Page 88 of Ashley & the A-Listers

“They’re cute,” Cameron mused from beside him, hinting.

“Don’t ask for much, do you?” Dylan teased, keeping his tone light.

Cam nodded. “I usually get what I want.”

“Spoiled.”

“Never said I wasn’t,” he replied, his grin a little feral.

“Not that much further, come on,” Dylan said, and quickened his pace.

Cam groaned. “I never thought I’d miss the treadmill.”

“You have to admit this is better,” Dylan said, and pointed up above them at the sunlight scattered through the canopy of trees.

“It’s pretty, don’t get me wrong,” he said, and slapped his arm. “But there’s bugs. And it’s humid.” He patted at his hair self-consciously, and Dylan chuckled before rubbing his hand through it, messing it up further before taking off.

“Hey!” Cam grumbled, and Dylan glanced back to make sure he was following.

“I’m gonna push you off this damned waterfall,” Cam called out as he caught up.

They reached the peak of the incline, only for a skinny trail to lead them down the other side, which, in Dylan’s opinion, was almost worse.

As the sound of water grew louder, they made their way down carefully. They were catching themselves on tree trunks to keep from slipping, and eventually the forest gave way to a patchy, grassy area to the left.

“Oh my god, look at it!” Ashley said, and rushed ahead.

They followed after her from the copse of trees and Cam’s gasp was totally worth the trouble as they all stared to the left.

The water was loud, crashing in white foam against the natural pool.

They could feel the mist from the edge of the rocks, and as the light struck through the trees, bits of rainbow were visible from it reflecting off the mist.

“Okay, well. This was worth the hike,” Cameron said.

Ashleybeamed. The waterfall had nothing on her.

“You wanna jump?” Ashley asked, practically bouncing on her feet.

“Is it safe?”

“Of course,” Ashley said, brow furrowed. “I’ve jumped plenty of times. The water is deeper than it looks and it’s… exhilarating.” She sighed as if just thinking about it.

“I’m in,” Dylan agreed without hesitating.

“It’s not as scary as it seems. Do you guys wanna wait down here?” she asked, and turned to Cam and River.

“Uh… Maybe I’ll decide once I’m up there. What do we do with our stuff?”

“We can stash it down here, and get it once we jump.”

“Alright, alright. Fine,” Cam said. “Lead the way.”

Ashley dropped her pack, hiding it between a cropping of rocks, and then stripped her shirt off, revealing a bathing suit top in the style of most of the sports bras she wore at the gym.

“I wore shoes I can get wet, but I’ll volunteer to hike back up to the top and get yours,” she said, eying Cam’s probably expensive tennis shoes. “I don’t recommend making the climb up there barefoot.”

Dylan stripped his shirt off next and stuffed it in his pack, and Cam and River followed suit.

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