“You didn’t want to marry her?” Tessa asked curiously, realizing that trying to contain Micah would be like trying to pull a star down from the sky and stuff it into a bottle.
“I cared about her, and I thought we’d get married eventually, but I was still building my skills and my own company. We were young, and I guess I didn’t stop to consider how she felt. After a few years, she got tired of waiting and settled down with one of my friends who was content to be wealthy and eventually take control of his father’s business.”
“She cheated on you?” Tessa could tell from his subdued expression that it hadn’t been an amicable breakup.
“I came home unexpectedly from a business trip and found them together. In our bed,” he told her flatly. “I was pretty clueless. It hit me pretty hard. It took me a while to realize that I had nothing to offer any woman.”
“That’s not true,” Tessa replied indignantly. “She was a snake. You don’t screw another man in your current boyfriend’s bed. I don’t care if she was going to eventually break up with you or not. It’s disgusting.”
“So you think I deserved to be let down easily?” Micah teased.
“I think she was crazy for not traveling with you. If she didn’t want her own career, she could have helped you build your company. You were both young. She could have seen the world before she decided to get married.” Tessa sighed, knowing if she’d had Micah’s devotion, she certainly wouldn’t have thrown it away. Besides, she couldn’t think of anything more satisfying than traveling around with a man she was crazy about. Micah would be fun, and although she’d traveled some places when she was young and competing, she’d never been able to see anything. She’d been there for one reason and one reason only: to compete.
She’d gone a few places with Rick, but he wasn’t a pleasant travel companion, and he certainly hadn’t wanted to play tourist.
“Is that what you’d do, Tessa? Support a guy you cared about?”
She looked at his questioning expression. “Of course. If he supported me, then I’d support him. I can’t claim to be an expert, but relationships are give-and-take, I think.” She paused before she ran a comforting hand down Micah’s cheek. “I’m sorry she hurt you.”
“I’m over it,” he replied.
She tilted her head and surveyed his expression. “I don’t think you are. I don’t think you trust women much anymore.”
“Maybe I’ve just never found the right one to trust,” he answered, putting a hand over hers as it came to rest on his chest. “Having a woman who can live with my career choice isn’t easy, either.”
Tessa shrugged. “You are who you are, Micah. I’m not saying it would be easy for a woman who cared about you not to worry, but she’d have to accept that you wouldn’t be you if you weren’t doing what you loved.”
“I don’t do many BASE jumps anymore, and I’ve had to cut some things because my priorities are different. I want to make extreme sports safer. But I could never give up my skydiving team, and I like to push some limits.”
“Slowing down?” she answered teasingly. “Getting old?”
He frowned at her. “No. I’ve just seen too many friends and acquaintances die by doing dumb jumps and not having safe-enough equipment. Finding a safe place to BASE jump is getting harder. It’s illegal in most of the best places to jump.”
“So you leap from a perfectly good airplane instead?”
“Don’t knock it until you try it. My team is pretty damn good, one of the best in the world. And there’s no feeling like a free fall.”
“Actually, I always wanted to try it. When I was younger, I didn’t have time. Then when I lost my hearing, I knew it was never going to happen.” Skydiving had been one of the things she’d always wanted to experience but never had. She guessed maybe it was one of those things that looked fun while she was watching it, but fear might have kept her from executing a jump. There was something a little bit crazy about jumping out of an airplane and relying on a parachute to keep from becoming a human pancake.
“So, do it. All skydivers are deaf once they leave the plane anyway. It’s not like you need to hear. You can’t hear anything except the roar of the wind.”
Tessa shook her head. “Lessons are expensive, and I would have been stepping outside my comfort zone. I’m not sure I could do it.”
“You could go with me,” he suggested. “I’m an instructor and I’ve done thousands of jumps. We could go tandem. I’d never risk your safety. If I wasn’t confident with taking you up, I wouldn’t.”
Oh, he was cocky when it came to his skills, but that confidence amused Tessa. She knew it came from experience, and she had no doubt Micah knew what he was doing. “I’d have to trust you first,” she contemplated jokingly. “But I’d love to fly with you someday.”
He moved so fast that Tessa squealed. In seconds, she was on her back with him on top of her, loosely restraining her wrist at the side of her head. “You’ll trust me,” he told her, a small, confident smile on his face.
“I suppose. You’ve already taken me flying once,” she joked.
“Get ready, woman. We’re about to do another practice run.”
She actually giggled as he began to lower his head to capture her mouth. All thought of skydiving left her mind as Micah kissed her, taking her to heights she’d never even imagined without ever leaving the bed.