Freefall (Santa Cruz Skydivers Book 1) Read online

  “Come on. Don’t be such a cock tease. You wanted it enough last week. You rode me hard.”

  He reached his hand back up my dress and this time managed to grab onto my upper thigh.

  “Fuck off, creep,” I yelled, incensed at his move, and pushed him back. Char came to my rescue and reached around me, throwing a right hook at him. She punched him hard, square in the mouth.

  “You fucking bitch.” His hand flew up to his mouth that was now covered in blood. “My tooth is loose.”

  “Good. Now get out of here.” Char continue to act as my bodyguard and shoved him further away from me. “You better actually leave, because I know security here and I’ll get you thrown out.”

  I knew she was bluffing. He didn’t. But the look on her face almost convinced me. He glared at us, his alcohol addled brain trying to reach a decision. Char had obviously convinced him and he stumbled away, giving us a middle finger wave as he disappeared into the crowd of people surrounding us.

  I hadn’t realized I had been holding my breath and exhaled as he walked away. “Wow, Char, thanks! Where’d you get that right hook? I didn’t know you could punch like that.”

  “Damn, he had a hard face.” She shook her hand out. “That’s what happens when you grow up in a house with violence. You learn to take care of yourself.”

  I was taken aback. “I didn’t know that.” I reached out to her, but she pushed my hand down and shook her head, her eyes full of sadness.

  “Not tonight. Another time.” She looked away into the crowd, rubbing her knuckles, and then scrunched up her face in thought. “I’ve changed my mind about you staying. You should go home. Just in case he comes back looking for you.”

  “I do really want to go. Will you be okay if I leave? What if that douche does come back?”

  “Don’t sweat it, I’ll be fine. Besides, there are a few guys I know from college in here tonight. I’ll just go hang with them.” She smiled. “And by the way, I expect a full report from you tomorrow afternoon about your date. Plus, I still need the gossip about Ben and Taylor.”

  “You got it. But I’ll only go if you’re sure.” I scanned her face for any indecision. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to her because of that creep.

  “Of course. Go home.” She gave me a mock shove. “You need your energy for tomorrow.”

  I replied by giving her a huge hug. “Well, thanks for backing me up and telling that guy where to go.”

  She hugged me back. “That’s what friends are for.”

  “And if that guy is still hanging around, don’t try and be Rocky again. Get the real security to deal with it.”

  She laughed. “I’m a lover not a fighter. I don’t think he’s anything to be worried about. He was so drunk he won’t even remember what I look like in five minutes.”

  “You’re probably right, but regardless, be careful.” I gave her a final hug and left the club. I couldn’t wait to get home. The quicker I went to sleep, the quicker I would get to see Levi in the morning.

  Chapter Six

  Levi

  What a fucking night. Of all places she could be, Taylor had to be there…with Ben. I felt like hitting something, or someone, but knew from past experiences that wouldn’t help, so I settled for slamming a few doors instead. It was inconceivable she could still get under my skin like that. Bitch knew it too, and thrived on it. It wasn’t a coincidence she was there. She was there for me. There was no other explanation for it, and I didn’t buy into it that she was there as Ben’s date. That type of function was not her kind of scene. After all, there had been no Hollywood big wigs for her to impress. I racked my brain to work out how she’d known I would be there.

  Turning on the shower in my private bathroom, I stripped off, waited for the water to heat up, and stepped in, letting the hot water wash away my anger. Leaning up against the shower wall with one hand, I shut my eyes and rubbed my temples with the other. I had to stop thinking about her. It wasn’t helping my anger issues. I couldn’t even have a decent drink to take the edge off. Not when I had to work tomorrow.

  Thankfully, thinking about work tomorrow pushed Taylor out of my thoughts and replaced her with Andi. She seemed like a sweet girl. As far removed from my type as possible. That was if I even had a type. Living in LA left a guy with very little choices when it came to women. Nearly all of them were like Taylor. Plastic and fake, looking for a free ride. Nothing turned me off faster.

