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Chapter 3
I have a tense phone call with Aro before Edward picks me up at the agreed upon time the next morning. It leaves me more than a little pissed off.
"Why won't you just tell me what it is you want here, Aro?" I'm outside smoking in one of the beach chairs outside the door, watching housekeeping push their carts up and down the walkways. The sun is high, the day promising to be clear and pleasant. Perfect day for another mind-numbing assignment.
"I'm having too much fun enjoying the fact that you haven't found your story yet. It's uncharacteristically enthralling." The laughter in his voice is enough for me to decide he's not getting that lobster ashtray after all. "Just stick with it."
"I have to meet Michael on Tuesday night, dinner with his firm."
"I told you this was going to take as long as it takes. If you don't have something worthwhile by then, you're not coming home. Tell Mikey to suck it." The hanging up of a cell phone is very ungratifying. No loud slam, no real way to let the other person know you've dismissed them with an angry smashing of earpiece to cradle. Instead, the button I press to end the call gets pressed as hard as possible without a goodbye.
It's no secret that Aro is not a fan of Michael ever since he was investigated last year on rumors - unproved - of shady dealings within his investment firm. I wasn't too happy when I found out either, but honestly, the relationship works for me in the sense that it requires no work.
Putting out my cigarette, I cross my arms over the t-shirt I was forced to buy along with some denim capri pants, something Edward suggested for whatever it was we had to do today. Fifteen-dollar generic sneakers adorn my feet and I have every intention of leaving them behind in the room once I've vacated this town.
The roar of a motorcycle makes me look towards the road, and I groan when there's no doubt in my mind that the man driving the loud machine and the dog in the sidecar are my chauffeurs for the day as he pulls into the lot.
I don't move, I just watch as he takes his helmet off, not showing the requisite helmet head that I would expect to have suffered, but a perfectly imperfect whirl of chaos that makes certain celebrities the cover of People's Sexiest Man Alive.
He turns to Joey next, and I let out a laugh when I see the dog wearing a leather hat that makes him look like a bomber pilot from World War II, complete with goggles. His tongue is sticking out and he's got that dopey smile on his face again. "Stop!" I yell over the railing, before Edward pulls the attire off.
Grabbing my camera, I walk the flight down to meet them and take a few pictures. "That has got to be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. Is he safe in there?" Edward pulls on the straps attached to the inside of the sidecar, showing me how it's clasped to his harness.
"He loves it."
The look on Joey's face doesn't show otherwise, and I take a few more pictures of the both of them on the motorcycle. "He's not scared?"
"Joey loves speed. Loves being in moving things. He used to jump into the sidecar and wait for me to find him to tell me he wanted a ride."
Used to. There's that wistful look on Edward's face again. "He doesn't do that anymore?"
Edward leans over and pats the leather helmet, shaking his head. "No, not anymore. You ready?" He looks at my outfit skeptically.
"If you had told me we were riding on a motorcycle I'd have bought something different." Seared, bare ankles from hot engines are not something I'm particularly fond of.
"You're dressed fine, it's just…"
"What?" I ask, irritated already and the day hasn't even started.
"I never pictured you as a pink shirt kind of girl." I want to crawl under the sidecar, called out that I'm wearing an "Ogunquit is for lovers" t-shirt with two lobsters on it.
"It was the only one they had in my size," I say through gritted teeth, feeling my cheeks pink to match the shirt.
"Yeah, it's kind of the end of the season." He's laughing, making fun of me, his eyes bright and his mouth turned up into a smirk. I wonder if that pretty face of his has ever been slapped.
"Let's just… go." I take the helmet he's held out for me, and begin to circle the bike to climb behind him. I'm going to have to touch him, and I start thinking of ways to get on gracefully without having to cling to life to his shoulders.
"Oh no, you're not riding behind me."
"Well then, where…?" My eyes widen as his smirk gets bigger, forming into a full-blown, shit-eating grin. "Are you kidding me?"
"Nope, afraid when I have the sidecar on, there's no room for your legs. You'll have to ride with Joey." I look at the dog, tongue still hanging out, and size up the compartment. It's definitely big enough.
"What about his straps?"
"Get in, I'll show you." Edward lifts Joey out, placing him carefully on the seat he just vacated. Climbing in, I close my eyes, glad Michael can't see how low Aro's assignment is taking me. Edward places Joey on my lap and my hands fly up like he's just put an alligator in here with me. "Bella, he's not poisonous."
