Page 29 of Falling Like Leaves (Bramble Falls #1)

“Ha-ha,” I say, picking up a fresh roll of toilet paper. I bend down and start wrapping him up as quickly as I can—partly because I want to win this race but mostly to avoid looking at his very kissable face any longer.

The more I’m around him, the less I trust myself not to do something foolish.

Two teams to the right of us sprint to the next task. The rest are only trailing by seconds.

“Shit,” I mutter.

“Just hurry,” Cooper says.

I hold the end of the new roll to his waist, and he begins to spin. Within seconds, his torso is covered, and I’m wrapping his arms at lightning speed.

“Jeez, don’t hurt yourself,” Cooper says, laughing.

“We aren’t losing this thing.” I move to his second arm, then up his neck.

Then, stepping closer, I push up on my tiptoes to reach around his head.

Our eyes lock as I wrap the toilet paper over the thick hair I’m dying to run my fingers through.

With our faces only inches apart, his gaze dips to my lips then back up, and my breath hitches.

It would be so easy to close the distance between us, to lean forward and press my lips to his.

“Are you done, or…?” he rasps.

“Oh, um, yeah.” I clear my throat and secure the end of the toilet paper before backing away from him.

With two teams ahead of us, we sprint to the large steel tubs full of floating red and green apples.

“I’ve never bobbed for apples before!” I shout to him.

“Are you serious?”

“Don’t judge me!” I laugh.

We drop to our knees on opposite sides of our tub.

“Hands behind your back. You can only use your mouth,” he says. “It’s harder than it sounds.”

“I think I can handle it,” I tell him.

I lean forward, aiming for a green apple directly in front of me.

I snap at it, sending it toward the bottom of the tub before it bobs back to the surface, away from me.

I ignore Cooper’s laughter across from me and go for another one, this time moving slower and more purposefully.

Still, the apple dips beneath the water and escapes my bite.

Sitting upright with dripping hair, I fold my arms over my chest. “Are you going to help me, or do you think we can win by just sitting here looking pretty?”

“Aw, you think I’m pretty?”

“Oh my god,” I mutter, splashing him. “Just help.”

He chuckles before leaning into the tub. A couple seconds later, he pops up with water pouring from his hair and a bright green apple obscuring his giant grin.

I shake my head and go for another one. Only this time, determined to get the small red apple that seemed like an easy catch, my weight shifts, and I lean too far in, falling forward into the tub. My head is nearly fully submerged before I catch myself with one hand in the water.

I burst out of the tub, gasping from the shock of the cold, only to find Cooper laughing so hard he’s practically wheezing.

I glare at him. “You think this is funny, huh?”

“I’m so sorry, but yeah, I really do.”

“We’re going to lose! Losing isn’t funny!”

He dips his head and grabs another apple in his mouth like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

“We’re only going to lose if you can’t get one,” he says, placing the second apple with his other catch.

Then he leans down and gets another one. He sets it in the pile.

“I was born and raised in Bramble Falls. I can do this all day.” He shrugs, a hint of amusement behind his arrogant smirk. “Let’s go, city girl. Our team is depending on you.”

I frown and pick out another floating apple. I bob for it, only to come up with nothing. Again.

The final team sprints away from the tubs and heads toward the ropes for the three-legged race. Most teams seem to be struggling with it, though, and I wonder if we might be able to catch up.

I nod at the teams ahead of us. “I think we still have a chance. What’s the secret to getting an apple?”

“I wouldn’t call it a secret, but you can’t be all delicate and slow or else you just end up pushing it around. You have to dive right in.”

I climb back onto my knees beside him, close enough that his body heat warms the side of me. Taking a deep breath, I dive quickly at the red apple I’ve homed in on.

And this time the apple crunches between my teeth.

“Hell yeah! You did it!” Cooper shouts.

It was pure luck, but whatever.

I can’t stop smiling as I drop it into our pile. Cooper snags one last apple, gives me a high five, and we’re off to the next task.

“Hurry!” I shout to Cooper once we get to our rope. He stands next to me and holds his hand out, but instead of giving him the rope, I attach our legs with a perfect bowline knot.

“Whoa,” he says as I tug on it to test it out. “You’ve never bobbed for apples, but you can do that ?”

“I was a Cub Scout.”

His eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously? That’s pretty badass.”

“You can shower me with compliments later,” I say, trying to ignore the flutter in my stomach. “Right now we have to go. Inside legs first.” We step forward in unison. Inside legs. Outside legs. Inside legs.

Soon, with most teams falling or their knots coming untied, Sloane and Asher are the only people ahead of us.

“We’re coming for you, cuz!” I shout to Sloane.

She glances back and screams through her giggles. “Faster, Asher!”

“Your legs are too short to go much faster!” I hear him say to her.

“Just shut up and run,” she laughs.

They speed up, and Cooper glances at me. “Ready to sprint?”

I nod, and we pick up our pace.

Ahead of us, Sloane and Asher are stopped, retying their rope.

“We might actually be able to do this!” I say.

“Stay steady,” Cooper says. “If you get too excited, you’ll—”

Suddenly, I’m tripping over a fallen branch that was hidden beneath the leaves—and taking Cooper down with me. We land on the ground in a heap of tangled and twisted limbs, Cooper grunting as he falls on top of me.

His cheek is pressed to the side of my head when his whole body begins to shake with his contagious laughter. We lie there, chest to chest, cracking up until our stomachs hurt.

Teams pass us by, and finally Cooper leans to the side and hovers over me.

His eyes are watery but bright, crinkling at the corners as he looks down at me with a smile that nearly knocks the wind out of me.

My fingers itch to reach up and push his hair out of his eyes, to trace along his jaw, to touch the divot in his cheek.

A few yards away, Sloane and Asher throw their pumpkins on the finish line, pulling me from my trance.

Sloane does cartwheels across the lawn while Asher celebrates with a goofy victory dance that seems to meld choreography from Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” video and Jenna Ortega’s dance in Wednesday .

Then the two best friends collide in a hug.

Cooper sighs. “Well, we lost.”

“You don’t say,” I laugh. He maneuvers off me, and I immediately wish I could rewind time and press pause.

We sit, and I untie the knot, freeing our legs. When I look up, Cooper’s eyes are traveling over my face, almost like he’s studying me. When his gaze finally meets mine, my pulse feels like it’s misfiring, and a flush creeps across my cheeks.

I dip my chin, suddenly shy, fighting the urge to hide from him. “What?”

He doesn’t answer as he reaches his hand into my hair and pulls out a leaf. He tosses it on the ground. A rivulet of water trails down his cheek and drips from his chin as he swallows, his eyes never leaving mine. Then, slowly, he leans in. I hold my breath, wondering if I’m imagining it.

Wondering if I’m imagining what’s about to happen.

“That was the closest race in years!” Sloane yells, running over to us holding a medal.

Cooper shoots upright and looks away, running his hand through his wet hair. “I should get back to the tent.”

I open my mouth to say something, but I can’t find words.

Sloane keeps talking, but my focus is on the boy walking away from me.

Because seriously, what the hell just happened?