Max sighed dramatically. “Look, that group looks like they’re about to jump. Let’s watch them. If something happens to them, we don’t do it.”
I balanced my weight from one foot to the other, but didn’t argue anymore. “Okay.”
Max and I looked as everyone in the group jumped, some alone, some holding hands. Nothing happened to any of them. Of course.
“See? They’re all fine,” Max said.
I was afraid, but I also didn’t want to seem like a coward. I was more afraid that if I didn’t do it, he wouldn’t want to be friends with me anymore, which sounds silly now, but to a ten-year-old, it made perfect sense.
“Okay,” I said.
We both shed our clothes, remaining only in our undies. Then we climbed up on the cliff, and as I stood there, my heart in my throat, I looked up at Max and saw him all tall and sure of himself. There was not one sliver of fear in his eyes, whereas I had enough fear for both of us.
“Take my hand,” he says. “I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
Remarkably, those few words calmed me like nothing else. The second his hand touched mine, the rhythm of my heart settled, and the water below didn’t seem so threatening anymore. We jumped, and nothing happened. If anything, I became braver after that day.
“Can I confess something?” Max asks, snapping me back to the present.
“Sure.”
“I almost peed myself when we were on the top of that cliff. I just wanted to impress you.”
I jerk my head back in surprise. “But you were the one with the idea. Why even bring it up if you were afraid?”
“Christopher told me you’d like me more if I jumped. He challenged me, saying I wouldn’t have the balls to jump.”
“You never walk away from a challenge, do you?”
He points to his injured leg. “After this, I might.”
“Right, I know when a patient is stalling, and that’s what you’re doing right now.” Pointing to the table, I instruct, “Lie on your back, so I can do you.” Panic flares through me as I realize what I just said. I thank heavens again that the room is big enough that the other trainers and their patients can’t hear me. “I mean so I can show you what you have to do.”
Laughter rumbles out of Max in a deep, heartfelt sound. I desperately try to come up with something clever to say. A strand of my blonde hair falls from my ponytail, and Max tucks it behind my ear, the pad of his thumb lingering on my earlobe. Heat radiates from that small point of contact, spreading to my cheeks, my neck.
“Lie on the table, Max,” I eventually say. He does as I instruct him, and once he’s on his back, my fingers accidentally touch his chest and an electrifying zip makes every part of my body heat up. He exhales sharply.
I attempt to decipher the expression on his face. There is heat in his eyes—that much is clear, but the way his brows are arched indicates that he’s as surprised by my reaction to him as I am by his reaction to me.
“Emilia,” Max says in a low voice. “I think we have a problem.”
“Mmm?” I urge, not wanting to say anything unless I’m certain we’re on the same page. I wouldn’t put it past my sex-deprived body to be messing with my mind.
“When I found out you’d be my therapist, I thought we’d pick up where we left off years ago. But then I saw you all grown up and sexy and… well.” He cocks an eyebrow, a devilish grin crossing his lips. “Just thought I’d put this out there. They say communication is the key to everything, right? And it used to work for us.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. His breathing is labored, and so is mine. Stepping back, I put some much-needed distance between us.
He nods slowly, scratching the faint stubble on his jaw. “It’s only a matter of time.”
“What is a matter of time?” I ask, not following.
“Until we’re comfortable with each other again.”
Oh, I hadn’t thought about it like that. “Maybe you’re right.”
Judging by the way my entire body seems to go hyperalert when he’s around, that seems like wishful thinking.
“Let’s start with your exercises.”