Page 23 of Fall For Me
He’s my absolute biggest fear.
Eight
Sean
The desert sun beats down on us, and as she looks up at the cliff with a smile on her face, the light catches her hair, turning it a beautiful shade of red. I think what makes her even more stunning is the fact that she doesn’t know how gorgeous she is. My hand accidentally grazes hers as I step around the cactus littering the canyon floor, and she moves further away from me.
We continue to hike, sweat pouring down our temples, me trying to walk closer to her, her moving further away again. It’s a constant push-and-pull. Once we’re on top of the cliff, I look over at her. A smile lifts the edge of her mouth, and her eyes gleam with mischief like they do every time she’s about to do something crazy.
“You scared?” she asks, and I realize for the first time I’m not.
“Nope.”
If I can fly around in a hot air balloon half the day, jumping off a cliff will be a walk in the park.
Hannah zips the arms and legs of her wingsuit, then moves closer to the edge. “Well, we need to fix that then, don’t we?”
“What do you mean?”
Christian, my tandem guide, chuckles as he straps me to him, my back to his front, and I watch as Hannah shuffles her feet. Small rocks clack against the cliff as they tumble over.
“Sweetheart, what are you doing?” I ask.
Tilting her head back, she inhales several deep breaths and releases them slowly.
More shuffles.
“See you on the other side,” she says, pulling up the loose piece of material from between her legs.
Then she jumps, hovering in the air for a couple of seconds before dropping.
My gut drops with her. There’s nothing but silence. I can’t see her. My feet try to move forward, but the guide holds me in place. My breaths become ragged, and my heart plumets while I wait to see or hear anything out of her. As panic begins to set in, she comes into view, soaring over the canyon floor in her white wingsuit, turning left, then right around big boulders.
“That your girl?” Christian asks as he shuffles us closer to the edge.
“Yes, though she won’t admit it.”
“She’s fearless, man. I bet she’s probably topping out at over 100 . . . maybe 140 miles per hour.” He laughs, and my stomach knots at the thought. “Any last words before we jump?”
The way he makes it sound like we’re not going to survive makes me question my decision to do this crazy shit. My eye catches on Hannah as she releases her parachute, and my heart fucking stalls. I don’t know anything about this shit, but I know something is terribly wrong. She’s all twisted up. I watch in horror as she crosses her arms, pulling hard on the straps, over and over.
“Shit!” Christian mutters. “Ready or not, we need to jump.”
We launch ourselves off the cliff at the same time. The parachute pops open, and our bodies jolt upward before we begin to glide down. I keep my eyes trained on my girl as Christian guides us toward her. Hannah yanks hard on the straps one more time. Spinning around, her chute straightens out, and I let out a relieved sigh. I don’t pay attentionto anything other than her. The moment of relief is short-lived when she hits the ground hard and fast, then rolls. It takes us too damn long to land, but the second our feet hit the ground, and I’m unclipped, I take off in a sprint, my feet pounding against the desert sand, jumping over rocks, and sidestepping cacti.
Hannah clambers onto her knees, then rises to stand with laughter bubbling from her pretty mouth, each laugh becoming louder and more hysterical. After dusting herself off, she looks up at the sky, raises her hand in the air, and flips the bird.
Jesus Christ. My palm itches to spank her fucking ass.
“¿Estás pinche loca? ¿Qué fregados fue eso? ¡Te podrías haber matado! ¡Nunca más me hagas eso!”
(Are you fucking crazy? What the hell was that? You could’ve gotten yourself killed! Never do that to me again!)
As soon as I reach her, I cradle her face, then my eyes roam over the front of her body, checking to make sure she’s okay. Frantically, I pull her into my arms and kiss her hair.
“Breaking out the Spanish, Sean? You must be really mad,” she teases, looking up at me, smiling from ear to ear. “Maybe I should piss you off more often; this side of you is hot.”
“Don’t even play with me right now; it isn’t funny. This shit is done! You hear me? Fucking. Done!”
