“That’s original.” Vance snorts, shooting me a sympathetic grin.
Heat rushes to my cheeks. “Yeah, it’s funny how simple it was though. Troy confronted him in gym and said, ‘Really dude, that’s getting old.’ Then he just stopped. And I remember wondering, how come I didn’t think of that?” Vance gives my foot a playful shove as a comfortable quiet settles between us. Nearby, the sound of birds catches my attention. I close my eyes and lean back against my hands, letting the sun warm my face. “Listen. I think those are Finch. God, it’s like a little slice of heaven all tucked away back here.” My skin burns, no longer from the sun but from Vance’s steady gaze.
“You see everything, don’t you?”
I swing my head in his direction, squinting against the bright rays. “Don’t you?”
“No.” His gaze moves past me toward a steep wall of rock. “I look at things, but I haven’t really seen anything for a very long time.” I open my eyes fully and his focus is back on me, serious and unrelenting. “Until you,” he admits, and my mouth separates but I struggle to form words. I must have heard him wrong. Not that you would know it from my wild heartbeat. “It’s impossible not to see you.” He laughs, but the sound is strained. “And believe me, I’ve tried.” His fingers crawl over to mine, almost touching. “You embrace life, Ember. Shit, you are life… and I’ve been avoiding it for so long.”
A tear gathers in the corner of my eye, sneaking out and dropping down my cheek. I’m not usually at a loss for words, but all of a sudden my mouth is dry and a nervous tickle resides in my throat—because I want this, whatever this is—I want him.
Another tear escapes and he reaches over to brush it away. “Is it because I’m badass?” My voice sounds strange, trying to use humor to calm my racing heart. It’s not working.
“Yeah,” a grin stretches his mouth, “that’s definitely it.” He scoots over, sitting in front of me with his long legs crossed. That soap he uses floats in the surrounding air making it impossible to think straight. I watch his hand move closer, then closer still, until his fingertip begins tracing the curve of mine. A slight touch, but it has my pulse unable to slow down. He raises his other hand to cup my cheek and my eyelids flutter closed to the tenderness of it, his thumb trailing back and forth over my skin. Goose bumps dance along my neck as my eyes flicker open to his gaze, fixated on my mouth. Just when I think I might get to feel the press of his lips against mine, he grabs my hand and yanks me up off the ground. “Let’s go in the water.”
“Ooookay.” I exhale a nervous laugh, trying to hide my disappointment as I lean down to remove my Chucks.
Vance toes off his sneakers and rolls the cuffs of his jeans. He glares up at me with a straight face. “Clothes or no clothes?”
“Uh…,” I stammer, like a deer caught in headlights.
“Kidding.” He lets go of a smile and a chuckle. “Unless you want to.”
“You have to kiss me before you can see me with my clothes off,” I retort, my annoyance over a missed opportunity shining through. As the reality of how that sounded washes over me, the need to detract from it is overwhelming. However, one glance at the shock overtaking Vance’s features makes me change my mind—and glad I said it.
“Duly noted.” He smirks. “Now give me your hand.”
I slide my palm into his and he folds his fingers around mine. Tiny hairs on my arm tingle and a quiet flush moves across my cheek.
“Holy shit.” Vance flinches. “It’s freaking cold.”
“Really? I don’t think it’s that bad,” I counter, swirling my foot in the murky water.
“No?”
“Nope.” I walk in further, smiling, until he lets go of my hand and I catch the mischievous gleam in his eyes. Before I can get away, he leans down with both hands and forces a splash of water up and against my legs.
“Still not too cold?”
“You know?” I bend at the waist, flicking the water back and forth with my finger while keeping my eyes trained on Vance. He braces his body for a rebuttal when he sees the fight on my face. “One of the things you don’t know about me is that I took swim lessons for five years. That I can swim underwater the entire length of a pool without taking a breath. That I’m an expert in Marco Polo and water sports….”
He squats down, arms out, knees slightly bent. “You think you can take me, Mickey? Come on. Do your worst.”
“Nah. I just wanted to brag,” I tease, and he relaxes, standing back up to his full height. Then I pounce, using my leg to kick water all over his t-shirt and jeans. He charges, grabbing me by the waist and throwing me over his shoulder. His hands hold tight to the back of my knees as he trudges through the water, a gushing sound growing louder and louder.
“Put me down,” I shout, but I’m laughing so hard I can barely get the words out.