Page 54 of Take My Name

“Well, don’t lookatit.”

“Okay…” I drawl, trying not to laugh. “I’ll keep my eyes above the neck at all times.”

She snorts. “Yeah, right.”

I smirk, licking my bottom lip because I can’t even argue that it’ll be a constant battle not to check her out.

“See you soon,” I say.

“Yeah, be there at seven.”

We say goodbye and hang up, then I stand in my kitchen, wondering how much it’s going to hurt when I have to say goodbye to her for the last time.

chapter ten

Maisie

“Jump!”Warren shouts for the second time, but he’s grinning.

“I’m too scared!”

“I’m right here to catch you.”

Glancing down from the boulder I’m standing on, a nervous shiver runs through me. It’s twenty-five feet high, half the height of the cliff we used to jump off from, but that was me as a careless teenager. Now I’m ready to shit my pants.

“Okay, I’m gonna do it…” I try to amp myself up and shake out my arms. We’ve done this countless times. I can do it.

Warren’s already done it three times to prove it was safe.

I back up a few feet, then run off and scream until my body crashes into the water. Before I can swim to the surface, Warren’s pulling me up.

“Holy shit!” I suck in a breath and then hang onto Warren’s shoulders as he keeps me afloat.

“That was some jump.” He laughs. “Your legs and arms were floppin’ all over theplace.”

“Shut up!” I giggle, pushing against him.

“I’m kiddin’. You did great for your first time in years.”

“And my only time.”

“Oh c’mon…we’ll go together.”

“Fine,oncemore,” I compromise.

We swim to the shore and climb higher than before, my nerves on fire at being even more scared.

“Stop lookin’ down,” he says, grabbing my hand and interlinking our fingers. His unexpected touch sends heat down my neck, and I try not to overthink it since we’re having fun. “On the count of three, we’ll go.”

When we step back, he counts down.

“Three…two…one…go!” We continue holding hands as we jump, and I scream the entire way down.

Our hands lose contact when we sink into the water, and I fight my way to the surface. But when I wipe my eyes, I don’t see him.

“Warren?” I frantically look around, shuffling my arms back and forth to search for him. “Warren!”

My voice cracks, but then I’m yanked down when I call his name a third time. “War?—”