for a while, so he’d have to try and catch her in the morning.
Looking at the forms brought Ethan back to himself, made him remember what he was doing with his life now. He wasn’t going to let his dad ruin what he had at FreeFall. So he focused on that, and the fact that soon he might be jumping out of a plane himself. His mind instantly filled with all the faces of the skydivers – the wild look in Johnny’s eyes – and the thought that he might soon look the same.
The thought sent excitement coursing through him, adrenaline flooding his system, making his stomach turn a somersault. It wasn’t the first time.
It wouldn’t be the last.
5
The morning was coming to a close and the sky, which had been clear, was now clouding over. Ethan was helping to move some tandem skydiving rigs into the hangar. They were heavier and more bulky than a normal rig, and with one on his back and one in his arms, he was moving a little awkwardly.
Unable to use his hands thanks to the weight he was carrying in front of him, Ethan turned round to push backwards through the hangar door. But on his way through he backed right into a girl in skydiving kit coming the other way.
‘Hey! Watch it!’ she yelled, jumping out of Ethan’s path. Ethan had too much momentum to stop, and her abrupt shout made him jump and lose his balance. Before he knew it, he’d stumbled through the door, tripped over his own feet and landed on the floor, sprawling like a beetle on its back, legs and arms flailing.
He looked up. The owner of the voice looked down. She was laughing and she was gorgeous.
‘Hi,’ said Ethan, none too impressed with himself for behaving like a complete idiot in front of this girl. She looked as if she was about his own age.
‘Here,’ she said, reaching out a hand and hauling him to his feet with surprising strength.
‘Cheers,’ he said.
‘No worries,’ the girl replied. ‘You just owe me one, that’s all.’ She smiled. ‘I’m Kat. I’m guessing you’re Ethan, right? Sam’s new squaddie?’
‘I’m not in the forces,’ said Ethan, but Kat grinned and cut him off.
‘It’s what we call anyone Sam brings in new to the centre,’ she told him. ‘It’s because he generally has you running around for the first few weeks doing everything he says, like he’s forgotten he’s not actually in the army any more. Has he got you doing press-ups yet?’
Ethan didn’t quite know how to answer that.
‘Joke!’ said Kat, and laughed.
The sound of her laughter bounced around the hangar. Ethan stared. His first guess had been right: definitely his age. She was slightly shorter than him – he guessed about five foot eight – and wore her long blonde hair pulled back in a tight and perfect ponytail. She was dressed in exactly the same outfit he’d seen Johnny wearing when he was jumping. But it looked better on her. A lot better.
‘Don’t speak much, do you?’ said Kat, pulling her hair out of the ponytail and shaking it loose.
‘No, er, sorry,’ said Ethan, trying not to stare, which was pretty difficult. He smiled. ‘You just jumped?’
Kat nodded. ‘Practising some four-way formation stuff with the team.’
‘You jump with Johnny?’ asked Ethan, guessing that they were in the same outfits for a reason.
‘Yeah,’ Kat said. ‘You know him?’
Ethan nodded. ‘He did a BASE jump off the block of flats where I live. He’s kind of the reason I’ve ended up working here, I guess.’
Kat smiled. ‘Always likes to make an impression, does Johnny, good or bad. You up for a coffee?’
‘Can’t,’ said Ethan as he quickly jogged over to put the rigs down in the place Sam had shown him. He grabbed his bag. ‘But I’m going to be helping Nancy out for the rest of the day so I’ll walk over to the café with you.’
‘Cool,’ said Kat, pulling the hangar door open. ‘After you.’
‘Thanks,’ said Ethan.
‘I wasn’t being polite,’ Kat explained. ‘It’s just safer if you go first.’
Ethan saw a teasing smile flicker across her face.
‘Cloud’s coming in,’ she said, looking up at the sky outside. ‘No one’s gonna be jumping for a while. Which means you and Nancy will be busy.’
‘Busy’s better than bored,’ said Ethan as they headed for the café. ‘Way better.’
‘Fair point,’ said Kat. ‘So when are you going to jump? You can’t really work here and be taken seriously if you’re only a