Imperfectpictures

5/21/2019

(IPFF) Episode Nine: The Jump

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Episode Nine: The Jump

I woke up an hour before my alarm. Edward would have to be getting up early that day as well because of the hour drive out to the skydiving school where the event was taking place. I was so nervous for him that I couldn't eat breakfast. I only had coffee. We were running short on options anyway. We had finished the fruit.

Edward came out of his room a little after nine in the morning, his body clean and his hair washed, but he wasn't awake by any stretch of the imagination. I made him a large mug as he plopped down heavily in front of his bar. He put his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut tight.

“Morning sunshine,” I said quietly with a smile. I was determined to forget my mood of the evening before. “Do you want some breakfast?” He looked up and saw the mug I was offering him. He picked it up and threw it back quickly. Way too quickly for a hot beverage even if it had cream in it. Did he not value his poor tongue at all?

“No. Just more coffee. I can't eat when I first wake up,” he mumbled as he pushed his now empty mug back towards me. He drank it in three big gulps. I made him yet another mug. “Thanks.”

“Is it good?” I asked him as he buried his face into the mug.

“Very. Best coffee I've had since home,” he mumbled again. How could he drink so much so fast?

I brought my camera up and took several shots. He slowly looked up and arched his eyebrow at me. I took three more pictures. He stuck out his tongue and touched the tip of his nose. I took three pictures of it to prove it later.

“Impressive,” I reached forward and pretended as if I was going to touch his tongue. He leaped forward in his chair, biting at my fingers. I giggled and pulled them back. He snapped and snarled. “Cranky.”

“I need more coffee to be less bitey.”

“Even after having your third? Well, I'll start another pot.” I put on the kettle and cleaned out the french press after pouring myself another mug of the very last little bit. I prepped the grounds and waited for the water to boil. As we were waiting, Seth and Tyler along with a woman I hadn't met before arrived, knocking before allowing themselves into the house.

“It smells fucking great in here,” Seth said as he put down his bag of equipment on the couch.

“I'm making some fresh coffee now.”

“Great,” Tyler smiled as he put his stuff down as well. He went into the kitchen behind me to find himself a travel mug from one of the cabinets. He knew where everything was since he was over so often. It's not like he had much to search through though.

“Zafrina, this is Bella. She's the photographer. Bella, this Zafrina, my manager,” Edward introduced us over his mug. His head was leaned into his palm. “She only shows up when I do really dumb shit where I might die.”

She was an extremely tall and very pretty black woman with long jet black hair falling straight down her shoulders. She was dressed very well in an expensive looking leopard print blouse and black pencil skirt. We shook hands. “Great to meet you. I'm glad I could talk him into it. It was a battle. Is he behaving for you?”

“Not at all,” I laughed. “He just tried to bite me.”

“Yeah, sounds about right. Alright,” she turned to Edward. “We need to head out in the next fifteen minutes so we can make it out to the school by eleven. First, we're going to do a few videos. A few pictures. Then the skydive is at one. After the jump, you're going to head back and do another couple videos and even more pictures. Then there is the after party tonight at Shade. You need to be there at least three hours.”

“Yeah. Got it.” He rubbed his forehead. “Let me get more coffee first. It's almost done. Bella, would you like to come with me to the after party?”

“No press,” Zafrina interjected. “No Cameras allowed inside. It's private.”

“Off the clock. As my plus one,” Edward replied as swirled his coffee mug around. “Please?” He looked over his cup with those big beautiful green eyes.

“Um, sure. Sounds fun,” I answered before I really thought about it. He was hard to say no to. Where was the harm?

“Alright, I'll let them know. I'm going to go to the bathroom and head out. Get out the door in fifteen.” Zafrina turned to me and smiled, “nice to meet you. See you boys there.”

I made us all travel mugs of coffee, and we made our way to Edward's car. He passed the keys off to Seth and went to the backseat. Tyler called shotgun, and I sat in the back seat behind Seth. Edward put on a dark pair of sunglasses and pulled his hoodie over his head as he continued to yawn despite working on his outrageous fourth cup of coffee.

"Why am I more nervous than you are about jumping out of a damn plane?" I asked him. As he turned to answer, I took his picture. He smirked. I took his picture again. He looked a bit like the Unabomber.

“I've done it before. Four times, in fact.”

