Page 22 of Fall For Me
I start walking across the lot, but then a thought occurs to me, and I stop in my tracks to look back at Sean. “Wait. You’re scared of heights.”
He steps in front of me, cupping my cheek. His thumb grazes my skin, sending a tingle down my spine. “I’m terrified. But there’s not a damn thing I won’t do for you.”
It’s the first time he’s ever admitted fear, and the first time, besides last night, that he’s ever handed me a true piece of himself. My throat tightens, and I clear it, then turn around and cross the gravel lot toward the man feeding fire into the balloon’s mouth.
As heat blooms upward, illuminating the fabric inside with a burst of color, Sean greets the balloonist with all the confidence in the world, as if he didn’t just confess his fear two seconds ago. The old man introduces himself to us as Jimmy, then reaches for my hand to help me climb into the basket. He readjusts his old worn ballcap over his shaggy grey hair as Sean follows behind me, climbing into the basket. He and Jimmy make small talk as the burners fire up again. The flame roars overhead, and a wave of heat licks my face. Before I can grip onto the basket, the balloon lifts a few inches andskids across the ground. Sean’s hands clamp onto my hips, steadying me.
I hate how my body responds to him. How it automatically leans into him without my permission. The balloon rises again, higher this time, and his arms slide on either side of me, gripping the edge of the basket so hard his tanned knuckles turn white.
He’s scared, and yet . . . he did this for me.
With a soft whoosh and a pull in my stomach, we’re airborne. The cars on the ground shrink to the size of toys, and the parking lot becomes nothing more than a patch of color. When I look up, the horizon stretches endlessly with the sky painted in pinks and purples.
A quiet gasp escapes me. It’s beautiful. Overwhelming. Peaceful.
Sean’s chest warms my back, and his scruff brushes against my temple. I swallow hard, my heartbeat roaring in my ears as we soar over the desert watching the sunrise.
“You’re not playing fair.”
“I’m a selfish bastard. Fair or not, I’m going to keep fighting for you.”
“Sean—”
His lips hover next to my ear. “You can push me away. Pretend I don’t affect you. You can run until your legs give out. None of that’s going to save you from me. I’m not done with you, Rebel. I’ll never be done.”
His fingers lightly trail along the basket next to my hand. He’s not even touching me, but I feel him everywhere.
“You think you can escape me? You can’t. I won’t let you.” The sun peeks out from the horizon, bathing us in its light, and I close my eyes as his sinful whispers hit my ear. “I’m going to unravel you, piece by piece, until you stop lying to me . . . and to yourself.”
“Sean . . .” I sigh.
“Yeah, sweetheart, you feel it.” His breath glides down my neck, and goosebumps spread across my skin. “You want me as bad as I want you.”
Tingles everywhere.
Bastard.
“Wanting you was never the problem, Sean . . . Keeping you was.”
The burners’ loud roar startles us both out of our private moment. Sean doesn’t say anything else, and I focus back on our surroundings. This aerial view is actually a perfect way to scan all the places to jump from. If I had brought my wingsuit, I might’ve jumped out of this basket to get away from him.
Kidding . . . sort of.
An hour into our flight, Sean points to a cliff, asking, “Is that one high enough to jump from?”
“Some people jump off that one, but right over there, on that cliff, is where most people base jump,” Jimmy explains, pointing at a different cliff. “Damn kids launch themselves over those cliffs in those . . . those . . . flying squirrel suits. If you ask me, they don’t have a lick of sense at all, but what do I know? You’re not one of those stupid kids, now, are ya?”
“I am,” I say, beaming at the old man even though he wasn’t asking me. “But hey, you fly around in a balloon, and if that’s not stupid too, then I don’t know what is.”
He shakes his head, letting out a bark of laughter. “Touché, young lady. Touché.”
I look down at the terrain below, watching the river wind around the canyon’s floor. There’s enough distance from the cliff to the ground. Probably about a five-second drop before soaring over the terrain and making some pylon turns around those ridges.
Pointing at the cliff Jimmy was talking about, I tell Sean, “That’s the perfect spot. That’s where we’re jumping from this evening.”
“Can’t wait,” he deadpans.
As Jimmy releases more fire into the balloon to take us higher, the wind shifts and the basket tilts. Sean grabs me, pulling me into his chest to protect me from falling out, even though I’m perfectly safe. His body trembles against mine, and I realize just how terrified he is. He’s facing his biggest fear, and while I thought cancer or death was mine, as I feel his arms around me, I realize that it’s him.
