Free Meant for You by Samantha Chase Page A

back over to the bed, and lay her bare to him.
    But he didn’t.
    â€œI have to go.” The words felt wrong even as he forced them out.
    Summer nodded. “I know.”
    â€œSummer…I…”
    She placed a finger over his lips as she had earlier. “Don’t say anything, Ethan. I know you can’t make any promises, and I certainly don’t want to hear you have any regrets.”
    He shook his head. “No. I don’t regret last night. I’m only sorry that it’s all we have.”
    While it was killing her on the inside, Summer stood tall and refused to let him see how his words were affecting her. “I know. Me too.”
    They stood staring at one another for long moments.
    â€œBe safe,” Summer finally said.
    They weren’t the last words Ethan wanted to hear, but he knew better than to tempt fate. With a nod, he turned and strode from the room. Cramming himself into the tiny rental car, he pulled away and did his best not to look back.
    It was over; they’d had their night and no one had to know.
    But he knew.
    And Summer knew.

Chapter 5
    The flight home was a breeze. Ethan was back at his own place a little before one in the afternoon, and after taking a quick inventory of what he still needed to do before meeting up with Zach, he crawled into bed for a short two-hour nap.
    During which he dreamed of Summer.
    â€œThis is not good,” he muttered when he woke up. His head needed to be clear; he needed to focus on the climb and on getting back to business as usual. Zach knew him too well and would be able to tell immediately if Ethan’s head wasn’t in the game. The bedside clock showed it to be almost four. He was supposed to meet Zach at the airport at seven. The nap had refreshed him, but as Ethan climbed into the shower, he conceded that another twelve hours of sleep would have been better.
    The town car arrived on schedule and was loaded up. Everything was shut off and good to go in Ethan’s condo. One of his neighbors was going to keep an eye on things for the three and a half weeks he’d be gone. Looking around one last time, Ethan closed and locked the door behind him and headed to the airport. What had seemed like a relatively short trip now loomed in front of him with no end in sight.
    Why was he doing this? Did he even want to go? It was a little late to be having second thoughts now, but the more Ethan thought about it, the more he realized something. For far too long, he had simply gone along with things his buddies were doing rather than figuring out what he wanted to do. When had he become more of a follower than a leader? Resting his head back, Ethan sighed. This was so not the time for this kind of introspection.
    They made great time getting to the airport, and before he knew it, Ethan was standing with Zach and listening to how excited he was about the climb. Ethan tried to respond appropriately. From what he could tell, Zach was none the wiser. It wasn’t until they were actually on the plane that Zach asked about his sister.
    â€œSo did Summer give you grief about this trip?”
    Ethan shrugged. “It was the same stuff she’s been saying for weeks. She’s just worried about you, Zach. Cut her a break.”
    â€œLook, I appreciate that she’s concerned, but she’s never paid any attention to the trips I’ve taken before or even the risks I’ve taken before. She’s just up in arms over it because this is the first time she’s been close by when I’ve been getting ready to go. Believe me, if Summer had lived closer to me in the last couple of years, she would have been all up in my business about my hobbies. The skydiving? The race car driving? Running with the bulls? If she had even been remotely aware that I was going on those trips, she would have been the exact same way. She’s a worrier.”
    Ethan wasn’t so sure. He’d known Summer for far too long.