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Authors: Yara Greathouse

Dismantled (Girls on Top #2) (9 page)

BOOK: Dismantled (Girls on Top #2)
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Ciara

I was glad that Traxx was walking behind me so he could not see the major grin plastered on my face. When he took a hold of my hand, I had to grasp every ounce of self-control I possess to not look at our joined fingers. The heat radiating from his skin was strong enough to cause it to flow through my arm and disperse throughout my body, as if I was a chemical experiment with an unforeseen reaction and ready to explode.

Once we walked inside the building, the blasting air conditioning helped to control my temperature. Whew! It feels so much better here now that the coolness helps my mind clear away the naughty thoughts I was having about the sexy man behind me. I know, I know… He’s hurting, how can I take advantage of him while he is like this, blah, blah, blah – I’m only human! How can I not, from time to time, acknowledge Mr. Sex on a stick? Just because I was thinking inappropriate things, it doesn’t mean I was or would be acting on them. My inner thoughts come to a halt when I see Mav coming towards us. Maverick Penson is the owner of this indoor skydiving location and my personal trainer. I have been coming here for a couple of years now.

I used to crush on Mav from the first time I met him. He’s tall, lean and strong. Olive skin, emerald green eyes, brown curly tussled hair with natural highlights, high cheekbones and a friendly smile that never quite reaches his eyes… Yes, he’s almost perfect. Too bad he was not looking to engage with anyone. The boy has a ton of baggage and even though we were friendly with each other, he kept me at arm’s length. Rumor has it he doesn’t date and he never speaks of his past.

“Well, my favorite customer is here - what a treat to my sore eyes!” He gives me a side hug, and I feel Traxx holding my hand a lot tighter than before. He was not going to let it go anytime soon. I let out a quick, silent sigh and make the expected introductions. Now, I just don’t get why Traxx feels so insecure towards any of my male acquaintances – they have nothing on him!

Traxx Maxwell is a very unique male specimen. A rare find: Tall with a broad back, he wears his black hair a little longer than most of the other guys. His skin is tanned and his muscles ripple with hardly any effort, but it’s his presence that commands everyone’s attention. He carries himself with a constant dangerous edge. If you don’t know him well, it will make you feel uncomfortable. Sometimes when he looks at me with those warm honey-colored eyes, it feels like he’s trying to read my soul. However, that look can switch on a whim and all of the sudden they can trap you in an inexplicable vice, and I was his silent victim.
**Sigh**

I introduce them to each other, and Mav tells the girl at the front desk that he will be providing our instructions and lesson.

“Wow, I feel so special! Don’t you have something more important to do?”

“Nah, I just finished my backlog so I’m caught up with everything. Besides, I have missed your smartass mouth. Also, Traxx will need the strongest instructor we have.” Then he winks at me. When I look at Traxx, I catch him rolling his eyes to the back of his head, and I silently wonder if this will work out as planned.

“If we need the strongest instructor, then you better go get Ginger.” I tell him with mock sarcasm.

“And, there it is. Didn’t take long. Glad to have you back, Ciara.”

Traxx pulls my hand to get my attention. “Ciara, how long have you been training here?”

“Couple of years. After so many years of gymnastics, this proved to be a great replacement. I’ve earned my certification, so I will be able to enter the chamber with you and Mav.” Traxx nods just as we arrive in the training room.

“There are a few things we need to go over, some hand signals that you need to learn, and Ciara, I know you have watched the safety movie a million times, but Traxx needs to pay close attention, since it’s his first time in the tunnel. Agreed?”

“Scouts’ honor!” I cross my heart and look at Mav, smiling. He feels the need to point out the obvious, “Why do I have a strong feeling that you’ve never been a Girl Scout? You are more of the law-breaking type than the enforcer.”

“He’s got your number!” Traxx chimes in.

“Shut it, the both of you. Let’s get this training over with ‘cause I’m ready to fly and feel the high!”

 

 

Traxx

Mother fucker! Every time I turn around, we are finding some of these guys. Ciara’s oblivious to the way they look at her. I can tell they want her and the Neanderthal in me wants to grab her, throw her over my shoulder and leave the premises immediately. I don’t want to share her attention with anyone – friend or not. So far, she says they are just friends. I have met many of the guys who in the past tried to get in her pants. I think it’s better for me not to know who she has been intimate with, because I can’t promise I would react rationally. I know I was a manwhore before, but I have always known that I have feelings for this girl. I have shared that knowledge with Colton and Brianna, and they talked me out of pursuing her, because they didn’t think I had what it takes to maintain a relationship. I thought they were right, but the more time I get to spend with Ciara, the more I realize it was the dumbest move of my life. And now…now I’m too broken and have nothing to offer her. The one thing I do have is desire to see this “BTB” plan through. I’m done being afraid – at least when I’m conscious. If I can get ahold and control my thoughts and feelings when I’m awake, perhaps it will also help me when I’m unconscious and in the dark. The guilt, however, I have no idea how I will be able to handle that. Guilt consumes me when I’m awake and also when I’m asleep. I truly have no idea how I will be able to move on from that.

We finish the video and went to a super large closet-like room to find appropriate sized gear. Nibblet found herself a wind suit really quick. I had to try on a couple before I found the one that fitted me best without making me feel that my nuts and butt crack were being carved by the tight seams. After all, I needed to be able to move a little, at least.

Maverick – who the fuck came up with that name? 80’s much? At least we know what movie his parents were watching while getting down. Well, it didn’t matter how hard I tried, I just could not stay pissed at this guy. He was inherently nice.

