“Jesus, no. We made out a little.” Molly gives me a look. “I said reckless, not downright stupid.”
“Let’s go, ladies,” Doug calls from ahead, waving his hands in the air without looking back.
Jett walks with him, a backward cap covering the bedhead he ignored this morning. My gaze travels down the crisp collar, which I secretly ironed for him while he was eating breakfast, and snags on his ass as the distance between us grows. Molly, ten steps ahead of me, clears her throat and raises a brow, and heat creeps up my neck as I catch up with her.
Lush green plant life inhabits the path to the dock, vines and bushes and small saplings shifting into dense mangrove forests lining the edges of the river. A large white bird wades through the shallow waters between the roots of the trees, dipping its head beneath the surface for food.
A rustic boat, with rows and rows of benches, bobs on the river, and our captain waves as we approach.
“Welcome to Captain Jack’s Crocodile Cruises,” he cheers, dipping the brim of his hat. “I’ll be your captain today.”
“Jack?” Jett asks.
“No?” The man gives him a befuddled look. “My name’s Frank.”
“Right, well, I’m Jett,” he says, recovering far better than I could. “This is Molly, Sofía, and Doug.”
Jett’s hand clasps mine as I step on, a familiar zap of electricity racing up my arm, the hum of energy taking up residence beneath my breastbone. Our eyes connect, and his head dips to hover beside my ear.
“Who the hell is Jack?” he mutters, the words rippling along my skin like a current.
A startled laugh tears out of me, and I clamp a hand over my mouth, finding a spot on a bench in the back, far away from Captain Frank-not-Jack.
Doug and Molly sit in the front on the opposite side, and Jett selects the seat closest to the water to take photos and videos.
“Does Jack even exist?” I whisper once we’re settled.
“The world may never know.” Jett chuckles, pulling the baseball cap from his head and placing it on mine, adjusting the brim so it doesn’t fall over my eyes. “Hold on to that, would ya?”
He runs his fingers through his hair, the strands of dark brown turning golden from the Australian sun, and I fixate on the flex of his forearms, the way the muscles move as he ties his hair back.
I have the sudden, concerning urge to kiss him.
“Come here,” I whisper, tugging on the hem of his shirt. He slides over, skin pressed against mine, and I lean my head on his shoulder, snapping a photo of us.
His full face is cut off, only his jawline and the scruff of his beard visible, and the brim of his hat covers most of my face, but my lips turn up in a cheeky smile.
I hold my thumb down, capturing dozens of angles until he reaches out, turns my jaw, and drops a kiss on my lips, stealing the breath from my lungs. My lashes flutter shut as I fall into the touch.
Could he hear my thoughts?
The kiss is short, but his hand lingers on my jaw, a gentle pressure as he tilts my head to meet his gaze.
“Why did you do that?” The question comes out as a puff of air.
“Because I wanted to.” His brow furrows. “Are you good?”
He kissed me earlier when we were alone in the parking lot, but this one felt different, oddly claiming in a way that makes me nervous.
“Uh, yeah, it…” How do I say I’m beginning to fear I won’t be able to compartmentalize this with him? That he’s the first person I haven’t been able to keep casual with since Tommy? I land on “It surprised me, that’s all.”
“I enjoy surprising you,” he admits.
I let the conversation die, unsure of how to reply. Jett digs his camera gear out of his bag, attaching a lens and slipping the strap over his neck.
“We’re on the mighty Daintree River,” Frank says, his microphone echoing his voice to the back of the boat. “Part of the Daintree Rainforest, this river is home to mangroves, birds, mammals, and the saltwater crocodile.”
We meander down the river, and I snap a few photos, mostly of Jett with nature in the background. He glances over his shoulder, catching me in the act, and winks. The man fuckingwinks, and it causes a flutter in my stomach that I try to stomp out like a rogue ember from an overexcited bonfire.
