Freefall (Santa Cruz Skydivers Book 1)

by Joanne Efendi

  “Ciao Bella,” she answered, obviously knowing it was me from the caller ID. My parents had always called me Bella instead of my real name—Andreana. I preferred Andi, but Mom and Dad were first generation American born Italians and loved to call me Bella, a common term of endearment used for Italian females. Although both my parents spoke fluent Italian, I had never learned to speak it or understand it, other than the basics and a handful of swear words from my brothers. Not that my parents hadn’t tried to teach me, of course, it’s just I had never embraced my Italian heritage. Thankfully, this hadn’t extended to food. I loved a good home-cooked pasta dish.

  “Ciao, Mom. I need a huge favor. Do you have anything that would be suitable for a semi-formal function tonight? Lili and Scotty have invited me along to a party being held by the paper.”

  “Oh, how exciting. Let me think.” She paused. I knew she would be at home sitting in the kitchen with Papa, tapping her lips in thought. “Ahh, I have my black lace dress that I wore to Aunt Stella’s funeral. You know the one. I sometimes wear it to Sunday mass.”

  My mind’s eye recalled the outdated dress, and I cringed at the thought of me wearing it. Not that it was totally ugly, it’s just that it was more suited to someone my mom’s age, and, well, it was ugly.

  “How about I come over and have a look at what you’ve got?” I suggested diplomatically. “I’ve also got some clothes I haven’t had time to launder. Will you be able to wash them for me?”

  “I’d love to help, Bella. When will you be over?”

  “I’ll leave as soon as I rearrange my plans with Lili.” I was already up grabbing some clothes to put on.

  “I can’t wait to see you. You never seem to have much time for us anymore.”

  I rolled my eyes at her comment. This was the exact reason I’d moved out of home and tried not to see them more than once during the week.

  “I see you every Sunday for family dinner, plus when you stop by during the week,” I told her bluntly. Mom liked to drop off homemade lasagna mid-week for Lili and me. She didn’t think we ate healthy enough, and she would be right. My wage didn’t cover much more than rent, gas, takeout pizza, and vodka. “Mom, I am twenty-one. I need to spread my wings. I do have a life outside of the family, you know.” Granted, it wasn’t much of one, but it was the only one I had.

  “I know.” She sniffed. Clearly the guilt-laden waterworks had started. “It’s just that we miss you.”

  I softened my tone. “Look, Mom, I miss you and Papa too, but let’s discuss this later okay? I’ll be there soon. Ti voglio bene. Ciao.”

  I hung the phone up before she could guilt trip me anymore. They were so suffocating it drove me crazy. I loved them dearly, but being the youngest of four children as well as the only daughter to aging Italian parents had its drawbacks. Mom had been forty-five and Dad fifty when I was born. I was their little miracle baby. Mom suffered an ectopic pregnancy. after my brothers were born and was told she would never have children again. So, quite often, they tended to be overly protective of me, always wrapping me up in cotton wool. More so after Papa suffered his heart attack and I needed medication.

  Quickly, I speed-dialed Lili’s number to tell her about my change of plans. She answered on the first ring.

  “Hey, what’s up?” she yelled into the microphone. The background noise on her end was buzzing with the sounds of hairdryers and girls laughing. “They are just finishing me now. I haven’t told you yet, but Scotty bought me a new dress to wear tonight. It’s Versace, totally gorgeous, and… Just a second, shouldn’t you be on your way to pick me up?”

  “Can’t wait to see the dress.” My words were hurried. “I’m sorry, I’ve had to change my plans slightly. I ripped the pants I was going to wear and I have to go to my mom’s to borrow a dress to wear. I might be running a bit late. Is that okay?”

  She groaned in annoyance. “Is that your only option? A dress from your mother?”

  I could tell she was pissed. “Yes, I’m so sorry. I won’t fit into anything of yours or Char’s. I promise I’ll be as quick as I can be. Don’t blame me that you’re both skinny.”

  “I guess if that’s your only option. But hurry, we can’t get there late,” she commanded, ignoring my skinny comment. She was naturally thin and could eat anything she liked.

  “It won’t take more than half an hour.” I hoped.

  “Okay, I’ll grab a cab back home and meet you at the apartment.”

