Chapter 25.
I'll fall with you.
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"What? No! You can't do this. What about me?" Janice cried in horror opening her mouth wide for extra effect.
"Janice." I warned. I already knew where this was going. She was going to pull the fake guilt card.
She pouted and then started blinking her eyes in innocence. "But you promised we would be together, we would love each other endlessly, get a home in Hawaii, furnish it ourselves, after that we would adopt two pretty babies, spoil them senseless and have a great life. And now- now you're dating this guy." She pointed at Ace with distaste who was looking at us with fear.
He coughed before gulping. "You two were together?" He asked in terror, taking Janice's words so seriously that it made me mentally double over in laughter.
Before I could answer, Janice spoke, waving her forefinger at him. "Of course we were and we will be despite which ever stupid guy comes between us. The second you mess up she's going to come running back to me that's how much she loves me."
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Janie I'll always love you." I promised, pulling her into a hug.
She hugged me back tightly and the backed away, narrowing her eyes at me. "Does that mean we can't adopt pretty babies?"
I blew a breath, a smile plastered on my face. "I don't think so but we can always have babies after our marriages... to different guys."
"Yeah obviously. Anyways you can date him." Janice remarked, shaking her hand at Ace.
Ace snorted. "We weren't asking for your permission." He said, pulling me away from her into his welcoming arms. I snuggled deeper into them welcoming the warmth and immense sensations.
"So when did this happen?" Logan wiggled his eyebrows at us suggestively. "Did you two already do the wiggle waggle with legs?"
Alan even started the song wiggle wiggle by Jason Derulo, though the only words he knew were 'You know what to do with that big fat butt, wiggle wiggle wiggle', he even actually wiggled his butt mischievously and 'apparently' sensually, a large grin plastered on his face.
I slapped Logan's head and glared at Ace. "Yesterday night and no." I answered, blushing as I thought about last night.
After kissing in the water for some more time we walked out, him staring blatantly at my naked body and me trying to act like it didn't send shivers down to my toes. After we wore clothes we kissed some more on the sand as well. I was surprised no one shouted at us but then that was a scheduled part of beach at it was way past midnight. When we came back it was already 2 in the morning and we were both not sleepy so we stayed awake in my room, talking and kissing, well kissing a lot more than talking. I swear my lips were in hibernation now. We slept at around 4.30 in spooning position, that's how Janice found us at 7 and it didn't take her long to realize the truth.
Apparently swollen lips and two huge hickeys on both sides of neck and one on the collarbone are a big give away. Yeah, Ace could be pretty possessive. After giving me those hickeys he had stared at them happily, "Now everyone knows you are taken. Mine." And proceeded to kiss me intensely and take me into a whole new different world of passion.
Janice on the other hand, hadn't been too thrilled about me forgiving him so easily but I could se something about it was making her real happy. She pulled us down where the others were sitting watching reruns of SpongeBob with so much attention that I burst into laughter which quickly disappeared once their eyes landed on my face and then to my neck. Janice practically yelled at Alan to give her 20 bucks right there and then.
I swear my life was her income machine!
"Did you use those vanilla condoms?" Logan asked innocently.
My eyes widened and I felt red everywhere. "Shut up, you moron. I already told you no."
"You have vanilla condoms?" Ace smirked.
"No!"
"Yes!" I and Logan exclaimed at the same time. I gave Logan a stink eye and he returned it with a wink.
"You could have told me that yesterday, we could have put it some use." Ace suggested, making me grow redder and slapping his arm.
"In your dreams." I stuck out my tongue.
He smirked and winked cheekily, "Always."
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"You are going in pair's right?" Derek, our skydiving instructor shouted through the blowing wind.
I risked a glance out from the plane window. A large area of plain land greeted me, also known as the drop zone. A few instructors who looked like tiny ants from our height were standing there. We were all wearing black coloured jumpsuits, gloves and protective footwear and goggles.
"In pair's?" Janice squeaked, thoroughly terrified. She hated heights but was too arrogant to admit it. I had suggested her to not come but she just waved it off saying, 'Bitch please, it takes more than 10,000 feet to scare me.' But the second we reached 100 feet above she seemed ready to shit in her pants.
"But there are only three instructors." Janice continued, her voice trembling.
"We have all done a course in sky diving." Dylan answered proudly.
"No no! Don't we have to go with the instructors? I read it." She protested.
"I am as good as an instructor." Dylan said haughtily.
"Good then jump alone. I am going with Derek."
Derek looked at them in amusement, his grin widening when Janice came closer to him. Dylan scowled, glaring at Derek like he had just stolen something precious. Well maybe.
"Janice I would love to dive with you." Derek started and Ace and Logan had to hold back Dylan from punching Derek. "But there are only two more instructors here." He nodded at Ron and Arnab. "Ron has to stay here while I and Arnab will accompany you all. Since Bryan, Matthew and Dylan already know to dive they can help and the pairs were already decided. We were told you won't be needing extra instructors."
