Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(40)

“Annie. You don’t have to do this,” I said, stepping closer to her. The screams were coming at us constantly, the kids jumping one after the other. Dane had remained at the base of the waterfall, helping guide everyone out along with a few of the other junior counselors.

She nodded, looking determined. “I want to.”

“You’re nuts!” Kelsey yelled, and Annie flashed her a dirty look.

“I am not.”

“You kinda are,” I said, low enough so only she could hear.

“I’ll only do it if you jump with me,” she said.

My eyes widened and I popped my mouth open, not sure what I should say.

“I trust you,” she added, her gaze never flinching from mine. “The only way I can do it is if you’re holding my hand. I know you won’t let go.”

“I won’t,” I said. “I promise.”

She smiled serenely. “Then let’s do it.”

After shedding our clothes and shoes, stuffing them into Kelsey’s backpack, we went to go stand in line together. Kelsey went over to the group who were getting ready to leave so she’d have our stuff waiting for us after we jumped.

I couldn’t believe Annie wanted to do this. Sweet, scared-of-the-water Annie.

The shorter the line got, the more nervous she became. I snatched up her hand when we were only a few spots away from being the next jumpers. Luckily enough, Uncle Bob wasn’t manning the count anymore, too distracted with rounding up those who weren’t jumping and preparing to lead them back down the mountain.

“Are you sure you can do this?” I asked her.

She nodded, watching as yet another pair jumped into the darkness. “I think so,” she finally said. “I want to prove to myself that I can. That I’m not scared of the water, and that we’ve made progress together.”

“You can do it,” I said confidently. I was the one who started to get nervous. My heart was thumping wildly, like it wanted to burst out of my chest. And my palms were sweating.

“Annie.” Hannah looked surprised when she noticed we were third in line. “You’re going to jump?”

She nodded and squeezed my hand. “Yep. With Jake.”

Hannah sent me a look. One I couldn’t quite figure out. “Feeling brave, huh?”

Annie looked right at me. “Definitely.”

When it was our turn, I could feel her hand tremble in mine. It took everything I had not to reach out and offer her a kiss for reassurance. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. Annie’s lips were strictly off-limits.

“You two are last in line, so take your time,” Hannah said gently, which I appreciated. She was totally in tune with Annie’s nerves. “You’ve got this.”

“You do,” I told Annie, giving her hand a firm shake. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready.”

Annie nodded, taking a deep breath. She took a step forward, and I followed her. We were so close to the edge, one wrong move and we’d fall over, straight into the water. She turned to look at me, her eyes huge and filled with fear. “I can do this, right?”

“You can do anything you set your mind to,” I whispered.

“Okay.” She tugged on my hand. “Let’s jump.”

“On the count of three.”

One…

Two…

Three!

We leaped off the edge together, Annie screaming bloody murder, our hands still linked. The wind whistled in my ears, her fingers curled tight around mine, and it was over in a flash, our bodies slicing through the water and going down, down, down…

It was dark. Pitch-black. A totally different experience compared to this afternoon’s jump. I pulled on Annie’s hand, tugging her toward the surface, until both of our heads popped up out of the water and she was in my arms, a trembling, giddy, and full-of-laughter mess of a girl.

A beautiful mess of a girl.

“I did it, I did it, I did it,” she chanted over and over, her teeth chattering, her words slurring together. She wrapped her arms around my neck, her legs around my waist, and I held her close, my mouth pressed to her forehead, savoring the feel of her in my arms.

“You did. I can’t freaking believe it,” I said as I started to laugh with her.

She pulled away slightly to look up at me. “That was freaking crazy. Am I right?”

“Yeah.” I brushed her wet hair away from her forehead, my gaze locked with hers. “Totally crazy. But you did it.”

Her smile was huge. She looked pleased with herself. “I did. I’m proud.”

“You should be. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Knowing that you were the one to jump with me, that made it easier.” Her voice dropped and she slid her arms down, her hands pressed against my chest. “You never let go of my hand once.”

“I promised I wouldn’t.”

The air buzzed between us, the water lapping against our skin, her hands skimming down my chest. I should kiss her. I should. I leaned my head down and she lifted her head up, her lips parting. Like she knew exactly what I wanted. No one was paying us any attention and it was so damn dark, who’d see us? No one. Absolutely no one, so this could be our little secret…

“I can’t believe you jumped!” a girl’s voice shouted from behind us.