Page 42 of Secret Nights and Northern Lights
“You good?” Ben asks, looking back to check on me.
“Yup. Do this all the time.”
He huffs out a short laugh before stepping his way forward to the side of the falls, where the water is a slow trickle. Then Ben scales the mini waterfall, barely touching the chain I cling to, in all of five long, upward strides.
By the time I reach the bottom, where Ben stood seconds ago, he’s looming over me from above. “You’ve got this.”
Nodding my head, I repeat, “I’ve got this.”
Allowing the chain to slip through my fingers until my grip is just above my head, I wedge the toe of my right boot into a crevice in the rocks. I push down, making sure there’s enough leverage to hold me, then maneuver my left foot onto a different rock a little higher up. Continuing this slow-but-upward trajectory, I move my hands up the chain, testing each foothold before trusting it with my full weight. When my upper body summits the edge of the waterfall, Ben offers me a hand to help me the rest of the way. But I don’t take it.
“I’ve got it,” I say, determined.
Carefully, I release the chain and use my palms to push off the rocks at my waist and get a knee over the ledge. When I’m standing again, I dust my wet, muddy hands off on my hiking pants.
Looking up, Ben’s smiling at me as if I just medaled in a triathlon. “You did great, Ems.”
“Thanks,” I say casually, but I’m certain from the way my cheeks stretch tight that I’m beaming brighter than the fucking sun.
I climbed a waterfall in Iceland!
Scaled that motherfucker like it was nothing!
Granted, it was a mini waterfall. Still, I’m going to revel in these endorphins for the rest of the day. I feel just like Bear Grylls.
By the time we reach the waterfall we came to see, I’m practically hopscotching over the river stones. And what a beauty this one is. Walls of moss-covered rock form a circular alcove, andbroken sunlight streams in through the opening far above our heads. Freshwater pours like a faucet over the far wall, forming the stream that pools at our feet.
“Now,thisplace is amazing,” I declare. “I’m so happy I made it.”
Ben holds his camera in one hand while he watches me. “Can I take your picture?”
“Right now?” I glance down at my waterproof jacket and pants, covered in dirt and other naturous debris. “I don’t know, I think my influencer stage has passed.”
Ben’s mouth twitches. “Well, that was short-lived.”
“Ah yes,” I say lightheartedly, “but all good things must come to an end.”
His grin falls away as intensity builds in his gaze. “Maybe that’s true. But maybe, if you’re lucky, you can get them back.”
My breath becomes trapped in my chest. “I’m, uh, kind of a mess,” I manage.
Ben shakes his head, expression now unmistakable. His eyes are dark green pools of heat, and he’s biting his bottom lip like he wants to do things to me. All the things. “You’re so fucking beautiful right now.”
My stomach swoops in a nosedive worthy of an aerial flight show. “Please. I just hiked through a ravine and up a waterfall,” I say, deflecting his compliment. “I’m soaking wet and covered in dirt.”
Ben moves closer, and the air is instantly thick and heavy, almost unbearable, unbreathable. “It doesn’t matter. You’re always beautiful.Pleaselet me take your picture?”
Despite my multiple layers of clothing, the intonation of Ben’svoice makes the question sound scandalous, as if he’s asking to take my photo while I’m naked in his bed. Which is not something I should think about if I’m trying to tame this heated desire that has sprung out of the thin, cold air.
Then again, do Iwantto tame this feeling?
These superathlete endorphins are affecting my thoughts, emboldening me. If I can climb a fucking waterfall, there’s no limit to what I can do today. Maybe I want to be a little reckless. This is a day of yeses after all…
With a self-assured nod that comes from someplace within me I didn’t know existed until this very instant, I tell Ben, “Yeah, go ahead.”
Ben grins devilishly, then lifts his camera and starts snapping. I don’t know what I should be doing, or how I should be posing, and despite my bravery endorphins, self-consciousness works its way to my outer facade.
“What do I do?” I ask as Ben circles around me.
