Free Touch the Sky (Free Fall Book 1) by Nyrae Dawn, Christina Lee Page A

inside.
    For at least five minutes afterward, I sit in my car, my finger absently rubbing where his lips pressed against my skin. I’ve kissed my share of guys before, but not like that. No one has ever kissed me the way Gabriel just did.

14
    Gabriel
    M y lips touched Lucas’s face and I couldn’t stop thinking about it all night. That faint scar and that screwed up story he told me. Damn.
    I sound like I’m fourteen fucking years old or something. I can’t stop my leg from bouncing as I straddle the beam that supports the scaffold and Lou yells at me about shaking the box of spiral flooring nails he placed on the joist.
    But more than the kiss kept me up—it was the look on his face right before my mouth met his skin. Like he wanted me to. He was ready for a full on kiss. He would’ve accepted having my lips right up against his.
    And when he flirted with me at the burger joint about putting things in his mouth, well fuck, I thought a lot about that too. After I got inside, I jacked off in the shower and Ezra might’ve heard me, but I didn’t even care.
    I take deep breath after deep breath, trying to get my racing thoughts in order.
    He told me that he was locked up in juvie and I don’t know how to feel about that. But maybe he doesn’t know how to feel about me spending time in a psych ward.
    I learned my lesson and turned myself around. I won’t be that person again.
    And hell if I don’t believe him. How could I not? I’m the one not being completely truthful. The fact is, I’m ignoring a pretty significant part of myself, but it feels so goddamn good to be winging it. I was under my parents’ constant scrutiny, my father’s ruling fist, for so long, I just want the chance to truly be me. No barriers, no groggy meds. Just me. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
    I refrain from pulling out my phone to see if Lucas has responded to my text from earlier in the day. So what are your plans for that skyscraper?
    I usually only check my phone during breaks so that I can get the day job done.
    As soon as the foreman blows the whistle, I spring up and balance myself on the support plank I helped Lou install. I began as an unskilled laborer but this past year I’ve been shadowing him more and increasing my skill level. It isn’t my dream job but it makes me feel like I’m getting somewhere.
    I throw out my arms and stare down at the ground below, imagining that I’m one of those single engine prop planes. Damn it feels nice up here, the wind on my face, nothing but air around me. It’s like I’m floating. If I stepped off the beam, I almost feel like my wings would carry me away.
    “What the hell are you doing?” Lou hisses from somewhere behind me. “I swear, kid, sometimes I think you’re going to jump because you believe you can fly or some shit.”
    “Well maybe I can.” A laugh bordering on maniacal bursts from my lips, and though I can’t see him, I already know I’m making Lou nervous.
    “Don’t be crazy, G Man,” he says in a shaky voice. The same voice Ezra uses when he’s worried about me. And because I have enough sense right now not to lose my job over a stunt like this, I draw back and land my feet on solid concrete.
    “Sorry, Lou. Just excited about the end of my day.” When I get to his shiny Ford pickup and hop inside, my face burns with shame that I act like such an idiot when he’s willing to give me rides. Lou gets a call from his wife as we’re pulling onto the street, so I fish out my phone and find a text from Lucas.
    You realize you never even told me about flying the other night?
    My fingers soar across the keys as I type him back.
    Damn, you’re right. LOL. I’ve been taking an on-line aviation course, but I also need to take lessons too, which are expensive.
    I leave out the part where I have to apply for a student pilot certificate in order to log at least 40 hours of initial flying time. But in order to get that document, I need to undergo an exam by an FAA