Janice shook her head furiously. "I'll go with you, Dylan can jump with Logan."
Logan's face instantly turned disgusted. "Derek's better, no offense Dylan."
"None taken. Janice is better."
"We are girls, our safety is more important." Janice tried again, looking at me for help.
I bit my lip guilty, my hand tightening around Ace's. "I trust Ace."
Her jaw dropped and she gave me a death glared before huffing and turning to Brittany.
Britt coughed nervously looking at the clouds. "Max knows to skydive."
She stared at us in shock, and then waved her hands around. "I knew it! I knew it! You guys would eventually leave me. I should have never given my heart to you two, now all you two did is break it into tiny pieces." Janice said dramatically, wiping a fake tear.
"Janie." I started but she raised her hand to stop me.
"No Joanna, you two have made your decision. I'll just go with Dylan."
"I'll go with Logan, it's okay." Dylan immediately said, looking at Logan awkwardly.
"What? Now even you won't support me?" Janice demanded angrily.
"No! I just want you to be safe and comfortable. I won't force you into something you don't want to do"
Her eyes softened, she shrugged nonchalantly. "I trust you."
Dylan grinned happily. "Thanks."
"Well now that you all have discovered some lovely secrets about each other, how about jumping down with them?" Derek didn't wait for an answer. "First I'll go with Logan." He nodded at Logan who proudly came forward. "Next will be Joanna and Bryan, then Matthew and Brittany, then Dylan and Janice and lastly Arnab and Alan. No touching the harness expect for the parachute button that also you girls don't have to touch. Just hold on tight. And you three." He stared pointedly at Dylan, Max and Ace, "better do it properly, all of you have girls with you and not just any girl but girls you all love, so keep them safe."
I saw all three blush and shrug tersely.
"Yeah." Ace said, swinging his hand around my waist, pulling me closer. He kissed my forehead and smiled up at him. It felt so nice and right. He was perfect and all mine.
He was not perfect but with him things felt perfect.
"Okay so I'll repeat, we are doing the Tandem skydiving, the instructor will be attached to you and pull the drogue parachute as well. Make sure your eyewear is proper. We will land on the drop zone where there are few more instructors that will wave so we know where we have to land. Don't try to do stupid things like doing a hybrid formation or performing Harlem shake, you are all first timers." Derek warned, repeating the speech for fourth time. I wondered how many times he had to keep saying it.
He pulled Logan in front him and fastened the harness. Logan blinked repeatedly, a sign of his nervousness.
"Dude you aren't gay are you?" Logan asked, squirming when Derek touched his waist while adjusting the harness.
Derek froze and then scowled. "Even if I was I wouldn't be interested in you."
We all burst out laughing. "LOL direct insult." Alan guffawed. "Even guys are not interested in you Logan, forget about girls and start hunting for a pig."
"Says the guy who couldn't even get a junior girl." Logan scoffed. "Anyways we'll land on the drop zone right?" He asked, deliberately changing the topic.
I saw Derek roll his eyes behind the eye mask. "I am a pro dude."
And then they jumped. I heard Logan scream but Ron stopped us from peeping out. After two minutes he made sure mine and Bryan's harness was well connected.
"Ready?" Ace whispered in my ears.
I gulped, peeking down. No! "I am scared of falling."
"I'll catch you." His hands pressed on my shoulders reassuringly.
I turned to face him, staring right into those dark chocolaty eyes. "If you don't?"
He gave a shy smile. "I'll fall with you."
Somehow I felt we weren't talking about falling outside the drop zone anymore. We were talking about something much more tense. Little did he know I had already fallen in that sense.
"Jump and land on the drop zone, you'll find Derek and Logan there." Ron said, moving behind to give us space to jump.
I clutched the front of my harness tightly and closed my eyes.
"One . . . two." Ace started, inching closer to the door. "Jump." He shouted and we both jumped at the same time.
My first reaction was to scream at the top of my lungs which only resulted in me swallowing the air.
"Open your eyes Joanna. The view is awesome." Bryan shouted through the wind.
Reluctantly I opened my eyes and didn't regret it, although right down there nothing but land, the buildings, mountains, clouds, tiny trees everything looked so beautiful. I never knew the world was so enchanting; we all are too engrossed in our personal problems to notice the surrounding.
We all live in the world we created for ourselves where our eyesight doesn't go beyond our own head.
Shamelessly I drooled over the exquisite forgotten world. I was glad I got a chance to admire the splendour and realize how beautiful the world actually is.
Half way down he pulled the strap and our pace slowed down because of the parachute. I saw Logan and Derek below us with their blue and yellow parachute. Instinctively I looked up to see the color of our parachute - black and red.
