‘OK, thirteen thousand feet,’ Jaron says.
‘Time to jump?’
‘Yeah,’ and there is a frisson of exhilaration in his voice.
I look at him in wonder. So this is what he does for kicks.
‘Get your goggles and helmet on,’ he says, and I obey. I look out of the window and the jarring thought is: What the flying fuck am I doing? I have seen videos of jumpers falling out from planes and disappearing from sight and now it is my turn. Jaron shuffles me over to the edge of the plane, with our legs dangling out. My mind goes blank. And suddenly there is neither fear nor nervousness. A strange calm comes upon me. I turn my head to look up at Jaron. There is a strange light of excitement in his eyes. Our gazes meet and for a second we are connected on a deep level.
‘Three…two…one, we jump.’
The force of the wind slams into me instantly as we hurtle through the sky at crazy speed. It pulls and sucks at the flesh on my face with a force that is shocking. My mouth drops open with the impact of the free fall and Jaron has to reach down and close it for me. I quickly get into the position Jaron taught me. The cold dry air and my own nervousness make my lips stick to my gums.
I bring my tongue out to wet my lips and my tongue is buffeted by the freezing cold wind. There are sharp ice droplets in the air and Jaron holds his hands out over my face to protect me. We fall at over a hundred miles per hour from thirteen thousand feet. I give in to the unique high of rushing through cold, clear air, the dip in the stomach. The speed and the sensation of danger push everything else out of my mind. It is unexplainable and amazing and so different from anything I have ever experienced. Never have I felt that sensation of all my senses being open, on alert and on edge.
The free fall lasts just under a minute.
At five thousand feet Jaron gives me the hand signal and I move my arms across my chest in the brace position and wait for him to pull the chute. As he pulls it we are dragged into a vertical position. In movies it always seems as if pulling the chute causes the person to jolt upwards with great force, but it does not happen like that. The parachute opens slowly and the fall in speed is gradual.
We begin to glide down under the canopy. Now that we can hear each other speak, Jaron asks, ‘You all right?’
‘Definitely,’ I say, and I am filled with an odd emotion. A feeling of great tenderness for him. I don’t exactly want to call it love, but it is protective and slightly possessive and full of gratitude for the experience we have just shared. He even lets me steer at one point.
He points to landmarks and I let my eyes follow his gloved hand, but I am still in a state of shock. My heart is pounding like a mad thing. It takes us four, maybe five minutes to glide down and then it is time to land. It was over too quick.
Jaron reminds me to raise my legs up. I immediately obey so I don’t get injured. We have the perfect landing.
‘Whoop… Touchdown, baby,’ I holler.
Jaron unstraps me, and, turning me around, kisses me hard. Really hard.
‘What was that for?’ I ask, when he raises his head.
For a hot minute it seems as though he is going to say something important. Then he shakes his head and says, ‘For coming with me and being so cool up there.’
I am buzzing like crazy. I grab his face and kiss him back passionately.
‘What was that for?’ he asks.
I want to tell him about that strange emotion I experienced about him in the air, but I stop myself.
‘Thank you for that experience. It was super amazing,’ I say excitedly. ‘I shall never forget it.’
He nods.
I laugh with exhilaration. ‘Can we go up again?’
He laughs too. ‘Maybe not today.’
‘God! It’s the best drug in the world.’ Adrenalin-fueled I whoop with joy. Finally, I understand one tiny part of him. That part of him that seeks out danger.