Page 14 of Beck & Coll

My Monday morning was surprisingly free of tours.

Since it was a rare day of well-above average temperatures, I decided to take Collins to see the waterfall that the town was named after, Jackson Falls.

I held her hand as we trekked through the forest preserve that housed the waterfall and creek it fed into.

“I’m getting eaten up by mosquitoes, Beck. Whatever it is you’re trying to show me better be worth it,” she complained, slapping her arm in emphasis.

“We’re almost there,” I assured her.

We walked in silence, the sounds of nature providing the soundtrack. Finally, the branches of the trees gave way to a clearing, and the waterfall was in front of us.

I turned to look at her just as her mouth fell open. “Welcome to Jackson Falls,” I teased.

“It’s beautiful. The water is so clear. I feel like I can see to the bottom.”

“Yep.”

“We can get in, right? That’s why you had me wear my swimsuit, right?”

I hedged a little bit. “We can get in, but I gotta warn you, Coll, baby. The water is cold.”

She was already stripping. When I met her, she claimed not to like the beach. She might not like sand, but it was obvious that she liked water.

Once she was down to her green bikini, she tip-toed over to the bank. She was all smiles as she turned her gaze on me. “Come on, Beck.”

I pulled off my t-shirt, standing there in just my swim trunks. I made my way over to her.

“Aye, before you get all the way in the water, stick your toe in first. Test the water,” I suggested to her.

“Okay.” She agreed. She stooped to sit on the bank, and there went her clumsiness. The next thing I knew, she had fallen into what I knew was icy cold water.

“Ahh!” She yelped, splashing around.

I knew the water wasn’t deep, but in her shocked and panicked state, she wasn’t doing herself any favors.

I went into the water after her. I wouldn’t have said that I went in reluctantly, but there were about a million other things I would’ve rather done than dive into frigid water.

When I got to her, she basically flung herself into me.

“Beck!” Her body shook violently, and tears had pooled in her eyes.

My baby , I thought to myself and couldn’t help kissing her lips. “Get on my back so I can get us back to the bank, love.”

She did as I told her, and soon, we were back on the bank.

I quickly got her towel from the backpack I made her bring and wrapped her in it.

Luckily, the temperature was in the nineties.

I knew the warmth of the sun would help in the warming process.

Ignoring my own discomfort, I rubbed the towel all over her skin.

“Take off the swimsuit, baby.”

She eyed me in confusion. “And be naked?”

“I have to get you in dry clothes.”

She still looked dubious.

“I’ll hold the towel in front of you,” I offered.

“Okay,” she agreed through her chattering teeth.

I held up the towel while she cautiously removed the bikini and put on her underwear, t-shirt, and shorts.

“You okay?” I asked. once she was dressed.

“Yes. Do you want me to hold up the towel while you get out of your wet stuff?”

I eyed her. “I’mma dude. I’m good. If somebody sees my dick swinging, that’s a them problem. They should avert their damn eyes.”

She dissolved into giggles.

Once we were both dressed, we sat by the bank—not close enough for her to fall in again but close enough to enjoy the ambience and beauty the area provided. I wrapped the blanket that I planned for us to sit on around our shoulders. And we sat side-by-side… just chilling.

When we got back to the lodge, we decided to grab takeout from Legacy House. We were both starving, and I had a tour group scheduled for the afternoon. We bumped into my mom in the resort’s lobby. She spoke and gave both of us a hug.

“Aye, Ma, Collins needs to talk to you about extending her stay for a couple of days,” I said.

“That’s right,” Collins agreed. “I got so caught up in getting the salon ready for Khylie Faye that I forgot to check and see if you guys even had any availability.”

My mother gave her a look. “For you, Collins? I will make a room available. Let’s head to the desk and see what we can do.”

As we headed toward the reception desk, my mom spoke again.

“Speaking of Khylie Faye, she posted videos of the resort, the garden, the salon, and her hair style. Malena met me at the house this morning. She couldn’t even wait for me to make it to work to tell me that the videos had gone viral.

Then, as soon as I stepped into my office, Rylynn,” she turned to Collins, “she’s over bookings and reservations, told me that they practically crashed the system last night.

And everybody wants to book at the salon.

I guess Ms. Khylie Faye neglected to mention that we opened it up exclusively for her. ”

“Wow. I enjoyed doing Khylie Fye’s hair.”

I wished she hadn’t said that because I knew my mother.

“Being back in a salon felt good… familiar.”

My mother grinned her patented “Strong” grin.

“Collins, since you enjoyed it so much, would you consider taking on a few customers while you’re here?

” She paused for a millisecond. “Of course, you would be compensated, and your stay for the remaining days will be comped. I was thinking that we could market it as a visit from guest stylist Collins Kingsley, the former owner and operator of the world-class Posh Moments of Chicago, Illinois.”

“This is something that you just thought of, and you already have a whole marketing campaign ready to go? Mom?—”

She turned her “no nonsense” gaze on me. “Beckham Mekhi Strong, don’t you have wilderness adventure guests waiting on you at the tour office?” She gave me a frown, her eyes squinted into thin slits.

I pretended not to notice. “Coll, baby, this is your vacation. Do you really want to spend it doing hair? Didn’t you come here to get away from doing hair? I’m confused.”

“I came here to have new experiences, and?—”

“Right,” I agreed. “And doing hair, being on your feet all day, that’s not a new experience for you.”

“It’s not.” She conceded. “But I really do love it, Beck.”

And I knew she was telling the truth based on the smile she was wearing.

I sighed. “I just don’t want you to regret spending your last few days inside the lodge, inside the salon, instead of outside enjoying nature.”

She gave me a blank stare. “Have you not noticed that nature doesn’t seem to like me?

” She turned to my mother. “So far, I fell off the trail into the brush while we hiked in the Paradise Mountains and fell in Beck’s disgusting fishing boat.

Today, he had to rescue me after I fell into…

whatever body of water is by the Jackson Falls waterfall. ”

Beverly Strong’s jaw dropped in concern. She turned to me. “You let her fall into the Jackson Falls Creek?”

“I didn’t let her—” I began before being cut off.

“Oh, child.” My mother pulled Collins into an embrace. “That creek is fed from the run-off of the glaciers. It must’ve chilled you to the bone.”

“And did.” She moved her gaze to me. “But Beck jumped in and got me out of there. He warmed me up and made sure I was good.”

Even after Collins’s commendations, I still somehow ended up getting popped in the back of the head by my mother.

“He’d better had.”

“So, are you doing this?” I questioned Collins while simultaneously rubbing the back of my head. “Are you spending the last few days of your vacation doing hair?”