Candid Confessions Bundle #3 (13 page)

Ellen offered him a coffee, but he politely pointed
out that we needed to get moving. A few minutes later, we were out
in the street, heading towards his car. I looked for the Bentley,
and so was surprised when he paused next to a brand-new Range
Rover. He pressed a key fob and the lights flashed as the doors
unlocked with a thunk. The rear of the vehicle was packed with
various bulging green and khaki bags. Maybe Ellen was right.
Abseiling seemed a real possibility.

‘Jump in,’ he said. ‘There will be some traffic to
start with, but once we are south of the city, it should be an easy
ride.’

South of the city? What the hell was to the south of
the city…about an hour’s drive away? As Brad drove, I watched the
signposts flicking by, trying to get a feel for where we were
heading. Canberra…the nation’s capital? I hoped not. Canberra is
probably the most boring city in Australia. Anyway, it was too far
away. The Southern Highlands perhaps? The Shire? No, too close. Not
the Blue Mountains, they were out West.

I didn’t find out for sure until we were driving
through the streets of Woollongong, a seaside town that I had never
visited before. No reason to…nothing much happened there that I was
aware of. It seemed to be a pleasant enough town, but why were we
here? Jeez…I felt so stupid.

‘Are you nervous?’ Brad asked.

‘Um…just a little,’ I answered cautiously.

‘No need to be...it’s as safe as houses. And I will
be with you all the way.’

Well, that seemed reassuring. We skirted round the
north of the town and headed towards the coast. We pulled up on
some parkland near the beach. Looking good so far, I thought. The
beach was awesome, with rolling surf and a few families strolling
along the sand. Nothing scary there. And no cliffs to abseil
from.

‘Well, here we are!’ Brad exclaimed triumphantly,
pointing in the opposite direction to the beach.

I followed his finger and looked across the
parkland. At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about. And
then I saw it. A huge sign stood at the side of the road like a
behemoth, blasting out a message in huge, bold lettering.

I read it with a growing sense of panic.

Oh, my God…no! Please tell me this isn’t it…

But it was. This was my worst nightmare come true. I
would rather abseil every day for a year than do this. I would
rather do
anything
than do this. But now there was no
escape. It was all over.

I swallowed hard, trying to come to terms with the
fact that I was about to die…

***

So this was it. I was
going to die, right here. I would never see another sunrise. My
short life was going to end with me falling from thousands of feet
in the air and smashing into the ground.

I read the sign again, hoping that somehow I had
been mistaken. But nope…the words read exactly the same way the
second time.

WELCOME TO SKYDIVE CENTRAL!!!

Skydiving?
SKYDIVING!!! Oh, fuck…I was screwed. There was no way I could
handle a parachute. I’d fuck it up. I’m scared of heights remember?
Standing on a chair to change a light bulb scares the crap out of
me. If I let Brad push me into doing this, there would be only one
possible outcome. The other jumpers would all float gracefully to
the ground - whilst watching me plunging earthwards at high speed,
tangled up in my mangled parachute. At least my funeral would be
cheap. They wouldn’t need a big coffin – just a small box for the
bits they could scrape up off the ground.

Ah well, it had been a good life. I had enjoyed lots
of sex, which is all that counts really. And at least now, I would
be spared the misery of becoming old, ugly and unfuckable.

I got out of the car and threw up on the grass. Brad
jumped out of the driver’s seat and rushed round, just in time to
get a clear view of what I had eaten for breakfast.

‘Oh, God.’ I said.

‘Angel…are you OK? What is it…travel sickness?’

Let’s go with that, I thought. At least it would get
me off the hook for the moment. ‘Yes, sorry…I should have told you.
I get it sometimes.’

‘Here…sit down on this bench, and I’ll get you some
water. Back in a sec.’

I was glad to have a few moments alone. What the
fuck was I going to do now? Skydiving is not the ideal pastime for
someone who is terrified of heights. And I was too young to die. I
looked up at the sign again and read the smaller print beneath the
headline.

Enjoy the spectacular views from 14,000 feet!

