Page 11 of Riverside Reverie

“How’s work been?” I asked him, before taking another sip of my beer.

“It’s good.” He replied, shrugging. “Back on nights next week.”

“Brutal.” Desmond worked as an operator in the mines—another generational miner. His dad had worked there, too.

Lux let out a laugh, the sound of it light and airy and free. I looked over, watching her fight to recover from whatever funny thing Jasmine had said. Even from twelve feet away, I could see the dimple appear on her right cheek above the corner of her pink lips.

I caught her watching me, her grey eyes raking across my chest before they dropped slowly, following the trail of dark blond hair that disappeared into my swim trunks. When she saw that I was watching her, she turned her head quickly, the apples of her cheeks flushing with embarrassment at having been caught.

The slow slide of her eyes across my skin had done little to ease the heat I felt for her, and I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading. Clearly, Lux was affected by me, too. Affected, but still hesitant.

“Let’s see if Talia needs any assistance getting firewood,” I joked, doubting it. Talia was more than capable of getting the firewood chopped on her own.

We headed toward the beach, passing Kai and Zoey as they set up their tent beside Baz and Rhiannon’s. Rhiannon was discreetly creeping around the campsite with her camera, getting candid shots of everyone setting up while her two-year-old dog, Moose, roamed about beside her with the happiest dog grin on his face.

He spotted us and wandered over to me, sitting at my feet, his large tongue hanging out the side of his mouth as he panted. I stroked his soft head for a few minutes, until he caught sight of a chipmunk and took off after it, bolting away without a second glance.

It wasn’t the first time he’d joined us for a camping trip, and I knew he wouldn’t go far. He always had to be within five feet of Rhiannon, or at least have her in his line of sight, and she’d made her way up to the top of the hill to talk to Lux and Jasmine.

I resumed the short walk to the beach. There was a fire pit on the beach, and another one halfway up the rocky hill. When we used this site, we usually used the beach fire pit.

Talia was chopping logs that the previous campers had left with a small axe. She’d already ditched her shirt and was soaking up the sun in her bikini top and shorts. Baz sat in his camping chair, music pumping from a waterproof speaker ball with a cord attached to his phone. His head was bopping in time to the beat, but his eyes were fixated on his girlfriend, a slight smile playing on his lips as he watched her do her thing.

It wouldn’t be long now before Baz was popping the question, too.

“Already set up?” I asked Talia, watching while the head of the axe split a piece of wood in two. Talia left it in the stump and looked up at me with a wide grin.

“I cheated and brought the pop-up tent,” she shrugged. “Figured the less time I spent on set up and take down, the more time I’d have to drink and jump off cliffs.”

“Jump off cliffs?” I turned at the sound of her voice. Lux, Jasmine, and Rhiannon had joined us on the beach. The corner of Lux’s lips pulled in a concerned frown, and she looked to Jasmine for explanation.

“Yeah, cliff jumping,” Jasmine explained as she set up her chair. “It’s a lot of fun. There are a couple spots you can jump from here, but the really good cliffs are down the river.”

“Oh,” Lux said, setting up her own chair beside Jasmine’s. “Is it safe?”

“Well…” Jasmine hesitated. “I guess it can be dangerous, but we know what we’re doing. We know the safe spots to jump.”

“Don’t be scared, Princess!” Talia grinned, straightening up as she wiped the sweat off her brow. She wedged the axe into the stump.

Lux frowned upon hearing the nickname, unsure of whether or not it was meant to be a dig.

“In fact, I’ll show you how it’s done. Right here, right now! There’s nothing to be afraid of. Anyone else in?”

“Fuck yeah, I’m in!” Baz shouted, hopping up from his chair.

Jasmine smiled warmly at her friend. “You don’t have to jump if you don’t want to, Lux, it’s not mandatory,” she added, reaching into their cooler and grabbing two cans of hard cider. She tossed one to Lux, who caught it easily, the concerned frown still etched across her pretty lips.

We made our way up the rocky hill. The incline didn’t seem steep from the beach, but once we’d made it to the top of the hill, the drop was drastic—at least for novice eyes.

Jumping from the top of this cliff would mean broken limbs if not a broken neck, but to the right of the cliff, there was a small pathway that led to a ledge halfway down. You had to press your back against the rocks and move sideways to reach the narrow ledge. It wasn’t as high as the other cliffs down the river, but it was still fun for a quick swim. The better cliffs would come tomorrow, when we’d rested enough to make the paddle down river.

I followed Baz, Talia, and Desmond, gripping the edge of the rock with my hand before dropping easily to the lower level. I moved along the lower ledge, my toes easily finding purchase against the narrow rocky ledge.

I swore by water shoes for this reason alone. Water shoes felt about as close to bare feet as you could get, and the textured grip prevented my feet from getting cut up and helped me find tenure on the slippery rocks.

Glancing up, I caught sight of Lux’s copper hair billowing in the wind as she stood at the top of the cliff, looking down, Jasmine and Rhiannon beside her. I knew she was watching us, and I couldn’t help but show off a little, kicking off the edge of the ledge with my feet and racing Talia to the water.

I couldn’t tell who broke the water’s surface first, as we’d jumped at the same time, but when I came up for air, I couldn’t see Lux anymore. Letting out a sigh, I waded for a moment, eyes closed against the sun’s rays.

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