“So?” I laughed at the passiveness of it. “You don't even seem excited.”

“I am. I'm just not awake yet.” He laid his head back on the headrest. “Mornings give me a headache.”

“He'll perk up when we get there.” Tyler turned back to look at us. “So, Bella, your week in California is almost up. What do you think of it?”

“I think it has nice weather. I think it would be fun to take pictures here for a little while.” I took his picture. He smiled so that his eyes closed and almost seem to be smiling as well. Tyler grinned with his entire face. “I've met nothing but nice people since being here.”

“Too bad you didn't get any free time to do anything fun while you were here. Tourist kind of shit. I don't know if you're into that kind of thing,” Seth chimed in.”You didn't like the bridge.”

“Oh, for sure. I love museums. Zoos. I really want to go to the Los Angeles zoo,” I told him truthfully.

“You like zoos?” Seth asked, glancing back in the rearview mirror back at me. I wanted to say ‘well, obviously’ but didn't because I didn't want to seem too sassy.

“I love going to the zoo. I used to get memberships so I could go all the time. It's a great way to waste a Saturday outside in nature. It's good therapy. And I like taking pictures of animals for my collection. It's always different and good practice. I don't know what else I'd what want to do. I didn't really research that sort of thing before I came.”

“What about going to the beach?” Tyler asked. “That's always popular.”

“I lived in New Jersey for a while, when I was really young and in school. It was cheaper than New York. Anyway, we lived on the beach. The Atlantic was literally our backyard. So...I've seen a sandy beach,” I thought back wistfully to that time period to our beachy little townhouse. We partied so much on that beach. “Though it would be nice to watch the sunset on the beach on a different coast. Sunsets are always my favorite. Even if I have a million pictures of them that all look practically the same.”

“I should take you to the Gold Coast,” Edward interposed. “It's so beautiful. The sunsets cannot be beaten. I used to go surfing there all the time.”

The idea of him in a wetsuit, surfing. Oh.

"That sounds so braggy," Tyler teased him. "Look at me. I'm good looking, AND I surf."

"And, I'm fucking rich, too," Edward said with fake boredom. He lowered his sunglasses and winked at me. Badly. He tried to do it a couple of times, but he just ended up blinking. "Nope, too early."

I scoffed. He was ridiculous.

We chatted on and off on the way there. Edward seemed to fall asleep about halfway, his head resting to one side and his arms crossed over his chest.

I took his picture. He looked so comfortable.

How could he be asleep after four cups of coffee though?

But, when we got there, he popped up like a damn daisy.

Edward was handed a bag and went off into a changing room. I had never been in a skydiving school before, so I took a ton of pictures from large room shots to abstract details too close for anyone but me. I would have more photos for myself than anything else from the trip.

Eddie came out of the dressing room in a snug black full body jumpsuit with his name stitched into the breast neatly. I was glad that I had an excuse to stare at him. I took a few pictures as he walked towards me. He was smiling widely, brushing his hair back off his forehead as he did. Then I was lucky enough to see him from behind. He had such a great ass. I took a few more pictures probably just for me.

Definitely for me. If wasn't going to see him again, I could give myself nice memories to remember him by. It made me feel slightly trashy. But not enough to stop me.

We were the first people there for the jump. There were three other guys jumping out of the plane that day, but we were a little early. The camera crew and director took this chance to get Eddie's promos and individual pictures out of the way. The next guy, another voice actor for the game, showed up sometime soon after.

"So, who else is jumping?" I asked as we waited in the planes' garage where there were stools and chairs scattered about. Tyler and Seth were off busy getting shots of the building for editing later. The area was stunning, and they were messing with drones to get a couple of shots around the building, only very low flying though so not to cause any problems.

Edward was too keyed up to sit. “Daniel. The guy who is already here. He does the main villain in the game. Johnny Lang. He's a pro player who specialized in the first two games. Really good. And Database.”

“The DJ?” I questioned. I had listened to some of his music before.

"Yeah. He does the soundtrack. They're going all out for this thing," he said, rocking back and forth on his heels. He had begun to play with the straps of his jumpsuit and fiddle with his sunglasses a lot. He had finally started to feel anxious about what he was going to do. I brought my camera up and took a picture rather close to his face. His eyes were downcast, and the lashes were visible against his cheeks. There were just the lightest freckles under his eyes. You could see the bright blue sky through the open garage door behind him but nothing else. "Wanna jump with us?" He asked after he took the shot.