14,000 feet! I get scared going up a step ladder.
There was no way anyone was going to make me jump from 14,000 feet.
But if I didn’t, I would make a total fool of myself, ruin any
chance of a relationship with Brad and probably lose my job,
too.

I’ve been fucked a few times, but never as well and
truly fucked as this. What the hell was I going to do? I thought
fast, and by the time Brad came back with a bottle of water, I had
a plan. I would just go along with things for a while, and then at
the last minute, I would fake sickness again, and they would have
to go up without me. Brilliant! I was feeling better already.

I recovered a little, and by the time we got into
the preparations stage, I was almost back to normal. I didn’t even
have to listen to the trainer. After all, I wasn’t going anywhere.
I just smiled and nodded at him, and pretended to listen. But all I
was hearing was ‘blah, blah, blah…’

Well, that was a dumb attitude. Because to cut a
long story short, my plan didn’t work out. I kind of got sucked
into the whole process, and somehow that opportunity to butt out
never arose. The next couple of hours flew by, and before I knew
it, I was sardine-sandwiched into one of the tiny planes with Brad
seated right behind me. But all was not lost…I had a plan B. When
it came to the big moment when I was supposed to jump, I would just
refuse to go. I would play the scared little girl routine. Easy.
They can’t make you commit suicide, right?

The whole idea certainly seemed suicidal to me. I’m
not comfortable flying in a jumbo jet, never mind a minute and
rather frail-looking Cessna. There weren’t even any seats. We all
sat on the floor like paratroopers in an old war movie. When the
plane started to hurtle down the runway, I thought I was going to
throw up again. I clenched my fists so tightly that they turned
white. Soon we were up in the air, and I felt more vulnerable than
ever. It was awful. There was no way I could look down. The plane
circled higher and higher. There were twelve of us in the plane,
five newbies including me, five experienced jumpers, the pilot and
the leader of the group.

I felt Brad lean closer to me, reaching around the
parachute pack that was perched on my back. I saw him clip some
straps onto my pack. ‘You’re OK now…you don’t have to do anything.
Just enjoy the ride. We are nearly at 14,000 feet.’

Oh, bollocks!

Now there was no way out. Brad and I were strapped
together, and he was going to take me down with him. I was going to
die. I resigned myself to my fate. I’d had a good life. I’d had
more fun than most women get in eighty years. I suppose it all had
to end sooner or later, and it turns out it was going to be sooner.
Maybe this was some kind of divine retribution for my sinful
ways.

I was trying to remember if I had written a will,
when the leader guy threw the door open.

Shit!

A cold wind whistled through the compartment and I
looked outside to see nothing…absolutely nothing except blue sky
all around us, bluer than any sky I had ever seen before. If I
hadn’t been so shit scared, it would have been beautiful. I
realized with a shock that we were first in line for the exit. Brad
shuffled us forwards, closer to the edge, and there was nothing I
could do except panic. I found myself sitting in the doorway with
my legs dangling over the edge. Now was the time to shout that I
couldn’t jump…

…I never got the chance. Brad pushed forward, and we
were out of the plane and spinning. I started to scream. I was
hurtling through thin air, wind rushing past me. As we spun, I saw
the plane disappear into the distance, fast becoming a tiny speck.
We cleared some clouds, and then looking down, I saw the ground
below me, a distant spot that seemed to be slowly getting nearer.
The rushing wind lasted for what seemed an eternity, but must have
been less than a minute. I felt Brad’s hands gripping me, and
somehow I felt reassured. Maybe this was going to be OK. Maybe I
wouldn’t die. Just a few months in hospital, perhaps, then a
lifetime in a wheelchair.

Then something happened…It felt as if I was being
pulled up into the air, but in fact we had just slowed
dramatically. I looked up and saw our parachute open above
us…possibly the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my life.
The billowing cloud of blue and white material looked magical. We
weren’t going to die!

Now my world view changed completely. I was floating
in space with a hot guy’s arms around me, and a spectacular view of
the world to enjoy. The adrenaline from the fall was pumping
through me, and I was experiencing a huge high. I could see the
ocean below, the surf crashing on the beach, and the green of the
parkland beyond. Better than sex? I wasn’t sure about that, but it
was pretty awesome. We floated downwards, circling around the
landing area, swinging in closer and closer. The ground seemed to
rush up towards my feet, and I realized that we were almost down,
and coming in fast. Brad told me to lift my legs, and he guided us
down to the grass, coming to a neat, running landing.

