Page 116 of Body Shot

“Ready?”

“No!”

I grin. “Ready?”

“Yes!”

I jump.

Hayden’s scream is torn away by the rush of air. “Oh my God, oh my God! Beeeeeeecccccck!”

We fall, so fast, but it’s not a feeling of falling, more like floating. I extend my arms out as if I’m flying and nudge Hayden to release her death grip on the harness and do the same. Our arms stretched out like wings, our legs bent behind us, we soar.

We soar. Together.Christ.Hayden and I are flying together, joined physically with a harness, but also joined in bonds of trust and love that are equally strong. Wind rushes around us and time stops as we fly far above the earth in a moment of pure beauty that transcends anything I’ve ever experienced. I almost want to cry.

There’s no feeling like this. Hopefully she loves it as much as I do.

I turn us in circles, the gorgeous earth stretched out forever thousands of feet below us, the mountains like a golden blanket creased and folded, dotted with dark patches of water. I grin when Hayden turns her thumbs up.

It’s time to deploy the parachute. It opens, pulling us upright, and everything goes so much quieter. Peaceful.

“Look, Hayden!”

“I am! Wooooooohooooo!” Her exultant cry to the heavens makes me laugh.

We drift downwards for about six minutes, yelling to each other, pointing at the ground and laughing crazily.

“Okay, get ready to land,” I call as we near the ground. We skim low across the grass for a couple hundred feet and set down soft and gentle. I grab Hayden as the parachute floats to the ground behind us.

“What’d you think?” I ask her.

She’s laughing. Beaming. Trembling. “Oh my God, that was amazing! Intense. Oh my God, Beck.”

I laugh, too, and work on getting the harness off. Once that’s done, she turns and throws herself into my arms, covering my face with kisses, her body vibrating against mine. “I can’t believe I did that,” she says again. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”

I’m not sure I can believe it either, but I’m glad she has. It was amazing and intense, sharing that experience with her, giving that thrill, sharing that magnificent moment of utter faith and love.

“Here’s your certificate.” Ethan approaches us with a smile. “Good jump, Beck. I take it you know this pretty lady?”

“This gorgeous woman is my girlfriend,” I say, not even stumbling over that. “Hayden, this is Ethan Langham.”

“We met briefly when I signed in,” Hayden says, still glowing.

“So this is why you specifically requested to jump with Beck.”

“Yes.”

I smile, shaking my head in amusement and pride at what she did.

She turns to me. “So. You never told me thatyoustarted the Trident Foundation.”

“Oh. Uh. Right.” I shrug. “No big deal. I have to do something with all that money.”

“Apparently you do a lot more than just hand over checks.”

“I do what I can.”

“Oh, Beck.” She grabs my face in both hands and plants another kiss on my mouth. “I love you even more for that.” Then she whispers, “I think skydiving makes me horny.”

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