‘You sure? Don’t be surprised if you get a little shaky when the adrenaline wears off.’
Now that he mentioned it, my legsdidfeel a little wobbly. My face must have gone a bit pale, or something else gave the game away because the next thing I knew he was beside me, his strong arms around my shoulders, steadying me.
‘Easy,’ he said softly. ‘I’ve got you.’
I breathed in the smell of him. It was woody and salty and masculine, and it felt somehow like I was right where I supposed to be. It was the weirdest feeling but I relaxed into it, mostly because I wasn’t sure in that moment that I could stand without him.
‘I’m fine,’ I babbled. ‘Sorry. God, how embarrassing.’
‘Don’t be embarrassed,’ he said. ‘It can happen to the best of us.Hashappened, many times. We’re all human. Nobody judges anybody around here.’
I buried my face in his jersey, feeling his warmth, enjoying how his arms felt around me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been held like this by a man. Adam and I, we’d drifted apart long before he started seeking comfort elsewhere. Towards the end, we’d been more like roommates than anything else, although occasionally the guilt would strike, the realization that something was very wrong, and one of us would make a move, but if I was honest with myself I hadn’t enjoyed it. Hadn’t leaned into him the way I was leaning into Jack.
‘Feeling any better?’ he asked after a few minutes, and reluctantly I nodded and pulled away from him.
‘Yeah, I am. My heart feels like it’s beating normally again at least. Thanks.’
He smiled, his eyes intensely boring into mine, and something inside me wentflop.My heart, assumedly.
‘Any time,’ he said, and I wasn’t sure what to make of that.
Someone cleared their throat pointedly nearby, and I took another quick step away from Jack. It was Dion, looking apologetic, as if he was interrupting something.
‘You OK, Taylor?’ he asked.
‘Yeah I’m all good,’ I replied brightly. ‘Just felt a bit light-headed for a second. I think I was lying out in the sun at the top of the cliff for too long. Bit overdressed for this heat.’
His eyes dropped to my black jeans, his look appreciative. ‘That would certainly do it.’
Jack moved so that he was standing slightly in front of me, but I couldn’t tell whether it was intentional or not.
‘Gear all packed up?’ he asked gruffly. ‘Sorry I wasn’t any help.’
‘It’s fine,’ Dion replied, a smirk in his voice. ‘I could see you had your hands full. Plus, you kind of pulled off all the heroics today. It was the least the rest of us could do.’
‘It was a team effort, like always.’
‘Well, I need to get back to work, so…’ Dion made a thumbing gesture over his shoulder.
‘Oh right,’ Jack said. ‘I came with you, didn’t I?’
‘You did.’
Jack turned back to me. ‘Can we give you a lift back to town?’
‘No, I’m OK, thanks. I have my bike.’
He frowned. ‘Youbikedall the way here?’
‘My motorbike,’ I clarified.
The expression that came over his face was very different to the one that came over Jack’s.
‘Cool,’ Dion said, nodding appreciatively. ‘You’re a biker chick.’
I gave him a withering look that made him immediately shut up and start backing away. ‘I’ll wait over by the truck while you guys figure this out.’
Jack scowled. ‘You have a motorbike?’
