The Freefall Trilogy (Complete Collection) (13 page)

'Come on,' Joshua grumbled, sitting back, knuckles blanching as he grabbed the gearstick, easing her into first.  'We'd better get going.  I don't really fancy getting screamed at by
Froggy two days on the trot.'

Lucy looked up in surprise.

'Is it really worth hanging around?' Lucy asked dejectedly, staring up at the billowing cloud.  She was on her fourth cup of coffee already, groaning inwardly at the idea of battling with her jumpsuit as she paid yet another trip to the ladies.

Lucy followed
Froggy's finger to the windsock, hanging limp as a spent condom.

'It's not the cloud ye need to worry about,
Simkins.  It's that little bastard over there.  Cloud burns of in seconds, but y'could be waiting weeks for him to look like that again.  I'd say right now, it's looking awfully promising.'

It didn't feel like it.  Lucy sighed and opened up her web browser.

easy pie recipes

She'd never made a pie in her life.

'What you looking at?' came a voice in her ear. 

Lucy almost jumped out of her skin. 

'Nothing!' she squeaked, snapping her phone cover shut loudly, sliding across the seat so that Josh could sit down.

'
Yer missus needs to cultivate a little patience,' said Froggy, taking a swig of coffee.  'She does'nay like waiting around.'

Josh took a bite of his bacon sandwich, smirking at Lucy.

'It's only ten o'clock!'

She stared at him.

'Yes,' she nodded back in dismay.  'Which means we've been sitting here for two hours.'

To her annoyance, Josh started to laugh.

'This is the girl who wants to do wingsuit piloting and BASE jumping,' he told Froggy.  Froggy sniggered.  Lucy's glower flicked from one to the other.

'Well then, she needs to cultivate
a lot
of patience,' Froggy grinned.  'Lucy, have y'any idea how much time we spend waiting around on the ground?'

Lucy sagged, thumping her elbow down on the table, resting her chin in her cupped hand.  She peered out of the window.  There wasn't an inch of blue.  She couldn't imagine it burning off anytime soon. 

Josh watched her, relinquishing his half-finished sandwich to the plate, taking a scalding sip of coffee.  He stood up, pulling his wallet from his back pocket. 

Lucy frowned down at two twenty pound notes. 

'Straight past the house, over the hill, take the next left and you'll come to the main road.  Follow it for about half a mile and Sainsbury's is on the right.  I'll ring you when we're good to go.'

Lucy stared up at him.

'Oh right!' Josh remembered, pulling his keys from his pocket.  'I suppose you'll be needing these.'

She glanced across the table at
Froggy.  He raised his eyebrows and nodded.

'It's OK, I've got money,' she told Josh, picking the keys from the notes.

'Lucy, take it,' Joshua warned.

Lucy glanced up.  He looked insulted.  He pushed the money into her hand.

'We need some more orange juice,' he said, stepping back to let her out.  'Smooth, I don't like bits...  And can you get some razor blades?' he smirked.  'Mach III.  And... well, anything else you can think of.' 

Froggy
cocked his head at the mysterious grin.

'Sure,' she said, smiling meekly.  'OK.'

She hesitated as she squeezed past him, gazing across the room at the gaggle of tandem students.  She couldn't very well kiss him, not in front of them.

'See you in a bit,' she mumbled, putting her head down.

'Ta-tar,' she heard him say.

She froze, eyes widening as she felt his hand brush her bottom.  She smiled to herself, scampering away.

She could feel their eyes all over her.  Lucy glanced at the rabble.  It wasn't what she'd been expecting.  She didn't find envy, not like those surly cows on the
AFF course.  No.  They smiled up at her, a sea of admiring nods. 

She looked down at her hands shyly; saw the altimeter strapped to her left; realised she was still dressed in her jumpsuit.

Oh shit!

Lucy turned on her heels. 

'I'll just...  you know... get changed,' she explained to Josh timidly, hovering by their table, nodding towards the door to the kit room.

'Good idea,' he grinned up at her. 

She hesitated for a moment, smiling to herself, sparkling eyes darting between Josh and Froggy.  She leant in towards them.

'They're all looking at me like I'm Tom Cruise from
Topgun!' she whispered excitedly.

Froggy
hooted with laughter.

'Well, you're about the right height,' Josh sniggered, picking up his lukewarm sandwich.  She beamed and walked away.

'Ye jammy bastard!' smirked Froggy, taking a swig of coffee. 

Josh's sandwich froze, midair.  He stared back, eyebrows raised.

'Yer woman was looking up pie recipes!'

Joshua grinned proudly.

'I know,' he said, taking a bite. 

Josh leant across the table, lowering his voice, pinning
Froggy to the spot. 

