Page 14 of Irresistible Second Chance

“Wow,” Chris said. “You were right. This is beautiful. Thanks for letting me know about this spot.”

I nodded in agreement, “Yeah, just wow.” I was normally more eloquent, but wow was all I could say. It was breathtaking.

Santos laughed and said, “The locals love it. Not many tourists in these parts since it’s not really on the beaten path. It’s deep enough to swim in if you guys would like to get in.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

He nodded.

I knew I was wearing shorts and a shirt instead of my swimsuit, but I still wanted to get in. I just hoped the horse wouldn’t mind that I planned to drip water on it as we rode back to our destination.

“You coming?” Chris asked, already taking his shirt off and heading down that way.

I pretended not to stare at his muscular back as he smoothly glided into the water. He stood up then looking like a model, his hair wet, his perfect chest glistening.

“I’m right behind you,” I said.

I followed behind him, careful to navigate across the rocks. They were a little slippery and then swam out to greet him.

“This is amazing,” I said as the water covered me. It was the perfect temperature. I floated by Chris, and he splashed me. Unable to resist, I splashed him back and we were like children, reliving our youth.

“Ok, ok, I give up,” I said as I wiped my face off.

He came up next to me and stood up. It was shallow enough for him to stand. The water reached just below his pecs. Up close and personal, I had a hard time keeping my eyes off his body. I moved away from him and hoisted myself up on a rock.

“What?” he asked. “What’s wrong?” he asked, looking at me.

“Nothing. I just wanted to take a break.”

He didn’t seem convinced but then just shrugged it off and started swimming. I watched him cut through the water thinking about how confident and beautiful he looked. He had played baseball, but I was sure he would have made a great swimmer. He had the body for it. The wide shoulders, long arms, wide chest that tapered in at the waist and abs to die for. I bet Chris didn’t sustain himself on junk like I did. I had a sneaky suspicion that he was probably a vegan. It made me a little cranky to know he was probably a better adjusted adult than I was.

I stood up when I heard a sound and turned in its direction. There was something in the bushes. I took a step back, already scared, when a monkey shot out from the bushes screeching in my direction. Startled, I screamed and scrambled to get away from it, when I lost my footing and fell straight into the water, my foot making a sickening crunching sound as it got tangled around a rock, as my body weight pulled it down.

Underwater, I screamed from the pain and struggled to come back up. Then I felt arms around me, and Chris was there, pulling me to shore.

I was coughing up water and gasping for air, he stood in front of me with a hand on my shoulder.

“Are you alright?” he asked, and Santos came in front of me and stared “Are you ok?”

I pushed them away, saying, “I’m fine, I just need to get up.” I attempted to stand up when excruciating pain went straight through my foot and up my leg.

My eyes grew wide in panic as I looked at Chris. “I can’t stand up. It hurts too much.”

He took my ankle in his hand and started poking at it. “Does this hurt?” he asked.

I screamed. “Yes!”

Tears welled up in my eyes from the pain.

“Fuck, I think you broke something.”

I stared at him unspeaking. “You have to be kidding me. Are you serious right now?”

He shrugged, “If you’re in that much pain, I would guess it’s broken. I’m not sure where or what. But I think you broke something.”

I was livid, and started crying, but this time from frustration. I was a soon to be divorcee and now I would probably have to have a cast and wear crutches. I was having a bad week.

Seeing that I was beyond distraught, Chris took my hand and said, “You’re going to be ok.”

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