Page 23 of Riverside Reverie

Heaving a breath, I tore my gaze away from him, steely determination keeping me from stealing another peek at his back, although it was really tempting. He was every bit as breathtaking as the scenic backdrop.

Talia stood on a flat rock near the shoreline, waiting while Desmond climbed out of his kayak, using the blade of his paddle to keep it from drifting. He’d tied it off with the long rope attached to Talia’s kayak and moved it aside, tossing his paddle in while Theo pulled up parallel to the flat rock.

Purposefully, I tore my gaze away, not wanting to get caught gawking at him by Talia.

“You know, it’s okay to have a thing for him. He’s a nice guy,” Jasmine said, low enough for only me to hear.

“I thought you were pushing the single lifestyle.”

“I am,” Jasmine shrugged, a conniving glint in her eyes. “Dip your toes in the water, experience a little living. Kiss a cute stranger on a camping trip, because you’re single and he’s single and you both can.”

I bit my lip, my head turning forward again. Theo was out of his boat now, his kayak tied off to the rest of them. Could I? Looking at him, every part of me shouted yes, I could. I had to stop being so afraid of every ripple effect.

Jasmine steered us to the flat rock where the others waited. “Toss them the rope, Lux!” she instructed. I scooped up the wet rope and tossed it toward them. Theo caught it, and Desmond held the canoe parallel with the rock, keeping it steady for us.

Jasmine stood, tossing her hiking bag onto the flat rock. She and Desmond exchanged a glance that lingered a little longer than necessary before I tossed my bag out and inadvertently broke their connection. She climbed out of the canoe, grabbing her bag, and moving toward the group gathered at the base of the cliff.

Curious, I thought. Jasmine had never mentioned having a thing for anyone; but of course, I knew my friend better than most. Commitment was something that had always made her antsy…which was a little ironic, considering her parents were still happily married after nearly thirty years together.

It wasn’t a topic Jasmine liked to get into too much. She always said she had plenty of time to settle down, and now wasn’t it.

But those brief few moments had shown me that Jasmine was definitely interested in Desmond; and she was fighting that interest with everything she had. I didn’t even think Desmond had a clue. Jasmine was pretty good at concealing her true feelings. After all, she had a politician for a father—and a grandfather. But I knew. I could detect it. It became more and more apparent with each of their interactions.

Jasmine waited for me on the ledge. I stood up, the canoe wobbling as I climbed ungracefully out and scrambled onto the rock. Theo reached for me, steadying my elbow with his hand. He released me when I found my footing, and I sent him a grateful smile.

He returned it, winking before he jumped into the water, the rope to our canoe still in hand. He swam toward the row of kayaks and tied it off, making room for Kai and Zoey to pull up to the ledge. Kai tossed him the rope, and once they’d climbed out onto the ledge, he swam over and tied their canoe to Jasmine’s before swimming back.

I couldn’t help but watch as Theo pulled himself out of the water. His muscles working in tandem was a mouth-watering sight, and when he straightened—his deep green eyes rooted on me—I let out an internal sigh before mentally slapping myself.

I adjusted my bag and turned to Jasmine, ignoring her as she raised her eyebrows at me. We started up the steep incline, trailing behind Talia, with Theo and Desmond behind us and Kai and Zoey making up the rear.

The dog, Moose, was trotting alongside Rhiannon, occasionally falling a little behind when he stopped to sniff along the trail.

The sun’s hot rays beat down on the back of my neck, and by the time we reached the top of the trail, I was ready to jump off the cliff just to get to the water quicker to cool off. My tank top stuck to my back, and my skin was slick with sweat.

Shrugging my pack off, I let it fall to the ground as I pulled my tank off, revealing another one of my bikinis—this one was black and the ties more secure. The slight breeze against my sweaty skin was a temporary respite from the heat, but soon even that wasn’t enough, and the water below began to look appealing.

The drop, though? Not so much.

The others moved to set their own packs down on the pink and grey granite, beneath the shade of cedars.

Theo made his way up beside me, his body coming close to mine as he passed. He put his bag down beside the fire pit and rooted through it, grabbing a bottle of water. “Want one?” he offered me. I nodded, moving closer to him so I could accept the proffered drink.

We sat around for about twenty-minutes, rehydrating and talking.

Talia was the first person to jump off the cliff. She ran for the edge as soon as she finished her beer. Her “yew-yaw!” followed her all the way down, until she broke the water’s surface. Baz followed right after her, with little fanfare. One moment he was there, the next he was gone.

As the others gathered near the edge of the ledge, I lingered back with Rhiannon. She was taking photos of the group in rapid succession. She focused on Kai and Zoey as they ran and jumped holding hands.

“What does it feel like?” I asked Jasmine, who stood on my other side, as we watched Desmond take a running leap and disappear over the edge.

“Kind of like falling off a swing, but a little longer.” She lurched forward suddenly, jogging away from me to join Theo at the edge. She said something to him before jumping over, her dark curls fanning out behind her.

I bit my bottom lip, wondering if I could do it. Theo glanced back at me over his shoulder, and I heard the shutter of Rhiannon’s camera as she moved closer to capture his jump.

I crept forward too, peering down, watching as Theo disappeared into the water. My heart started to pound a little quicker as I waited for him to resurface. He did so a moment later, already swimming away from the cliffs.

“Want to see what it looks like from below?” Rhiannon asked. “I’m going to go get some shots of them jumping from down there.”

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