“No. That's some white people nonsense,” I told him bluntly. It actually shocked him.

He guffawed, “but you're white, too.”

“I’m half white, at least. I'm white passing. Maybe. I don't know what I am exactly, but someone with melanin and more good sense in my head is telling me you're so safe and white you have to find new and interesting ways to kill yourself. No. I'm good on the ground. Taking the subway is enough of a risk for me.”

“How risky is the subway?” He was amused by my answer.

“Oh, my sweet summer child.” I touched his cheek and spoke in a cloying sweet voice. “I've seen two stabbings and I still the think the worst thing about the trains are the random Mariachi bands.”

“Mariachi bands?” Seth said from behind me as they came from outside.

Tyler answered, “oh, my god! They're the worst. Why would anyone bring a trumpet on a subway car? And there always has to be that sarcastic asshole with a guitar.”

“You know you have to get a permit to do that?” I asked him. “They're allowing us to be tortured. I have a theory it's a way to make fewer people use public transit.”

Tyler nodded, “sounds about right.”

“So, when I go to New York I need to be vigilant of rogue mariachi bands as well as stabbings on the subway?” Edward teased us with an innocent smile on his face. He thought we were screwing with him.

"Watch for the monks, too," I warned him very seriously. "And, those weird people in costumes in Times Square. Dressed up like Spiderman and Spongebob. They're usually drunk." I added earnestly. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I just shrugged. "It's fine. Crime is way down since I first got there. New York is super safe now."

Daniel, the other voice actor, came in from his pictures and Edward introduced him to me. They chatted for a while politely about what they were both currently working on. They were scheduled to work on something else together in the future. It was another video game. They had worked before on a show as well. I hadn't watched him in it yet, so I stayed quiet. I had nothing interesting to add to the conversation. Then they chatted about the possibility of rain the following week and how they were glad it waited until after the jump. I tuned out so hard while I just continued to think about the ass that belongs to the fine young man beside me.

Yup, I am definitely trash.

There was a basketball hoop in the garage, so the boys began to play around, taking turns shooting baskets. Johnny, the pro player, was next to come in. He was followed by a few people who seemed to be working on their own videos. It was entirely made up of guys. I felt outnumbered fifty to one. I wondered how his manager felt about it. She didn't seem bothered.

Zafrina informed Eddie that as soon as they were done with the DJ's pictures, they would be ready. They would do a few promos together after the jump and on the way to the plane. They would be in the air in less than an hour.

"So, what do you do, lovely?" Lang asked me suddenly as he came close to where I was sitting to shoot for a basket. They had been basically ignoring me up until that point. He was British and had a nice accent, but he had too much gel in his brown hair for me. It was stiff, and you could see the wide comb marks dividing his hair. I imagined if you put your hand on it, it would crunch. Edward's seemed so soft.

“I'm a photographer for a magazine,” I stated simply. “I'm taking pictures of Edward all this week for a photo editorial.”

“Well, isn't Edward, a lucky ducky," he said teasingly, looking over at Eddie with a grin.
I shook my head. “I'm sure he's ready to be rid of me.”

"Of a pretty thing like you? Doubt it." Edward passed him the ball from across the room, which he caught easily. He took a shot, and it went in. Daniel took the ball and made a shot but missed. Edward lost interest in the game and came back to sit beside me on a chair with a giant rip in the vinyl seat. For once, I was taller than Eddie.

“So, I'm not one to be superstition but what would it take to get a kiss for good luck?” Johnny asked me with a big, cheesy, shit eating grin.

“You better hope you don't need no damn kisses for luck,” I scoffed and hopped up from my stool, adjusting the shoulder strap of my camera so that it was more comfortable.

He was not bothered. “There is no harm in having an extra bit of luck. You never know when you might need it.”

I shook my head. “How are kisses lucky, exactly?”

“How is a kiss from a gorgeous woman not lucky?” He asked flirtatiously.

I rolled my eyes at the flattery. I hated how nice it made me feel, even if he was a bit much. I considered it for a long moment, thinking about all that had happened over the past week. It only made sense to add to the strangeness of it all. I gave him a quick kiss on the check, surprising him a little that it worked. His manager called him over right after, and he winked at me before going to see what he wanted. The wink was a much smoother one than the one Edward attempted earlier in the car. I had never been winked at more in my life. Was that a Hollywood thing?

