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Chapter 11 - Ben
I was as hard as the boulder poking out of the river and my hands felt empty when she pulled her sweet, round ass away. Damn, did I want her. The taste of her lips lingered on mine, and it took a second for the rushing in my ears to subside and realize she was serious. I had to get in the damn river and then careen down the mountain at least three stories above it.
There was a time I wouldn’t have blinked at something like that. It wasn’t so much fear that I warred with, at least not for myself, but the knowledge that someone could be there one minute and gone the next. Dropping from the sky and then gone.
Had I kissed her out of cowardice? Probably about five percent. The other ninety-five was pure desire. I watched as she ran toward the river bank, stripping her top over her head to reveal a yellow and black bikini top that didn’t do anything to get my hard on under control. I followed her with my little waterproof camera, snapping pictures as she wriggled out of her shorts. Dear God, that ass. She was right about me needing to dunk in the cold water.
“Perv,” she called when she turned and caught me.
“Stop being so hot,” I retorted.
She looked delighted and struck a pose. “I don’t look like a bumblebee?”
I was pretty sure that the jackass who picked her up the other night had been messing with her self-esteem and shook my head, disgusted. I caught up with her and gripped her waist, running my hands down her hips. “Nothing like a bumblebee.” I leaned over and kissed her shoulder, getting worked up again. “Last chance,” I cajoled.
She looked down at the front of my shorts and laughed. “Uh, I doubt that.”
Yeah, she was right. I’d still be raring to go after, if we survived. I had to stop thinking like that.Live in the moment, dumbass, I told myself. Peeling off my shirt and tucking the camera in my shorts pocket, I jumped into the river. The water rushed past my knees, but it seemed manageable and I eased out deeper, grabbing the rope that ran to a tree on the other side.
She hurried to get in and pulled herself up behind me and we got out to the middle where we bobbed and laughed, splashing each other with our free hands. She let go of the rope long enough to wrap her arms around my shoulders and her legs around my waist.
“Don’t let go,” she warned through her giggles.
She began to kiss me and, as soon I started to reach for her, she pushed off into the water, floating free for a second before the current swooshed her back into my arms. The sound of her laughter gave me that strange feeling in my chest that I’d had at the diner. When she unwrapped herself from me and began pulling herself across again, kicking water back onto me, I hoisted myself forward to catch up to her and get even.
I overtook her, neatly switching hands as I swam around her, not quite as sure of myself as she was to let go of the rope. I didn’t want to float downstream and have to be away from her for that long. I cut my palm to the side and sent a small tidal wave of water toward her, taking her in as she laughed and tried to get out of the way. She goodnaturedly wiped the drops from her face and caught up to me as I reached the opposite bank.
Out of the water, she collapsed into my arms, giggling and breaking out in goosebumps when the air hit her wet skin. I smoothed them away, unable to stop smiling. I was having fun.
I was happy. That strange, light feeling was happiness. I’d forgotten it existed, but now it seemed it was back. I pulled her so close her feet left the ground, and whirled her around while I let out a whoop. I set her down and smoothed the strands of hair that clung to her face behind her ears. She was more than beautiful, she was incandescent in the sunlight breaking through the tall pines. The guilt started to gnaw at me then and I turned away, pretending to fuss with my camera. How could I be so happy when my dad and Callie would never feel anything again. When my brother had lost the love of his life and we’d all lost our father, who was our rock. I squeezed my eyes shut against the memories and then opened them to see Laurel leading the way up the mountain to the zipline. As fast as the guilt overwhelmed me, the lightness washed it away. Laurel washed it away.
“Love the view,” I said, keeping a few steps behind her. She gave me a wiggle as she worked her way up the steep trail like a mountain goat. “Damn, you’re strong.” I ended up out of breath by the time we reached the top.
“City boys,” she sighed, shaking her head. She reached out and ran her palms over my chest. “Is all this muscle just for show?”
She was driving me crazy. All I wanted was to get back to the bottom and get her in my arms again. She hooked me up in the harness and checked all the attachments, probably making a much bigger show than necessary.
“You all good?” she asked, gripping the chest harness and leaning in close.
I nipped her lower lip, making her squeal. I wanted to hear that sound again, when she was naked and under me. I blinked, realizing I wasn’t nervous at all, too busy being hot for Laurel.
“I’m great,” I said.
She smiled and shoved me off the landing area. The first second took my breath away, and I had to fight panic. The next moment I was soaring across open air, one with the sky and the trees. The feeling of weightlessness as I took in all the beauty around me gave me a perfect sense of calm. This was being in the moment, because there was nowhere else I could be. I didn’t want my feet to touch the ground ever again, but the ride was soon over and I lightly tripped across the cleared area at the bottom.
Turning around to give her a thumbs up, I couldn’t stop smiling as she waved at me then began reeling the harness back to her side. I kept my eyes glued to her, first because I liked looking at her, but as she got the harness around herself I started getting unnervingly anxious. I didn’t want to watch her drop out of the sky. When she took a few steps back to get a fast start, I thought I might puke, but I couldn’t look away. If I kept my eyes on her, she wouldn’t fall. She would be safe, she wouldn’t stop existing in the blink of an eye.
She flew over the side and I concentrated hard to imagine her feeling the freedom I just had. I wanted to feel that again. As soon as she was down, I would suggest we go back across. I imagined the smile she’d give me when I was the one to suggest it, the grumpy fun hater wanting to have a good time after all. Because of her.
Halfway across the river, she shrieked and dropped like a stone into the water, disappearing from view.
