Page 27 of Riverside Reverie

“Will we be coming back here?” Lux asked, eyeing the edge of the cliff like she was debating on jumping again. Kai, Zoey, Baz and Rhiannon had already started walking down the pathway with Moose, leaving the rest of us at the top of the cliff. I’d planned on jumping once more, so did Talia. Desmond was waiting to make sure everyone got back down safely…or maybe he was waiting for Jasmine.

“It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, so we’ll stick around the campsite,” Jasmine answered. “If you want to jump again, I’d do it now, who knows if we’ll be back.”

Lux nodded, considering Jasmine’s words.

“It’s the fastest way down,” Talia remarked, launching herself over the edge of the cliff with an excited yip.

Lux took a breath, stealing herself. “Alright, one more time. Just to say I did it twice.” She grinned at Jasmine.

Jasmine was already pulling her cellphone out of her bag. “I’ll record it, so you’ve got proof,” she smiled back.

“I don’t want to do it alone,” Lux said, her brows creasing with concern.

“Theo, want to jump with her?” Jasmine asked, arching a brow at me.

“I could if you want me to, Lux.”

Lux looked at me, biting on her lower lip. “I guess you’re a safe option to jump with, what with your diploma in nature.”

I chuckled. “I don’t have a diploma in nature, but close enough.” I held my hand out to her, and I was surprised when she took it. Jasmine was recording, but Lux didn’t pay a lick of attention to Jasmine, her eyes were on our connected hands. “Ready?” I asked, hearing how affected I was by her in my own voice.

“Yes,” she said, looking at me. Her eyes sparkled like the ancient crystalline rocks of the exposed Precambrian rock around us.

We ran towards the cliff and jumped, the air rushing loud in my ears and around us as we fell. We kept holding hands, even when we hit the water and swam back up to the surface. I came up first, seconds before Lux re-emerged, water cascading down her face. We treaded in place, still holding hands.

Lux let go so she could push her wet hair out of her eyes. She was breathing heavily, like she was trying to catch her breath, her eyes finding mine as we coasted closer together.

“You alright?” I asked, and she nodded, a smile gracing her lips.

“It was more fun this time, less scary,” she admitted.

“You knew you’d be okay,” I grinned. “It gets easier every time. Soon, you’ll be an expert.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” she laughed. But despite her doubt, she seemed to bloom.

“I don’t.” I said, sincerely. For a moment, she stared unblinking at me. Those gorgeous eyes full of endless possibilities. We were so close to one another now, a mere inch separating us. All I had to do was move my head forward a little more, and I could capture her lips with mine.

“You guys coming?!” Talia called out. She’d already untied her kayak and was waiting for the rest of us with Baz and Rhiannon in their canoe and Kai and Zoey in theirs. The five of them wore similar grins, like they’d been watching us and were entertained by what they saw.

Lux blushed, swimming away. I shot an unimpressed look at Talia and then swam after her.

By the time we reached the kayaks and canoes, Desmond and Jasmine were headed down the trail. I climbed out first, then turned to find Lux struggling a little to pull herself out of the water. “My whole body feels like Jello,” she giggled. I held out my hand, but she managed to pull herself up without taking it.

Then she lost her footing, tripping a little into me, a surprise sound escaped her lips when my arms went around her to catch her at the same time her hand splayed out across my chest.

“If you wanted to touch each other, you could have done so without the dramatics,” Talia teased from her kayak. Lux’s cheeks flushed, but she didn’t immediately pull away. Her hand flexed over my chest.

“Shut up, Tal,” I said, not breaking eye contact with Lux. She felt right in my arms, like she belonged there, and having her hands on me was enough to stun me.

“What’s going on here?” Jasmine asked with an amused lilt. Lux pulled away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her cheeks still pink with embarrassment.

“I tripped,” she shrugged, reaching for her bag that Jasmine had carried down for her.

“Hmm,” Jasmine said thoughtfully, glancing between the two of us with that secretive look on her face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Lux insisted as Desmond set our stuff down and hopped into the water. He swam over to where we’d tied off our kayaks and Jasmine’s canoe, grabbed the rope, and swam back over to the ledge. He untied our kayaks and handed me the rope to Jasmine’s canoe so I could hold it in place for the girls to climb in.

Lux’s gaze went to me briefly, the smallest of smiles gracing her lips before she climbed into the front of the canoe and set her bag down in between her legs.

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