“Oh, I won’t,” she said but continued with her perfect fucking grin.
As we made our way up the trail, I couldn’t help but get lost in the lush views of trees and nature as far as the eye could see. It was a different world from the hustle and bustle of the city. And if I was being a little honest, I was enjoying the change of pace. Besides the mosquitos buzzing and the dirt kicking up into my face and the overall sweaty quality my skin tended to take up in this heat-infested shit forest, it was really kind of nice.
We passed through a clearing and I stopped, staring in the direction of the edge of a cliff that jackknifed straight toward the lake. Slowly, I inched forward until I could peek over and catch sight of the sun glistening off the water. My head spun a bit from the abrupt drop, but I had the overwhelming urge to strip naked and jump in.
“Holy shit, this is gorgeous,” Georgia said, taking in the view. “Are you okay, Cassie? I know heights aren’t really your thing.”
“I’m good, actually.” My feet inched a little closer to the edge. “I feel like that water is calling my name right now. It’s so hot out here I swear I’m going to end up choking on air.”
She held her hands above her eyes to block out the bright rays. “Hey, isn’t that the guys and Claire?”
I glanced toward the left and saw our group kicked back on the rocky edge, fishing poles in hand. They were definitely within yelling distance. “Yo, Thatch!” I shouted, and he glanced up in our direction. “Take off your pants!”
“Show me your tits!” he called back, and I could see his wide grin.
Georgia laughed, and I had the overwhelming urge to do something a little reckless as I continued to stare down at the water. Fuck it, you only live once, I thought as I toed out of my shoes and took off my T-shirt and jean shorts, leaving me in only my bra and panties, and handed Phil’s leash to Georgia.
“Whoa, what are you doing, Cassie?” she questioned in confusion.
“I’m going to jump in,” I told her.
Thatch’s booming voice caught my attention. “Cass! What are you doing? Put your clothes back on!”
“I’m going in!” I pointed toward the water.
“Cassie!” He abruptly stood up from his spot on the rocks and waved his arms in the air frantically. “Don’t jump, honey! It’s not safe!”
“It’s fine, Thatcher!” I responded as I moved even closer to the edge. My bare feet scraped against the dirt until they hit the final rocks that led to a possible death. Or a good time laced with an adrenaline rush.
“Cassie!” His voice grew louder as he tried like to hell to get my attention again.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Georgia said from behind me.
My heart felt like a sports car speeding from zero to sixty in three seconds flat. It had revved up to an overwhelming speed, and I slowed my quick breaths in an attempt to calm it down.
Man, that’s really fucking high. Hell, I must be high to even be considering this.
I probably was high. High on life. High on Thatch. High on every insane yet amazing thing that had happened in the past few months.
Even though my stomach had taken up residence in my feet, I didn’t want to walk away from this silent challenge I had given myself. I hated when something could control me, prevent me from doing something I’d probably end up loving.
Yeah, go fuck yourself, heights.
I convinced myself I wasn’t a total ball sac. I could handle this. I could do this. Thatch had talked me through the last few accomplishments, but this one would be all my own.
“It’s not that far down,” I pointed out. “People cliff jump out here all the time.”
“Thatch looks really upset.”
I glanced back down at him and saw he was booking it up the small trail that led to their fishing spot. His eyes stayed locked in my direction the entire time.
“Shit,” I muttered. “He’s a man on a mission.”
“Um, yeah, I’d say he doesn’t want you to cliff jump,” she announced, her gaze moving with Thatch as he got closer.
“Don’t jump!” His voice was only several yards away now as he jogged toward us. “It’s not safe!”
“I’ll be fine, Thatcher,” I called over my shoulder and focused on my jump.
“Please, Cass.” He was right behind me now. “Trust me, honey. Don’t do this.”
I glanced at him over my shoulder, and then back down at our group, who were no longer fishing. They were on their feet and staring up at us.
“T, it’s not a big deal.”
“It is a big deal. To me, it’s a big fucking deal. Don’t do it, honey,” he demanded with an angry yet desperate tone to his voice.
I didn’t like that. Thatch thinking he had that much control over me that he could just toss out demands and tell me what I could or couldn’t do.
It didn’t sit well with me. Not one fucking bit. And now that we were engaged, I felt like this one simple decision could set the precedent for life.