Page 107 of You Kissed Me First

At least now I’m blocking Barrett’s view of her.

“What’s the weirdest reason you’ve ever broken up with someone?” Katie asks over her shoulder, eyebrow raised.

“Weird reason I broke up with someone or weird reason they broke up with me?”

Katie’s steps falter for a second. “How about both?”

“I had a girl break up with me in high school because she had a dream that I cheated on her with her twin sister. Apparently, it was rude that I refused to apologize for something I did in a dream.”

“You’re joking.”

“Her name was Charlotte. Weirdest reason I broke up with someone though?” I hum, thinking back. “There was a girl who used to call me bro all the time. We weren’t officially dating or anything, but we were seeing each other. I couldn’t take it. You?”

“I really don’t have any stories about breaking up outside of being cheated on.” Katie shrugs. “But this guy I used to work with asked me out several times. I turned him down because he slurped everything he ate or drank. It was fucking weird and set my teeth on edge.”

“No slurping. Got it,” I tease, making her laugh.

Katie stumbles on a rock and starts to fall.

“Watch out,” I say as I pull her upright, keeping her from falling over completely into the foliage.

“Thanks.” She smiles.

“You’re holding up the line,” Barrett snaps.

I hear a slap and Barrett groaning.

“What was that for?” he gripes.

“For being a dick. Let them be,” Candice bites out.

I lean down and kiss Katie once before stepping back. Katie and I start walking again, quickly catching up with the rest of the group.

The guide stops from time to time, pointing out different things along the way. Anything from the flora to ruins. It’s so humid that by the time we reach the waterfall, we are all panting out of breath and drenched in sweat.

Katie gasps as she takes in the beautiful waterfall in front of us. Something about seeing the waterfall makes me feel at peace. Everyone else must be taking it in as well because outside of the sound of the waterfall it’s quiet. I look around our small group and see that some others are lingering from the one before us, but overall, it’s not busy.

“Enjoy. We will take off in an hour,” the guide says. “Feel free to take your boots off and swim. You can wander around, but don’t go too far.”

People start to break away to do their own thing.

“How is your foot?” Katie asks.

“It feels fine. I’m sure it will be tender tonight, but I’m good. You?”

“Can’t complain. Do you want to go in?” she asks, nodding toward the water.

“Sure. Do you want to eat some of our snacks before or after?”

“Let’s eat after. That way we have some time to let our clothes dry some before the trek back down.”

“Sounds good.”

I rest my hand on Katie’s lower back and usher her to a lone boulder. I set my bag down at the base and watch Katie do the same. We both sit down and take off our shoes. Once ready, I take her hand back in mine and head toward the waterfall. We wade into the water together. The water is cool and feels refreshing.

Once deep enough I let go of Katie’s hand and go submerge myself completely before coming back up.

“Feel good?” Katie asks as she floats on her back, eyes closed.

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