Page 64 of Never Will I Ever

“Like I said. You’re insane.”

“It’s not even that cold once you get used to it.”

And I’m the king of England.

I throw my head back and chuckle. “Yeah, sure. Okay.”

“It’s not,” he insists. Then he uses the back of his hand to splash the freezing cold water up at me, the droplets landing on my bare chest. “See? Not bad at all.”

Wiping the icy drops from my skin, I shoot him a glare. “Dick.”

Smirking, he does it again, but I manage to step back enough that only a few drops meet their mark.

“If you don’t come in, I’m just gonna keep splashing you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me. I dare you,” he taunts, arching a brow and positioning his hands for another attack.

Yeah, I don’t think so. I’ve seen Avery’s stubbornness firsthand, and there’s not a chance in hell I’m betting against it. Which is why, with an annoyed grumble, I toe my boots back off and strip the rest of the way to my briefs.

My bare skin heats beneath the afternoon sun, but it’s scorching where I can feel Avery’s gaze watching me.

“Not getting any younger, LaMothe!” he chides before swimming away from the edge.

Fucking relentless asshole.

But rather than tossing more snide remarks with him, I take a long, slow inhale.

And then I jump.

Eighteen

Kaleb

I’ll never admit it aloud, but Avery is right: After the initial shock from breaking through the cool surface, my body acclimates to the temperature rather quickly. Though, from the shit-eating grin on his face, he’s well aware of it.

Guess I’m not the only smug bastard between the two of us.

Knowing we can’t stay in here forever unless we want to risk hypothermia, I move away from the ledge we jumped from, swimming closer to the falls. Avery’s right behind me when I glance over my shoulder, his gaze fixated on where the water pours over the looming cliff.

“It looks like we can go behind it,” he finally shouts over the roaring water.

My eyes narrow in laser-like focus on one section of the falls that’s a bit more translucent before determining he might be right. It’d make sense too, seeing as it was named Veil Falls.

Gesturing toward the falls, I duck below the surface and swim beneath the pouring water, only to pop out inside a cave on the other side. Avery’s head pops up a few feet away from me, and he lets out a soft laugh while he takes in our surroundings.

“Did you know this was back here?” he yells, motioning around the cave we’ve found ourselves in.

Shaking my head, I glance around the hidden grotto cut into the earth, a sense of awe and wonder filling me. Had I known, I would’ve gladly braved the freezing water to do some exploring over the past few summers. It’s things like this that stem my deep love for nature. Finding hidden gems, completelyuntouched by humans.

Earth at its purest.

We venture farther back into the cave, still close enough to the entrance for light to shine through the opening of the falls but deep enough for the sound of rushing water to start fading into the background. The water is more shallow back here, barely hitting our chests now, with the ground sloping up toward rocky ledges carved along the grotto walls.

“Feel free to offer your apology at any time,” Avery says, a hint of smugness in his tone that would’ve grated on my nerves a few days ago.

Now, it just makes me wanna toss playful jabs right back at him.

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