  But Andi? From the moment her wide blue eyes locked on mine, she had all my attention. She seemed different from others I’d been with, and not just physically. She seemed genuine, and knew how to have fun. Plus, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her body. Petite and curvy, and her rack was obviously natural.

  She was the complete opposite of Taylor, and seemed immune to her own appeal. I smiled remembering the look on her face when I sucked her finger. It was then that it dawned on me—she wasn’t who she pretended to be. She liked to play tough, but it was all an act.

  After soaping my body, I rinsed, turned off the shower, and stepped out, drying myself with one of the oversized bath sheets. My mind was still preoccupied with Andi. Originally, I had only challenged her to throwing back those slammers to get attention from my father’s executives in the room. I knew they had been watching me the minute I walked in the door, and meeting Andi had provided me with a great opportunity to cause a scene. She stood out from every artificially enhanced female in there. We were bound to be noticed. It was, after all, part of my grand master plan. Although, after talking with her, there had been something about her, something familiar and homely. Innocent. Which now made me feel like a bigger douchebag for using her and asking her out.

  That little scene was all for the benefit for her friend Lili, who had kept rubbing her hands over my ass, and at one point, even touched my junk. While I was outside on my cell, I couldn’t help but notice Lili and Andi’s heated discussion. I knew it was about me. I wasn’t into relationships, and certainly wasn’t looking for anything more than one night, but I felt compelled to protect Andi from Lili. With friends like her, who needed enemies, right?

  Moving from my bathroom into the bedroom, I picked up my cell and scrolled through for her number. I debated whether to go through with the jump with Andi. I was torn. I wanted to do the right thing and not lead her on, but I couldn’t shake that feeling of wanting to see her again. She was relationship material, the type to take home and meet the family, and I had no family to meet. Other than Derek, and I wouldn’t rate him. She and I, we just wouldn’t work out. I wasn’t the right guy, not with my baggage.

  Before I could talk myself out of any further, I shot off a text to Andi, giving her the address and details for tomorrow. Almost immediately, she replied, brief and short. I laughed. I pictured her face when I’d asked her to go skydiving. If I was correct about her playing the tough guy exterior, she would be shitting herself about tomorrow. She seemed naive and trusting. Like I said, not my type at all.

  I slid between the cool, crisp sheets, and just as I fell into a deep sleep, I had a fleeting feeling that something big was about to happen.

  Chapter Seven

  Andi

  My alarm beeped rudely, waking me from one of the deepest sleeps I’d had in months. And for the first time in forever, I didn’t have some weird dream that I wanted to decipher and find the meaning behind. Instead, I woke up feeling content and, dare I say it, happy. With my eyes still shut firmly and a content smile on my face, I rolled over and turned off the alarm function on my smartphone, keen to snuggle back under my comforter and get back to sleep. Then a little trigger in my brain went off, reminding me that I had a date with Levi today. Levi and skydiving. Crap.

  I flung my bedcovers off and sat bolt upright. The warm and fuzzy content feeling hadn’t lasted long. In fact, my stomach was now churning. Why did I have to agree to jump out of plane last night just to get to see Levi again? Was he really worth dying for? Yes. Yes, he was. Regardless, I totally blam
ed the tequila and my raging hormones for my decision.

  Running my hands through my out of control curls, I massaged my scalp with my fingertips and tried to calm my nerves. I wasn’t a morning person at the best of times, and now I was expected to operate before eight a.m. on my day off. Looking at my cell phone messages again, I had to check that Levi was actually real and had invited me skydiving today, and this wasn’t just one of my fantastical dreams. Yep, there it was, his text message, in black and white. There was also another he had sent early this morning.

  Perfect day for a jump. Not a cloud in the sky. Can’t wait to see you. Wear something warm. It can get cold up there.

  Quickly, I replied, unsure if he would even see it before I arrived. By my calculations, he would already be well into his morning jumps.

  Thanks for the heads up. See you in an hour.

  Just when I thought my stomach had settled down, it started churning again. I needed to get busy to take my mind off the fact I was literally going to jump from a plane. Plus, to further exacerbate my nerves, I was going to see Levi again, and he said he couldn’t wait to see me. I had an hour to get myself showered, breakfast, and to the airport. No time to waste.