  One hour later, I was absurdly late when I finally left my parents’, dress in hand. My mother had expected me to sit down and have a chat over Italian coffee and freshly made brownies she had whipped up as soon as I’d called. No wonder I had a weight problem. But, it was nice to be looked after by my mom following a crappy day, and while she may be overbearing at times—she was Italian after all—I did love her. After finally choosing the Aunt Stella dress—Mom had nothing eveningwear appropriate other than the funeral dress—I raced home to do my hair and makeup before we left for the event.

  Experiencing a total déjà vu moment, I launched myself out of my Jeep as soon as I had put it in park and took the steps to my apartment two at a time. By the time I reached the door, I was doubled over, gasping for air when I let myself in.

  Lili was pacing the living room, talking into her cell phone. “She just got here, babe.” She eyeballed me as I practically keeled over from lack of oxygen. “We’ll be there soon, okay? Mwah.”

  She looked stunning, and together with her height and professional hair and makeup, she could have passed for a supermodel thanks to the new dress Scotty had bought her for the occasion. I looked down at the dress I had in my hand and then looked at her. I hated to admit I was a little jealous—okay, a lot jealous—of how hot she looked. I tried to not let it get to me. Even if I had that dress and that makeup, I would never look like her. Not in a million years.

  I pushed aside my envy, gushing at her. “You look amazing. That is something like Angelina Jolie would wear to the Oscars.” The dress was classic Versace. Black-sequined, floor length, low cut front, backless, and a thigh-high split up the side.

  “Oh, this old thing?” For full effect, she spun around to give me a better view of her dress, running her hand down her flat stomach. Was she wearing Spanx? “I know. It’s gorgeous. I love it.”

  “It looks expensive.”

  Her smile widened. “It is. Although, it’s only off the rack. What I wouldn’t give for a direct runway dress. That would be the ultimate.”

  I frowned slightly. Lili was always impressed with expensive labels and, even though it wasn’t direct off the runway couture, her off-the-rack dress was the closest I would ever come to designer clothes.

  “So…did you get a dress?” She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

  I didn’t reply, but scrunched up my nose like the fabric in my hand smelled like dog shit, and held up the dress for her.

  She mirrored the expression on my face. “I’m sure it’s not that bad on. It looks kinda vintage. Anyway, it’ll have to do. Just make your hair and makeup look hot, and no one will even look at your dress.”

  “Good idea.” I nodded in agreement, although I knew I wouldn’t have time to do anything to my flyaway mop. “First, I need to take another quick shower. I’m all sweaty after running around.”

  I had the second quickest shower in history, but as predicted, I didn’t have enough time to straighten my hair, so I had to leave it curly. In an attempt to try and look glamorous, I pinned my curls back from my face with some borrowed diamanté clips of Lili’s. My makeup was almost always low key, and true to form, I quickly applied some mineral powder and black eyeliner around my blue eyes, but instead of my usual clear lip-gloss I borrowed Lili’s red lipstick to finish my look. Completing my outfit, Lili lent me a black clutch handbag. Just as I did a final go-over in my mirror, our taxicab arrived to take us to the function.

  Considering all that had transpired, we ended up only being an hour late when we opened the door to t
he Hilton Santa Cruz function room.

  “I thought you said this was semi-formal,” I hissed at Lili under my breath as we stood in the doorway. There were easily two hundred people in the room, all dressed immaculately in formal wear.

  I looked down at my dress and immediately felt severely outdated and underdressed. The hem on my dress stopped at the knees while all the women inside, like Lili, were dressed head to toe in current season designer floor-length gowns, and the men were all fitted out in tuxes and ties. I stood out like dog’s balls on an uncastrated mutt.

  She replied in the same hushed tone. “That’s what Scotty told me. Clearly, these women are professional socialites.”

  “Clearly. At least you look like you could belong here. Your dress is gorgeous and mine, uh, not so much.”

  “You don’t look that bad. You look very pretty. You never give yourself enough credit.”

  “Um, yeah, I do. I give myself plenty of credit. I’m just a realist.” Besides, I didn’t want to look pretty. I wanted to look gorgeous. I took another look down at the lace-frilled dated piece I was wearing and wished the floor would open up and swallow me before anyone noticed me. Perhaps this dress would have looked fashionable in the 80s. Who was I kidding? This would never have been in fashion. I wondered if it was too late to bail?

