"No." This time she was drawing the proverbial line in the sand. "Lots of people have died during a jump. And you shouldn't go anywhere in your state, let alone risk your life. Or mine."
"I'm not in a state."
"You are. You're talking fast, more agitated than excited. You're really keyed up." She gingerly laid a hand on his arm, like she would a new patient in the hospital. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong instead?"
His eyes closed as she touched him, but after a minute, he shook his head and stepped back. "I need to go."
Now he was starting to worry her. "Slade. You came here for a reason. Talk to me. Please."
Sighing, he stared at the ceiling like he hoped the words would appear there. "Tiffany had the chance to get me back after my adoptive mom died. But her husband didn't want me. So, yeah. You know how that turned out."
"I'm sorry. So sorry." She reached for him again, but he remained stiff, vibrating with energy.
"Anyway, I'm dying here. Let's go. I need to burn some energy. We can do the jump off one of the skyscrapers in downtown L.A. We can be down there in—"
"No. I'm not doing it and I don't want you to do it either."
His head shot up. "What?"
Fear gripped her heart as tight as she squeezed his hand. "It's too dangerous. I've never asked you not to do something. But I'm asking now."
He reached for her other hand and locked them together. "You don't have to do the jump, but I need you there with me."
"I'm here. Right now. Talk to me. We can figure out how to help you together. You don't have to jump either."
"I need to do it. You don't understand."
Realization dawned at the pain on his face. "I think I do. You take chances like this because you think no one cares about you."
"That's not—"
"Don't you dare tell me it's not true. I see you right now. Something happened to hurt you and this is how you handle it."
His withdrew his hands and the absence of his heat chilled her skin. "That's a pretty astute opinion from someone who's afraid of everything."
"Not wanting to take ridiculous risks isn't being afraid of everything." Her mind raced searching for the right words to keep him grounded, but her heart beat so fast that she couldn’t concentrate. He'd aimed his words right at her softest spot and hit it. "You make it sound like I'm afraid of my own shadow. That's crazy and you know it. Redirecting the attention away from how you're choosing to handle your hurt doesn't change a thing."
His eyes flickered with vulnerability. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Fine. Deny it all you want. I'm asking you not to do this because I worry about something happening to you."
"Worrying about something doesn't help. All it does is create crazy what-if scenarios in your head, ninety-nine percent of which won't come true."
"Maybe so. But that doesn't change the fact that I'd be devastated if something happened to you. How's that for a reason?"
His gaze held hers, eyes direct, face impassive. "If I don't do this, what's next? You'll ask me to stop skydiving or racing fast cars? I am who I am and I've never hidden that from you. I can't stop doing things I love just because they make you uncomfortable."
The quiet words cut deep. But the reverse was true for her. "And I can't do things that make me uncomfortable just because you love them."
They stared at each other for a long moment and Savanna could see this same argument and occurrence happening over and over for the rest of their relationship.
"I can't watch you do something self-destructive. It's too scary. I don't like it." She sighed out her frustration at not being able to get through to him. "It's not only about the BASE jumping. It's how we approach everything. We're too different and it's time we admitted it."
His eyes narrowed. "What are you getting at?"
Her chest hurt, but that made sense. Her heart was breaking. She took a breath, licked dry lips, and opened her mouth. "That we're too different. You're swimming with sharks and I can't even conquer the diving board. You're jumping out of planes and I can't stand flying. You're living in a penthouse and I don't like living above the second floor. I've been thinking for a while and this right here is one more instance that proves I'm right.”
"Right about what?"
"Us being together is a mistake."
His mouth worked open and he rubbed his hand over his hair. "I don't think it is."
"You need someone as fearless as you. And that's not me. I don't want to fight every time you suggest doing something. Or us growing to resent each other because you think I'm holding you back or I think you're pushing too far."
"I've never pushed you too far." His immediate response was as strong as steel.
"Not yet. But I can see it coming. Like with the BASE jumping. I don't want you to do it. It's so dangerous."
"It's not—"
"But you're going to do it anyway, regardless of whatever I say or how scared I am. This isn't the same as you leaving socks in the middle of the floor and me complaining about it. This is you doing something reckless and I can't handle it."
"Come on, Savanna..." He stepped closer.
"I don't want to deal with carrying around the additional weight of worrying about you over things like this. It's too much. I don't think we should see each other anymore."
Slade's eyes widened. His lips parted and then closed and he rubbed a hand over his hair again. "I see. I'm too reckless for you. It's all about your fears and none of mine."
"Please. You don't have any fears."
"That's where you're wrong." He glanced
