took a drink right from the bottle before leaving the kitchen and heading up to her room.
• • •
Cassidy stumbled out of Paige’s room, slamming the door behind her. “Shhh,” she whisper-yelled at Evan. “You’re being too loud.”
Cassidy glared at Evan as she walked backward down the hall. “Did you just roll your eyes at me? You shouldn’t do that. If you’re not careful, they might get stuck that way.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
Cameraman McCutiepants is very cute tonight. He’s so yummy, I just want a little taste.
Cassidy smiled in what she hoped was a sultry way and wiggled her fingers at Evan to follow her. She leaned up against her door and fumbled with the key. “Can you help me, Evan?” She placed the key in his hand, letting her fingers linger on his.
He took the key and opened her door. “I think you might need lessons in how to open your door. It seems I help you with that key a lot.”
Cassidy locked her eyes on Evan. “You can give me lessons in whatever you want tonight.”
Chapter Fifteen
Evan shook his head. “I don’t think so, Cassidy. What you need right now is bed.”
“And here I thought you might want to pick up where things left off earlier.” Cassidy attempted to make sexy eyes at him, hoping to entice him into her room for some fun.
“I think you’re drunk, and you need to lower your voice before someone hears you.” Evan put his hands on her arms and guided her into the room.
Cassidy gazed up at him through heavy lashes. “No one will hear us. Everyone’s in bed.”
“You should be in bed, too.”
“Aren’t you going to help me find it?”
Falling for You Page 13