She sighs. “Come on! You already used your veto. Let’s just go check them out, and then you can decide. It’s not like we don’t have the time to kill.”
I tilt my head to one side as I consider it. “All right, fine. We can go look, but if I decide I don’t want to do it, you can’t force me.”
She begins standing before I even finish my sentence. “Done. Absolutely! I promise!” I can practically feel the excitement buzzing off of her. “I’ll text Andrew to meet us there. He should be wrapping up his training by now.”
As I peer over the edge of the cliffs, my stomach turns into a gymnast, performing somersaults and cartwheels. It has to be at least ten feet down to the water. Standing at the top looking down, it looks like a long way to fall.
Rebecca scoots an inch closer to the edge, and panic rises inside of me, squeezing the air out of my lungs.Yup, that’s it. I’m not doing this.“Okay, Becs. We saw it, and I say I can’t do it. There’s no way.”
She schlumps her shoulders and gives me a pouty look. “Please! It looks so fun. How about you watch me and Andrew do it first? That’ll show you it’s perfectly safe.”
My eyes grow round. “If I don’t want to do it, what makes you think I’m okay with sitting by and watching you do it? It looks dangerous.”
“I told you I’ve seen plenty of people come to this exact spot and jump. I have yet to hear of someone who got hurt here.”
“Exactly. You haven’t heard of anyone getting hurtyet.It’s only a matter of time.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m such a bad influence on you. You’re getting so dramatic.” I can’t help but laugh at her remark as she continues. “Andrew will be here any second, and he’s going to tell you to do it too.”
As if he had been waiting for his cue, Andrew pulls up right then. He throws his truck in park and hops out. Wearing a sweat-stained muscle tank and shorts that are cut several inches above the knee, his ensemble shows off every muscle in his back and shoulders. His triceps and his thick quads have a fresh post-workout pump. Realizing I’ve been staring, I immediately turn to look back over the edge of the cliff.
Under her breath, Rebecca mutters, “Wipe the drool off your face. Goodness, Emma! You’ve got it bad.” As if she didn’t just turn me speechless and redder than my still-damp bathing suit, Rebecca turns to Andrew without missing a beat. “Andrew, thank God you got here when you did. Emma doesn’t want to jump off the cliff because she’s too scared.”
I whip my head in her direction. “I am not too scared! I said it looked dangerous. I’m not looking to finish my summer in the emergency room.”
Andrew takes the two of us in and bursts into a fit of laughter. “Let me get a look at this cliff,” he suggests as he walks in our direction.
As he looks over the edge, I watch his face closely. He looks completely unfazed.That little daredevil! I should’ve known he’d betray me like this.
He turns back to Rebecca and me. “It looks fun.”
“See!” Rebecca erupts with excitement. “Let’s go! I’ll even go first if it makes you feel better,” she says, getting way ahead of herself.
“I already told you that won’t help,” I mutter, my attention beginning to move toward Andrew who is tugging his tank top off in preparation for jumping in the cool water.
Rebecca snaps her fingers in my face. “Earth to Emma! Don’t think I don’t see what’s going on here. Focus or you will end up getting hurt on these things.”
“That’s it! I’m out! You guys can jump to your deaths, but I don’t want any part of this.”
Rebecca laughs. “I’m just teasing you. Come on! Andrew, tell her she should do it.”
Andrew nods. “Don’t make me bribe you with books and ice cream again.” He winks, and I feel my cheeks flush.
I casually laugh and swat at him.We are just friends. We are just friends.“I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Nope.” The twins say in unison. I hate it when they do that. It freaks me out.
Rebecca begins shuffling toward the edge of the cliff, clearly eager to jump into the abyss.
Andrew teeters between wanting to be the first one in and trying to convince me I should just jump with them.
I see convincing me wins out because he steps toward me, reaching out for my elbow as Rebecca gets a running start and leaps out, shrieking with glee as her feet leave the ground. I hear the splash and rush over to the edge, watching anxiously for her to popout of the lake.
She bursts up shortly after, sputtering water and wearing a huge grin. “You guyshaveto try that! The feeling when you think you should be hitting the water but still haven’t? It’s amazing!” Between gasps of air, she adds, “Emma, tell your doubts to go to hell and get in the water! You won’t regret it.”
Her delight and easygoing advice make me want to go, but there’s still the part of me that is terrified of the drop. With all that distance, there’s lots of room for things to go wrong.
Andrew’s hand connects with my elbow, drawing my attention back to him and away from my chaotic thoughts. “Stop overthinking it. I promise we won’t let anything happen to you.” After a beat, he asks, “Will you do it with me? At the same time? I’ll hold your hand.”
