“So, what you’re saying is we’re boring you.”
“Not saying that at all.” He turned his full megawatt charm on Shane before moving behind him again. “This is still a hell of a way to spend an afternoon. And it’s a gorgeous view with the forests on all sides. I was thrilled to land the Grangeville assignment for the season.”
“You’re not local to here?” he asked to distract himself from Brandt’s touch again, the way he stretched Shane’s arms this way and that. The other guys were doing the same thing, but it didn’t make it any more comfortable.
“Nah. No home base really.”
“I feel that mood.” Shane never knew how to answer the hometown question. Home for him was the stage, how he felt with his guitar, the friction of strings on his callouses. But a place? Nah.
“I just go where the forest service needs me most that year and try to enjoy the ride. Which is what you’re gonna do.” Brandt did something with the carabiners on Shane’s harness, clipping them together, simple as that. “You just sit back and let me worry about the details, and you enjoy the ride down.”
Shane was none too sure that he could do that. He shifted his weight, not sure which he liked less, Brandt at his back or the rub of the harness. “Is this tight enough?”
“Nope. But that’s because I’m not done checking.”
“Check away.” Shane stretched his arms wide, forcing himself to not to groan when Brandt’s tightening efforts ended up with them sandwiched together, his warm torso flush against Shane’s back. Don’t enjoy it, he warned himself. The nylon flight suit the company provided was baggy, but even so, he was well schooled in keeping control over his body and responses.
“Your sister said you’re a musician?” Brandt asked, as calm as if they were sharing a beer, not close enough to be sharing the same oxygen molecules.
“Yep.” His voice was tight as his muscles.
“You and her ever perform together?”
“Some. We’re kinda...oil and water.” He gave his standard answer. Brandt was a big boy. He could find out for himself how unreliable Shelby was. And calling Shelby a musician was a stretch—she was decent at harmonies when she managed to show up but too impatient to master any of the instruments she’d dabbled in. She was, however, absolutely killer at moving merch, charming fans out of their credit cards with a smile and a flirty word. “And besides, she’s having fun being her pal Macy’s hype person.”
“That’s good. Fun’s everything.”
Actually, it wasn’t, but Shane nodded nonetheless.
“Speaking of fun, show me what you learned from the video. How do you hold yourself in the air?”
Obediently, Shane stretched his arms out, loosening his stance too, trying to relax like the video had said. “I feel like a little kid playing Superman.”
“Don’t we all, man. Don’t we all.” Brandt’s deep chuckle rumbled straight through Shane. Damn. This was torture. Then the other man wrapped an arm around Shane, positioning his muscled forearm where Shane could see his fancy-looking watch gadget. “Now this is my altimeter. It tells me when we’re at five thousand feet and ready to deploy the chute.”
“Got it.” Shane wasn’t about to study that meaty arm any more than he absolutely had to.
“Okay, it’s go time.” Dallas’s voice echoed though the room. Brandt quickly unclipped them, but as soon as he stepped away, Shane’s pulse kicked up. Maybe he couldn’t do this. Jump out of a plane? Who was he kidding? He was a ground dweller, through and through.
Right when he was about to turn away, though, Brandt grabbed his biceps. “Nerves hitting you? Trust me. You’ll be just fine. I haven’t lost a jumper yet.”
Shane barked out a laugh. “Not exactly making me feel better.”
“Listen, I can tell you all day about how awesome this is.” Brandt looked him dead in the eyes, gaze serious for once, all his charm turned to raw intensity. “But until you do it, you’re gonna think it’s all BS. Sometimes you gotta take a leap of faith.”
“Not very good at those,” Shane admitted quietly as he stepped free of the other guy’s grip. He couldn’t keep meeting his eyes either. Too much power there, like a shot with an extra kick.
“Okay. You want me to tell Dallas you want out?”
A yes was right there on the tip of Shane’s tongue, but then he heard Shelby’s laugh ring out. She’d love it if he chickened out. Not only would she get bragging rights for all of eternity, she’d get what she’d wanted and get to go with Brandt. And for whatever reason, Shane hated that most of all. “Nah. I’m going.”
He white-knuckled his way out to the small plane, spared a nod for the female pilot, and squished his eyes shut until Shelby jostled him into looking at the valley underneath them, the green canopy of the national forest contrasting with the pristine blue sky. Random snippets of lyrics danced through Shane’s head, ways that he might try to describe this view. But then, right as he was settling into something resembling comfort, everyone started shuffling around, getting ready to go. The wind rushed in as the hatch opened, and a full-body shiver raced through Shane.
Then Shelby gave him and Brandt one last coy grin before she and Dallas were away, her whoop echoing across the sky.
“Ready? Here we go.” Brandt nudged Shane closer to the open hatch. Shane wanted to say no, wanted to drag their clipped-together bodies back inside the plane, wanted to both hurl and yell. But in the end, all he could do was nod. Only one way down.
His knees had locked up even as his thighs trembled. Behind him, Brandt was sure and solid. He could push Shane out the hatch pretty easily, but he didn’t. He was letting it be Shane’s choice. And somehow that patience and restraint gave Shane a jolt of courage. One step into nothingness. That was all it took.
Brandt was right behind him, smooth as if they were on a dance floor, not open sky. And now they were falling. Falling so fast. Faster than a car on the interstate with the windows all down, faster than a dirt bike on a steep incline, faster than the whoosh down a water slide. There was no describing the feeling of the wind on his cheeks, the roar in his ears, the shout that probably belonged to him, the adrenaline that crashed through him as he tried to remember what they’d practiced about positioning. Damn. Hard to think.
Which was funny because that was the one thing he was good at. Shelby was forever teasing him about overthinking. But now, his brain couldn’t even pull two words together as they rushed through the air. Brandt yelled something, but Shane was too busy hurtling through the sky to focus on it. And then he was pulled backwards, a hard yank as the parachute deployed. No more freefall. And the oh-my-God-about-to-die adrenaline quieted enough that he could look down, really look.