9. Freaking Out
9
FREAKING OUT
KYLIE
I’ve decided that Venice is overrated and expensive.
While I could admit it was beautiful, after spending the entire day yesterday wandering through the floating city with Tara, Lincoln and Seth, I’d begun to wonder if I was over travelling or if the city just didn’t do it for me.
But now that we’ve left and I’m once again watching the Italian countryside whiz by out the window of the bus, I know I’m done with travelling after all.
Something I’ve learned on this trip is that being super tall on a tour like this, where there are many hours spent in a cramped bus seat, can be very uncomfortable. Seth has managed to fold himself into the seat next to me, stretching his left leg out into the aisle again. I’ve turned myself so that my legs are draped over his so that he can have more leg room, but I can tell he’s ready to be off the bus.
Not that he’d ever complain. Even though he has opened up with me, he is still fairly quiet with everyone else other than Tara and Lincoln. But I can see the pain cross his features occasionally while he rests his head against the top of the seat, so I have made it my mission to distract him from his discomfort.
“Are you looking forward to jumping out of a plane this afternoon?” I ask, and he rolls his head to the side to look at me with one eyebrow raised.
“Um… I don’t know that I’m looking forward to it… More like looking forward to being back on the ground.”
I look down at our entwined fingers and squeeze gently. “If you don’t want to do it, please don’t feel you have to. I don’t want you to feel pressured into it.”
He squeezes back. “Thank you. But when I decide I’m doing something, I always follow through. That being said, I will most likely be freaking out the whole time.”
I grin. “Oh, I’ll be freaking out too. But what better way to remind ourselves we’re alive than jumping out of a perfectly good plane, right?”
Lincoln pops his head up over the seat in front of us, his smile wide. “I cannot wait for this. I’ve always wanted to skydive but never got around to it. I still can’t believe you convinced Seth to do it, though.” He looks pointedly at his friend, who shrugs.
“What can I say? I wasn’t in my right mind. There was gelato and a beautiful woman involved.”
I laugh. “You know, for someone who doesn’t talk much, you can be pretty smooth.”
“I taught him everything he knows,” Lincoln says, and it’s Seth’s turn to laugh.
“Whatever. I’ve watched you flirt, and you are nowhere near as smooth as you think you are.”
I lean back into my seat and watch them banter good-naturedly while Seth absently rubs his thumb back and forth on the back of my hand. It has amazed me how easily both men have slipped into mine and Tara’s lives. We’ve known them just over a week, yet it feels like we’ve been friends for years. While we haven’t really spent time with many others on the tour, it has apparently become expected that we will all be together. I guess it’s normal on a trip like this for strong relationships to form in a short time, as we’re all in each other’s spaces, and it gives the illusion of closeness.
While Seth is still oblivious, I have caught Georgia glaring at me a few times since she caught us making out in the hallway, something that has amused me to no end. But it’s also made me wary about showing too much affection in front of the group, and we have had no other solo moments since that night. That hasn’t stopped my libido from getting ahead of itself, though, and with the way Seth has been running his hand up and down my leg for the past hour, I’ve been forcing myself to think of anything else.
“Alright, guys, listen up!” We all look towards the front of the bus, where our tour leader, Brendan, is standing in the aisle, clipboard in hand. “Okay, so we’re about ten minutes out, and those of you who have signed up for any activities need to be out the door first and straight to the different locations. Skydivers, you’ll be stepping off this bus and onto the minibus that is waiting for you outside our accommodation.” Seth’s grip on my hand tightens. “Canyon jumpers, your tour starts in an hour, so you’ve got a bit of free time, and mountain bikers, you will start in the town, and I’ll walk you over there once we get off the bus. Everyone else, you’re free to explore the town for the afternoon.”
Brendan sits back down, and Lincoln turns to Tara beside him. “So Tara, which is it for you, skydiving, canyon jumping or mountain biking?”
Tara snorts. “None of the above, thank you very much. I will be organising laundry and chilling out.”
“Thank you for that, by the way. I promise I will try and keep my suitcase neater once we have clean clothes again,” I say, and Tara shakes her head with a sigh.
She knows me well enough to know that, despite my best intentions, my mess will be spread far and wide within a day.
Lincoln screws his nose up. “That sounds far too boring. Can you at least go and explore the town? Do it for me, please? ”
I’m distracted from their banter when Seth’s leg begins bouncing beneath my thighs. I look over and notice he’s paled a little. If this is what he’s like now, I have no idea how he’ll be in about forty minutes when we’re thousands of feet in the air.
Seth has barely said a word since we left the bus, his grip on my hand growing tighter and tighter through the briefing at the tiny airport. He’d only really let my hand go for the time it took to put our jumpsuits on. Lincoln, on the other hand, has been excitedly bouncing around, and the contrast between their two personalities has never been more apparent to me.
Now we’re up in the air with our tandem guides strapped to our backs, and my own nerves have finally kicked in. Seth is across from me, looking very awkward while essentially sitting in the lap of the man attached to him. His lips are drawn together in a straight line, and he’s lost all the colour in his face while he stares out the window beside me. Not for the first time, I feel guilty for talking him into this when he is clearly terrified, but Lincoln keeps saying how proud he is that Seth is here, so I’m able to push past the guilt.
I kick his foot lightly with my own, and he slides his gaze from the window to mine.
“Are you okay?” I ask, and he nods briefly, attempting to smile at me.
Even terrified and grimacing, he is still the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I wish I could hug him right now.
“We’re ready!” my guide, Greta, yells in my ear.
We’d decided I’d go first, seeing as it was my ‘insane’ idea - Tara’s words, although I’m pretty sure Seth agreed with her.
One of the assistants slides the door open, and Seth’s eyes widen before his gaze flicks back to mine.
“You got this, Kylie,” Lincoln screams over the roar of the wind, and Greta and I shuffle forward.
I peer at the ground way, way, way down below while Greta braces her hands on either side of the door, and I feel my fear spike.
Why am I doing this? Am I crazy? Oh my god, I’ve talked this poor, beautiful man into this, and now I’m about to die.
“See you on the ground!” Seth yells, and I flick my gaze over to where he’s watching me closely, a nervous smile flitting across his lips.
With that little boost, Greta pushes off, and we begin free-falling through the air.