But as they got ready to jump, true to his word, Jacob stayed still and at attention as Linc clipped them together and triple-checked everything one last time. His back was to Linc’s front, and for once his nearness didn’t affect Linc on a visceral level as he was more concerned with making sure the thick black webbing of the harness was secure.
“Watch Garrick,” he ordered as Garrick went first, demonstrating how they’d need to learn to exit without hesitation, precise timing on the spotter’s signal, his smooth movements and easy smile for the rookies the product of years of experience. Once he was away, McKenna and Kelley were next, Kelley doing a good job looking more excited than terrified as they leaped on the signal, not even yelling like most of the tourists he’d jumped with. Jacob was similarly calm as they waited for their signal.
You’ve done this before, Linc had to remind himself, taking a deep, steadying breath before adjusting his goggles. It being Jacob and being right now, after everything that had happened, shouldn’t make any difference, except it did. For the first time pre-jump, possibly ever, his stomach roiled. Fuck. But there was no time to puke or even to hesitate as the spotter gave them their signal, and his training took over for his jumbled brain, leaping in unison with Jacob.
Then Jacob made a sound, not a yell precisely, but a noise of pure delight that cut right through all the fog in Linc’s brain and loosened the stranglehold anxiety had on his chest. He didn’t have to see Jacob’s face to know that he was grinning. Jacob stretched his arms wide, enjoying the free fall, flying for the first time, and through him, Linc saw everything new and wonderful again—the trees and hills beneath them, endless panorama, pure blue sky, the rush of the wind coming up to greet them.
“About to deploy the chute,” he shouted to Jacob after checking his altimeter. Because of the additional weight of a tandem jump, they used larger than normal main parachutes and deployed them sooner to decrease velocity.
“Already?”
“You’re gonna fit in just fine.” He had to smile himself as he pulled the rip cord. At least Garrick would have a new jump junkie for company this season. The jolt of the parachute pulling them up made Jacob whoop again. By the end of the summer, all this would be old hat to him, and the seriousness of the job would take over, but right then Linc let him have his fun, steering them in gentle swoops, drinking in Jacob’s laughter until he was laughing right along with him, until they were truly doing this together in a way none of Linc’s other tandem jumps had experienced, a synergy that left him breathless as they approached the landing zone.
They landed about as close to textbook as possible, a soft touchdown that got another pleased sound from Jacob.
“Fuck yeah. We did it!”
“Yeah, we did. You’re going to do great for the solo jumps. Good job keeping your head about you.” He’d praise any rookie jumper, but something about Jacob made his voice warmer, more intimate. Their eyes met as he unclipped them, and an unexpected closeness blanketed them. This was why he hadn’t wanted Garrick to be the one to jump with Jacob. He was selfish, had wanted this all for himself, had wanted to be the one to put that look of awe on his face.
Only the presence of the others nearby, also laughing and shouting, stopped him from embracing Jacob. Even a backslapping hug felt too risky for all the big emotions churning inside him. Damn it. How was he supposed to get through a whole season of this? Maybe he wasn’t as old and washed as he’d feared, but he sure as heck was screwed.
Chapter Six
“What do you mean I’m not ready?” Jacob had been looking forward to the first static line solo jump all week. The jump that enabled them to practice correct body positioning while still connected to the aircraft was supposed to be the capstone of the first week of training, prelude to next week’s intense practices and more solo jumps with increasing autonomy. They’d have the weekend off, which was a good thing, what with Jacob’s mom’s birthday party. But right now, he wanted to jump more than he wanted two days off.
“I mean you’re not ready.” Linc stared him down.
Unfortunately, rookies needed their jumper-in-charge to sign off before they got to go. And Linc was being a damn pain in the ass. He and Garrick had been drilling him all morning on body positioning and how to deploy the reserve chute in the event of an emergency. That was the part he’d messed up on when they quizzed him, forgetting to mention cutting the main line, even though he knew that.