Page 56 of Angel of Water & Shadow

The corners of my lips twitched up. “You ready?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but I didn’t wait to hear it.

Pulling his arm, we snaked into a faded orange building and followed the curved wooden interior. The line went quickly since it was already so late, and Ryder’s warm ivory cheeks paled as the group in front of us boarded.

I gave his arm a reassuring squeeze, clutching on to his bicep as I raised to my tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “You chase big, bad demons and you’re scared of the Big Dipper?”

Now he really looked like he’d seen a ghost.

The ride attendant motioned us over and I darted to the very back seats. “Remember what I said?” I reminded him in a singsong voice.

Ryder forcefully swallowed and wiped his brow, tucking his long legs to fit into the tight space. Beneath the lap bar his chest deflated, keeping our bodies, and his terror, restrained. It was kind of cute to see him squirming like this, over a roller coaster of all things.

A warped choo choo signaled our departure. I threw my arms in the air. The cart lurched forward. “Hands up!”

He looked at me like I had gone absolutely insane. “What?”

“Hands UP!” I yelled, and with that, we plunged down into darkness.

Our screams echoed through the tunnel, dissipating in the moonlight as the coaster pulled outside. Breaths tight in our chests, ears stinging with the cool wind, we chugged up the first hill, the track powered by hydraulics and adrenaline.

Being at the top of the Big Dipper stripped life to its simplest form. Here, everything escaped us, except our basic instincts and the energy of the climb.

It was that involuntary reflex that caused me to reach for my neighbor’s hand, just before the tipping moment. Half expecting the familiar form of Javi’s, I latched on to Ryder’s calloused palm instead. Free from the pressure to play it cool, he didn’t flinch away, holding me tight until the free fall stole the air from our lungs, and gravity broke us apart.

The rest of the ride was chasing that initial plummet. Which, after the day I’d had, you’d think I’d be good off that. The stomach-twisting turns and heart-stopping hills made my heart pound with the same rush I got running from the teratorn and the werewolves, but I shrieked with joy, not fear.

We lurched into the station, laughing, gasping for the breaths that’d been stolen from us.

Ryder brought his fist to his chest. “I don’t think my heart beats that fast when I’m hunting demons!” he shouted, oblivious to the onlookers hunched over the railing.

I buried my cheek into my palm to hide my smile. “You never forget your first drop.”

“I definitely won’t now.” The gold flecks in his eyes burned bright with enthusiasm.

There was something deep behind that stare that seemed to take in every inch of my face. Him looking at me like that…it was like a stroke of lightning and a gentle caress all at once, the moment awkwardly shattered by the attendant freeing us from the lap bar.

We staggered out of our seats, Ryder carving a less straight path, bumping his shoulder with mine. That electric current ignited between us once more, and I couldn’t help but think, what happened when the buzz wore off? When we left this paradise for the cold hard world—hands down, rush gone, back to two strangers in the night?

As we made our way to the viewing area that showcased a collage of pictures taken of everyone screaming their lungs out during the ride, his hand brushed my elbow, gliding to my lower back. I’d be a jerk to move away. He was clearly unsteady from some roller coaster-induced vertigo. Right? So, what was my excuse when we finally stood still and waited for our photos, and that hand wrapped around my waist…Maybe it was me who needed the support—because the world seemed to be tilting around me.

Deep down, I knew the shaky legs were temporary. That the dopey grins would dim. And still I couldn’t stop the smile from squeezing my cheeks when I spotted our picture on the screen. Our shared joy looked so convincing of a real friendship it’d fool the most cynical bystanders, us. But that picture wasn’t reality; it was pretend. The high would fade and we’d be back to what we were, no matter how many purposeful touches he snuck in…

It'd be better to just end it now and go home. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way.” I slid out of his grasp. “I’ve got to bounce.”

“Oh no, we’re just getting started.” He followed my backwards steps.

I stayed just out of his reach. “Nephilim or not, I still have homework.”

“C’mon,” he pleaded behind lowered lashes. “You don’t have time for one more ride?”

No. I didn’t have time for this ride, or whatever literal ups and downs we were sharing. Or this conversation. But the second I met his intense green hazel gaze I found myself debating the consequences. Again.

Sure, the threat of missing curfew didn’t mean much since I had turned eighteen. But I did still live at home and was technically still a high school student until I got the official piece of paper that said otherwise. House rules, although loose, did remain standing—unless I wanted to sleep somewhere other than under my dad’s roof. Okay that was a little extreme; would an extra twenty minutes really change that much?

“Please?” he said, voice low and longing. “You’re already going to be late.”

My lower back still tingling from his touch, I made the mistake of meeting his eyes, and the words slipped out. “Fine. What’s on your list next?”

---