I could get hurt.
What if I slipped and fell?
What if I never tried and always wondered what could have been?
Impulsively I took his hand. With careful footing, we made our way to the top of the waterfall. Bastian went slowly, making sure I wouldn’t slip. His hands hot on my hips as I climbed ahead of him. I felt rattled. Too warm. My clothes felt as though they clung to every inch of me and Bastian could see everything.
“You okay?” he shouted from behind me, needing to be loud so I could hear him over the pounding water.
“Yes,” I yelled back. And I was. I really was.
Finally, we made our way to the top. Bastian put his arm around my waist, holding me close. “Look,” he said softly against my ear. I could feel his lips. I should move away.
I didn’t want to.
Standing at the top of the waterfall, I felt as though I could have been at the top of the world. David and Anne seemed so far away.
“Amazing, right?” Bastian pressed so, so close.
I turned to look at him. Our faces only inches apart. I could feel his breath on my mouth. His eyes burned bright. “It is,” I agreed, my voice barely heard above the waterfall.
“Sara…” My name came out as a plea.
As something indescribable.
I was caught up in the moment. I wasn’t thinking.
Only about what it would feel like to kiss him. What his lips would taste like. What his skin would feel like.
It would be so easy. To lean forward. To press my mouth to his.
He wanted me to. I could tell. Even with my zero experience with the opposite sex, I knew Bastian wanted me.
And I wanted him just as much.
It was all so perfect. For once.
Absolutely perfect.
“Let’s jump,” I breathed.
Bastian’s lips quirked upward. “What?” He sounded winded. As though he had just run a mile.
Without thinking, I kissed him.
Not the way I wanted to.
But on his cheek. At the spot where his lips met.
It was the safest place to touch him. Even if I craved so much more.
“You said you’d teach me how to fly, Baz. Come on.” I used his nickname on purpose. He liked it. I could tell.
“Okay then,” he said, holding my hand tightly.
We walked to the edge of the waterfall. It was a straight drop. I knew that the water at the base was deep. You couldn’t see the bottom. It was safe enough.
With Bastian, I wasn’t scared.
