Say You Still Love Me(30)

“You’re insane!” I shriek, my blood pounding in my ears.

He laughs and then swims out, pulling himself onto his back to show off his bare chest. He’s at ease in the water, as if he’s been swimming for years. “Come in!”

“No way!”

“Why not?”

“Because!” I gesture a hand out, as if that’s answer enough. “How high is this, anyway?”

“It’s only thirty feet.”

Only. “There’s rocks everywhere!”

“It’s clear. I’ve jumped off it a hundred times. Five hundred times.” His arms cut through the water as he treads, watching me steadily. “Oh. I get it. You’re scared.” The taunting is unmistakable.

“I am not,” I scoff, though the height is daunting.

“Prove it.”

“But . . . I don’t have a bathing suit.”

“Weak,” he throws back, and I can see the smug smile all the way from up here.

Is this a test? Did Avery jump off this cliff with him?

It did look like fun. And I’m not afraid of heights. “No, what’s weak is you trying to get me out of my clothes like this,” I retort, matching his arrogance.

“I’d never do that. I swear.” He pauses, treading water to lift a hand in the air, giving me a Boy Scout salute.

I roll my eyes at him, even though I doubt he can see it.

“Just jump in with your clothes on. You can change on the way back. It’s not like you don’t have a thousand camp T-shirts, anyway.”

More like six, but his point is fair.

“Come on. I know you want to.” He swims farther back, to give me space.

The water does look enticing and it’s hot out.

And I’m feeling a rush of adrenaline with the thought of doing it.

And Kyle is waiting for me at the bottom.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I mutter, setting my things next to Kyle’s and kicking off my shoes. “You’re sure there aren’t any rocks?”

“Positive. Just take a run at it.”

I take a deep breath and, before I can chicken out, I dart forward and leap.

I vaguely hear Kyle’s cheer over my scream as I sail through the air, my stomach in my throat as I plummet, to plunge into the dark waters feet-first. It’s shockingly cold the second the water envelops my body, but by the time I emerge, it’s a refreshing cool against my skin, a balm for the summer heat and humidity.

I laugh, wiping drops from my eyes, exhilaration moving in where fear lived a moment before. I look back at the sheer wall of jagged rock looming over us. “I can’t believe I just did that. Oh my God. That was amazing!”

“Told you so.” Kyle smiles wide, his dazzling eyes flashing with amusement as he wades over to me. He’s so close that our knees bump with each pedal of our legs, trying to stay afloat.

So close that he could easily kiss me, if he wanted to.

Does he want to?

I swallow the rise of nerves in my throat. Suddenly the thirty-foot drop pales in comparison to the bravery I’d need to summon to lean in, to press my lips against his.

“Did that hurt?” I ask, pretending that the silver ring had my attention all this time.

“Nah.” His tongue darts out to flick at it and I feel my own lips parting. He’s so close now, I can feel his breath caressing my skin.

“So, how do we get back up there?”

He abruptly shifts and begins swimming away. “This way.”

My disappointment swells as I trail him, wishing I hadn’t asked.

With easy, strong strokes, he cuts through the water and around a bend on the left, to a low platform of rock. His muscles tense and glisten as he hoists himself out, before offering his hand to help me pull myself up. My clothes hang heavily from my body as we pick our way around boulders and bushes, along a weedy, narrow path that leads up the steep hill. Kyle takes my hand at the halfway point where it’s especially treacherous, his wet fingers wrapped firmly around mine to help me climb.

My thigh muscles are burning by the time we reach the top but I barely notice, enthralled by his touch, not wanting to lose it. I groan when he lets go, and duck to hide my embarrassment at the reaction while I wring out the cotton of my T-shirt. “I’m soaked.”

“Sun’s hot. You’ll dry off fast out here.” Settling onto the rock, Kyle reaches for his pack of Marlboros and slides a cigarette into his mouth. He notices me watching him. “You don’t mind, do you?” he asks, his lips already hugging a cigarette, lighter paused midair to ignite.

I shrug. “Nah, it’s cool.” I sit down next to him.

He holds the pack out for me, but I wave it away.

He lights up and in moments, the acrid smell of smoke is filling my nostrils. Oddly enough, it’s not bothering me as it normally does, and I find myself content to sit next to a shirtless Kyle while he puffs away quietly, his gaze drifting over the blue skies and the majestic lake.

So far I’m enjoying Camp Wawa a hundred times more than I imagined I would, this time yesterday. It might have something to do with my company, but I haven’t ached for Europe once since I stepped out of my mom’s car. “You said you come here a lot?”

He releases a ring-shaped cloud of smoke and watches it sail upward. “Still remember the first time I jumped. I was nine, and I tagged along with some older kids. I stood on the edge of that cliff for almost an hour, my knees shaking.” He pauses, as if recalling that very moment, and then a soft chuckle escapes. “Thought I was gonna piss my pants on the way down. And when I did it, and looked back at that rock wall, I was so sure it was the bravest thing I’d ever do in my entire life. After that, I couldn’t stop.” He absently rubs a finger across the tattoo on his wrist. “It’s the first thing I did when I got here last year. And I’ve been waiting all year to do it again. ”