"I can jump with you," He repeats himself. "We can jump together."
"Together?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
He holds out his hand. I take it, but he moves my hand so our fingers are interlocked, "It's not that high, you can do this." His face is so close to mine. He's looking right at me. There's so much intensity in his expression. I move forward and kiss him. The kiss is gentle and sweet but could easily lead to so much more.
"Let's go, V!" a yell comes from below. It startles us apart despite the fact that we know no one can see us. Chase lets out a shaky breath. "What was that for?"
"For being you."
He smiles and kisses my nose, "You ready?"
"I think so."
"We run on three."
"Okay."
"One."
I take a deep breath.
"Two."
I release it.
"Three!"
We take off. The edge of the landing is nearing closer by the second. I blink, and then the cliff is gone and we're airborne. For a split second, it feels as if we're flying. My stomach is in my throat and then gravity beckons us down. A scream erupts from my mouth, and I quickly pinch my nose seconds before we crash into the water, which causes our grasp on each other to break apart. I sink like a rock, but quickly move my limbs until I break the surface. I’m rapidly pulling in air. My heart is racing, and when I open my eyes I’m feeling disorientated. Yelling and screaming comes from behind me. I splash around to see everyone yelling for me--for us. I throw my hand out.
"See, it wasn't that bad. Was it?" Chase's voice is beside me. I turn to face him. We're both treading water.
"That was scary," I confess, "But so amazing!"
He smiles. "Wanna go again?"
"Yes!" I shout.
We race to the rocks--he beats me, of course. We climb to the top again, and it seems to go faster this time. I wait off to the side once we reach the top, expecting him to want to go by himself this time. But he surprises me when he grabs my hand and pulls my body flush to his, wrapping his free arm around me. He's warm and cold at the same time; causes goosebumps to break upon my skin. He leans down and kisses my shoulder. "We jump together."
"Together?" I ask.
"Together." He confirms.
You’re Mine
I am completely enamored with Veronica. Her body is amazing. I could barely keep it together when she took off her clothes, revealing the leopard printed bikini top that was hiding underneath.
After the second jump, we swim back to the boat and rejoin the rest of the gang. Vaughn has a screaming Jenny in his arms, but her pleas fall on deaf ears as he jumps into the water with her.
"You asshole!" Jenny yells as she comes up from under the water. Vaughn just laughs with no remorse. She huffs and treads back to the boat, purposely stomping to the front where her friend lays sunbathing. Veronica relaxes on her back, drifting on the water. I can't help but admire her physique until Vance jumps in the water--scaring her out of her peaceful float. She splashes him. "Jerk."
“What happened up there, Vern?”
“I have no idea what you speak of,” she fires back.
“Did Little Vern need someone to hold her hand to jump from the big ol’ cliffs?” He speaks as one would to a child.
“Shut up.”
“Make me.” Vance is already next to V and before she knows it, he grabs her leg and pulls, causing her to go under. She comes up sputtering and wiping the hair from her face, "I hate you!" Vance is already swimming away, laughing loudly.
"I'm hungry," Vance announces. "What food do we have?"
"We packed some sandwiches, but there might not be enough. We didn't know more people were coming," Melissa says from the boat.
"No worries, girl. We stopped at the sub shop," Talia says, waving Melissa off.
Vance and I are the only two stil in the water, so we move to the boat and climb on board. I grab my towel from my seat, drying off my short hair and then moving down my body. Melissa hands out sandwiches and I thank her for thinking of me, in which she thanks me for allowing her to come out. We all sit around, enjoying our sandwiches with light conversation.
"What time is it?" Vaughn asks.
"Two o’clock." Victor informs us, looking at the watch on his left wrist.
"Wow, already?" Veronica says.
"Time flies when you’re having fun," Vance responds.
"What time do you guys want to head out?" I ask.
"Four?" Vaughn says, more like a question.
Victor nods. "Yeah, that sounds good to me."
"You guys wanna do some tubing?" I ask.
"Can we just lounge?" Talia asks.
"You girls are no fun," Vance says.
"We just ate!" she whines.
"We can hang out for a bit and let our food digest. I don't need anyone getting sick," I suggest.
"Can I use a tube?" Talia asks me.
"Yeah." I move towards the back of the boat, opening the compartment that holds them and their and their ropes. I hand them over to Talia.
"Thanks, I'm gonna float. Can you hook me?" she asks, smiling. I nod and hook her to the back. She places the tube into the water and eases herself on.
"Oh! I want one!" Laura says on my left. So I do the same for her, then turn to see Veronica moving towards the front of the boat. She makes a spot for herself, then lays on her back.
Melissa and Victor get up. "I'm gonna show Mel the cliffs," he says.
"I'll go with you!" Vance says, getting up. Vin and Vaughn agree. "You coming?" Vance looks at me.
"Nah. I'm gonna stay here."
"Suit yourself." Vance shrugs then dives off.
I watch as they all swim off. Jenny sits at the end of the boat, her feet in the water. That leaves me and Veronica practically alone.
Against my better judgment, I move towards the front of the boat, completely soaking up the view of her body that’s only being covered by little strips of fabric. I grab my phone from the compartment by the steering wheel and snap a picture because I don't think my mind will ever really do this justice. I slip my phone into my, now dry, shorts and move to sit across from her.
Her eyes are closed, and I notice the white cords leading to the buds in each ear. I glance towards the back of the boat to make sure we don't have an audience and move forward, getting on my knees next to her. The sinful images of what I want to do to her floods my mind. I shake them off, knowing it’s too soon and not something that can happen right now. I settle for trailing my finger gently down the side of her torso. She visibly jumps, and her eyes flash open. "What are you doing?" she whispers.
"Admiring you," I tell her softly.
"Why?"
"Because you're meant to be."
She seems to have lost her speech because she doesn't say anything. Speechless. I smile at the thought of me being able to leave her in that state. I lean forward and press my mouth to hers. There. Now she can’t disagree with me. Kissing her is my new favorite thing. I don't think I'll ever get enough of her lips. There’s a simplicity of two mouths meeting to show expression of affection, and yet, there are no words that can properly describe it.