“You think you were surprised?” Satisfied that her equipment was ready to roll, he turned his attention to his own. “You could have knocked me over with a feather. It’s a rare woman who turns down drinks in favor of kite surfing.”
He couldn’t deny he’d been thrilled at the time. Before he’d fully recalled how dangerous the sport could be for people who weren’t trained. All the more reason to take good care of her.
She didn’t look nervous, however. After quizzing him thoroughly on all her equipment, she’d watched a few other fans of the sport on the water and had told him she was ready to be suited up for her first attempt. Now, her eyes glowed with excitement, her cheeks flushed from wind and anticipation as she tested the directional lines that controlled the kite.
“I haven’t done anything like this in a long time.” She dipped her toes in the sand while her eyes followed the progress of some show-off doing flips and riding his board all the way into the beach—a trick that would get his access card pulled if he wasn’t careful. The kites had too much power to be used safely so close to the shore full of people. “I forgot how much I liked the rush.”
“A woman after my own heart.” Strangely, the sentiment freaked him out when he would have expected the discovery to make him all the more attracted to her. Sure, it was cool to have something in common with the hot, hard-nosed trainer. But she inspired a protective streak he couldn’t ever recall feeling on a first date.
“You don’t know the half of it,” she confessed. “But I’m committed to enjoying the thrill while being safe at the same time. I’m no adrenaline junkie.”
Javier wasn’t so sure. He’d never met anyone with the same adventurous impulses as him and the knot in his gut made him think he never should have suggested this.
“Let me know if you still feel that way after your first jump.” Tugging his board closer to the water, he dragged his safety rigging and his kite behind him. “You ready for a quick lesson?”
Lisa nodded, more eager than she would have ever admitted.
She watched Javier as he took her through the basics of getting the kite in the air even though her fingers twitched on her lines with the need to jump right in and try it herself. Who would have thought she’d end up being drawn in by Javier’s adrenaline seeking when she’d planned on helping him find ways to stifle those impulses?
Still, she fully believed she stood a better chance of understanding Javier’s need to live on the edge if she ventured deeper into his world, and this day together seemed like a positive first step as long as she could keep a lid on the attraction simmering inside her. Seeing him in a pair of board shorts was enough to make a lesser woman hyperventilate. As it was, she sank deeper into the chilly water whenever he touched her to help douse the fire his fingers could ignite with the sparest of strokes.
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.