“Aaaaaa-lex!” I heard Jess's deep, funny voice. When I didn’t reply again, he shouted back, “Seriously Al, are you ok?”
I put a single palm in the air with a thumbs-up sign. Closing my eyes, I pictured myself anywhere but on top of a damn cliff. I hoped they would just go away in the water and forget about me. The hot sun burned my skin, but I stayed in the circled up position. A little bit later, I heard a scrapping sound alongside the rock path. His sweaty face came into view.
“Hey….you still up here?”
“Where do you think I went,” I mumbled.
He reached the top of the cliff and crawled over next to me on the ground. His concerned blue eyes stared into mine. I glanced away. My stomach rolled over again, and I bit down hard on my lip.
“Hey, stop that. You’re gonna bite a hole through it one of these days.”
I let go, tasting salty blood on my tongue.
“Look at me,” he said softly. “It’s ok. You don’t have to jump. I can get you back down the trail. But, if you wanna jump, I’ll help you.”
“You gonna just toss me over?”
“Thought ‘bout it, but I’m afraid you’d hate me. Can’t have you hatin’ me anymore than you already do on this trip.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“Yes, you do,” he grinned. Reaching up to my face, Jess tucked a piece of red hair behind my ear. His eyes trailed down my neck and over my skin to the red scar on my rib cage. I thought the color would fade, but it was still a nasty, feisty red a year later.
Reaching down, Jess touched the three inch gash just below my bikini top. A mark made by a fishing lure right into my gut. It hurt like hell that afternoon when he hooked me. It hurt even worse when he clicked the reel and wedged it under my skin. I screamed even louder as he worked it free from my stomach. The lure left a nasty, pond-water-infected gash. I had needed stitches and a shot. Instead, Jess had talked me into super-gluing it shut.
“I did a shitty job fixin’ that up.” His fingers felt cool on my bare skin as he touched the mark.
“Yeah, I think that every time I take a shower.”
“You think about me naked in the shower?” His smiled, trying not to laugh.
“Don’t be gross.”
“You’re the one who said it.” Jess gave my ribs a quick pinch, his blue eyes getting that ornery look in them.
“Stop it,” I warned.
Giggles drifted up from the black water, getting my attention. I pictured her face, feeling my stomach clench again. I knew what needed to happen.
“What’s this plan of yours to get me to jump?”
“I’ll jump with you.”
“You actually think that will work.”
“Come on.” Jess stood up, grabbing my hand. With our fingers still intertwined, I saw everyone floating in the dark pool below the cliff. They cheered as we came into view of the ledge. Our shuffling feet bounced a few pebbles off the side. I felt Ashley’s vicious stare all the way up, forty feet in the air. My stomach clenched again. Backing away from Jess, I bent over dry heaving.
“Al, let’s just go back down the trail.”
“No!” I gasped, looking up still doubled over at the waist.
“I’m not doin’ somethin’ that purposely terrifies the crap out of you.”
“I have to do this.”
“No, you don’t. I wanted you to have fun and you’re not havin’ fun. No one cares if you jump or not.”
“I care. I’m doing this for me.” I gathered myself up and told the angry bile in my stomach to be quiet. Deep breath in through my nose; deep breath out through my mouth. I chanted it over and over in my head.
“I’m better. Let’s do this.”
His troubled blue eyes stared intently at my face. I saw Jess weighing my decision, like it was his to make in the situation. A full minute passed before he caved in to me.
“You’re ‘bout as stubborn as hell sometimes. Ok, if this is what you really want, then I‘ll help. You’ll just have to trust me. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” I nodded without hesitating.
“It’s gonna be deep when we hit the water. I’ll find you and pull you to shore.”
“Ok.”
Jess put my hands on each of his shoulders then slipped his arms around my waist. These days, he stood taller than my five foot, nine inch body. I watched sweat trickle down his neck. Taking a deep breath, I nodded ready.
“Look at me and forget ‘bout everythin’ down there. You got this,” he said, trying to reassure me.
I tried to push the water and Ashley far from the racing thoughts in my mind. I trusted Jess. He would get me through this without getting hurt. It was all in my head. My eyes locked with his blue ones.
“I’m gonna count to three, then push off the side.”
“Ok.” I swallowed the bile back in my throat. My fingers dug into his sweaty skin.
Everything went silent except for his voice and the pounding of my heart.
“One.” Pound.
“Two.” Pound.
“Three.” Pound.
“Jump!”
He crushed me against his chest. My feet lifted up in the air as we pushed off the ledge. The decent seemed to go for ten minutes when in reality, it probably wasn’t even ten seconds. My stomach lurched into my throat and my breath was gone. I screamed as we plunged into the water, knocking up apart. The impact pushed me deep in the black water.
Jess found my hand and pulled me to the surface. I heard loud cheers around me. My nose burned from not pinching it. I gasped for air, trying to stay above water. Jess pulled me around to his back and locked my arms around his neck.
“Th…thank you,” I said, trying to catch my breath.
“How’s it possible, you never took swimmin’ lessons?”
“I don’t know.” I did know. I hated the water and the Masons paying for it.
I clung to his back; my bikini-clad body pressed tight against his skin. I raised my hand to high-five Gentry as we passed. My eyes drifted over to Ashley. She wasn’t smiling like everyone else in the water. Her eyes shot an icy warning in my direction.
Later that evening, Jess and the boys went back out on the lake, leaving me at the campfire with the girls. I wanted to beg them to take me on the boat, but it wasn’t the best idea. Given Ashley’s current temperament, I didn’t know if it was better staying with her, or leaving with Jess.
In the shadows of the fire, I kept my attention on a long string dangling off the leg of my cutoffs. Ashley acted like I wasn’t here; at least she did for now.
“That’s enough with Buzz. You were hangin’ all over him today,” she glared at Katie Rae. “He will think you’re willin’ to follow through with it.”
“He nice and he pays attention to me,” she paused, seeing the irritation on Ashley’s face. “I just want Buzz to ask me to homecoming.”
“The same way you got Evan Wiley to Spring Fling last year?”
“It didn’t happen. You …you know that,” she flushed, stumbling over her words. Spring Fling earned Katie Rae a reputation for extra-curricular car activities that spread through the halls of Arlis high school.
“I know what, exactly.” Ashley’s nose snarled a little.
“Nothin’.” Katie Rae slipped a glance toward me, then back to Ashley.
Heat flooded my checks with the implication I was ease dropping. Pulling out a bag of Doritos, I pretended to be somewhere else, but the details lingered in my mind. I had ammunition if I could figure out how to use it. I think that blonde bitch hooked up with Evan while she was with Jess.
“Ashley, I know you don’t like Buzz, but he’s really sweet. The other day he bought…”
“Stop boring me with the details of your trailer trash.”
“He’s gettin’ a scholarship. Scouts have already come to the games.”
“It’s jucco, Katie Rae. Know the difference. Anything less than D1, will get you livin’ in a single-wide, eatin’ beanie weenies out of can.”
“I’m not marrin’ him. It’s just homecoming.”