Page 72 of Brick

The nerves in his voice pushed away her melancholy. “Too late. We did it before I met you.”

“You jumped off a cliff?” It came out strangled.

“Out of a plane too. It felt like flying. Words can’t describe it.” She chuckled at his expression and patted his arm. “Don’t get me wrong. I was terrified.”

“Then why did you do it?”

She thought about his question. The answer was one she was only now coming to understand, herself. “I thought that was what it meant to really live. Do crazy shit. Or maybe just do things because I never would have done them before I got sick.”

“Like jump out of a plane.”

“Jump out of a plane. Show up at a student’s house.” She shuddered. Hesitated. “Fall for a different kind of guy.”

She stole a peek of Jonathan from the corner of her eye. He looked gobsmacked.

“And riding go-karts was on your list?” he asked slowly, ignoring the more obvious question.

“Not exactly.” She turned to face him fully. “After what happened the other night, I realized living doesn’t have to mean jumping blindly into crazy shit. It means figuring out what I want, then going after it, because it’s right for me.

“The next thing on the list was driving a race car. But I don’t need to go two hundred miles an hour, or whatever it is they go. I don’t need to risk my life to feel alive.”

Jonathan shook his head. “Please don’t.”

“The go-karts felt like a way to honor the spirit of the list. And even if you didn’t know why, I guess I wanted to share the experience with you.”

“Thank you.” He blinked. “What else is on the list?”

“Bungee jumping.”

He shook his head deliberately. “Uh-uh. What else?”

“Scuba diving?” He gave her the side eye. “Though I thought maybe I could change it to snorkeling. And don’t worry, I’m not bungee jumping. The sky-diving was close enough.”

“Anything else?”

“One I really liked was ‘change someone’s life.’ I thought I could do it with Devon. I really wanted to.” She licked her lips. “The last one was to fall in love. Carol added it at the end. A little surprise for me after she died.”

“The last one might be the most dangerous, you know.”

“And probably the one most worth the risk.”

The tips of his ears turned red, and for a moment, silence reigned. His gaze flicked to the steering wheel, down to his lap, and over to a bag from the BBQ place on the floor. The corner of his mouth quirked. “I don’t suppose there’s anything on the list about indulging in something sinful every now and again.”

He lifted the bag and pulled out the container left inside. “I ordered it while you stepped into the ladies’ room. Pecan pie for two.”

The second he opened the carton, she could smell the irresistible blend of decadence and vanilla. “Oh my God, yes.” Snatching the bag, she rifled for the forks inside and made quick work of the plastic covering on hers. The rich flavors exploded on her tongue.

Jonathan paused with his bite halfway up to his mouth.

“What?” she mumbled, covering her mouth with a napkin.

“No. Don’t stop. Watching you eat your pie gave me an idea of what your face must look like when—” His cheeks colored, and he turned his attention to his own food.

She laughed. “You mean what I look like when I come.” Her voice was husky.

His blush grew even darker. “You, um, seemed like you were really enjoying it.”

The poor guy was obviously embarrassed, so she threw him a bone. “Best pecan pie I’ve ever eaten. Could have something to do with the fact we worked up such an appetite together.” She shook her head at her own double entendre. “Sorry, guess we’ve both got sex on the brain.”

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