Out of Reach (Love Hurts 2)

Seth shrugged. “Sure, why not?” He winked at me and I blushed, the thought of him running naked along the beach not escaping my mind. Andy narrowed his eyes at me, a thoughtful expression on his face. I cringed, embarrassed at having being caught thinking like that about Seth in front of Andy. Not that he would have had any idea what I was thinking, but still.

“Good man. Okay, first stop is Willows Point. We need to be there at noon.”

“Why?” I already knew he wasn’t likely to answer.

“Be patient, Emsky,” he said patting my hand. “Oh, and wear your swimming suit.” I rolled my eyes at the use of my nickname. I freaking hated it when he called me that, and he knew it.

Chapter Eight

Seth

Willows Point—home to some of the biggest cliff fronts in the northern hemisphere. I had a strange feeling in my stomach that I wasn’t going to like why we were here.

“There we are,” Andy announced, pointing to a van in the far corner of the lot.

I squinted to make out the sign writing: Maximum Jump. Oh, fuck no.

“Cliff jumping?” I gasped. “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me, dude.”

Andy laughed. “You said you wanted to help. It’s on my list.” He shrugged, as if the whole thing was out of his hands. Emily stood behind Andy, giggling. “I don’t know why you’re giggling away, Emsky. You’re doing it, too.”

“The hell I am,” she exclaimed, her eyes widening. I laughed at her reaction. She made a face and flipped me her middle finger.

“If you don’t then I will,” he threatened.

God, he’s serious, too.

“Stop being such an ass, Andy.” She threw him an annoyed look.

“Guys,” he chastised, shaking his head. “These are things I wished I could’ve done. The whole idea is to live life, right? How much living have you two been doing the last few months?”

Em shifted on her seat next to me as my gaze fell downward. Fuck, he had this way of making you feel guilty for breathing.

“Fine. We’ll do it.” I sighed.

Em’s head shot up. “We will?” she squeaked.

I took hold of her hand and gently squeezed it.

She sighed, her breathing ragged. “Okay,” she said in a small voice.

“Great. This is going to be awesome. Trust me,” he said as I opened my door.

“Says the guy who gets to sit in his chair and watch,” I muttered.

“Ah, stop whining, Walkerson. You’re being a pussy.”

I laughed as I unloaded his chair. I was about to jump off a cliff, yet I was being a pussy?

Em grabbed his bag and a blanket, wrapping it around him. She looked hesitant to leave him. “Maybe I should stay with you,” she said.

“No need,” he replied cheerfully. He pointed to the entrance of the parking lot. I put my hand over my eyes to shield them from the sun and watched as a dark-blue Ford pulled into the spot next to us.

“Who is that?” Em asked, echoing my thoughts.

“I told you that you weren’t going to spend the next few weeks stressing about me, and I meant it. That’s Marta—the nurse I told you about.”

Marta looked to be in her fifties. Her graying hair was pulled back into a bun. She was dressed neatly in a pair of gray slacks and a green sweater. Her mouth moved into a tight smile as she acknowledged Em and me. “I’m guessing you’re Andrew?”