Return to Me will probably not be updated this week or It'll ahve ONE update. I have my Anatomy final on Friday and we have two tests before that. THANK GOD next month we start Swedish massage and will, I hope to God, not have to do much stuff other than learn the routines and techniques. Thus far, nothing has been easy, but I'm happy about it.
Have a good week!
Jackie
Part 32 – Let's Go Skydiving!
The loud racket this stupid plane is making as we step inside was enough to send the butterflies in my stomach into overdrive. Harm, ever the helpful male that he is, pats my six as we enter the plane. "Thanks, Harm. . .You're so helpful." I yell over the engines.
"Glad to be of service." He grins back at me and the two other men in our group glare at him, enviously so. Harm hops into the plane and takes a seat beside me right by the door. Despite that whole macho 'I'm not afraid of nothing' exterior, the moment I feel his fingers thread through my own, I get it – He's scared. "This is going to be fun!" He yells, then tightens his hold on my hand as the plane lurches forward and moves towards the tarmac.
It's been about a month since Harm suggested this little skydiving adventure. During that time we have jumped twice in tandem (Harm and I strapped on to OTHER, experienced divers) and then trained to do a solo jump which is what we are embarking on.
Sighing, I shut my eyes and lean my head back, the helmet shifting slightly. I remember how it started, in my apartment when Harm thought he was suggesting something nice and innocent. . .
-One Month Earlier-
"Let's go skydiving." It's midnight on Friday and I am laying on Harm's body as we lay together on my sofa watching a remake of some movie of some sort. I wasn't really paying too much attention to it. Forgive me if I am exhausted from a long week. . .Erm, what did he just say? "So?"
I manage to move up, pinning him with a look of utter shock. "What did you just say?"
"Let's. Go. Sky. Diving." He punctuates each word, making me feel a bit moronic at the same time. I know I am half asleep and, forgive me if I am wrong, but did Harm just suggest for us to go SKYDIVING? "I mean, tomorrow's going to be a beautiful day and an ex-squadron buddy of mine phoned me up. . .Apparently he has this company that . . ."
"Alrighty, let me get this straight. .." I cut him off, slide off his body and sit at the end of the sofa, suddenly wide awake. "You want to jump out of a plane FOR FUN?" I mean, I am not afraid of heights and if called to, I would jump off of Mount Fuji, but. . .for fun? He's insane! "Have you been sniffing too much jet fuel, flyboy?"
Harm grins, chuckles, then slides over to where I am. "It would be fun. . .I mean, the adrenaline rush of jumping out of a plane. . .It's totally cool."
"Totally cool?" Okay, he did NOT just say that JUMPING OUT OF A PLANE is TOTALLY COOL. What in the hell is wrong with him? "Harm." I begin trying to reason. "We've skydived before." I can practically hear the wheels turning in his head as he mulls that thought over. I mean, c'mon, he can't be THAT dense. "Baby, we EJECTED. . .In Russia, remember?" I do. . .I mean, one moment we're flying and I am praying to God I don't lose my kibbles and bit, next thing I know Harm's yelling that we need to punch out.
His eyebrow darts upwards as if were the oddest of comparisons. "Mac, this is different, this is safe. . .And we're not in Russia. It'll be great!"
"Safe? That's what you said before we went up in that MIG!" Alright, so his eagerness is starting to win me over. I know he wouldn't put me in danger if he could help it. A) I'd kill him and B) if something happened to me, the staff at JAG would kill him. Either way, it's a lose/lose situation for my sexy flyboy. Still, my mind flutters helplessly back to Russia. . Before taking our death defying flight, he'd given me the whole hoopla about safety and what to do IF we had to eject. Heh. IF, my ass!
We had to eject, I wind up one hundred feet away dazed, confused and thanking God that a bush broke my fall and prevented me from breaking my ankle. Harm, on the other hand, wound up in a tree, dangling, while a couple of Gypsies tried to steel the silk from his chute. That eagerness doesn't budge a bit and I watch, in awe, as he pulls out a stack of details an inch thick. "Here's all of the details along with the testimonials. . .They have a great record. . ." There's that word 'great' again. "Great credentials." Oh brother. "And a great staff." How many times is he going to say that? I swear, he sound like a commercial.
Nevertheless, I take the stack and page through it, my lawyerific brain sorting each detail and filing them away for later. When I get around to the actual brochure I see pictures of people actually HAVING FUN. They even have that vertical tunnel machine where it feels like your skydiving but you really aren't it's just the wind generated by a massive fan which pushes you up. "Oooh, I've been in one of these." I say with enthusiasm and clarify for the curious, sexy man who I know is about to ask. "When Chloe and I went to Orlando three years ago we hit their 'strip.' Chloe ended up coning me into taking her in that thing." I place a finger on the picture and grin. "It rocked my world."