  Scotty rushed up to us before I could make my getaway, and grabbed Lili around the waist, kissing her firmly on the mouth. He broke for air. “Finally you girls made it. Babe, you look so sexy.”

  I may have been mistaken, but I’m sure he growled in her ear. Eww. Scotty wasn’t exactly a turn-on for me. Weird Al’s song “White and Nerdy” shamefully started playing in my head. I chastised myself for being so cruel. He was a great guy and treated Lili like a princess, even if she didn’t treat him the same in return.

  Unsurprisingly, Lili pushed him away and dabbed at her lipstick. “Sorry we’re late. Andi had a wardrobe malfunction.”

  I couldn’t help but notice the way he looked at her. His eyes devoured her. I didn’t blame him. She looked sexy. I, on the other hand, looked as plain as usual next to her. But after years of being her friend, I was used to that.

  “Um, hi, Andi.” Scotty finally greeted me after he had finished ogling his girlfriend. “You look, um, great too.”

  I looked at Lili and raised my eyebrows in a silent “told you so” at Scotty’s obvious attempt at a compliment to make me feel better.

  “Shut up,” I retorted. “I put my heel through the pants I had planned to wear. This is my mother’s. Just point me to the bar so I can get drunk and forget I even agreed to come here.”

  “Bar is over that way.” He pointed to the other side of the room then leaned down and gave Lili another quick kiss, but this time, she managed to turn her head so he kissed her cheek instead. “I’ve got to keep on the move, babe. A lot of important people here tonight. I’ll grab you later and introduce you to my editor. Have fun, girls.”

  Before he left, he quickly snapped a photo of us together. I so hoped he didn’t submit that for use in the social pages. Last thing I wanted was everyone in the Santa Cruz area seeing me dressed in my mother’s Sunday best.

  “Come on.” I grabbed Lili by her hand and pulled her toward the place Scotty had pointed to. “I need a drink, pronto. I’m thinking tequila will do the trick.”

  “Not so fast,” she complained, tugging me back. “These shoes are hideously high, and this dress is not made for running. One false move and this split will reach my belly button.”

  We both laughed at her joke. I slowed down nevertheless, which probably wasn’t a totally bad idea considering my clumsy episode earlier. We linked arms and walked side by side. Lili towered over me, despite the fact I too had on high heels. She was lucky Scotty was six-two. Admittedly, he was tall and thin, and had some goofy endearing qualities, but I did question whether she would find another guy that would treat her the way he did. And even though she had never told me, I suspected she only agreed to date him because of his height. At just shy of six-foot, Lili didn’t have a lot of guy choices, unless she chose a shorter guy, and I knew she would never do that. Image was everything.

  Speaking of which, she pouted her lips at me for inspection. “Is my lipstick smudged? I love Scotty, but he’s such a messy kisser. And I don’t want my professional makeup ruined.”

  I resisted rolling my eyes at her. “You look perfect, as usual.”

  As we walked though the room, I spied the bar over by the open bifold doors that opened out onto a balcony. Walking amongst the crowd, I began to relax and take in the faces of some of the people around us. Every female looked exactly the same. Faces frozen in time with Botox and puffed out fish lips full of fillers. I was about to make a joke to Lili when I froze in place, pinching Lili’s arm hard enough for her to flinch in pain.

  “Ow,” she cried, and tried to pull her arm away from me, but I only grabbed her harder.

  “Ben is here,” I told her in a hushed voice.

  Her eyes widened. “You mean the hot guy you have been lusting over for the past six months? Which one is he?” She craned her neck and looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of him.

  “Stop it,” I hissed, and pulled her down to my height. “He might see you. He’s the one standing next to the blond with the big boobs in the red sequin dress.”

  She lifted her head again, this time a little bit more inconspicuous—and I mean a little—and scanned the crowd. It didn’t take long for her to find him. Boobs-in-the-red-dress definitely hadn’t worn that dress to blend in.

  “Oh, he is cute,” she said once she had spotted him. “Don’t look now, but he’s headed our way.”

  “No way! Do you think he saw us?” I spun quickly so my back was to him. Why oh why did I have to have this hideous dress on?

  Lili snuck a quick peek at him over my shoulder. “Oh my God,” she whispered dramatically.

  “What?” I clutched her arm anxiously.

