Easily five metres long, the crocodile is the kind of animal that gives you flashbacks to every horror movie you should’ve never watched alone.
‘That thing is huge,’ I say, taking a heroic step backwards.
‘Luke!’Darcy calls.‘Toss us the rope and grab the rag, yeah?’
Luke throws him the end of his rope with one hand and scoops up the rag like this is a normal part of his day.He steps towards the animal, but it starts rolling again and he has to leap back.Still, his focus doesn’t break.His eyes track every movement the croc makes, like they’re playing chess and he’s already three moves ahead.
Didn’t he say we were safe?
The second the croc stops rolling, Luke moves.Calm, controlled, terrifyingly hot.He drops the rag over the croc’s eyes, and it instantly goes still.
My mouth is open, but I snap it shut when Luke turns, grinning, and points at me.‘Come here.’
Absolutely not.
‘Nope,’ I say, shaking my head.‘Hard pass.Big no.’
‘Jamie,’ Ella says through gritted teeth, still holding the rope like a champion who is three months pregnant and not fazed in the slightest.‘The quicker the better.’
Luke doesn’t seem bothered that we’re working on a timer.He strolls over, cool as hell, and says softly, ‘I’ll be right next to you the whole time.’
Why is he like this?Why am I like this?
Maybe it’s dehydration.Maybe it’s trauma bonding.Maybe it’s Maybelline.
Either way, I nod.
Because I’m a fool.
Luke leads me towards the croc, then leans in close to me.‘Okay.When I say “now”, we’re going to jump on its back so Darcy can tape the rest of its jaw.’
‘I’m sorry,we’regoing to what now?’
‘Jump on it.’
‘I apologise if these boots gave you the impression that I’moutdoorsy, but I promise you, I’m more Miranda Priestly than Steve Irwin.’
Ella scoffs.‘We know.Just do what he says.’
Luke rests his hands on my shoulders and meets my eyes, serious now.‘I’m right here.’
And damn it, I believe him.
The croc twitches.Rolls again.
I think I black out a little.
‘Wait until I cover the eyes again,’ Luke says quietly, stepping closer to the croc.His voice drops.‘Steady.Steady …’
The second the croc stops rolling, he throws the rag back over its eyes and then—
‘Now!’
Like the absolute lunatic I am, I launch myself onto the back of a five-metre saltwater crocodile while wearing a white cotton sundress that was giving coastal chic but is now moreJurassic Park: Australian Edition.
Luke is right behind me, his chest pressed tight against my back as his hands reach forward to grab some weird bony horn thing on the side of the croc’s face.He lifts its head enough for Darcy to wrap duct tape in wide, confident loops around the snout and then secure the rag tight over its eyes with more tape.
The croc thrashes once, twice.We hold on.I feel like I’ve auditioned for a reality show I never signed up for.
