My eyes move to Chase, taking in his muscular back rippling as he moves. I've never thought a broad back would affect me like this, but Chase's back is sexy as hell. I can't tear my eyes away from him. His body twists, and now his abs are facing my way. That's when I realize the breeze has stopped, and we're no longer moving. My eyes move upward to a very amused Chase staring back at me. His posture and cocky smirk tell me he knows exactly what he's doing to me. I look away, because I have to--for my sanity.
I take in the surroundings and realize we've made it to the cliffs. Multiple boats are floating nearby. There are people laying on rafts connected to their boats, and others swimming in the water.
My eyes crane upwards towards the highest cliff, and even though we’re still a decent distance away it still requires me to look up. A guy is standing at the edge, looking over while his friends are waving their hands in gestures that I can only assume mean to support him. He walks away until he's out of sight, then seconds later he appears running. He runs until he reaches the end and launches himself off, falling headfirst into the water. His friends yell atop the cliff, and some shouting comes from a nearby boat.
"Oh my gosh," Melissa whispers next to me.
Someone else throws themselves off, but they've done this before because unlike the first guy. This guy shows off--he does a flip in the air, then dives in perfect form into the water.
"Do you do that?" she asks me, and I look at her. Her eyes are wide.
"I haven't," I tell her, "but the guys do."
"How high is that?"
I shrug. "I'm not sure."
"Victor, how high are the cliffs?" I called out to Victor, who is standing near the front, watching the people jump from the cliffs.
He turns to me. "I'm not exactly sure, but I'd say roughly eighty feet." His attention goes to Chase who asked him something.
Melissa's eyes widen. The worry is evident on her face.
Vance jumps down from the front of the boat. "Who's jumping?" he asks, rubbing his hands together.
"I'm in!" Talia yells, jumping onto Vance's back. He easily catches her.
"Hell yeah!" Vin yells.
"That is high," Laura says.
"No way." Jenny's shaking her head back and forth.
"Oh, you chicken shits!" Talia calls to them. "C'mon V, let's show these girls how it's done!" She jumps off of Vance and walks to me. Vance's laugh is boisterous, "V won't jump."
The last time we came here, which was two years ago, I chickened out. I couldn't jump off the highest cliff and opted to jump off the smallest one. Even that was terrifying. For some reason, Vance telling me I won't jump makes me want to even more. I stand up defiantly, untying the knot at the back of my neck.
"Oh, shit." I hear Vin. "She's gonna do it!"
"She'll get up there and choke." Vance dismisses, which only adds more fuel to my fire. I completely remove my romper, leaving me in my bikini, and toss it on the seat. Loud coughing comes from Chase, whose face is red, and he's hitting his chest. Vaughn, who is closest to him, hits his back, "You alright, man?"
"Yeah..." He coughs and sputters some more, "Just..." he points to his throat, another cough. "Spit went down the wrong tube."
"Alright!" Talia shouts, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the rear. "Let's do this!"
I wasn't prepared to jump, so when she jumps in while holding my hand, I don't land in the water gracefully. Thankfully I managed to turn on my side to avoid doing a big ol' belly flop. As soon as we're both under the water, we release hands and swim upward, breaking the surface. The water is surprisingly refreshing, so I allow myself to float and enjoy it.
"C'mon you pansies!" Talia yells, laughing.
"Pansy?" Vance rips off his shirt and walks to the back. He dives into the water and surfaces next to Talia. She yells and squeals as he pulls her to him. His head goes to her neck and I look away.
Vaughn and Vin both do the same but flip off the back, creating a massive splash. We're all treading water but my arms are quickly becoming tired.
"Let's go, Daniels!" Vance yells. My eyes move to Chase, who looks up at his name being called. "I'm coming." He slips off his shoes and dives in off the back, surfacing behind the group a second later.
"You comin' Victor?" Vaughn shouts.
Victor shakes his head. "No, I'm gonna stay with Melissa."
"Fucking pussy whipped pansy," Vance mutters low enough, but I still catch it.
"Race?" Vaughn questions.
"One. Two. Three. GO!" Vance shouts, right before taking off.
We all race to the side of the cliffs. Vance gets there first and makes sure everyone knows it. The guys climb up, leaving me and Talia in the water. There's a thick rope hanging from a rock above, so I move to grab it when a hand shows up in front of my face. My eyes travel up the muscular arm, connecting with blue eyes, and a beautiful smile.
"C'mon," He says, shaking his hand for me to grab. He pulls me up easily, then helps Talia.
"Thanks, honey bun." She walks ahead while ringing out her hair. I follow, which leaves Chase behind me. I follow the makeshift path, created by the years of people coming up the side of the cliff. I try to stay confident, but I can't help when my ass is practically in his face as we climb upward.
Reaching the top, the area is massive and most of it is flat. Towards the back are all trees. Moving towards the middle, you can see the wide expanse of the lake and all the boats moving along. The sight is beautiful.
Vaughn is standing at the edge of the cliff, and yells out, "WHOOOOO! I'm the king of the world!" The shouts and whistles come from down below. He backs up a good distance and then runs forward, launching himself out in the air. My heart is in my throat, and I'm not even the one jumping. My nerves are getting the best of me. A second later, he screams out, "Clear!"
Vin is pumping himself up to go next when Vance sprints by him and jumps off yelling, "pussy" on his way down. A second later, we hear him yell, "Clear!"
My heart is pounding, and my eyes are focused on Vin before he darts and disappears. I don't even hear him call out after hitting the water. My vision is becoming tinted around the edges, and vaguely I can hear my name being called.
Talia's standing in the middle of the vast area, getting in position to run and leap off. We're crazy. This is crazy! Who does this? She takes off and soars into the air--her scream can be heard down until it's suddenly cut off.
"V!" I'm jostled. I look over at Chase whose hand is on my shoulder--his face just inches from mine. "Are you okay?" I can feel his breath on my cheek. I nod. I'm really not, though. Internally, I'm freaking out. Heights are not my thing. I'm terrified, and it must show on my face, because Chase offers me a sympathetic, "Do you want to go back down?"
I shake my head. I shouldn't care what the hell Vance thinks, but I know he'll give me so much shit. I take a deep breath. I can do this. I take another deep breath.
"I can jump with you." Chase breaks my concentration, and I just stare at him.
"What?" I finally speak up.