"Didn't they have any other color?" I scowled at him.
"Nah." He winked back.
"Idiot." I muttered. "Logan!" I shouted, waving my arm.
"Joanna!"
I turned up to see Brittany waving at us. I grinned and waved back. "Oh this is fun."
"We should have recorded this." Brittany said, coming closer to us.
"Yeah." Logan agreed, looking upwards.
"We do have people who record but no one said anything about it." Derek said.
"We'll record it next time." Ace promised, leaning his face even closer to me.
I grinned in response. Another dive sounded so much fun!
"Woah! What? No more jumping from the sky! I value my life, thank you very much." Janice exclaimed, her voice coming strangled.
Dylan patted her shoulder. "It's okay, I'll be there."
"Another reason to worry."
Dylan scowled and loosened his grip on her, instantly cries filled the air.
"You donkey, you monkey, you dumbass. What are you doing? Don't leave me. Hold me tight."
Dylan grinned smugly. "With pleasure. Now that was worth recording."
"Okay guys! Landing." Derek shouted, going down near to the instructors.
We followed and soon all of us had landed safely.
"I give you a head start. One, two and-"
We looked at the screaming Dylan closely followed by a furious Janice and shook our heads.
Some things never change and sometimes it's better that way.
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I gazed at the never ending range of gowns and dresses with amazement as they made my head spin. Red, blue, golden, silver, black, green, every colour dress was put up there, even a multi-coloured one that spread out in a weird fashion, making it look like a rainbow mermaid gown. Awesome. Not.
"Have you decided what you want?" Janice asked, coming from behind me.
I turned to face her. She was wearing a knee length aqua blue dress, it was strapless and stuck to her body like a second skin. She posed with a hand on her hip and turned to show the back which had a huge circle at the centre, showing off her powdered back. She looked gorgeous.
"This is perfect!" I stated truthfully.
She grinned happily. "You think Dylan will like it?"
I rolled my eyes. "He will love it Janice."
Her grin widened. "Are you getting anything?"
I scanned the dresses again and nothing interested me even mildly. "Nope, I'll skip this time. Nothing of my type." I had got a fashion top and a grey sweatshirt that was enough for today. I didn't even have an occasion to buy.
She rolled her eyes and went back to change into her jeans and top. She was getting ready for her first date with Dylan. He had finally got the guts to ask her out a week before and Janice immediately demanded to go shopping, even though she had about fifty dresses in her closet. But she wanted a new dress especially for Dylan. After making me go to five ridiculously costly shops and buying jeans and tops instead of a dress, she finally found this dress. I could already imagine her wedding planner having a hard time.
"I am so excited about this date!" Janice exclaimed, sighing in delight as she took the bag of dress from the cashier.
"Yeah, I can see that."
"He is so cute and was so nervous when he asked me. He had this whole set up-"
"Janice. I have heard this like fifty thousand times already." I told irritated.
"You have?" She blinked innocently.
I gave her a flat look. "From the last one week that's the only thing I am hearing from you. Don't act like an obsessed girl now. He asked you out, you told yes, you two are going on a date. End."
She frowned at my harsh words. "I was just sharing my feelings."
"I know." I said in a low voice feeling guilty instantly, I sighed. "Sorry, it's just that Bryan hasn't met me for two days. It's like he's avoiding me and then you just don't stop talking about Dylan. So I took out my anger on you. I didn't men it you know. I am glad you are finally going out with Dylan."
She shrugged bumping her shoulder with mine. "It's okay, I would have probably done the same if you kept talking non-stop about Bryan. Let's eat." She said, going to the counter.
"Yeah." I muttered, walking behind her.
"Why don't you text him?"
I blew a breath of exasperated breath. "I want to but I don't want to come on as a clingy girlfriend. Still I did send a forwarded joke yesterday, no response. Not even a LOL."
"He's probably busy with some work, he'll get back to you. You know that." Janice consoled, patting my arm.
I sighed silently, not letting her know how much his absence was affecting me. We had been stuff by the hips since we started dating two weeks back and his sudden disappearance was upsetting me way more than it should. He could have at least told and then gone. It was like deja vu. I had never thought I'd become so obsessed.
I had typed a text and deleted it over a hundred times. Pathetic.
"Wait here I need to pee." She suddenly said, pulling me towards the girl's toilet. I stopped her. "Uh you go. I'll order something."
She scowled but handed her bag and ran off.
I rubbed my forehead as I walked to MacDonald's, wondering why Bryan was behaving the way he is. I looked around for a place to sit but my eyes froze on a particular figure.
Long black hair, hazel eyes, high cheek bones, pink lips, sleuth figure, dressed in skinny black jeans and cream fashion top. She looked gorgeous.
Anastasia.
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The next chapter will finally have Anastasia.
Vote and comment for a dedication!
Xoxoxoxo...