Junior Year Box Set

Then Ben pulled the ripcord and we were jerked as the parachute deployed. The sound level went down, and we began to glide.

“Yes!” I shouted.

“We have another convert,” Ben said.

Brook flashed by us, and we heard her scream as she and Jenna shot past. Then their chute deployed, and we heard Brook shout, “Hell No!” Both Ben and I began to giggle. It triggered one of those episodes where you couldn’t stop. We giggled like schoolgirls the rest of the way down.

I loved the view, looking over the football field and the park by our house. I felt alive and ready to take on the world. Ben guided us back towards the airport, and when we got about twenty feet from the ground, he told me to raise my feet. I saw Brook land right before us as we gently made it to earth. Ben unhooked me, and I jumped up and ran over to Brook, who was still sitting on the ground.

“That was so much fun!” I said, bouncing around her like Duke does when he’s been stuck in his crate all day.

Brook scowled at me, but my exuberance was infectious, and soon she had a big smile on her face. When she stood up, I picked her up and swung her around.

“Thank you! I’ll go on a playdate with you anytime,” I announced.

“Put me down, you goof!”

I set her down, and she shook her head. Then she slapped my arm.

“You’re it,” Brook said as she took off.

It took me a moment to figure out what she’d just done. I could have easily caught her, but I enjoyed the chase too much. When I finally tackled her, I pulled her down but rolled so she landed on me. Brook’s face was flushed, and she was breathing hard. The next thing I knew she had me in a major lip-lock. I let her grab my wrists and hold them over my head as she had her way with me. If we hadn’t had company, I would have started ripping our clothes off. We heard Ben and Jenna clear their throats, which slowed us down.

“You need to turn in your gear before it gets damaged,” Ben said.

We got up, and Brook grabbed my hand and led us into the building. The spell had been broken, for now, but Brook and I would have adventures in the future. I hoped we might follow through on the promise that the kiss had uncovered.

◊◊◊

Chapter 12 – Searching for Something More Wednesday September 16

“David Allen Dawson!” Mom yelled over the intercom.

“I think we’ve been summoned,” I shared with Duke.

“Coming,” I said into the intercom.

I’d uploaded my GoCam video into my Dropbox account for storage last night. The plan was to edit it into a short video. I woke up to find Lily must have been bored last night because it was posted this morning. I discovered this on my run when my smart watch blew up with social media and text messages. It was now time to face the music.

I knew better than to drag this out, so I hurried up and ran down the stairs and into the house. On my run earlier, I got a chance to see what Lily had posted. There were two videos: the first was of the jump, and it was awesome, if you asked me. The second had been tagged #TheKiss. I’d forgotten to turn off the GoCam when we landed.

When Brook pinned my hands over my head, the GoCam on my wrist was pointed right at us. I couldn’t have had a better view of our lip-lock if I’d planned it. The video showed we were both flushed, and the hard breathing looked a lot like passion. Brook’s face showed her obvious lust. I had a foreboding feeling that this might get out of hand. It had already started to be retweeted, which meant that someone forwarded your tweet to all of their followers. All it would take was for someone like Adrienne, or even worse, Halle’s mom, Rita James, to retweet it. That was when something like this would go viral, and you’d find yourself on Hollywood Central by the end of the day.

I had a feeling that wasn’t what my mom was worried about. I walked into the kitchen and saw both my parents looked unhappy. Since they had come back from Las Vegas, my dad was no longer an innocent bystander. For some reason, he took my mom’s side on everything. I prayed his penance would end soon because guys needed to stick together.

“I’m sorry,” I offered.

I don’t know why I even tried. That approach never worked.

“What were you thinking?” Mom asked.

“I understand. I obviously wasn’t.”

“Don’t get smart with me, mister,” Mom said.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You could have gotten killed doing a stunt like that,” Dad said to join the party.

It was never a good idea to respond to an accusation that involved the possibility of getting killed. Nothing you had to say would appease your parents. It was much better to try the hound-dog look and bow your head. I’d had acting lessons, after all, and would have given myself an Academy Award for my performance. My only problem was I faced my mom, who had the uncanny knack of being able to read me. Dad bought it completely. Mom covered her mouth, and I heard a snort. Crud!

“Bullshit!” Mom barked at me.