Chapter 20
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Nate says when Jamie finishes explaining what we’re doing today.
The early afternoon sun peeks through the rainforest’s canopy as we stare up and up and up at another roaring waterfall.
After yesterday’s sun-drenched spearfishing adventure, designed to showcase Fiji’s cultural thrills, the shade is a relief.
Even if it means facing another waterfall.
My stomach tenses at the sight, but the fear doesn’t grip me as tightly this time. Progress, perhaps.
I elbow Nate to remind him to be Brody, but Dave and Jamie are already frowning.
“I know we had a waterfall activity the other day,” Jamie says, thankfully misunderstanding Nate, “but this is different.” She details how we’ll hike to the top and then rappel down.
“Sounds great,” I lie, too focused on Nate tensing next to me. I take his hand in mine and give it a squeeze, hoping to reassure him. In front of the crew, it’s the best I can do.
“Time to head up if we’re going to stay on track for the day!” Jamie announces, adjusting her backpack. “We’ve got team B ready topside,” she says to Dave, “and then we’ll reset for rappelling.”
Dave points to us. “Great, let’s get these two miked and then we can go.”
Nate is in no condition to film. He’s shockingly still next to me, his hand growing clammy in mine. We can’t start yet. Not if we hope to maintain Nate’s cover.
“Wait!” I say, my mouth getting ahead of my mind because I have no idea what comes next.
Dave raises an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”
“I…I need to get a quick clip of Brody for social!” The idea bursts out of me as it’s coming together. A way to buy Nate a little time to put on a brave face, if nothing else.
“Now?” Jamie barely masks her annoyance. “We’re going to fall behind schedule.”
“It’ll be quick. We just need a pep-talk style clip for those who hesitate to try this lifestyle. If people hear encouragement from Brody, they’ll be more likely to watch the upcoming season and maybe try excursions.”
Dave strokes his beard. “Makes sense. Hurry it up, though.”
I pull Nate away from the crew, and he’s at least present enough to stay quiet until we’re out of earshot.
“Abigail, I’m in no state to give a pep talk. I can’t even talk myself into doing this!”
“You can. Trust me.” I guide him into a position where the waterfall can still be seen behind him. Then I quickly set up the tripod for my phone and clip a mic onto Nate’s athletic tee.
“Ready?” I ask, still touching the mini mic on Nate’s chest. His scent of citrus, sage, and a bit of sweat makes me momentarily dizzy.
“Will it matter if I say no?”
“No,” I say with a smile, making the corner of his mouth quirk.
I drop my hand, embarrassed it’s been lingering, and clear my throat. “I’ll be there,” I point to the camera. “I’ll count down, then ask you a couple of quick questions. Just answer with the first thing that comes to mind. Okay?”
Nate nods, then stops. “I have a better idea. Be in the video with me!”
“What?”
“You’re on the show, and part of Brody’s brand. It makes sense you’d be in some of his social content too, right?”
He raises an interesting point. I appear on Brody’s account as his girlfriend, but not in any sort of professional capacity, though that’s the foundation of our relationship.
As far as his fans know, Brody’s girlfriend is simply on vacation with him.
Only when the trailers and promotional materials for the season come out would anyone know differently.
“I don’t know…”
Nate crosses his arms in a challenge. “If you’re not doing this, then neither am I.”
Because it’s clearly distracting him, I agree. I grab a second mini mic from my pack along with the remote for my phone and take my place next to Nate, standing close so the waterfall is still visible in the background. Then I press record.
“So, Brody?—”
“Real quick before we start. Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Abigail.” As Nate slides an arm over my shoulder, I can’t help but smile. “We also work together and, in an exciting announcement we’re sharing for the first time here: Abigail is taking part in the upcoming season of Rush with me!”
I’m still beaming when I take over. “That’s right!
We’re on set right now. Maybe we can give the fans an idea of what’s coming this season?
” I raise my eyebrows at Nate as if we’re in on a secret together.
In fact, we’re in on several. “Do you want to tell them a little about today’s agenda? Why are we here?”
Nate glances over his shoulder at the waterfall.
He swallows hard but stays in character.
“I’m glad you asked. We’re about to do something…
thrilling today. First, we’re hiking around to the top of this waterfall you see behind us.
