Adelaide and her friends were laughing about something that happened at school before she glanced back up to look at me.
“Are you going to jump off Key Point?” she asked.
We always came out here this time of year, and jumping off Key Point was a rite of passage when you lived in Willow Springs. It was the highest point on the lake and taking the plunge when the water was still freezing had become a local challenge. I’d done it a couple hundred times, so it didn’t faze me. It wasn’t actually all that high, it had just been built up by the locals for as long as I could remember.
“Sure, do you want to?”
“Um, no. I mean, yes. Someday. It’s a bucket list. But I’ve never done it. I’m afraid of heights.” She paused and shook her head. “I swear that’s actually Alec’s fault. I was going to jump two years ago, and he pretended he was going to push me, and I lost my footing and slipped. Cut my shin pretty bad and almost fell in.”
“Are you talking about when that douchebag pretended to throw you off a cliff and you nearly fell in?” Coco hissed.
Adelaide’s cheeks were flushed, and her eyes welled with emotion. That piece of shit had only made her fears worse. It pissed me off.
“Yep. I haven’t even climbed up there since then,” she said.
“In his defense, he thought it would be funny. He didn’t mean for you to fall. He just took it too far, and it backfired majorly,” Ty piped in.
What the hell was fucking funny about threatening to push someone off a cliff who was already afraid of jumping?
“He’s an asshole, Ty. I don’t know why you defend him,” Coco said.
“Tell us how you really feel, Co.” Ivy looked up at Ty and winked. I understood it. Ty was loyal to his best friend. Saw beyond his flaws. The dude obviously had some good qualities or Adelaide and Ty wouldn’t have been as close to him as they were. I’d just never seen those parts of Taulson. He’d reserved all his douchebag qualities for me.
“Oh, I will. Trust me.”
“Are you going to jump this year, Addy?” Gigi asked as she and Maura walked beside us.
“I want to do it before we graduate. I hate being the only one who hasn’t done it.”
“Well, it’s not the only thing you haven’t done.” Coco winked at Adelaide. “Although when we pulled up, I thought you two just might do it right here in the parking lot,” she said before whistling and causing everyone to break out in laughter.
I squeezed my girl’s hand. There was no shame in saving herself for someone special. And I knew her best friend’s teasing was in good fun.
“Why are you so crude?” Gigi said through her laughter. “Don’t feel pressure to jump, girl. You’ll do it when you’re ready.”
“That water is also cold as hell. I don’t know if I want to do it today. Maybe we should wait until it’s warmer out,” Maura added.
“Do you want to do it?” I whispered to Adelaide, so only she could hear.
“Yeah. Someday.”
“I’ll do it with you if you want. We can jump together.” I shrugged. I’d do it all day long with her. Because I’d already jumped off a cliff with this girl in my mind. Taken the plunge and let someone in in a way I’d never done before. Doing it in the literal sense would be a cakewalk.
She nodded. “Really?”
I laughed. “Really, Ace. I got you.”
“I didn’t bring my swimsuit because it’s so cold.”
“I don’t think anyone brought swimsuits.” I chuckled. Everyone jumped in their underwear, it was just what we did. And then we’d huddle up with blankets around a bonfire to get warm.
She bit down on her bottom lip and stared straight ahead. “Let’s do it.”
She wasn’t afraid of heights—she was afraid of falling. And I’d never let her fall.
“I’m jumping today,” Adelaide announced when we dropped all our shit on the beach. Her friends all turned to look at her.
“All right. If she jumps, we all jump,” Maura said.
Jax agreed to collect all the clothing and bring it back down to the beach, as he had a cold and he’d jumped more times than he could count. He was happy to sit this one out.
“You really doing this?” Coco asked as we hiked our way up to the top.
“I think so.”
Her hand trembled in mine, and I squeezed it. “There’s no pressure. Get to the top and see how you feel.”
She smiled. “Good plan.”
We made it there quickly and a cool breeze bustled around us, and I wrapped both arms around my girl. I rubbed my hands up and down her arms to warm her up. The water would be cold as hell, but your body adjusted quickly, and the fire would warm us up within a few minutes.
“Okay, I’m getting it over with,” Gigi said, and she dropped her clothing, down to her panties and bra and didn’t hesitate. We all leaned over to watch as she hit the water and then screamed out in laughter. “It’s cold as hell.”
“Oh my god,” Adelaide whispered. “I don’t know if I can do it.”
“Then don’t do it. We can do it another day,” I whispered against her ear.
She nodded as Ivy and Ty took the plunge next, screaming all the way down like fools. We all laughed, and Adelaide squeezed my hand harder.
“I’m going first, Shaw. You best meet me down there,” Coco said, sauntering to the edge. She glanced over her shoulder to look at her best friend. “You’ve got this, Addy. Love you, girl.”
Shaw jumped next, completely unfazed, and he howled when he came up for air.
“Don’t feel pressure,” Maura said, squeezing Adelaide’s hand. “You don’t have to do it, okay?”
She nodded. “Okay. Be careful. See you down there.”
It was just me, Adelaide, and Jax now. She looked down at her friends who were still in the water but had swum out of the way. They didn’t yell for her to jump, because they knew she was nervous. But they waited, just in case she got the nerve to do it. I realized in that moment what a supportive friendship they all had. They were always there for one another, and that was what friendship was all about. Hell, Shaw and Jax were always there for me, and I knew Adelaide had my back too. I guess I had a little more in Willow Springs than I’d ever given it credit for.
“What do you want to do, Ace?” I asked as Jax gathered all the clothes in a pile.
“I want to do it. I just don’t know if I can.” Her gaze bounced around, landing everywhere but on mine.