Embarrassed that he busted me perving, I divert my eyes to the scenery whizzing by the window. Not long later, Noah pulls his truck down a dirt road that has ‘Stoney Creek Falls’ on a sign at the entranceway. He parks in a bay at the end of a deserted lot before turning off the ignition.
From this vantage point, I see a waterhole surrounded by tropical rainforest. In summer, I could imagine this location being packed with people, but since it’s winter, the entire place is isolated.
After jumping down from his truck, Noah jogs around to open my door for me. I smile at his chivalry while climbing down from his boosted ride. Birds chirping and water falling is heard in the distance.
“It’s lovely,” I murmur, hesitant as to why we’re here.
It’s the middle of winter, and although it isn’t as cold today as it usually is, I still don’t think it is warm enough to go swimming.
I begin to wonder if Noah can hear my private thoughts when he says, “It’s my favorite swimming spot in the summer.” He gives me a cheeky wink. “But that isn’t why I brought you here.” After grabbing two towels from the bed of his truck, he nudges his head to a dense section of vines on our right. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
When we reach the shrubs, Noah holds out his hand in offering. Smiling, I accept his kind gesture. As he chews on the corner of his lip to hide his smile, he maneuvers us through a prickly bush until we reach a dirt trail on the other side.
With my brow quirked in suspicion, I eye Noah curiously. He smiles but remains quiet. The further we travel, the more the humidity rises from the thick canopy of trees above. They’re heavy with condensation from the rain that fell earlier this morning.
After walking for nearly twenty minutes, Noah pulls across a large section of vines and gestures for me to go before him. When I walk through, my eyes bulge out of my head. A rapidly flowing crystal blue waterfall is directly in front of me.
A small dirt track weaved along the edge of the hillside travels to the side of the waterfall. Next to the waterfall’s opening is a large boulder perched on the edge. It looks like a perfect platform to dive into the icy cold water below.
The coolness of an almost winter’s day leaves me when Noah’s front warms my back. “The water flows back to the water hole you saw when we arrived.” He nudges his head in the direction we just walked. “There are small rock pools the whole way along here, hidden behind the track.”
“It’s beautiful.” My whispered words are barely heard over the torrent of water falling over the cliff’s edge.
It’s so peaceful here. I could stay wrapped in the warmth of Noah’s arms for hours. Well, I could have, if he didn’t unwrap his arms from my waist two-seconds later.
Curious as to what has caused the rustling noise behind me, I pivot around. Desire surges through my body when I notice Noah is in the process of undressing. He’s undone his belt and the zipper of his jeans, and is removing his boots. My eyes bug out of my head when the removal of his boots is quickly chased by him sliding his jeans down his thighs.
“Are you coming?”
I will soon if you don’t stop undressing.
Loving my gaped-mouth response, Noah winks at me before pulling his shirt over his head. I stand still, frozen in place with need, staring at him like he’s a glass of water and I’m in the middle of the desert. His body is even more perfectly chiseled up close. The tattoo on his chest covers the entire left side of his pectoral muscle. It’s a Celtic design that has two names weaved throughout the thick black ink.
“Michael and Chris,” I mutter to myself.
When I return my eyes to Noah’s face, I’m met with his reluctant gaze. He noticed my perusal of his tattoo. He’s not upset by my nosiness, he’s just uneased by it.
“I’ll tell you about them one day, but not today, okay?”
I nod without pause for consideration. Whatever we’re heading toward is new, so the mess of our pasts can wait a few more days, if not months.
Pleased by my response, Noah kisses the top of my headbefore sprinting to the dirt track I mentioned earlier. I eye him curiously when he climbs over a handful of small boulders. When he reaches the large one perched at the side of the waterfall, he drops his eyes to me. “Come on, Em.”
I cup my hands around my mouth to ensure he can hear me. “No way, Noah; you’re crazy!”
“You only live once!” he shouts a mere second before jumping off the rock.
He does a front flip before he pulls his arms out over his head. My heart launches into my throat when he pierces through the dark waters below.
As my eyes scan the rippling pool of water, waiting for him to emerge, my heart drums my ribcage. When he fails to surface, I step closer to the waters edge. “Noah?”
I sigh in relief when his smiling face bobs out of the eerily black water two heart thrashing seconds later. “Oh my god, you scared the shit out of me.” I clutch my chest to ensure my heart remains in its rightful spot.
While smiling at my theatrics, Noah swims to the edge of the large pool. I take a step back when his climb out of the water is closely followed by him rushing my way. I realize what he is doing when he wraps me up in a tight hug. He’s stealing my warmth. His body is beyond freezing, and the droplets of water seeping into my clothes makes me shiver.
After pulling me in close until we almost become one, Noah says, “I’ve jumped off that ledge hundreds of times before. It’s safe, I promise.” His blue-tinged lips curve into a shit-eating grin before he says, “Now, it’s your turn…”
I’m drawn from my thoughts when an unexpected tap hits the driver’s side window of my car. My greeter startles me so much I sound the horn.