Once we were fully prepped and ready, Mav gave us a quick facility tour, where he explained how things worked and answered all our questions.

Come to find out this building is a converted warehouse. The tower houses a vertical wind tunnel and it’s called the flight chamber. This chamber is 15 feet wide and 55 feet tall. The entire front is made of a special plexiglass. The back and upper levels of the tunnel are made of reinforced concrete, which keeps it quiet and reduces vibration. Its round shape helps with the air flow. The floor of the chamber is a trampoline floor of high quality stainless steel. Outside looking at all the action inside the tunnel, there’s a tunnel operator controlling the wind. Starts slow and gets higher until you and the instructor are airborne.

The part that blew me away – no pun intended – was the one about the fans being on top and not on the bottom of the tunnel. The wind starts to generate from the top, and it’s channeled and directed down the sides of the tunnel and then up the middle through the floor. Once the wind reaches the top, it recycles and repeats the flow.

Since the wind’s controlled by the weight of the flyer and their skill level, I told Ciara she should go first and give me a demo.

“Nah, there are too many people watching. It really makes me nervous.” She looks at me with wide, scared eyes.

Mav tries to reason with her, “You are a great and skilled flyer, Ciara, these people can benefit from watching you do some tricks. Plus it will encourage them to practice more so they can get better at it.”

“You really think so?” She asks him with a hopeful tilt to her voice. I nudge her a bit, too.

“I would love to see you do some tricks, Nibblet. Live your life in the moment – remember?” And I give her my most dazzling smile. I catch Mav looking at me after I mention her nickname, first it was like a question and then the lightbulb went off inside his head. I gave him a grouchy frown in return. He better not get any ideas.

She starts to nod her head, “Mmmkay. I guess you are right to throw my words right back at me. Geez. I’ll do it. But I need some good music, can you arrange it, Mav?”

“I’ll take care of it. I think I have the perfect one. Fall Out Boy okay?” Mav asks her.

“Perfect!”

While we wait on the music to start, Ciara gives me her back and starts to stretch her legs and shoulders. Adapting a scene from the movie “Rocky,” I start to massage her shoulders in an effort to help her out some.

Suddenly we hear Mav’s voice on all the speakers. “May I have your attention, ladies and gentlemen, we have a very rare treat for you today. Last year’s winner of the Solo Flyer Championship Division is going to grace us with a quick demo. Pay attention to the flow of her moves and her upper as well as lower body strength – it’s flawless.”

“Dear Lord! He needs to stop that shit.” I hear Ciara talking to herself. Then the music starts and the trumpets of the opening chorus of “Irresistible” fill the entire building and suddenly all eyes are on Ciara.

She doesn’t even hesitate. The second she steps inside the chamber, the wind carries her high up, where she starts her performance – it was like watching a contemporary dance with some ballet moves intertwined, her movements were not jerky but smooth, like a water dance. She was breathtaking. Everyone in this place was mesmerized – men and women, no discrimination. She was everywhere, upside down, up and down showing us movements and positions that would probably take the less practiced person years to perfect. She was a natural.

 

 

The demo was over and I had to wait for several people to finish talking to Ciara. When her time inside the wind tunnel ended, so many people were so impressed by her, they came around to talk, and others wanted to take selfies and get autographs. I have been friends with Ciara for a long time and I had no idea she had this experience hidden under her belt.

Now, it was my turn to try to learn how to fly. The idea was exciting and I could feel my adrenaline pumping. I catch Mav coming my way.

“Are you ready, Traxx?”

“I think so.”

“Don’t worry, since it is your first time, we will start the air flow really low and work our way up until you gain enough momentum.”

“Oh, so it will not be like it happened to Ciara? It seemed she stepped right in and went up flying really high.”

Mav chuckled. “Nope. That’s because we already had the fans running at a really high power. And, no offense, Ciara’s really tiny compared to you, plus she has a lot of experience.” He taps my arm with his hand.

“Oh, yeah. That makes sense.”

“Remember the hand signals we practiced while watching the video? It’s really hard to hear inside there, so please make sure you use them. You and I will go in there first and then Ciara will join us, once I feel you are used to the wind.”

“You got it!”

I’m so ready to try this out… Mav opens the door and goes in but stays on the inside ledge without touching the trampoline and he signals me to come in. Stepping on the ledge, he prompts me to move onto the trampoline. Feeling the air’s increasing speed, Mav grabs the chest of my flight suit and as I lean forward, my legs rise up. He moves his hands to my back, so I don’t fly out of reach. Then with the hand signals we practiced, he instructs me how to move, and as I perform the movements, I can feel how my positions change as the wind came by. It doesn’t take me too long to figure out how to move inside the chamber and keep my body under control.

When Mav felt I was ready, the wind got stronger and we flew up high inside the chamber. I felt so light… I started to tuck my body and even though it was somehow awkward, I was doing cartwheels in the air – Me! Mav moved us down some, and tells Ciara to come in. Ciara steps in and shoots up in the air, passing us by and then descending to our level.

She makes a hand signal for me to watch her and as she was demonstrating several positions, I was trying my best to mimic her, but of course, I’m very clumsy and not graceful at all. We manage to do some splits, tucks and flips. I was able to do almost everything but for some reason, I could not do a summersault. I think my body is too long, too heavy and too big for the wind. I felt like a kid again, without any care in the world,
living in the moment
, and it felt so good.

 

BOOK: Dismantled (Girls on Top #2)
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