My hands rest gingerly on Joey's fur, and he twists his head to get a better look at me, turning left and right. "What's he doing? See? He hates this."
"He wants a scratch." Edward slides his hand over my leg, brushing his forearm against my thigh as he reaches down into the car. Joey is still twisting on my lap, so I scratch his back and he flexes, like it's the best thing in the world. Edward connects clips to the harness, and I see the dog is now securely buckled.
"What about me? The dog gets a seatbelt, but I don't?"
"Are you at risk of jumping out?"
"Maybe."
"Well, you'll just have to contain yourself. Do you have sunglasses?" Nodding, I reach into my backpack Edward is about to stow in a leather side bag, and fish around, pulling out my wallet and camera to get to the sunglass case that's fallen to the bottom. My hand is suddenly empty, and I look at Edward, holding the camera and taking it out of its zippered pouch.
"Hey!" Reaching for it, he pulls it just out of my grasp.
Holding the camera up so he can see the digital display, he grins. "Say cheese!" I'm sure the picture he gets is less of me saying 'cheese' and more of me saying something that rhymes with 'truck goo', but he seems satisfied and puts the camera back, stowing it all into the side bag.
He takes the helmet from my hand and plops it on my head, and I flinch slightly as his hands come up to my face. "I'm just checking your strap." His fingers tug on the nylon holding the helmet on, and I feel it get tighter, safer.
"Oh, thanks." The tips of his fingers brush under my chin, and I let out an involuntary chuckle. Looking up at him quickly, I'm embarrassed. It's a secret I've tried to keep all my life.
"Ms. Swan, are you ticklish? Under your chin?" His eyes are gleaming, filled with mirth and that slappable smirk is forming on his scruff-covered face.
"Not at all. I'm laughing at how stupid your hair looks. All sticking up and… stuff." My recovery is lame, and we both know it. "Can we go now, please?"
Edward stands, placing a hand on his stomach and rubbing, causing his white t-shirt to shift and lift. "Sure thing, Ms. Swan."
He starts the bike and we're off, zooming out of the parking lot, gravel kicking back in our wake. Instinctively, I throw my arms around Joey and hold him protectively, his soft fur brushing against my skin as we're staring straight ahead, cheek to cheek. He leans against me, and I swear I feel something that reminds me of a purr, making me nuzzle him a bit.
"He's fine." Edward yells over the roar and wind, and when my eyes flick to him, I can't see his behind his sunglasses, but a warm smile graces his features.
"I'm not holding onto him to keep him safe, I'm holding myself in so I don't die," I shout.
"Whatever you say." As I watch him from my place next to Joey's fuzzy face, his smile doesn't fade as the blue sky and white clouds swirl behind him.
All he needs is his tongue sticking out, flying in the wind.
"You have got to be shitting me." I stare at the hangar in front of me, the tarmac, the men in jumpsuits, and the goddamn plane.
"I am not, as you say, shitting you." Edward is all excitement and smiles, holding Joey up and pointing out things to a dog that doesn't understand English. He looks down at me, smirking. "You scared, Ms. Swan?"
"First of all, stop calling me Ms. Swan. It's just Bella, and second, hell no! I've always wanted to do this!" The surprised excitement on Edward's face at my enthusiasm grows, and I punctuate my eagerness with an energetic fist pump. "How are you doing this with Joey, though?"
One of the instructors comes out to greet us before Edward can answer. He pets Joey and seems to know all about what's on the agenda. Ushering us into a lounge, we watch a short video, sign our lives away on legal papers, and start suiting up. I take some pictures as Edward prepares Joey, strapping him to his chest in a carrier thing you'd use for a baby and zipping him into his jumpsuit. The goggles stay on but the helmet gets taken off, and the instructor puts a harness around Edward and Joey.
"Edward, are you sure about this?" I whisper, leaning in closer to him and looking at Joey. As far as the dog is concerned, he seems up for it, tongue already out.
"Like I said, if there's one thing Joey loves, it's speed and wind. He loves moving. This is just the ultimate ride." He gives Joey's head a loving rub. "It's something… we have to do, together." That look is back in his eyes, wistful, sad, affectionate. "Let's go."
