Page 48 of Beyond the Bright Lights

Once I'm done with the sunscreen, I tuck the bottle back in my bag and place my hands on my hips.

Mylan must see this as a challenge. “I dare you to jump.”

“What?”

“I double dog dare you to jump off the cliff today.”

“What do you know about double dog dares?”

“Don’t try to change the subject.”

“I’m not jumping, Mylan.”

He snorts and takes off his sandals. He walks to the cliff’s edge and smirks at me over his shoulder. “Coward.”

Oh hell no.

I march over there, ready to push him over the side, but I freeze, inches from the edge.

Mylan holds out a hand.

“Let’s do it together.”

I shake my head fast, my eyes surely bugging. My stomach churns with fear.

“Lana,” Mylan whispers. “I’ve got you.”

Tyler is the reason I don’t jump off these cliffs—because of what happened the day we met. After that day, he called my fear irrational, then proceeded to taunt me about it, dragging Ginger in on the joke. They were relentless, constantly daring me to jump every time we came to the lake. I never did.

When Tyler died, I’d come here to visit at night, sitting underneath the moonlight and stars, talking to him. I did that for two weeks before it became too painful, when coming to the lake brought me sadness instead of joy.

I haven’t been back since.

Now, being here with Mylan, his assistant and bodyguard, and Ginger, I'm hit with an overwhelming sense of closure. A new beginning. As if jumping off this cliff will leave the past behind. As if soaring into the waters below is a way to wash myself of the grief that is tied to this location.

Here I am with this surprisingly caring man beside me, offering me his hand. Offering me . . . a future?

I hush my over-thinking brain. It’s just a cliff with no hidden meaning behind the jump.

Racked with determination, I place my shaking hand in Mylan’s.

“Are you kidding me?!” Ginger screeches behind me. “All those times we dared you to jump and you’re going to do it now?”

I ignore my best friend as Mylan leads me away from the edge for a running start.

“Just breathe. It’s not that far down. I won’t let go. I promise. Okay?”

I nod and Mylan counts down.

“Three . . . Two . . . One.”

We run and jump, and I scream and then I . . . laugh!

It's exhilarating. The wind envelopes us as we plunge ten feet into the cool water below. We sink deep before I kick my legs wildly until we break the lake’s surface. Mylan kept his promise. He didn’t let go.

I gasp for breath upon emerging. Water runs down my face, and I wipe soaked locks of hair off my cheeks and forehead.

Mylan snakes an arm around my waist and tugs me against his body. He's going to kiss me. He palms my neck, tilting up my chin with his thumb. It's something he’s done before that I find so fucking hot.

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