Page 19 of The Love Hoax

Adam blinks rapidly, disoriented.

I reach out for him, grab onto his hands, and pull with all my might, until he’s out of harm’s way.

He sits up slowly, shaking his head back and forth. I bend down beside him, adrenaline still racing through my veins.

“Are you okay?” I ask, taking his face in my hands, his stubblescratching my palm. His pupils are slightly dilated, his blue-gray irises are studying me, curiously.

“Adam?”

He looks around, as if only now realizing where he is.

Slowly, a smile grows on his full lips.

Relief washes over me along with a crazy urge to kiss him. I force it away and let go of his face.

“What were you doing?” Adam asks, seemingly oblivious to my erratic state of mind.

I let out a sigh that sounds more like a sob. “I was meditating,” I say, meekly. “I nearly killed you.”

Adam looks at the cliff’s edge. “Wow. Close call.”

The terror of what almost happened fills me. A tear escapes my eye. Adam reaches over and uses the pad of his thumb to gently wipe it away. “I’m fine now.”

“I thought you were giving me a few minutes alone,” I say, my cheek tingling from his touch.

Adam remains on the ground. “I remembered that today was your birthday and I wanted to suggest we do something fun after the hike to celebrate. Since your friend is not here.”

“Oh.” My heartbeat is finally slowing.

Adam comes to a stand, stumbling slightly. “You’ve got a really mighty vinyasa.”

I get up beside him. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yep,” he says, a bit too casually. “Seems I lost my glasses.”

“They might have gone over the side.”

We both turn to face the cliff’s edge and I shudder.

Adam lifts his pack off the ground. He’s recovering far quicker than I am. “We need to get down the mountain.”

It takes us three hours, arriving back at the parking lot as the sun is setting. The trek down was more than enough time for me to think about how I almost killed a man. A man I oddly feel close to.

“I’m so sorry, Adam. I don’t know what else to say.”

He shrugs. Actually shrugs!

“The way I see it, you saved my life, pulling me back from the edge.”

How can he be so cavalier about nearly losing his life?

I click open the Porsche, wondering how I’m going to drive in such a state. “I’d like to make it up to you.”

Adam appears ready to dismiss my suggestion. Then something crosses his face. “Come to think of it, there is something you can do, but?—”

Relieved, I say, “What is it?”

He shakes his head. “Forget it. It was a stupid idea.”