We board the plane and take off, soon climbing higher and higher, each of us strapped to an instructor who will take care of deploying the chutes, and the backup chutes if - god forbid - they are needed. I'm buzzing with excitement, I never considered myself an adrenaline junkie, but this is one of those things you put on your bucket list and never really think you'll cross off…
Oh my god.
Before I can finish the epiphany I'm on the verge of having, Edward falls out of the plane, followed by an instructor that's going to videotape the whole thing. I'm next, and soon I'm weightless, flying and floating and flipping towards Earth in an exhilarating freefall. The ground is far beneath us, full of green patches and blue bodies of water, and I enjoy the ride, comforted by the feel of the experienced jumper strapped to my back.
He somehow maneuvers our bodies closer to Edward and Joey, and there is no mistaking the pure joy on both of their faces. Edward has one hand on his jumpsuit where Joey is safely snuggled, and instead of looking at the looming Earth, Edward is watching Joey as best he can. The dog's tongue is flapping and his lips are moving in the wind, but it does look like he's enjoying it. He's calm, trusting in Edward's proximity and hold.
We fall for a bit, watching Joey, until the pull of our chutes deploying make us separate in the air, so I don't see when Edward lands. Concentrating on my own impending landing, I remember the video's instruction of keeping my legs straight out, and we glide to the ground, my instructor landing perfectly on the big red "X".
The parachute billows around us, and we make our way out of the silk and nylon over to where Edward and Joey have landed. He's holding Joey up over his head, laughing and cheering, and I'm struck suddenly in the chest at the intimate display between them. I've never been an especially needy person, but to have this level of adoration from someone makes me surprisingly envious of Joey.
"Did you see him?" Edward asks the instructors, and then turns, beaming at me as I approach. "Bella, did you see him?" I rub my hand over Joey's back, laughing and getting caught up in the celebration with them, my adrenaline pumping. Looking at Edward, my heart skips a little, and I see the perfect jaw, the day-old scruff, the small scar that rests on the left side of his chin.
His handsomeness isn't a surprise to me as I recognized how cute he was the first time I saw him, but the depth of his beauty when he's basking in the enjoyment of giving and sharing an experience with his pet makes him exceptional. I swallow a bit, and answer, a little choked up which catches me off guard. I reckon I'm still just riding my high. "I sure did! Was that fun, Joey?" The dog answers with an attempt to lick my nearing fingers, and I give him a scratch on his head.
"You guys want to watch the video now?" The cameraman asks, and there's no hesitation as we follow the crew into the hangar and line up on a couch in front of a big TV. The first couple of minutes are of us on the plane getting ready, the cameraman's focus mostly on Edward and Joey. My breath catches as the video shows Edward falling out, followed by the cameraman spinning through the air. There's lots of blue sky until he finds the subject of his film. Joey's tongue is hanging out and he's got that 'smile' look on his face again.
Edward's grip on his stomach is protective, and his own smile is pure joy. I can't see Edward's eyes behind the goggles from the sunlight reflection but I'm sure they'd show him looking at his friend instead of the open world around him.
We watch the whole video, and the cameraman captures me, too, flying towards earth. It churns up the exhilarating feeling even from our safe positions on the ground.
As Edward says his goodbyes and takes his copy of the jump, I get back to reporter mode and start working my thoughts out in my head. The 'aha' moment I had on the plane.
I've never wanted to be so wrong in theory about a story in my life.
Edward pulls up to the hotel and I move to climb out, but notice the excitement of the day has put Joey to sleep in my lap. "Sorry about that," Edward says, reaching for him, but I push his hands off.
"Give him a few minutes. I think he's snoring."
"He's definitely snoring." He rubs Joey's head gently and takes his sunglasses off. Looking up at the sky, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Today was great." He says it more to himself and the air than to me, so I sit quietly.
He pinches the bridge of his nose and turns his head in the opposite direction. Is he crying? My eyes widen with unease, unsure if I should do something. I've been around lots of crying people on the assignments I choose, but this hits different. There's a feeling down in my gut of something I don't normally feel - empathy.
My near epiphany in the plane comes roaring back and it's all I can do to not audibly suck in air.
This man Aro sent me to write a story about… is dying.
My awesome chicks Carrie ZM and LayAtHomeMom would jump out of a plane with me. I'm pretty sure. Maybe.
This is for Squiggy.