“Hey! Wait! That's not fair. I want a kiss for luck!” Edward pouted as soon as Lang was out of earshot. I turned to look at him, smirking to myself.

“Ugh, fine.” I took his hand from his lap and press a quick kiss on his knuckles, giving him a big smile as I did. He pouted even more, not amused at being teased so.

“But, he got one on the cheek!” Edward complained.

“And, he insinuated I was gorgeous. Flattery works for me,” I sassed him. I heard Seth snicker from behind the camera. I did an ironic hair flip just for him, making fun of the blond from before.

“Ugh, you're being mean to me on purpose. Well! Any fool with eyes can see that you are gorgeous! But, he hasn't been lucky enough to spend this week with you and learn that you are more than just beautiful. You are smart, funny, patient, and kind. You are talented and sharp and generous. If I were lucky enough to receive a kiss from you, even just on the cheek, I would wear it forever like a badge of honor knowing a woman as good as yourself felt I deserved it!” Edward said dramatically from his spot on the chair.

He really knew how to make a woman's heart flutter though, didn't he?

“Alright there, cowboy,” I said softly, placing my hands on his shoulders as I leaned in. “That's enough of that.” I closed the gap completely and pressed my lips firmly on his forehead, letting them linger on his soft skin for a long moment. I could feel his breath catch as our skin touched. He brought one of his hands up in surprise but slowly dropped it back down into his lap.

“Thank you.” His cheeks were bright red when I pulled away.

“You're so dramatic. Don't put that in the video,” I pointed to him and then to the camera.

He smiled a little bit shyly, “okay.” It was maybe a bit sarcastic, too.

It was going in the video for sure. I had no doubt.

"Heading out in two," someone I didn't know shouted. The DJ came into the garage, and the other guys went to go talk to him excitedly, including Seth and Tyler with their cameras. He had just arrived in his personal private jet, and he was kind of a big deal, apparently. I hadn't realized how much so.

Edward and I were all alone and isolated in our corner from all the cameras. He seemed uninterested in the musician and was just quietly looking up at me from his low chair. Something in his eyes called me to him. I didn't think about it I just... I leaned in and kissed Edward quickly on the lips while no one was around to watch us.

“Come back in one piece, white boy,” I whispered to him when I pulled away.

Why do I do these things to myself?

"I will." He stood slowly, and I realized how close we were to each other. Just a few inches between us, my head completely tilted up to look up at him. He touched my forearms gently, squeezing them with his big hands. Our eyes held each other's gaze for just a moment before finally, he let go to greet Database.

My brain popped and fizzled while it tried to reboot itself.

The guys were taken out to the plane on the back of a truck, cameras following them the whole way. The support crews were taken out to the landing spot in a large open field with a giant circle in the middle of it. It had an X in the middle, and it was where they would, hopefully, land safely.

My heart was in my stomach as I fumbled with my long range lens. My hands were shaking so much that I took probably a hundred pictures of blur. The DJ was the first to land, everyone whooping and yelling as he did. Daniel was next, then Johnny. Eddie would be the last, of course. I kept holding my breath, my head dizzy as I tried to capture every angle with my camera.

It all seemed to go so slow and so fast at the same time. He seemed to be floating forever, a red dot in the sky. Then he came in skidding to the ground at an amazing speed. In a second he jumped to his feet, the parachute falling away behind him and he jumped several times in the air with his arms above his head.

Seth and Tyler busily filmed the entire thing.

The whole situation was a spectacle.

Finally, I could breathe again. My chest actually hurt I was holding my breath so hard, and my heart was thumping insanely fast.

Two hours later after filming and getting changed, he was still extremely hyped. The entire ride back he spoke non-stop like an excited child. We stopped for fast food, getting burgers and shakes for everyone because that's what he wanted.

When we got back to his place, we both needed to shower after our day to get ready for the evening, but it wasn't for another for a few hours. Edward also took the break to work on editing, so I did the same. It wasn't like I had a lot to do to get ready.

I laid in the luxuriously soft bed after showering. Everything in my body was vibrating with excitement.

I was having so much fun. It was kind of felt like getting ready for a dance in high school again.