Page 69 of Road Trip to Forever
A second later we’re airborne, soaring off the dock and into the water.
It’s frigid, and it feels like tiny little needles are stabbing my limbs. The air leaves my lungs and a shriek tries to escape from my mouth. I’m disoriented, unsure of my surroundings, and my vision blurs. I jerk my chin up and see the light above us growing brighter and brighter until we finally break free to the surface.
“Shit,” Patrick curses. He slides me down the front of his body until I can wrap my legs around his middle. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean for you to go in upside down. I’m sorry, Lo. I wasn’t thinking.”
Water sluices down his arms. He pushes the hair matted to my forehead off my face and touches my cheek, reverence and care embedded in the press of his fingertips. He moves to the pulse point on my neck, watching the rise and fall of my chest. I open my mouth, take a breath, and burst out laughing.
“Oh my god,” I wheeze. “You are such an asshole, but that was so much fun.”
“Did you hit your head?”
“Stop.” I laugh and put a hand on his chest, the skin dusted with fine hair already warming under the glow of the sun. His heart races under my palm. “You held onto me the entire time. I wasn’t worried.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? Did you scratch your hands on any rocks?”
“I’m fine, Patrick. Really. You were right, it is invigorating.”
“I was worried,” he says.
“That’s karma for acting like an idiot. A fun idiot, but still an idiot. I like road trip Patrick. He’s daring.”
“Daring and stupid.”
“You can’t win ’em all. You look like a drowned rat.”
“You look like a drowned raccoon,” he answers. He walks us toward the shore, the water becoming shallower and receding from our bodies. “Want me to set you down?”
“You made such a big deal about carrying me. We might as well keep the chivalry going. Can I stay here?”
“For as long as you’d like,” he says.
I let out a content sigh and close my eyes. I hold my arms out to the side and bask in the heat on my face. “This is nice.”
“What are you thinking about? You look pensive.”
“Pensive,” I repeat. “That’s a good principal word.”
“Part of the training for the job is reading the dictionary every night,” he says.
“I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not.”
“I’m being serious, Lola. Very serious.”
I blink my eyes open and glance at his handsome face, only to find him looking right back at me. Drops of water hang on the tip of his nose and he’s smiling.
Of course he’s smiling; Patrick isalwayssmiling.
His Happy Face.
I shift my gaze to the sky, the open water, and the tall trees. The sun dipping behind the peaks of the slate-gray mountains and the smoke rising from the fires started by other campers.
“I’m thinking about how lucky we are,” I say, matching his smile. “Of all the places on Earth we could be, all the thousands and thousands of miles of land and paths our lives could have taken, we’ve somehow ended up right here, right now. Happy and healthy, having the time of our lives. Together.” I laugh and tilt my head back, the ends of my hair skimming the top of the water. “What a gift.”
When I’m with Patrick, nothing else matters. I think I can take on the world, no fears, no hesitations. I can soar and spread my wings, be anything I want and know that he’d support me, no matter what dream I wanted to chase.
We should talk about that accidental kiss during the wedding and how he laid out in great detail how he would kiss mefor real. I should ask what he wants to do to my mouth. Or I could play it safe and talk about our plans for tomorrow and when to put on another coat of sunscreen.
Should, should, should.So many things weshouldtalk about, but I don’t want to.
