{Wattys Shortlist 2022}
A one night stand is turned inside out when two strangers discover their shared past.
After a skydiving excursion that ends in a whirlwind one night stand, Camilla writes off ever seeing her handsome instructor again. That...
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Do one thing each day that scares you. That's what my sister always told me.
Well, here I was, about to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. My hand trembled as I signed my name on the release forms.
"You wanna buy the video?" the clerk asked. Swiping hair out of his face. Casual as could be.
"The video?"
"For an extra fifty bucks, we'll email you a digital file of your flight. Most people get it. You know, as a souvenir. You can share it on all your socials."
I nodded. Unable to speak. A swipe of my credit card later, I was putting on a smelly jumpsuit in the changing room, trying to use every calming technique I knew.
Deep, slow breaths. Counting. Affirmations. Visualizations. Slowly easing myself from a ten to a seven on my anxiety scale.
I was brave. I could conquer the things that scared me. I'd proven it to myself fifty-seven times.
In the last two months, I'd gotten a tattoo, competed in a roller derby tournament, ran a half-marathon, and fostered a dog.
Oh, and found a new job.
To be fair, there were a lot of things that scared me.
"You promised Lydie you'd do one thing a day that scares you," I told my reflection in the mirror. "So, stop acting like such a pussy-ass bitch and—"
A deep chuckle sounded outside the dressing room door, followed by a knock. I froze in place. Staring at myself in the mirror.
"Camilla?"
"Yes?"
There was another chuckle. "Are you done with the pep talk?"
"Umm, yes?"
"Cool, because I need to get your safety walkthrough completed before you strap in."
Whoever was on the other side of the door sounded sexy as hell. I frowned at the smelly jumpsuit. "And who are you?"
"I'm Jae. Your instructor."
Jae? Fuck. Even his name was hot. I pinched color back into my cheeks and blotted the nervous sweat from my forehead.
I could do this. It's just one jump.
I opened the door to find the hottest man I'd ever seen in real life leaning against the wall. Arms crossed over his muscled chest. Sucking on a lollipop.
I had the sudden urge to pull that lollipop out of his mouth.
"You ready?"
To be strapped against you? Absolutely.
My sex-deprived brain was having trouble being scared when it knew just how close Jae and I were about to be.
