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“Maybe not that part.” Sam’s eyes crinkled as he laughed.

A rotation of her favourite songs played, so she continued to sing along as Sam wove the truck higher into the hinterland. Hazel had no idea where they were going, but they were definitely not headed in the direction of the ocean. Well, they hadn’t been before the road got all curvy and unfamiliar.

Sam finally pulled onto a dirt track that was flanked by towering pine trees. The pines soon gave way to a clearing, and Hazel could see they’d reached a cliff. Beyond the grassy edge, the sky met the sparkling ocean, unfolding beyond them in an endless blue. She didn’t even know this place existed.

“We drove west for a while, then backtracked to get back along the coast,” Sam explained as he helped her out of the truck. “We should probably leave our stuff up here, it might be a bit hard to carry down.”

“Down?” Eyebrows knitted, Hazel tried to peer over the cliff, but she was too far away from the edge.

“Yep. I told you we were going to the ocean.”

“I feel like that’s a long way down,” Hazel quipped, unsure.

“It’s not too bad.” Sam pulled a bottle of sunscreen from the backseat of the truck. “Want some?”

“Definitely. Thank you.” Hazel pumped the top and began rubbing sunscreen into her arms. When she’d covered her body in sun protection, she grabbed her hat, pulling it down over her head.

“Ready?” Sam asked with a smile, gently flicking the brim of Hazel’s hat.

“I think so.” Hazel’s eyes shifted, unsure what to expect. She trailed behind him as he led her down a gravel path that was partially hidden between thick shrubs. As they reached the edge of the cliff, Hazel noticed her heart was pounding. “I don’t think I like heights,” she murmured.

“You don’t think?” Sam turned around, eyebrows raised.

“Um, yeah. I don’t think I do. I might have just, maybe realised that now.” Hazel pursed her lips.

“Well,” Sam began as he pointed ahead. “See the path? It’s quite wide. We can walk right next to the cliff face, and you can hold my hand?” He held out his palm, which Hazel grabbed without a second thought. Sam chuckled, intertwining their fingers as he guided her over to the cliff face.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much. Thank you.”

“Can you see it?” Sam pointed his finger again. Below them, a jumble of black rocks surrounded a tear drop shaped pool. The water was a deep azure blue at one end, fading to a light turquoise at the other. A tide pool.

“Wow. That’s gorgeous. How did I not know about this spot?” Hazel breathed.

“I saw it on Google Maps. When I was renovating my place, I went online to grab a shot of the aerial footprint, then I got curious about the town and surrounding areas. I saw this little blue speck in between the black rocks, so I zoomed in. I couldn’t find any information about it on the internet, so one day I just drove out here. People obviously come here, but it’s a well kept secret. There’s a worn path and some rope down the bottom.”

“I’m sorry, did you say rope? As in something I need to hold as I climb down a cliff, rope?” Hazel spluttered.

Sam couldn’t help the laugh. “It’s not that bad. It’s about a metre or so.”

Hazel looked around incredulously. “I really didn’t think I was going to die today,” she muttered.

“You aren’t going to die. It honestly sounds worse than it is.” Sam tried to reassure her as they reached the end of the path.

The only thing between her and the rocks below was a vertical drop. Sam was right, though. It looked like it was just over a metre in length, so she probably wouldn’t die if she fell. Horribly injure herself, yes, but she doubted a fall would result in death. Somewhat reassured, she inspected the rope, wondering how to tackle it.

“I’ll go first if you like? Just in case,” Sam suggested.

Hazel smiled. She noticed his arms, which looked especially buff in the shirt he was wearing. It wasn’t overly tight on him, but the sleeves seemed to be straining against his arm muscles. Perhaps falling wouldn’t be so bad.

“I think that sounds like a very good idea,” she said as she pursed her lips together.

Sam, oblivious to her ogling, began his descent. He made it look so easy that Hazel had a false sense of bravado when she gripped her hand on the rope. Holding it tightly, she positioned her feet on the earth, which, it turned out, was drier than she’d realised. She made her first move downwards, her foot slipping on the fine powdery dirt. As she fell, she realised that falling was definitely a bad idea, even if it meant landing in Sam’s beautifully muscled arms. But he caught her, strong and steady, not even breaking a sweat.

“You okay?” His brow was furrowed in concern.

“Just a little shocked and embarrassed, honestly. But no physical injuries.” Hazel felt heat on her cheeks and knew she was blushing furiously.