  Despite my haste, I decided to take an extra long hot shower to help calm my nerves, and ended up washing my hair and shaving my legs, deciding to skip breakfast for a protein bar en route in lieu of the pampering. And even though I knew nothing would happen between Levi and me, it was best to be prepared. I had even chosen to wear a matching push up bra and lace panties set I had bought once for a failed date, just in case. Optimistic wasn’t a word I usually associated with myself, but that was exactly how I felt about today. That and hopeful. Optimistic that something amazing might happen between us, and hopeful that I wouldn’t die in just over an hour. Today wasn’t one of those days when I wanted to check out. Far from it. In fact, despite my nerves, today was a good day. I hadn’t even felt the need to take a med.

  I towel-dried my hair and styled it in a simple braid. There was no point in even trying to do anything other than plait it today. After all, I didn’t want my hair whipping around in Levi’s face. I applied the smallest amount of makeup—eye liner and lip-gloss only—making sure I used an SPF moisturizer. The one positive thing about my appearance was my clear complexion. Big tits and curvy ass weren’t traits I considered positive, no matter how much Kim Kardashian flaunted it. In fact, my complexion was the only good trait I had inherited from my mom. That and my blue eyes. Mom was of Northern Italian heritage, so she didn’t have the typical Italian olive complexion.

  I gave my appearance a last look-over in my full-length mirror, making sure I looked at myself from all angles. Once I was somewhat happy with my appearance—such a shame makeup couldn’t conceal ass cellulite—I threw on a pair of too-tight jeans, on account of all my regular jeans that fit were dirty and at Mom’s getting laundered, a long sleeve t-shirt, and slipped on a pair of Converse sneakers before leaving the apartment.

  As I left, I noticed that Lili’s bedroom door was closed. She had still been out when I arrived home last night. I presumed she had stayed until the end of the function and had come home late with Scotty. One thing was certain, she and I needed to talk. Clear the air between us. I still had no idea what had made her flip out last night and turn all psycho bitch, but I really hoped that whatever happened between us last night didn’t change our friendship. She was my best friend. My two key words of the day, optimistic and hopeful, were suitable for this situation as well. Optimistic she was still talking to me and hopeful that everything would be okay when I saw her later today.

  I shook my head to clear it of all negative thoughts. Nothing was going to get me down today, other than a parachute with a really cute guy strapped to it. Freeing myself of the negativity that was clouding my mind, I jumped in my Jeep, turned over the loud V8 engine, and cranked the music. Before backing down the drive, I unzipped the windows in Jeep’s canvas soft-top so I could feel the crisp morning air wash over my face as I drove toward the airport.

  Levi was right, it was a gorgeous day. The sky was a beautiful light blue, not one cloud in sky. Once I was on the highway leading out to the airport, I ate my protein bar and sang along to my favorite Linkin Park song at the top of my voice, beating out the drum beats on my steering wheel. I sucked at singing, but what I lacked in talent, I certainly made up for with enthusiasm.

  Arriving at the skydiving clubhouse ahead of time, I pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine. It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting, but then again, I hadn’t really given it much thought. The clubhouse overlooked the runway and resembled a raised log cabin with steps leading up to a front porch. Immediately, I began hyperventilating. Perhaps not taking my anti-anxiety pill wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  I was torn between wanting the adventure and being too chicken to actually jump. I must have changed my mind a dozen times, and had decided I didn’t want to risk the chance of dying when Levi suddenly appeared at my open window.

  “Boo,” he said as he popped up.

  I screamed and nearly hit my head on the roof of my Jeep as I jump in fright.

  “Argggh. Levi, you nearly gave me heart failure.” I clutched my racing heart and he laughed loudly at my reaction.

  His laughter had finally calmed down enough to talk. “That was priceless. I saw you pull up about five minutes ago. What’s taking you so long? You’re not having second thoughts already?”

  “How did you know?”

