“You’re going to do it?” Allie asked.
Right. Of course.
Bryn was cozying up to me so that we’d be believable as a couple. Yet again, my body didn’t get the memo. Being around her lately was like living in a perpetual state of arousal. And as we paddled our way over to the cliff, every brush of her body against mine was both exquisite pleasure and torture.
We reached the base of the cliffs and handed off the paddleboard to some of our fellow guests. Bryn went first, scrambling up the rock. I was too focused on keeping both of us safe, my heart pounding in my chest as I followed her up to the opening where we were supposed to jump from.
I wasn’t worried for myself. The climb was strenuous, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. But there were no safety nets, nothing to keep her from falling.
Bryn didn’t look down, didn’t look back. So I continued on until she pulled herself up over the edge. I joined her a momentlater, unable to look away from the way her chest was flushed with color, heaving from exertion.
“You good?” I asked, scanning her body as if to check her over.
“Yeah.” She grinned. She seemed almost…energized. Invigorated or something. “You?”
I nodded, and we both turned to look out at the water. When I’d been climbing, I hadn’t looked back. And now that we were at the top, I was realizing it was a long way down.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said, noticing how quiet Bryn seemed all of a sudden. I figured she was rethinking her decision to cliff jump, and I wanted to give her a way out. “We can climb up the rest of the way and have someone pick us up at the top.”
She shook her head, resolved. “I have to do this. Iwantto do this.”
“Why?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Because my head is screaming at me not to, and I’m sick of letting it run the show.”
Well, I certainly couldn’t argue with that.
We’d spent so much time together over the past year and a half, but it was only in the past few days that I’d felt this pivotal shift. Both in my relationship with Bryn, but also in our relationships with our grief over losing Derek.
Even so, I could see that she was trembling. Maybe she was cold, but I had a feeling it was nerves. There was no shame in changing your mind.
I found myself asking, “You’re sure?”
She looked me in the eye. “Life is meant to be lived.” And then she took a steadying breath and peered out toward the opening. “I’m ready.”
Her words felt significant. As if she was ready to do more than jump off the cliff. She wasn’t intending to fall; she was ready to fly. She was ready to live.
So, I held out my hand, wanting her to know that she had my support—both in jumping and in embracing life and all it had to offer. “Together?”
She placed her hand in mine, her gaze locked on me. “Together.”
I found myself adding, “Always,” as we took a step toward the edge.
I knew she was nervous. Hell, I was a little nervous myself—mostly for her. But I also knew this was something we needed to do. And we needed to do it together.
I couldn’t explain it. And I knew that to anyone else, it would simply look as if we were having some vacation fun. But it was more than that. It felt…significant. Meaningful. And I could tell from the energy coursing between us that Bryn felt it too.
When we stepped into the sunlight, it was to a chorus of cheers and encouragement. The sun was so bright, they were barely more than specks on the water. It was a fifteen to twenty-foot drop, and I was more focused on keeping Bryn safe than pandering to our audience.
“Make sure to jump out away from the rocks,” I said, trying not to let my worries for her undermine the courage it had taken her to make this decision.
“I will.” Her hand was shaking in mine, and yet, she didn’t waver.
“Tell me when you’re ready.” I rubbed my thumb across the back of her hand.
She turned to me, grinning this time. “Let’s do this.”
“One,” I said, taking a step forward. “Two.” A few loose rocks tumbled over the edge, plunging to the bottom, along with my stomach. We were really going to do this.Shewas really going to do this. “Three.” And with that, we launched ourselves off the edge.
