Page 82 of Winter's End

Shane launched himself off the cliff edge above my head and tucked his lithe body into a tight ball. He hit the water with a loud splash; fat droplets of water hit my forehead from my position on the rocks beside the old swimming hole, just a few miles down from the actual Cascade Falls.

I hadn’t been here in years. The last time was probably when I was a senior in high school. Scenic beauty surrounded me, just as I had remembered it—large smooth rocks stacked on either side of the slow part of the river, and a few jagged cliffs on either side of a smallwaterfall. The water was chilly and a welcome reprieve from the scorching sun.

We had to hike a little way in to get in here, but the natural beauty of the spot was worth it. Despite it being a hot July day, we were the only ones here.

We, as in, our consolidated group of misfit boys and one girl.

Winter’s beautiful body lounged on a towel next to me, her red bikini distracting me every few minutes when she shifted in the sun. I’d willingly slathered her in sunscreen earlier, and now she was tanning herself to a rosy crisp.

Cam and Travis lounged in the shallow pool just a few feet down, seated on the natural stone benches just beneath the water’s surface, where they chatted quietly.

Today, Logan had also joined us. He was treading water on the deeper side of the pool, grimacing with annoyance at my boyfriend’s actions.

My boyfriend. I loved the sound of that.

“Cannonball contest!” Shane announced when he spluttered to the surface. “Come on, Cam—I want to see those muscles in action!”

Cam looked up mid-sentence and a rare, full-teeth grin filled his face. “You’re on. Are you a bettin’ man, Shane?”

“What are you laying on the line, Big Man? I’ll consider it.” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively and Cam laughed.

“I want a snowboard lesson.” He said it so matter-of-factly, I had a feeling he’d been holding on to this request for a while.

Shane’s face lit up like he’d been given a million dollars.

“Really!? Hell, yeah, man, I’ll give you a snowboard lesson anytime. You can thank me for that generous offer later when you lose today.”

His obnoxious laughter echoed around us as he pulled himself out of the water and made his way over to climb up the cliff face again.

“Fuck, you’re on.” Travis and Cam left their nook and followed him. I squeezed Winter’s plump ass cheek and got up to do the same.

“I want to borrow your truck!” I called after them as I heaved myself up the familiar handholds to the ledge above.

The four of us stood in a staggered line, surveying the ten feet below.

“Logan, fuck off and be a team player. Come on up, you chicken-shit,” Shane taunted.

Logan spun in the water and gave Shane the middle finger. “Fuck you, Quicksilver.”

Shane rolled his eyes and called out to Winter instead. “Snow! You’re the official judge. Get off your lazy ass and tell me when I win!”

I could hear her snort from here. She pushed up from her beach towel and rolled over, exposing her sexy body for all of us to gawk at. I didn’t need to look at my brothers to know I wasn’t the only one checking out our girl.

The floppy hat she wore had drooped over her face in the way of the pin-up girls in the 1940s. My Audrey Hepburn.

“Alright, gents!” she called out. “Let’s see your splashes!”

Cam went first, leaping outward to avoid the sharp rocks at the base below.

“9!” Winter exclaimed with a laugh as Cam swam toward her, tilting his head up for a kiss. She gave him a quick peck on the lips and pushed him away.

“Next contestant!” she called out. I loved hearing the smile in her voice. I looked forward to when I would hear it every day.

Travis dove off next. The man may be charming, but his cannonball was nothing close to graceful, and he landed with an awkward belly-flop.

“Ouch!” Winter waited for him to swim over to her for his own kiss. “6.5! Sorry babe, that wasn’t the greatest.”

Travis shook his head in defeat, but did not hide the grin on his face. We were all having fun today.