Chapter 11 – Miles
“So,” I said, ready to spring my surprise. “Are you ready for the next part of the adventure?”
“Yes!” said Belinda.
Theo and Franklin looked pensive. I hadn’t told them about the next part.
“I booked us all to go…skydiving!” I announced.
“Oh, my gosh! Yes!” said Belinda immediately. “I’ve always wanted to do that! Yes-yes!”
“Count me out,” said Franklin simply. “I was not born to jump out of airplanes.”
“Perfectly safe,” I assured him.
“It’s not and I’m not,” said Franklin. “I’ll meet you guys afterwards for lunch.”
“What about you, Theo?” asked Belinda.
“Oh, gosh,” said Theo, a little desperate.
I got the impression, that had Belinda pushed him, Theo might’ve at least gotten in the plane. Probably would’ve never jumped though.
“No,” he finally said after several minutes of hesitation. “That just sounds awful. I shall meet you for lunch as well.”
“You guys are going to miss out,” said Belinda, excited. “I’m all about the rush. When do we go?”
“We should leave right now,” said Miles. “Gentlemen, we’ll see you at lunch.”
“If you survive,” kidded Franklin. “If you don’t, I promise to get drunk in your name.”
“Very comforting,” I assured him flatly.
The hotel valet brought the car around and I began to drive Belinda toward the airfield. It was nice to have someone that shared my interests.
“Have you done this before?” she asked.
“Many times,” I replied. “We’ll be jumping in tandem, so we’ll be hooked together.”
“So do we pull our parachutes together?”
“No, only one of us pulls the cord. Since I’m the more experienced jumper, you just listen to me, okay?”
“What’s it like?”
“Oh, it’s a rush,” I assured her. “You feel the wind in your face. For several hundred feet, you feel like you’re flying and in a sense, you are.”
“Just flying toward the ground?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Oh! Will we get wing suits?!”
“No, you need a bit more practice before you can wear one of them,” I said. “You sound like you want to be quite the daredevil.”
“Well, I don’t often do it, but when I can, I love to snowboard,” she said.
“I love snowboarding!” I admitted. “We have to go! Promise me!”
“Absolutely!” she assured me. “We’ll do a whole weekend of it. We’ll ditch the other guys in a ski lodge somewhere.”
We laughed. It was easy to laugh with Belinda around.
“Belinda, I just have to say,” I said seriously. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met before. I’m really falling for you.”
“I’m falling for you too, Miles,” said Belinda. “And the other guys too. You’re all just so great to me.”
We got to the airfield just in time to take the beginners course. It was a mandatory training session for a newbie like Belinda. She took to the course quickly, learning all the safety lessons and how to pack your chute. In no time, we were ready to get into the plane with the rest of the class.
“Are you ready for this?” I asked her as we stood in line on the tarmac for the plane.
“Yes! It’s so exciting!” she beamed.
“You’re not scared are you?”
“Hell no! This is the way to live! Woo-hoo!”
The plane took us up to the appropriate height and the class got ready to jump. I could tell that Belinda was getting a little nervous. She stumbled as she stood.
“Are you alright? You sure you’re ready?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “That’s what makes it exciting!”
We got to the doorway. There was no turning back now.
“One, two, three…jump!” I said.
Belinda squealed in delight as we fell out of the plane. We started falling. The wind was rushing in our hair.
“Oh, my God! This is amazing!” she shouted. “Should we be naked? I almost feel like we should’ve done this naked!”
“People do skydive naked,” I laughed. “I’m surprised you want to try it already!”
“Well that’s just it!” she yelled over the wind. “If you’re going to jump out of an airplane, you’re already crazy. Being naked just completes the craziness of it! You might as well go crazy all the way, I say!”
“Look at this view!” I said. “Have you ever seen anything so wonderful?!”
“It’s incredible! Where’s our hotel?!”
“I think it’s over there near those buildings!”
“This is like seeing the world on a plane ride!”
“Only without the plane!”
“Can I pull the ripcord?” she asked.
“Make sure you have the right one,” I instructed.
“This one?!”
“Yes! Pull it!”
“One! Two! Three! Wheeeeeee!”
She pulled the cord and immediately our descent slowed. We were now slowly descending via parachute. I steered us left and right.
“Watch, we can get the whole view now,” I said.
I turned us all the way around.
“This is so amazing! Thanks for helping me do my bucket list, Miles!”
“Thanks for sharing the experience,” I said. “As you can see, not everyone is into it.”
We glided around, admiring the scenery around the airport. Eventually, we started to get closer to the ground.
“Oh, my God!” exclaimed Belinda. “The ground is coming up so fast! I’m just imagining what would happen if we hadn’t pulled the chute!”
“Get ready, we’re going to land! Remember what the instructor said! Bend your knees a bit!”
With the canopies on parachutes these days, it’s pretty easy to have a nice soft landing. We did and it all went perfect. Belinda was perfect. All I kept thinking was how lucky I could be to have her in my life.
I didn’t care what anyone said. I didn’t care if our relationship choice was weird to people. I was going to do everything I could to stay with Belinda and deep in my heart, I knew she felt the same way.