The Makeover

32

"I'm falling, so I'm taking my time on my ride."

Ride, Twenty One Pilots

32|Falling

Have you ever felt the feeling of sky diving?

Well, if you haven't, the first thing you feel is fear creeping through your bones. Your brain is telling you to stop - to somehow turn back and find safety again. It tells you that if your heart beats any faster it might just stop beating altogether, but you can't stop yourself from falling - falling further and further into the unknown. And all you hope for is a safe landing.

A mistake.

That's what you think of it at first. You know that logically there's a big fat chance that you will get hurt. The ground might be far away, but the feeling of it approaching faster every second makes you think of what will happen afterwards. The aftermath - would it be destruction or bliss?

But then the wind makes its way through your hair and your whole body is flooded with this feeling of exhilaration. And finally you get the hang of it all.

Suddenly - just for a second - your heart ceases its beat. Everything is right. Everything feels perfect. And your descent to the ground feels like the best decision you've made.

That's how I felt as Jake's lips moved in sync with mine. It was as if all the puzzle pieces that Jake had brought into my life pieced themselves together and righted themselves so that I could think clearly.

The way his hands made their way through my hair, releasing it from its pony tail made me feel free. As if I could finally have what I wanted. As if Jake's kisses could tether me to the ground and make my worries disappear.

His lips were soft against mine and as he put his hand around my waist, pulling closer, every nerve in my body exploded.

Because I was kissing Jake Riley and he was kissing me back and in that moment everything felt right. It was enough to make my head spin with disbelief.

My hands stayed on his cheeks and I could feel his tears glide past my fingers. In that moment, he ran his tongue along the inside my lips and my whole body reacted. I moved even closer.

But all good things have to come to an end. Jake pulled away breathing heavily. As soon as I was exposed to the air around me again, I realised how badly I needed to breath too.

All that filled the silence was our heavy breathing and the creak of the bench beneath us as we put some distance between each other. Jake reached out his hand and held mine so that we were still touching.

Seconds later I heard a snap and the ground was approaching really fast but I didn't fall to the ground. I was pulled by the hand against another body.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked and I could feel his chest vibrate as he spoke. His hand no longer held my hand, but was now gently resting on my lower back.

"What happened?" I asked, still out of breath. I looked back at the contraption that was the bench we had been sitting on. It had snapped right in the centre. "Oh."

Jake grinned down at me cheekily. "You're lucky I caught you." He really needed to stop smiling so much. The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy. He moved his eyes back to mine after taking a look at the bench and for once, they weren't unreadable. There was so much vulnerability in them.

He left a lingering kiss on my lips and although it was short, it still made my knees weak. "You almost gave the floor a high five with your face."