  We had known each other less than twenty-fours hours, but it was like he knew me already. Either that or being chicken shit nervous in the parking lot before a skydive jump was a common occurrence.

  “Just a hunch.” He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the door handle of the Jeep, opening the door for me. “I love your Jeep, by the way. How does it handle off-road?”

  “Um, I’ve never been off-road before,” I confessed as I jumped out of the Jeep and zipped the windows up before I locked the door and slammed it close. “I’m not really an outdoors type.”

  He shook his head at me. “Yet you have one of the coolest off-road vehicles around. I can see I’m going to have to take you off-roading. I’ll add it to the list of things I need to educate you on.”

  He gave me a little wink. My heart, that had only just started beating its normal rhythm, once again began pounding hard in my chest.

  “If you’re talking about that drinking competition...” I started.

  “Well, there is that too,” he agreed as he took my hand in his. I was about to go into cardiac arrest. “Come on, let’s go sign your life away so we can jump out of a perfectly good plane.”

  I decided to ignore his sexual innuendos. Actually, my mind was having trouble focusing on anything else other than him holding my hand. Judging from last night and now, he was clearly a hand holder. Not that I minded, far from it. It’s just I was so anxious I was sweating bullets. My palm must have felt wet and slick.

  “Don’t you want to know what else I want to teach you?” He raised his left eyebrow, practically begging for me to respond.

  I opted for playing it cool, ignoring the hard thumping in my chest. “Well, I’ve decided you are an insane flirt, and you’re most likely just teasing me to get a reaction. Also, last time I responded to you teasing me, I got caught up in your little drinking challenge, and now my best friend isn’t talking to me. So, no, I’m not even going there.”

  He crinkled his forehead. “Are you serious? Lili’s not talking to you because of me?” He looked more concerned than he should have been.

  I sighed, sorry I had even mentioned it to him. “We had an argument last night after you left because of the drinking challenge. Don’t worry about it. It’s not your problem. I’ll sort it out later.” He looked like he wanted to say something. I kept talking. I didn’t feel like ruining my morning over the situation with Lili. “Levi, honestly, I really don’t want to talk about it, or think about it anymore. This morni
ng is all about fun. However, that doesn’t give you free rein to keep teasing me.” Playfully, I tugged on his arm, hoping to change the tone in the conversation.

  “Okay, no more teasing, but I don’t see how that’s not fun.” He gave me a pouty duck face. “It just might kill me, you know.”

  I laughed at his stupid pouty face as we walked the stairs to the clubhouse, glad he didn’t pursue the Lili topic. Once we were at the doors, he dropped my hand and indicated for me to enter the clubhouse first. Inside, there were laminated posters of solo, tandem, and group skydivers displayed on the walls. By the front door, a clothing rack displayed Santa Cruz Skydivers t-shirts of various colors and sizes available to purchase. A pair of oversized joke y-fronts with a suspicious looking-brown stain was also clipped to a hanger with a tag attached. It read, “In case of emergency. Used only once.”

  He led me to the check-in counter and greeted an extremely hipster-looking girl working behind the counter. “Hey, Frankie, this is my guest today, Andi.”

  “Hey back.” She smiled at us.

  Immediately, I envied her. She was stunning. Her long hair was fuchsia-colored and intricately braided back on one side. Around her eyes she wore the most amazing wing-tipped eyeliner, and she had deep dimples in both her cheeks. She had multiple facial piercings in her cheek dimples, brow, lip, and nose, and black spiral ear stretchers in each ear. One of her arms was covered in a full sleeve tattoo and, when I looked closer, she even had a small tattoo behind her ear. Even though she had a look that would never suit me, a part of me wished I had the courage to try her style. I felt so plain and ordinary next to her dressed in my too-tight jeans and t-shirt with my boring, curly brown hair tied in a plait. Nervously, I tugged down on my t-shirt.

  She smiled warmly at me and greeted me with enthusiasm. “Welcome to Santa Cruz Skydivers.” She looked at Levi again. “LJ, is this the little chickie you met last night? You didn’t tell me she was so cute and innocent-looking. And I’m betting she’s a clean skin, too.”