Page 17 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“Wanna take the chance that he will?”

Nick lowered his body and took a few calculated steps down, slowly making his way to a thin ledge. He reached up, saying, “Come on, Jo. You can do it. Quick.”

I followed the steps he’d taken to get down, but my foot slipped. I felt my body grind against the rock, until it was free falling. This was it. This was how I’d die. Not exactly the best way to go. I had pictured myself as an old woman when I died, hopefully with someone like Nick at my side, not as a sixteen-year-old girl who only got kissed for the first time earlier in the day. Was that all I’d experience? A kiss that I pushed away from?

Then I stopped falling and dangled in the air as Nick held my hand. I looked up. “Don’t let go!”

“I’ll never let you go. I promise.” He must have used all the strength he had to pull me up. His face was red, his jaw was tense, and sweat poured down his face in streams, falling right on me. But if there was anything that I didn’t mind, it was Nick sweating when he was saving my life. Halfway up, he grabbed me by my torso, right under the ribcage, then by my ass, to make sure I was secure, and brought me close, flat against his body. We pressed against each other on the narrow ledge above the water. I was now wedged between him and the cliff. A quarter of his feet dangled over the ledge.

“Here, put one of your legs between mine and the other on the side.”

He shifted, firming his stance. It was only moments later that the bear found a way around the shrubs and started pacing back and forth along the cliff’s edge, looking down at us and growling.

“Holy shit, that was close.” I leaned my head back against the rock.

“Way too close.”

My arms and legs were shaking; in fact, my whole body was shaking.

“Jo, you’re okay. Calm down.”

“I… I don’t think I can. I think I saw my life flash before my eyes.”

Actually, I hadn’t, because there’d been no time for it to flash, but that was what people said when they faced certain death, wasn’t it?

“Everything’s going to be fine, Joelle. I’ll take care of you.”

On a normal day, I would have told him that I could take care of myself, but today, I really wanted to rely on Nick, because I had no clue how we’d get out of here if the bear didn’t leave. Even if it did, I was afraid I couldn’t climb back up.

I looked up, almost straight into the bear’s open jaw. Saliva dripped off its teeth and I could smell its nasty breath. That, and wet fur. Gross. If the stupid bear was going to keep this up, my gag reflex would definitely be tested today. Thankfully we were low enough that he couldn’t reach us.

“He’s not giving up, Nick.”

“Let’s give it some time, okay?” He smoothed my cheek with the back of his hand, which felt very comforting. I couldn’t stop looking in his eyes. They were not only calming, but mesmerizing, with their green depth lightened by the perfectly sunny day.

“Yeah, okay. So, what’s up?” I asked.

“A bear.”

I burst out laughing, spitting right in his face.

“I’m so sorry. I couldn’t hold it in.”

“It’s okay. Now I can officially say that we swapped spit.”

“But you haven’t spat at me.”

“Not yet. You should be grateful. I had garlic bread for lunch.”

“Is that what that smell is?” I teased.

Nick only smiled, keeping my attention on him instead of the bear.

“Technically, we swapped spit when you stole my pacifier,” I accused.

“Anything I can’t remember, I won’t admit to, so you could be making this up.”

“It’s a story my father told me.”

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