Page 46 of Prove You Wrong

Bouncing on my tiptoes, I envelop him in a hug the moment he steps onto the platform, almost overbalancing us, but he’s ready and leans me back against the tree. My breath catches as unexpected tingles shoot straight to my core. Josie’s command to have lots and lots of sex echoes through my mind.

Chin resting on my helmet, he returns the squeeze, but then stills and shifts away.

I swallow hard, missing his warmth, his proximity. Despite my prior reluctance to go out with Nate, my attraction to him has been building all evening. I need to remember why I’m here: for a bit of fun. Nate is not a good, safe choice. He’s probably just doing all this to seduce me.

But then, isn’t that the point?

With a cough, I inch further away from him and then cast my gaze around. ‘So, how do we get down?’

He grins at me, eyes glinting with mischief. ‘That’d be the hundred metre zipline.’ His lips curl with relish.

‘Are you kidding me?’ I gasp, my chest tightening as the hoot of an owl fills the air.

‘Take a look over there.’ He points out into the darkness, an oasis of light glimmers in the distance.

The line stretches out in front of us then gradually disappears into blackness. There’s nothing, nothing and more nothing and then the line is back, dimly lit, ending at a bank of bark chippings.

‘Is this Chunk’s idea of a romantic winter lights experience? Plunging through the pitch black?’

‘He never mentionedromanticto me.’ Nate shrugs with a smirk. ‘So, we could climb down but the ladder is super narrow and honestly it’s about fifty rungs,and there’s no soft landing.’

‘Soft landing?’ I squint out into the abyss. ‘Is that what you’re calling that pile of splinters?’ I ask, already clipping my carabiner on again. I’ve got no intention of descending the lame way, even if the alternative is truly terrifying.

A low chuckle rumbles from Nate’s chest as he checks my lines and clips over, and then tugs on the zip line.

‘What kind of name is Chunk anyway?’ I try to distract myself.

‘It’s a long story. I’ll tell you some time.’

‘If I survive,’ I retort, throwing him a cocked eyebrow.

Inching forwards so my toes are on the edge of the platform, the beam of my head torch highlights my trainers and then shines bluey-grey on the forest floor below. I try to swallow, but it feels like there’s a pine cone stuck in my throat.

‘I don’t think I can do this,’ I whisper. I don’t have a fear of heights, but apparently I have a fear of plummeting to my death.

‘I know you can, Ella. Take a breath.’

‘Ireallydon’t think I can.’ Facing out, I shake my head to emphasise my point. Nope. This is not going to happen.

‘Just walk off the edge.’ Nate touches his fingers lightly to my back. ‘The zipline will do all the work.’

‘Um, what if it snaps, or worse, doesn’t snap but propels me at 120 miles per hour into a tree trunk?’

‘This zipline is good, but you won’t quite reach terminal velocity. And it’s safe.’ He rubs his hands on my shoulders, his thumbs massaging down my arms.

It’d feel divine if I weren’t almost catatonic with fear.

‘If you’re facing forward when you land, pick your feet up as if you’re walking, and if you’re sideways or backwards then drag them, the wood chippings will cushion you.’ He gives me an extra squeeze as he says, ‘Promise.’

‘I think I might want to try my chances with the ladder.’

‘You don’t want to go down that old thing. You’ll be so disappointed if you do.’

I look over to the side, the Ladder of Disappointment mocking me.

‘Even if I wanted to go over the edge, my feet are fused here. Self-preservation or something.’

‘Step back here,’ his low voice is soothing, enticing, like whiskey and honey.

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