” He points behind him, pausing. I’m positive it’s mostly nerves, but I hope it seems like dramatic effect. “Then, we’re going to rappel down.”
“That’s right! We’re rappelling down the waterfall you see behind us.
” I feel a bout of nausea repeating the words, but I push through.
Getting Nate over his fear and onto doing this excursion is the most important thing at the moment.
“So, we all know you do this kind of stuff regularly, but fear might hold back people who don’t.
What encouragement or advice would you share with them? ”
“Fear?” Nate echoes, looking more panicked than before. I need to refocus him on me and the current task.
“Yes, that emotion we all know you don’t possess,” I tease, reminding him to stay in character as his brother. “But imagine for a second a fear of heights or of large bodies of water, for example.” My mouth dries, but I keep going. “What would you say to someone letting that hold them back?”
Nate hesitates, and I question my strategy.
Then he clears his throat and jumps in. “Fear is a normal reaction. A funny one, when you think about it. It whispers worst-case scenarios in your ear like a bad podcast you can’t turn off.
Convincing us we can’t because we’re not ready, not good enough, not capable.
But you can’t let it control you or hold you back.
” Nate seems to think about his words. When he continues, his voice is louder and more assured.
“We need to be brave, but bravery doesn’t mean an absence of fear.
It’s having fear and stepping up anyway, even when you’re shaking and wondering if you’re way out of your league.
It’s doing the thing—taking the jump—anyway. ”
Nate’s shoulders straighten, and I quickly jump in to wrap up the clip with a short teaser for the next season before ending the recording. If Nate’s speech didn’t convince him to do today’s excursion, nothing would.
“That was—” I start, but Nate finishes the thought for me.
“Hopefully, exactly what someone would need to hear. I know it’d work on me.” His gray eyes sparkle, confirming my plan worked. He’s ready to seize the day and this next adventure. After hearing Nate, so am I.
“Perfect,” I agree, then think. “We’ll just need to trim your last part.”
“What’s wrong with that part?”
“For someone who hasn’t seen a lot of Just Jump,” I whisper, looking to ensure the crew is still out of earshot, “you sure hit close to their taglines.”
“All part of my elaborate cover story.”
Our laughter lingers as I repack my things, and it resurfaces several times as we hike to the top of the waterfall with the crew.
When we reach the peak, Nate and I peer over the edge together, hand-in-hand.
Even with the height, the water, and fear hugging my chest with the loosest grip it’s had on this trip, the potential of falling doesn’t seem so bad.
I have a scheduled video call with Brody a few hours after rappelling, which Nate and I reined in our fears for and completed.
Together, we’ve been facing these excursions head-on, achieving more than I ever thought possible while also pulling off the twin-switch.
It’s exhilarating and enlightening—and convinces me it’s time to get a straight answer from Brody about Jamie.
I did one terrifying thing today. What’s one more?
Nate is out filming confessional-style footage for the show, giving me the bungalow to myself.
I take deep breaths before getting on the video call with Brody, who isn’t there when I arrive or a couple of minutes later at the scheduled time.
He takes another ten minutes to show up with a claim he was doing his physical therapy stretches.
It would have been more believable if he weren’t wearing a bathrobe, the left sleeve wrapped under his injured arm and tucked into the belt.
“Brody, we need to talk.” I keep my voice as steady as possible. I’ve had a couple of days to process Jamie kissing Brody since we messaged him Rush updates and Nate did a quick call with his brother. But it wasn’t enough time for me to forget the hurt and confusion of it all.
Brody gives a short laugh. “You sound so serious. It can’t be that bad.” Then the possibilities seem to hit him, and his next question rushes out. “Is it something with the show?”
Of course the show is his first thought. I bite my tongue and push forward with what I need to ask. “What’s the deal with you and Jamie? The truth.”
Brody combs his hair behind his ear with his uninjured arm, still unable to achieve a bun on his own.
Since the accident, this less branded version of Brody is what I’ve seen, and it’s enabled me to discover other parts of him that aren’t as picture-perfect as I initially thought. “There’s nothing to tell.”
I’m about to point out he doesn’t find it weird I’m asking about them, but that would derail us from the core issue.
“Jamie seems to think there’s something going on, and there still could be.”
“That’s on her. I can’t be responsible for how other people feel. I’m becoming more famous, and women find that attractive. It can’t be helped.”