I’d lied about the five minutes—it was more like ten or fifteen, but it was so,soworth it.
At least, I hoped he’d think it was worth it. If we got there just as the sun started disappearing over the horizon, he’d think so.
This was one of my favorite spots for a reason, and I would’ve wanted to show it to Felix anyway.
But itwaseasier to think out here.
“Just a little further,” I promised, grateful that he was just letting mebe. No questions, no idle chatter, just silently following me out into the wilderness.
Trusting me.Stilltrusting me despite the fact that we hadn’t seen each other in so long before this week.
I got my phone out, the urge to check the pictures I’d taken earlier too strong to ignore any longer. Maybe I needed to see that to gather my thoughts.
Kissing Felix was a blur, but it was aniceblur. It was a blur that glowed happily just under my heart.
My throat tightened as I looked at the pictures of us together.
Specifically, at the look on my own face. I didn’t see the way I looked at other people often, but I was pretty sure I didn’t normally look at them likethat.Like they might’ve been the answer to every question I’d ever had and some I hadn’t thought of yet.
Which was the thing. Felix felt like he might have answers, and I didn’t have anywhere else to turn. Not without it being weird.
“I like this one,” I said, passing the phone to him as we rounded the last curve in the track. It was three or four before the last one, when I’d stopped pretending to be interested in photos, and it made my stomach clench just looking at it.
The moment just before a kiss, my hand on Felix’s cheek, my eyes half-lidded and his lips gently parted. It was shockingly intimate despite being the perfectly tame PG rating he’d asked for.
The sound of running water up ahead lifted a weight off my shoulders. We were here, and there was still plenty of light.
“I never like photos of myself,” Felix said. “But I like this one, too. You don’t think it’s too much?”
“When’s your book due?” I asked.
Felix shrugged. “Last month. Why?”
I snorted, taking the phone back when he handed it to me. “Just thinking about how quickly we need to convince your publishers that you have an adorable steady boyfriend. I figure you might as well make it as clear as possible, right? Then they can’t weasel out of the deal.”
Felix took a breath to say something, but stopped in his tracks as he saw where we were headed.
“Wow.”
“These are the falls,” I said, gesturing out at the broad waterfall ahead of us, still rushing after the recent rain. Well, rushing as fast as it ever did. Because of the way the edge curved up under the water, everything slowed down as it tipped over, making the top look like it was happening in slow motion.
HenceSlow Falls.
Felix stared another moment, then blinked silently, then looked at me.
I reached for his hand, a tingle running through me as my skin made contact with his, and tugged him toward the clearing that served as a viewing platform.
In the summer, we wouldn’t even have gotten in edgeways, but with winter just barely giving way to spring, we had the place all to ourselves.
The sun hit the horizon just as we got there, throwing dramatic gold light against the water and pink into the patch of sky visible above it.
No matter how many times I saw this, I never got tired of it. Aside from wanting to share it with Felix, I always felt calmest outdoors. Like there was room to breathe.
“This is beautiful,” Felix murmured, still hanging onto my hand. “I never… I…” he trailed off, too busy taking in the scenery to finish that thought.
I caught myself stroking the back of his hand with my thumb, but I didn’t think I needed to stop. Felix wasn’t pulling his hand away, or telling me not to, or paying any attention to me at all.
We both paused for a few moments, watching the failing light play over the waterfall, listening to the birdsong that erupted just as day turned into evening and the sound of the water hitting the pool below.
