him as the guy he’d seen shaking hands with Sam the day he’d done his tandem. Today he was holding a pair of binos in his left hand.
Johnny glanced over, following Ethan’s gaze. ‘That’s Gabe, Sam’s friend,’ he said. ‘Though he’s not very sociable. Why?’
Ethan wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling that the man was watching them. ‘I’ve seen him before,’ he said. ‘He was here when I did my tandem. And I think he’s watching us.’ The words sounded so stupid once they were out that he immediately wished he’d kept his mouth shut.
‘That explains it,’ said Johnny, a smirk sliding effortlessly onto his face.
‘It does?’
‘Absolutely! My fans come in all shapes and sizes.’
Laughing, they climbed into the plane. Ethan glanced back at the man. His binoculars were raised now and trained on the aircraft. Joking aside, thought Ethan, it was odd. But he soon forgot about the stranger, not least because of who was waiting for him in the plane. Along one side sat the rest of Johnny’s team, all rigged up in matching kit: Luke, Natalya and Kat.
Kat looked up at Johnny, then shot Ethan an electrifying smile. ‘We’ve been hearing so much about Sam’s new golden boy that we figured we should come and check out his progress.’ She leaned back against the inside of the plane, checked her ponytail. ‘Apparently you’re on your level seven – and ahead of schedule too. Perhaps all the good things we’ve been hearing are true?’
Ethan didn’t quite know how to take Kat’s words. He hadn’t seen her since Sam had bollocked Jake, and she hadn’t seemed too happy with him then. Now she was smiling, beaming almost, but he couldn’t help noticing an edge – not so much to her voice, but to her words. Golden boy? What the hell was that about? He was in no way Sam’s golden boy – doubted anyone was. Kat’s probably still pissed at me about Jake, he thought.
Johnny rested a hand on Ethan’s shoulder as they sat down. ‘He’s a natural, aren’t you, mate?’ he said. ‘Born to it, I reckon. Like me.’
Kat laughed. ‘The only thing you’re born to is self-appreciation.’
Again that edge, Ethan noticed. What was her problem? Was this really about Jake? Ethan wondered if he was just imagining things, reading something into what Kat was saying that just wasn’t there. He decided to ignore it, and focused on Natalya and Luke instead.
Luke was staring at his altimeter. He looked like he was convinced it wasn’t working; or that if he stopped looking at it, it would stop working, just to piss him off.
Natalya, though, gazed right back at Ethan.
Ethan nodded and gave her a smile.
Natalya nodded back, but said nothing. She didn’t need to, he thought. It was her eyes that did all the talking. They seemed to stare right through him, like she was sizing him up, looking for flaws. He looked away, but found himself glancing back at her a few times. And each time, he found her still staring at – no, into – him. It unnerved him. What the hell was she thinking? If I were Johnny, thought Ethan, I’d be convinced she fancied me. The thought brought a smile to his face that finally made Natalya turn and look elsewhere.
Luke was still busy going over his kit. He checked every buckle and clip once, then did so again in exactly the same order. Then again. He looked up. ‘Hey, Eth,’ he said. ‘Want me to check your kit?’
‘We’ve got it covered,’ said Johnny. ‘But I’ll let you know if his lapels need doing. You did bring the steam iron, didn’t you?’
Everyone laughed.
‘There’s nothing wrong with making sure everything’s right,’ said Luke. ‘But I’m afraid I left the iron in the hangar.’
‘That is a shame.’
‘Indeed. But I’m sure we’ll survive. We always do.’
‘Crumpled lapels and all! We really are something, aren’t we?’
Ethan liked the way the team ribbed each other. It was one of the things that made them work so well together.
Sam pulled himself into the plane and sat down next to Ethan. He looked over at Luke. ‘At least one of you is bothered about the seven Ps,’ he said. ‘So, are you all up here for a reason or just to piss around?’
‘To support Ethan,’ said Kat, then slowly turned and rested her eyes on him. ‘Isn’t that right?’
Ethan smiled back, but he knew that his eyes weren’t joining in. Yeah, there was definitely an edge to Kat. But so