Page 20 of The Risks of Reuniting

Music starts and the crowd surges, the people who were milling around now anxious to find a good viewing point.

My body gets pushed up against Rachelle's back and she giggles over her shoulder at me. "If you needed snuggles you could have asked." She winks and I roll my eyes with a smile.

I manage to make some space, but then another someone shoves my back and I startle forward, bumping Rachelle once again. I let out a big breath and push back, trying to hold my ground. Holt says something to someone in Spanish and the pressure is removed, but things don't get a lot better because Holt comes to stand behind me, acting guard, and I can feel the warmth of his body close to my back.

"You okay?" he asks, and I know for a fact I'm the only one who can hear him, he's so close.

I nod, pretending I didn't feel his breath puff against my hair. I want to squirm away, but that might give him the impression that his closeness affects me, and I can't give him that inch to burrow his way into. The onlything for it is to stand here and be totally uninterested in his proximity. I am a garden gnome, made of stone.

The fountain comes to life and water shoots so high into the air that I have to crane my neck to see it all, and my head taps against Holt's chin in the process. I quickly shift forward and bite my lips to keep my focus on the water. Colors dance as the water shifts from blue to red to purple and then orange. Music blasts through speakers and then images begin. I'm in awe as the history of Peru is presented to us. From early natives, to conquistadors, to more modern times, it's entrancing. My heart beats hard as I watch it all play out, and suddenly I feel connected to the people of this country and the struggles and triumphs they've faced. It's all so beautiful and inspiring.

The crowd shifts slightly, and Holt is up against me, his chest pressing against my shoulders. His hand lands lightly on my waist in an effort to keep me from tipping forward into Rachelle, and I feel the warmth of it shoot down my side to my toes. I stiffen, and he lets go, but it hurts somehow. Its like my body remembers his touch and I want it back as much as I want him gone. I have to fight to keep my mind from going down that rabbit hole.

The show lasts around twenty minutes, and when it ends I'm the first to push out of the crowd and give myself some breathing room. I'm drenched in the scent and feel of Holt and I need to clear it out. Holt watches me, and our eyes catch, and I know he knows that his closeness got to me. I firm my jaw and stand straight as Cesar, Emilia , and Rachelle turn to us with huge smiles on their faces.

"That was amazing," Rachelle gushes, coming to stand by me. "I had no idea all of that happened here."

"Peru is a good place," Cesar adds, nodding. "You want to see more?"

We excitedly agree and I avoid looking at Holt as Emilia directs us down another path to a water fountain that creates a tunnel. We get in line, tugging our jackets close around us, and when it's our group's turn we start walking through. Rachelle throws her hands in the air and starts to boogie, telling all of us that if we don't dance through then it's bad luck on us and our future children. Her phone is out taking video, and all of us mug for the screen, laughing and dancing, Cesar launching into some tune I've never heard. Rachelle grabs my hand and swings my arm, twirling us in a circle as I throw my normal cautious self aside and dance to a song I don't even know.

We're about halfway through the tunnel when water suddenly crashes into the side of my face, followed by Rachelle and Emilia squealing. The three of us wipe our faces dry and turn to see Holt standing to the side of the fountain with his hand sticking into the water, causing it to firehose in our direction. He laughs and does it again, splashing us all along our fronts. My hair drips and my eyesight is temporarily blocked, and I hustle out of the spray zone while Cesar dives in to get Holt back. Rachelle and Emilia are jogging ahead and I join them, breathless with laughter and freedom. I wipe at my face, feeling the water as it soaks through my sweatshirt and pants.

Holt's expression is satisfied when he joins us outside the end of the tunnel. Rachelle and Emilia immediately jump into giving him grief about it, which only makes his smile grow. I use my sleeve to wipe at my face and then under my eyes where I'm sure my makeup is running. My wet hair tickles at my forehead and I swipe it back, not really caring that it's going to be helplessly mussed.

"My dad always does that to us when we come. I thought I'd share the tradition," Holt says, laughing at our dripping forms.

"You could have warned us," Emilia teases, swiping her own dark hair away from her dripping face.

"You'd better pray my phone is okay." Rachelle shakes it at him with a gleam in her eye, that makes a grin fill his face.

"It's all about the surprise attack," he responds, his eyes dancing. I shiver as the humid fall air hits my wet head, and his smile dips slightly. "I guess I didn't think about how cold you guys might get," he says with an apologetic look.

"It's fine." Rachelle waves a hand. "Let's keep moving. We'll warm up."

Cesar smiles and leads the way, and we all fall into step beside him, wiping up the last of the dripping water off our chins and noses, and fighting hair that's sagging every which way. Holt steps up to walk next to me and I can't stop another shiver. I've never been a person with a good heating system, but I'm not suffering by any means. Still, I'm not surprised when I feel the weight of Holt's jacket settle over my shoulders. It's just such a thing he'd do.

"Don't fight me. Just take it," he says.

My shoulders grow tight under the weight, until the warmth and smell hits me. I couldn't take it off even if I wanted to, now. So, I nod and mumble a politethank youas I slide my arms into the too-long sleeves before zipping it up. He doesn't make any more comments as we follow the group toward a big sculpture of letters spelling the word Lima, which we stand around while a stranger takes our picture on Rachelle's phone.

She texts us all a copy and I look at it as we make our way to a rainbow-colored fountain. There I am, facing the camera, swallowed in Holt's jacket, my hair falling down my face, with a big smile. I hardly recognize myself. This version of Chloe is a stranger.

I text it to Allie.

Do you know this girl?

Thankfully, because we're in downtown Lima, the cell service is good and the text goes through. I hear back quickly.

Allie

She looks familiar, sorta

We're at this park full of incredible fountains, and we saw a cool projected show, and ate meat on a stick, and I got soaking wet in a tunnel, and I'm wearing Holt's jacket. I feel different.

Allie

Different how?

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