His mood is infectious. “Okay, okay, I trust you.”
“Good.” He turns his attention back to the road. He’s still trying to be serious, but there’s a smile playing around the corners of his mouth.
“So...where are we going?”
“I thought you said you trusted me.”
“I did, I do. Now you can tell me where we’re going.” I put my hand on his leg, trying to flirt.
He looks straight ahead and doesn't answer.
I shake my head and look out the window. At least I can make Michael think that I’m not that interested in what he has planned. I’m racking my brain about where he could take me, but nothing comes to mind.
Michael is still grinning when I look back at him. He looks cute like that—inviting. A stab of guilt hits me in the chest.
Jacob.
I’m not sure how to feel about everything. It's been three days since our argument, and I still haven’t heard from him. I’m too afraid to write to him. What if he hates me?
I try to shake off the guilt.Whatever the story is with Jacob, I’m not consciously betraying him, even now. It’s not like I knew Michael was going to kidnap me on the way to the airport. I don’t know what he has planned.
I steal another glance in his direction. He’s whistling nonchalantly and still grinning—bursting with his surprise. He looks good—one hand on the steering wheel; the sun turning his auburn hair the color of the sunset. Too good. I turn away and watch the road for any clues about where we're going. He turns off a little sidestreet, and then I see an airport. This one is much smaller than the one listed on my plane ticket—a little hanger, an office, and a few small planes.
We pull into a parking lot. Michael gets out and comes around to open my door. “Now, are you going to tell me what we’re doing here?”
“Why don’t you guess?” Michael is holding the door open and grinning. His face must hurt by now.
“You’re sending me to Iraq, to be with...” I almost say Jacob. Should have said Jacob. Instead, I finish “... with Matt and Gage.”
“Yeah, like I’d send you anywhere with Gage. Sorry, our flight isn’t going that far.”
I stand up. “Our flight?”
“And there’s a possibility that we might not make it to our final destination. We may have to bail out early.”
A wave of excitement and fear hits me so hard that I have to lean against the car for support. “You want me to jump out of a plane?” I whisper.
Michael puts his hand on my shoulder. “You said you’ve always wanted to try skydiving.”
My panic comes out in my voice. “I said someday. Like when I’m terminally ill or something. I didn’t mean now.”
“No time like the present.”
I lean into him. “I’m not ready for this. I’m not sure if I can do it. I’m not, like, mentally prepared.”
He wraps his arm around me and squeezes. “The best time to do this is when you aren’t mentally prepared. You think about things too much and you’ll never do it. You’ll never jump.”
I close my eyes and shake my head.
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” His voice is thick with disappointment.
I open my eyes. “Now or never... okay now.”
His grin is back. He gives me another squeeze before stepping back. “You won’t regret this.”
“I hope that doesn’t mean I won’t live long enough to regret it.”
He takes my hand and pulls me toward the building. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I promise.”
