Listening to Javier’s careful instructions about handling the board and steering the kite, she had to admit he appeared more cautious than she’d been led to believe. He could have boarded out to open water to dazzle her with tricks like the hotshot downwind from them. But he’d taken extra care to be sure she knew what she was doing. And from the counseling she’d received once upon a time, she knew that was a good thing. He placed value on life, unlike the way she used to be.
Willing aside the memories that dark thought inspired, Lisa forced herself into the present, a moment that unexpectedly offered some closure on her long-ago risk taking. Sure, she’d spent years ignoring her daredevil impulses to ensure she had conquered those tendencies. But Javier’s invitation had given her a chance to reconcile her old love of high-octane activities with her new, wiser outlook.
“I think I need to just give it a go,” she called to him, tugging her equipment deeper into the surf. “I’ll be careful.”
With remembered skills from surfing, she found it simple enough to get on the board. The trickier part was managing the kite. She fell off a handful of times, dousing herself in Lake Michigan. But seeing the way other enthusiasts managed their lines and took advantage of the wind to cruise along the waves kept her inspired.
“You’ve got it!” Javier shouted as she finally made it to her feet with the kite in full bloom at the same time.
Her heart lifted in her chest, soaring along with the double foil nylon that pulled on her harness. And pulled.
And wrenched her into the air.
“Aiyeee!” She squealed like a kid on a roller coaster, loving the sensation of the huge kite tugging her up. Her arms burned with the effort to hold on and steer the bar to control where she went. But Mother Nature was no sissy and Lisa quickly realized she had her hands full.
Tucking her knees tight to her chest, she tried to remain as aerodynamic as possible. Even as she soared high above the water, she recognized what a good idea this had been for her. There was a time when she would have maxed out a big air moment for all it was worth, attempting spins or flips to outdo everyone else on the beach. Not now.
Not ever again.
Relief settled over her along with a joyous contentment that she hadn’t realized was missing in her life. And she knew just who to thank for it.
JAVIER’S HEART PLUMMETED faster than Lisa’s kite.
His throat thick with fear, he imagined a landing that could do extreme damage, knowing he could never reach her in time. Ripping off his safety lines, he detached himself from every piece of gear, not caring if it floated to Canada and back. His arms knifed through the choppy water toward her so he could at least be closer when her board hit the surface.
He would get booted from the beach for getting so close to a kite surfer in flight, but he didn’t care since he’d never be able to engage in this sport again if his stupid idea led to her getting hurt.
“Lisa,” he shouted up at her, wishing he’d given her more instructions, praying she’d protect herself instead of trying to hold on to that stupid kite.
But as he watched her descent slow, he realized she might have more control of the apparatus than he’d given her credit for. Somehow, the plummet had turned into floating. The nylon kite was moving to catch a slower cross wind, remaining full, but cutting Lisa’s speed. Javier waited there, treading water as he watched her board touch the lake, her whole body weight tugging the kite hard to slow herself down. Long, graceful muscles in her arms flexed as she moved, her trainer’s body a godsend in the battle with the powerful wind.
Just as Javier realized she would live through the landing and he’d been out of his mind with fear for no reason, he spotted the megawatt grin on her face.
And just like that, his worry morphed to anger, the strong emotions spilling over to his mouth unchecked.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” He reached for her board, steering her toward him before his heart exploded from the strain she’d put it under for the last minute and a half. He felt like he’d just run a marathon, his blood pumping so hard he could feel the vessels jolt behind his eyes.
“I have no idea!” She sounded excited, triumphant. Oblivious to the scare she’d given him. Her flushed face and bright eyes gave him a hint of what she might look after a night in his bed. “Do you believe I got that high? I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
A few other surfers nearby shouted words of encouragement to her, the streamer from her kite telling people that a newbie had pulled off that sweet landing after the heart-stopping heights she’d reached. Lisa thanked them with breathless enthusiasm as her kite fell into the water behind her. Javier unhooked her lines, needing to return her to dry land before her antics gave him a coronary.
Before her throaty laugh and drenched bikini had him ignoring all the team rules to take her back to his place for a night she wouldn’t soon forget.
“We’d better get back to shore before we get booted off the beach.” He pulled her on the board, grabbing his gear from a nearby surfer who’d seen his stuff floating out to sea and held on to it for him.
“Did we do anything wrong?” She slipped off her kite board and tried to take it from him, but he held fast to the equipment, unwilling to let her loose in the lake again.
Besides, if he kept his hands full of gear, he couldn’t reach for her.
“Hell, yes.” He looked toward the lifeguard stand, but they didn’t seem to be giving the pair of them unwanted attention. “They’re strict about making sure newbies are well supervised. You probably gave the staff bigger heart attacks than you gave me. Then I added to the in-fractions by getting too close to you in flight since I was convinced you were going to crash land.”
“Oh.” She sounded deflated and he half regretted the gruffness in his voice.
But damn it, he still hadn’t recovered from the scare.
“Besides, no sense pushing your luck twice in one day.” He hauled the heavy kites out of the water as they reached the beach and noticed she’d fallen behind.
Actually, as he turned to look for her, he noticed that she’d stopped short at the water’s edge, her body dripping wet. She looked like she’d just stepped out of a poster on a teenage kid’s wall. Except for the ticked-off expression on her face. Her pin-up’s body would turn any guy’s head, but he liked to think her bold and ballsy approach to life was something he alone could fully appreciate.
He wondered what it would be like to drag her down to the sand and wrestle around with her, vying physically with the same energy they sparred verbally. Hell, he’d gladly let her be on top for the chance to touch her…
“You’ve got to be kidding.” She shook her head as she continued her forward progress, wringing out her hair with one hand and swiping the other across her face to help dry off. “You’re telling me not to push my luck? You, who is rumored to have jumped cars on your motorcycle?”
He shook his head to clear it of the image of her wet body astride his.
“I was wearing a helmet that time,” he pointed out through gritted teeth.
“You, who once busted your minor league contract by entering a snow motocross event.”
“That contract must have been written by a tenth grader it was so damn muddled—”
“And you’re the same someone who insists on playing football in a public park every weekend so your coach has no choice but to—”