Out of Reach (Love Hurts 2)

“What gave it away? Was it my handsome smile? Or maybe my ruggedly-built physique?” Andy grinned.

I groaned internally. Had he purposely chosen a nurse that completely reflected the opposite of his personality? Because that was something he would do.

“I must admit, when the agency told me to meet you out here I was confused.” She glanced around, her eyebrows rising as she spotted the van. “And now that I’m here, I’m still confused.”

“It’s simple, really: I’m making these two live out my bucket list while I’m still alive enough to enjoy it.”

Marta nodded slowly. “And watching them . . .” She squinted at the van. “. . . cliff-jump is going to give you joy?” she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“If you knew these two, you wouldn’t even have to ask. She’s scared of heights,” he said, pointing at Em, “and he’s just a pussy.”

I rolled my eyes. Marta shrugged and took control of the chair. We walked over to the van where a guy in a bright pink and orange T-shirt and ripped jeans was waiting for us. I eyed the ropes and harnesses that were piled in the back of the van.

“Hey, you must be Emily, Seth, and Andy. I’m Pete.”

I shook his outstretched hand, noting his strong Australian accent. His long scruffy blonde hair was in dire need of a wash. He looked like he hadn’t seen a shower in months, and his glazed over expression made me wonder if he was high.

I was supposed to trust this guy with my life?

“Nice to meet you,” I said as he threw an old black wetsuit at me.

“Chuck that on. And one for you.” He threw an identical one at Emily. “What about you, old girl?” he asked Marta.

She narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest again.

“I’ll take that as a no.” He chuckled. “You get changed and meet me at the van. I’ll run through the jump, and then you’ll be set. Cool?”

“Sure. Cool,” I replied as Andy sniggered, his video camera in hand. Yeah, laugh it up, Andy. He was already enjoying this way too much.

Em and I got changed back over at my car. We both wore our swimsuits under our clothes, so it took literally a few seconds to strip off our clothes and pull on the wetsuits. Mine was too small and felt constricting in places I didn’t want it to be. I glanced at Em, pretending I didn’t notice how sexy she looked in her tight suit.

“So, you’ll be harnessed to this. It’s all pretty simple, really. The only thing you want to remember is when you jump, jump out—otherwise you run the risk of splattering yourself all over the rocks.” The color drained from Em’s face as her eyes widened. Pete laughed. “Nah, I’m kidding. It’s pretty safe. The key is to pick a jump that allows for deviation.”

“So there’s no chance of…” Em’s voice trailed off as she looked out over the cliff. If I didn’t feel so sorry for her I would’ve laughed. She looked terrified.

“Hitting the rock? No. I’ve been doing this for ten years, honey. Believe it or not, I know what I’m doing.”

Em blushed and took a step closer to me, her hand falling into mine. I squeezed it and gave her a wink. “I’ll go first, okay? I’ll be down there waiting for you.”

She nodded. “Okay. Let’s just get this over with.”

Stepping forward, I waited as Pete hooked up my harness and ran through some last minute tips. I felt dizzy as I looked out over the drop. Holy shit, that’s a long way down. If I said I wasn’t shitting myself, I’d be lying.

“Here we go,” I mumbled under my breath. One, two, three. I sprinted for the edge and jumped. For a split second, it felt like everything stopped, except f

or the pounding in my chest as I floated down. I hit the water with a massive splash, surfacing a few seconds later.

Holy fucking shit, that was amazing. I laughed and floated on top of the water, staring up at Em and Pete at the top of the cliff. I can’t believe I just did that.

“Come on, Em!” I yelled as she stood back from the edge. I laughed, reliving in my mind those few seconds before the leap. And then she jumped. She screamed as she hurtled toward the water, disappearing under the surface below me.

“Oh my god.” She bounced up from beneath the water, her eyes wide. “Did I really just hurl myself off a cliff?”

I laughed and began swimming toward the shore. “You did well, Em. How terrifying was it, just standing up there and looking down?”

“I know,” she laughed, her cheeks flushed with color. “I just can’t believe we did that.”

We stumbled onto the shore and sat down on the sand. I breathed in heavily, the adrenaline still racing through my veins. I lay back and stared up at the top of the cliff. It looked even more terrifying from down here.