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“Yes, but there are thousand ways you could’ve done that,” Elliot replied. “This one is very specific. Very… personal.”
We were side by side with at least two feet of space between us, resting comfortably in the climate-controlled interior of the darkened sedan. It was a near moonless night. Only the shadows of the trees were visible as they whipped by.
“I mean, you’re young,” Elliot went on. “And you’re not a mother. You’ve never had children before.”
“So?”
“So most surrogates have children of their own, and they’re doing this to help others who can’t carry. They already know the joy of bringing a child — or children — into the world. They more fully realize the gift they’re giving to someone who can’t.”
I turned my head to the side, tracing the outer edge of the window with one finger. “Maybe I don’t want children.”
He shifted noticeably. I’d piqued his interest.
“Oh?”
I’d already said too much. Much more than I wanted to.
“Is it because you’re a daredevil?”
My brow furrowed in confusion. “Wait… what?”
“A daredevil,” Elliot continued. “A bucket-lister. Connor told me about the photos in your room. Skydiving. Snowboarding. Big wave surfing…”
“The waves weren’tthatbig,” I cut in. “Maybe a few good swells down in Baja, but—”
“Flying.”
I swallowed hard as the car went silent. Somehow though, I kept my cool.
“You were home for less than two hours,” I said, making sure to sound mildly amused. “Connor told you all this already?”
“We’re tight,” he shrugged. “The three of us share everything, always have.”
“Hmm.”
“He said you were a pilot,” Elliot went on. “That you had your license.”
“Yup.”
“I have my PPL as well.”
My eyes went wide. I couldn’t help it.
“Really?”
“I have a bucket list too,” he admitted. “Got my black belt in Jiu-Jitsu at eighteen. Snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. I had the stupid notion one day I’d climb Mt. Everest, but I settled for Rainier. It was a shit-ton closer, and wouldn’t absorb three months of my life.”
“And you got your pilot’s license too?”
Settling deeper into the seat beside me, Elliot nodded. “I did that one young, so Connor might not even know about it. I trained with the money I made tutoring over the summer, and built up a ton of hours at a private airstrip near where we lived. I took my check-ride on the day I turned seventeen. Passed with flying colors.” After a moment or two, he let out a short laugh. “Pun intended, I guess.’
“Wow,” I said, and the feeling was genuine. “I… had no idea.”
“I even tried helicopter skiing once,” he finished. “That one was dangerous. Wouldn’t do that again.”
I turned to stare at him, suddenly needing to see the type of man who would do all these things. They were the last things I’d expect from someone like Elliot Chase. He was too reserved. Too fixated on work and business to have time for such scattered, even reckless pursuits.
“So is that why don’t want to have children of your own?” he asked again. “So you could have the freedom to do these things?”