'Don't say anything,' Josh mumbled, still chewing.  'You know, if you
can
manage that...' he said sarcastically, giving him a look. 

'Ay come on!' grumbled
Froggy.

Joshua grinned.

'I'm going to ask her to move in.'

Froggy
snorted then paused, staring back.

'
Yer serious?' he said doubtfully.

Josh wiped his mouth with his napkin.  He nodded.

'Yep.'

Froggy's
eyebrows reached for the ceiling.

'Fucking hell!  ...That's quick, isn't it?'

Joshua pushed the plate away.

'You said yourself she's impatient,' he shrugged.  'Well, so am I.  And now that I know the banker isn't on the scene anymore...'

He took a sip of coffee and sat back, weighing up Froggy's reaction.  He started biting his fingers.

'You know what they say...' Josh said quietly,  'about how you just know?'

'Aye, I do that there laddie,' Froggy murmured, dark eyes glittering back.  Josh watched the smile slowly parting his lips. 

'I fucking knew it!'
Froggy boomed, the grin creasing his face from his mouth to his temples.  Josh flinched as Froggy launched across the table. 

'I'm so pleased for ye Snowy!  She's just...  Ach, she's lovely!'

'All right, all right...' grumbled Josh, awkwardly patting Froggy's shoulders then pulling out of his arms.  'Thanks.'  He sat back down embarrassedly, feeling his cheeks heating up.  'She hasn't even said yes yet.'

Froggy
raised an eyebrow, cocking his head.

'
Y've nay worries on that score.  Are y'blind?  The wee girl's crazy about ye!'

Lucy pushed her little trolley around an almost deserted Sainsbury's, grinning like a Cheshire cat.  She'd never had a man give her money and tell he
r to go shopping.  It felt fairly ridiculous, and yet... sort of nice.

She paused in the chilled section, shivering into his sweatshirt, poring over the rows of cardboard boxes.  She couldn't do pastry - who was she kidding.  Her nose crinkled at chicken; not after the decapitated cockerel he'd had to deal with that morning.  She grabbed a
Taste The Difference
steak pie.

Lucy shuffled up the path, keys dangling from her teeth by their leather fob, arms wrenching out of the sockets, praying the bags wouldn't split.  Her blue eyes flickered briefly up to the thatched cottage.  It looked even prettier in the daylight, even beneath a white sky.  She smiled.  Who would have imagined Josh lived in a house like this. 

Once she'd finally got the door undone, she wrestled with the shopping bags, prizing off her trainers by the heels and kicking them off on the mat, closing the front door with her bum.  She stomped to the kitchen, using her last shred of muscle power to wrench the bags up onto the counter.  Josh was right.  She probably didn't have the upper body strength for a
wingsuit.  Her hands were violently shaking, covered in blazing red criss-crosses from the handles of the bags.

She took out the bottle of Merlot, clunking it down on the side.  Did Josh even like wine?  She'd never seen him drink it.  They didn't need a bottle opener - it was a
screwtop.  Lucy frowned, biting her lip.  Should she have got him some beer? 

She stalked over to the refrigerator, flinging the door open, grinning in relief at a perfectly aligned row of Budweiser bottles.  The labels all faced forward.  She snorted at the telltale sign.  At some point, he too must have worked in a shop.

The Aga loomed large, like an ancient cream beast.  She'd never even seen one before.  It didn't seem to have any settings - no Gas Marks, Centigrade, Fahrenheit.  Lucy sighed, and went on filling the fridge.  It wasn't worth it, she'd have to wait for him to sort it out later; she didn't want to risk accidentally blowing his chocolate box house to kingdom come in some hideous gas explosion.  She resentfully slid the steak pie to the back of the shelf.  So much for her masterplan of pretending she'd baked it herself.

There wasn't anything in the laundry basket, bar an odd sock.  He must have been having her on.  The washing up from that morning had been done and put away; Nirvana t-shirt hanging safely back in his wardrobe.  The bed had even been made. 

Lucy wandered over to the window, peering down at the little cottage garden.  The grass needed cutting, but it looked pretty well kept.  Butterflies floated around a huge buddleia.  There was a tree at the bottom, boughs sagging with pale green and russet apples.  Shasta daisies, oriental poppies; a long sweep of lavender.  A winding stone path meandered around the edge of the clover strewn lawn.  Lucy saw the swing seat and smiled. 

It sat to one side, against an ancient stone wall, shielded by an arbour.  White roses rambled up and over; the smell must have been divine.  Lucy closed her eyes, imagining sitting there on a warm summer's evening, a glass of wine in one hand, Joshua's hand in the other.  His arm sliding across her back; him kissing her, touching her...