“Look.” I pointed behind him at the waterfall peeking through the trees. “Care to go for a dip with me?”
“Uh—”
I didn’t wait for his answer before grabbing the hand he’d been trying to stick down my pants and tugging him along behind me.
“Wait, you’re serious?” Theo said. “Is that a good idea?”
“Is a waterfall ever a bad idea?”
He didn’t have an answer for that, and as we stopped along the edge of the crystal-blue water, it looked so inviting that I kicked my boots off.
Theo’s eyes darted around us, scanning everything as if danger was going to pop out any second, but when I pulled my shirt up over my head, he swallowed.
“Come on. It’s gonna feel great.” I folded my shirt and placed it on top of my boots, but Theo was still standing there with his arms crossed.
“You’ve, uh, done this before? Here?”
“Have I swum at the bottom of a waterfall? Yeah. Many times. I’ve jumped off them, too.” I waggled my brows and squinted up at the rocks above, figuring a rough estimate of its height in my head. “Wanna try?”
“Eh, I think I’m good right here.”
“Theo, don’t be a chickenshit.”
“You do know I’m still carrying the knife.”
I laughed and walked to the rock’s edge, where the water was deeper and darker, and then did a shallow dive. It was freezing, but it felt amazing after the heat and humidity soaking through my clothes after hiking awhile.
I broke through the surface to see Theo shaking his head at me, his boots still on, not looking at all like he was joining me.
“How do you know it’s safe? Aren’t there anacondas in there?” he said.
“Just mine.” I grinned, and when Theo groaned, I sent a splash of water his way. “You look like you’re about to stroke out from heat exhaustion, so will you just get in already? Unless you’re scared your crown will slip.”
“I’m not scared. I’m enjoying the view.”
“You could enjoy more than just the view…”
Theo’s eyes turned heated at my offer, and then he cursed. “You’re a pain in my ass.”
“Good. Now you know how it feels.”
I didn’t know what he was muttering in French, but it sounded an awful lot like he was cursing me, cursing the jungle, and cursing the fact he couldn’t help wanting to join me in the first place.
He lost the boots, the weapons, but not the shorts. As he slowly lowered himself in, he held up his middle finger at me.
I laughed and began a slow backstroke out to the middle of the water, doing my best to encourage Theo in past his waist.
“I’m going to make you pay for this,” he grumbled, but the second he lowered himself into the water, he groaned at the immediate cool-down. The humidity out here was no joke.
“See, don’t you feel better?”
Theo swam over to where I was treading water and slicked his hair back from his face. “This gloating side of you is really not attractive.”
“Is that right?” I reached for his waist and drew him in close, then leaned in and said by his ear, “Well, this pouting, scared side of you is kind of adorable.”
He pulled back to glare at me. “I’m not scared.”
“No? So what was the holdup, then?”
