Page 26 of When We Had Forever
Dear god. If I ever go blind, I’d want this to be the last thing I see.
He gives me a smile—this onedoeslook cocky—and leaps. A splash swallows him up. He surfaces a moment later, whooping and laughing. Water streams from broad shoulders as he rakes back sopping golden hair.
“Come on in.” He holds out his arms. “The water’s fine. And byfine, I meanabsolutely freezing.”
I eye the crystalline pool. “Is that supposed to entice me?”
“Not really.” He winks. “But I’ll do my best to keep you warm. Hopefully that entices you a little.”
Well. I can’t refuse that. I doubt anyone could. I step to the edge, slip off my flip-flops, and jump.
The world turns to ice and darkness. Cold sears my skin, like wintry metal pressed in from all sides. But it only lasts a moment. By the time I surface, Michael is gathering me in his arms, heating my body with his.
An exhale pours out, one that involves my entire being. I wrap my legs around his waist and discover a brand-new feeling, a heady rush of newness mingled with a sense of fitting into the exact place I belong.
Michael cradles the nape of my neck and rests his forehead against mine. Droplets spangle his cheeks and make star points out of his eyelashes.
My heart delivers a few swift kicks against my rib cage. I want this man, I realize. In a relentless, painful way I have no prior experience with.
“Can you hold your breath for thirty seconds?” he says.
I blink. “I... What? Is that a joke?”
“Nope.” His voice thrums with excitement, making me wonder if there’s more to this place than just the pool. “Can you?”
“I think so.” I mentally congratulate myself on sounding only halfway hesitant. “But does that mean I’m supposed to swim underneath something?”
“No. You’re just supposed to hang on to me whileIswim underneath something. That’s it. I’ll do all the work.”
Images of waterlogged tunnels and dark, aquatic graves fill my mind. But Michael’s zeal steals into me as our heartbeats press against one another. His eyes seem to ask a question.
I soak in the sight of him. Of Canada. And conviction blossoms—this is the adventure. Here, now. It’s breathing this crisp, sea-drenched air, feeling the lap of icy water against my skin. It’s the press of his strong body and the dance of sunlight on the waves below, the rushing song of the waterfall.
Life doesn’t lie on the far side of an ocean. I don’t need an airplane to get to it. It’s all around me, all the time. I only have tolook, to open my eyes.
The moment feels like drinking from a firehose, and for the first time in my life, I have no desire to be elsewhere.
I swear Michael sees what’s happening, because he watches my face the same way a man might watch a budding sunrise. His eyes shine, reverent.
“What’re you thinking?” he says.
My lips bend upward. “That I’ve been waiting my entire life for this exact moment.”
His arms tighten around me. “So that’s a yes?”
“It’s a hell yes.”
Delight glows in his face. “Take a deep breath, then.”
I do. I fill my lungs with sunshine and his deep-forest smell and don’t shut my eyes until the last possible second.
The water closes overhead. Michael pulls me into depths that grow even colder.
More than thirty seconds seem to pass. He guides us through the arctic void with swift, certain kicks. Stones scrape against my bare legs while my chest shouts for air, but all the while, I hold on tight.
I have no other choice. I’ve jumped. I’ve gone diving in headfirst, and now I can only hang on and see where it takes me.
AFTER