A moment later, I was sitting on the grass feeling
totally exhilarated. Heck, what had I been scared of? I wanted to
do it again! And I was more intrigued than ever by my parachuting
partner. There really was more to this guy than met the eye. This
put a whole new spin on the phrase ‘flying doctor.’

Brad unclipped himself from my parachute pack and
helped me out of it. I jumped to my feet and hugged him. I couldn’t
help it! The moment was so intense. He didn’t seem to mind, in
fact, he was laughing.

When we left in the Range Rover an hour later, I was
still on a high. I couldn’t wait to tell Ellen about this…she would
be laughing on the other side of her face. Better still, I had a
DVD of the event to prove it. But all that was to come later. I was
starving, and when Brad suggested finding a restaurant to get a
meal, I was all for the idea. We drove into Wollongong and soon
came across an Italian restaurant that looked friendly and
inviting. It’s a good job Aussie restaurants are very relaxed about
dress code. I felt scruffy in my rumpled clothes, although Brad
somehow managed to look immaculately groomed. I wondered vaguely
how he did that. Anyway, half an hour later, we were enjoying some
excellent pasta and discussing the adventures of the day.

‘Well, you did it,’ Brad grinned. I felt I had gone
up in his estimation that day. I guess he was used to women who
chickened out of scary activities. Ha…not me! I’m up for
anything…LOL!

‘Of course, I wouldn’t have missed it for the
world,’ I lied. ‘Thanks for an awesome day. I’m still feeling a
buzz.’ And that was the truth…I was just glad to be alive.

‘Great,’ Brad smiled. ‘I think working with you is
going to be fun.’ He reached across the table and squeezed my hand
once again. It was just a friendly touch, but it sent a feeling
like an electric shock shooting up my arm. What kind of fun was he
talking about? I had some ideas that I would like to suggest, but I
didn’t think this was the moment.

‘I’m looking forward to it,’ I said. ‘You are full
of surprises. I can’t wait to see what happens next.’

By the time the meal was over, I was more intrigued
than ever by this complex and mysterious man. He was driven to
succeed, certainly, but there was more to him than a desire for
power and money. As we talked about his career, I realized that he
genuinely cared about people, and wanted to leave his mark on the
world. By comparison, I felt shallow and self-centered. My life had
been primarily driven by my hormones, with not much thought into
making the world a better place. If I left a few guys with smiles
on their faces, that was good enough for me. Or was it?

Luckily, falling out of an airplane had given me
enough credit to make up for any deficiencies in other areas. We
got along famously, and by the time we left the restaurant, we were
best buddies. During the drive home, I wondered where this might go
from here. Probably nowhere. Surely he had a beautiful wife, or
fiancé – or at least a girlfriend – tucked away somewhere. But if
that was the case, why wasn’t he spending the day with her? Maybe
she wasn’t dumb enough to jump into space at 14,000 feet.

Eventually, we pulled up outside my apartment just
as darkness fell. I didn’t want the day to end there, but I didn’t
want to do the corny old ‘want to come in for coffee?’ line either.
Then I remembered the DVD of my death plunge. I found it in my bag
and waved it enthusiastically.

‘Hey, you want to come in and see how we did?’

Brad smiled his acceptance, and a few minutes later,
we were sitting on my sofa, drinking coffee, and watching me make a
complete fool of myself. The soundtrack mainly consisted of me
screaming my lungs out during the free fall, then cooing like a
happy pigeon for the rest of the descent. I sounded like a total
idiot, and Brad seemed to find it very amusing. We watched it
several times, then I switched it off. Ellen had gone out for the
evening, so we had the place to ourselves. There was an awkward
silence for a few seconds, and I was busy trying to think of
something to say to fill in the gap when Brad leaned forward and
kissed me. His lips were firm and insistent, and I gasped with
surprise. I certainly wasn’t expecting that.