  “Boobs-in-the-red-dress, she’s his date. She’s that Australian actress, Taylor Lawson.” Her voice started to elevate in excitement. “And they are definitely coming our way.”

  I moaned. “Oh great. He can’t see me, not in this dress, not when he is with a Hollywood actress. I have to get out of here.”

  Grabbing her hand, I bent over and kept my head down, trying to weave my way through the throng of party guests unnoticed. My getaway was short-lived. I had run head-first into a firm, wide chest. With my back still hunched over, I looked up and met the most gorgeous pair of green eyes, fringed with black long lashes that I would have killed for. Instantly, things down below my waist stirred. Holy crap. I froze, lost in his eyes. They looked so familiar, but I couldn’t place them, or him. It took a tug on my hand from Lili to bring me back to earth.

  “Hurry up, or ‘you know who’ is going to see us.” She spoke just loud enough for me to hear.

  Green Eyes just continued to stare at me. His brows furrowed in the middle slightly, and he cocked his head to the side. I could see that he felt the same recognition I did, even though I knew we had never met. I would never forget those eyes. We both just continued to stare at each other, my thoughts of escaping the room forgotten. Then I heard a voice from over my shoulder, loud and familiar.

  “LJ! When did you get in?” Ben called out, and pushed past me, embracing the green-eyed stranger in a bro hug.

  Green Eyes didn’t even break eye contact with me as he slapped Ben on the back in greeting.

  “Just this Monday,” LJ—or as I preferred to call him, Green Eyes—replied, his voice heavily accented with an Australian twang.

  The boys separated from their embrace, and Ben, whose face was lit up with the excitement from meeting up with an old friend, followed the gaze of Green Eyes until both sets of eyes were focused on me. I didn’t deal well with being the center of anything, so I just remained there like a deer caught in the headlights, my anxiety spiking, and looked nervously back and forth between the two of them. I needed
a drink.

  “Andi?” Ben sounded dumbfounded. “What are you doing here?”

  I hadn’t realized it, but I was still in a hunched over position and must have closely resembled a female Quasimodo. Standing up to my full five-three, and even though I had on high heels, I still only barely reached the shoulders of both boys. With my cheeks burning, I casually tried to smooth down the nonexistent creases in my dress with my right hand.

  “Ben. Hi. I didn’t know you were here.” I tried to sound nonchalant, but the expression of suspicion on Green Eyes’ face told me I hadn’t sounded as carefree as I would have liked. My one hope was that I hadn’t come off as a stalker. “I’m here with my friend Lili. Her boyfriend Scotty works for the paper.”

  Lili still had a firm grip of my left hand, so I pulled her out from behind me and introduced her to Ben. “Lili, this is Ben. We work together.”

  My stomach churned with nerves, and the fact that this friend of Ben’s kept staring at me didn’t make me feel any easier.

  “Pleased to meet you, Ben.” Lili extended her hand to shake Ben’s. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Have you?” He looked at me, arching his left eyebrow. I could have killed her.

  The stranger finally looked away from me and shook Lili’s hand next. “Levi.”

  His accented voice stirred me again, and I felt an empty ache deep inside me. After what seemed like hours, he finally reached out to take my hand in his. “And you are Andi.”

  I loved the way he said my name and how it rolled off his tongue naturally. Like I belonged on it. The instant our hands touched, my mind exploded, and I had visions of him, naked, in bed with me, his hands and mouth on my... Get a grip, I chided myself. I read way too much fiction. Besides, that little fantasy would never happen. Like every other guy I had crushed on before, he was way out of my league. Besides, he looked like he knew his way around the bedroom. He wouldn’t even consider taking an inexperienced girl like me out on a date.

  Regretfully, I pulled my hand out of his, and I might have imagined this, but it felt like his hand gripped mine a little firmer as I let go. I let out a slight cough to cover up my brain explosion, even though I knew there was no way he could possibly know what x-rated thoughts ran through my mind. It was only then that I really took any notice of his appearance, other than his gorgeous green eyes, of course. His skin was lightly tanned, and had a couple of days growth of facial hair. His light brown, sun-kissed hair was cut short at the sides and back, with the front kept long and flicked back. Around his stunning eyes, he had a slight sunglasses tan. He was obviously a guy who lived for the outdoors.