Harm gives me this indignant, disgusted look and it's so cute I just want to kiss him. "You went in THAT thing but you won't jump out of a plane with me?"
"There's a difference. This thing is safe, skydiving. . .well, it isn't." He takes the inch thick packet away from me, frowning as he stands and heads towards the kitchen. I sigh, he's upset. So I follow. "Harm, hang on." I know I shouldn't give him an inch, I mean, I really DO NOT want to willingly JUMP out of a plane. There is something entirely wrong about that. And still, I recall the things that he's done for me, like going shoe shopping, lingerie shopping. Oh, and the lingerie shopping WAS fun, I tortured him the entire time. It's all of that which makes me. . .give in. . . a little. . .just a little. "Harm? Are you upset with me?"
From the cupboard he's pulled out two mugs and is proceeding to make. . .Oh my. . .Hot Chocolate. As he turns, it takes all my willpower NOT to chuckle. Oh brother, he's pouting. "No, it's fine. . .you don't want to go, we won't go. I've just. . .always wanted to, that's all."
Maybe it was the wafting smell of chocolate or that cute pout of his that turns me into jello, but, stupidly, I gave in. . .
That leads me back to the present.
I turn to look at Harm who, I swear to God, has turned green. He can't be getting airsick, can he? Wouldn't that be a hoot! "Alright, when that light turns green, it's time to jump." The owner of the flight school yells, pointing at these rather large red and green lights which are situated towards the front. When he opened the door and a woosh of wind ripples through us, it dawns on me – I'm going to jump out of a plane BY MY SELF. Sure, Harm will be there and so will two instructors and the two guys that trained with us. . .but, still. I'll be alone.
Harm squeezes my hand a few times then turns towards me. "I'm not sure I can do this." He states, face looking completely ashen.
"You've gotta be kidding me! You put me through all of this and now DON'T want to jump!" I yell back at him and notice that the light towards the front has turned green. Josh and Luke, the two students as well as Nick and James, the two instructors, eagerly rush towards the front, hooking themselves up to a line that runs inside of the plane.
He grins, this silly, cute, amazing grin, then hooks me and himself up. I've just been played. "Kidding, let's go!" Harm takes my arm, helping me up to my feet as he walks behind me, edging us closer to the edge of the door. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be!" I yell back at him, taking one peak outside. God, we are insane! I take a deep breath and then jump, noting from the corner of my eye that Harm has headed out right after me. Good, I was half afraid he wouldn't.
I have to admit, this is exhilarating and. . .yes, I'm going to say it – GREAT! It's GREAT! "Maaaaaaaaaaaac!" I hear Harm yell as he flies by me.
Funny, didn't I call him Superman once? I use the training they gave us in order to propel myself towards him, careful to keep our distance as we are not exactly THAT well trained. "This is AWESOME!" I yell at him, doubting that he could hear as the wind rushes by us, or rather, we rush by the wind.
It's not too long before our freefall comes to an end and it's time to pull the ripcords. We do so, me a second apart from him and brace for the moment the chute opens up fully. We sail through the air and I am amazed at how wonderfully free I am feeling. Once I hit the ground, I see Harm running towards me, laughing. "Wasn't that AWESOME!"
He barrels into me, taking me into his arms and kissing me senseless. And I do mean senseless. To our right, the other members of our team gawk and issue catcalls as the kiss turns a bit more heated. "Harm, we're making a scene." I manage to pull away slightly and then feel my feet hit the ground beneath me.
Sheepishly, he shrugs. "Just a little excited is all."
"Excited?" I raise an eyebrow in amusement. "Harm, if you needed excitement, you could have just asked, we didn't have to jump out of a plane for it." I tease and he flushes about three different shades of red as he gets the excitement I'm talking about.
Together we grab up our gear and head back to the van that is waiting for us. "So." He starts, that grin just seems to be plastered to his face as of late. "When are we doing this again."
He's kidding me right? "How about never?" I offer in all seriousness. I mean, it was nice, it was cool, exhilarating. . .and yes, GREAT. It was GREAT! But, I still don't see the fun out of jumping out of planes ON PURPOSE. "Hey, don't look at me like that."
Instead of getting that Harmon Rabb Junior pout, he just shrugs and pulls me close. Very close. "Well, I guess we'll have to rely on YOUR kind of excitement, Marine." He waggles his eyebrows up and down suggestively.
"That, my dear, could be arranged. . .Anything is safer than this."
Harm chuckles. "Oh yea, tell that to my shins who are killing me from banging into your coffee table on the way to your bedroom last night." He snorts in disgust. "Or your foot after you stepped on the glass from the vase that we tipped over when the table fell. . .Or how about that time when. . ."
Alright, so nothing we do is one hundred percent safe, but, at least it's fun.