His eyebrows rose. "You like roller coasters?"
"Um, no. Not really."
"Why not?"
"The danger of falling out. I know it doesn't happen often, but it does happen."
His thumb stroked the back of her hand. "Well, this is nothing like that. Take off is very slow and gentle. The whole experience should be peaceful, like floating."
"Peaceful and floating sound good." The captain had assured her that the rope wouldn't break, that they were in good hands. He'd promised the views from the air were amazing, and she tried to concentrate on that and nothing else.
And then they were moving, lifted up as the boat pulled out in front of them. She tightened her grip on Slade's hand. They hovered close to the water and then gently rose, higher and higher, until the boat was as tiny as a toy. Her body dipped back and forth, swaying like she was on an actual swing.
Overhead, the colorful parachute in a rainbow design sheltered them from the sun, and her breath caught at the beautiful panoramic views of Santa Monica Bay. "Thank you for thinking of this. I love it."
"I hoped you would. I'm glad you were free today. I didn't want to have to wait to see you."
"Me either. I know you don't have a game tomorrow. Do you have anything planned?" She could probably leave work at five and meet him for dinner.
He pulled off his sunglasses and tucked them into the collar of his T-shirt. A series of emotions—worry, hope, fear, and pain—flickered over his face. "I'm meeting my birth parents tomorrow night."
Thrilled for him, she twisted to give him a hug only to meet the resistance of the harness. "That's... wow. Are you ready? Nervous? Excited? Never mind, you're probably all of those things."
"Those, and a few more. I don't know how it's going to go." He squeezed her hand like he sought reassurance.
She squeezed back, then brought her other hand over to cover his on both sides. "I hope the meeting will be exactly what you need it to be."
"Me too." He averted his attention to the scenery, but she noticed the tension in his jaw.
"Call me if you what to talk about it, before or after, or both."
"I'll let you know what happens."
Needing to make him smile and lighten the mood, she tapped his foot with hers and gestured to the view. "This really is nice, like we're floating on air."
"It reminds me of the feeling I get when I'm skydiving. The slow float down is like this."
A tendril of trepidation teased through her stomach. Was he hinting at their next adventure? "I don't think I could ever do that."
"Skydiving? Sure you could. But I'm not going to force you. If you ever wanted to do it, I'd be right there. But if you don't, you don't." He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.
Still, there was a hard line dividing the things she'd be willing to try and the things there was no way in hell she'd do. They needed to have a discussion. But not while they were in the middle of such a lovely experience, and not during the first time they'd seen each other in three weeks. There would be time for that later.
Coming in for the landing was as gentle as going up had been. They slowly descended and landed softly on their feet, standing up. After they'd been unhooked from the chute and had shed their harnesses and life jackets, they stood together, looking out over the water as the boat cut through the water on its way to the pier.
Savanna leaned against Slade's side. He wrapped his arm around her back and his hand stroked over her hip. She snuggled closer. "I really liked this."
"I'm glad. Maybe you should call your mom now and let her know you survived." He smiled, but didn't appear to be teasing.
"If I do, she'll want another call once I'm safely in my apartment, so I'll wait on that. She worries a lot."
He kissed her temple. "Mmm hmm. I guess that's where you get it."
"What?" Torn between surprise, insult, and annoyance, she pulled away from him. "I'm not like her. I know I worry, but I'm not as bad as she is. She worries about everything, including a lot of little things that don’t bother me."
Slade studied her a moment and then looked out at the horizon. "Let me ask you something. Was she always the way she is now?"
Pressing her lips together, Savanna thought back over the years. "She was overprotective when I was a kid, but not this bad. She went off the deep end with the worrying after my sister died. Dad did too, but to a lesser degree. I guess they were both so worried about losing me after they'd lost Molly."
He linked their fingers together. "Is that when you started worrying and became more cautious too?"
"I never really worried about something happening to either of them. I always assumed they'd be there. But it makes sense that being told over and over that everything in the world had the potential to hurt me probably is why I'm the way I am. But changing that way of thinking is so, so hard." She sighed and leaned on the rail. "I'm a mess."
"You're not a mess." He drew her close once again.
"I just need my brain rewired."
"Well, when you kiss me, my circuits short out." His hand teased into her hair and drew it away from her face.
Her heart warmed at his confession. She lifted her face to his, wanting a kiss, and he didn't disappoint. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she gave herself over to the sensations of being in Slade's arms. The thrill of the thrill-seeker had only grown stronger, and for the moment, she didn't worry about anything. Slade filled her senses, and when that happened, she stopped being afraid.
SLADE
HE'D BEEN ON EDGE ALL day, but as the miles and minutes
