Chapter 32
Bailey
When we get to the edge, he takes my hand and leads me out of the water, glancing behind us at the view of the pool surrounded by cliffs. With the boat still anchored and blocking the only entrance in or out of the grotto, we have a sense of security that I’m loving outside of the cabins.
We hike up the rocks, trying our best not to slip on sheets of moss, and by the time we’re standing beside the sheet of water, it’s harder to hear anything but the sound of the waterfall crashing down.
I look at Rhett, wondering how we got here. Back in the grotto, hand in hand, with that look on his face.
He squeezes, then nods behind me, urging me to follow his gaze.
I gasp.
From up here, the whole place is lit up like a room filled with soft, yellow light, water shimmering and roaring all around us. Even the tiny inlets of sand between the rocks have a slight sparkle to them at this angle.
“Oh my God,” I breathe out. It’s stunning. “Do you think it’s actually mixed with stardust?” I yell over the sound of the water, bending to wipe some of the fresh, wet sand from my ankle.
At the same time, Rhett bends to swipe some off of his, and our eyes meet as we do, both of us smiling.
The sediment left on our fingers is shimmering more than any other parts of the lake.
“I hope so,” he tells me. “I’d hate to find out if it’s not.”
“Same.” I tell him, grinning wider. Realizing that the lake’s magic, the magic it always held when I was younger with him here, is back.
He keeps my hand warm in his while we continue to climb the slippery rocks to the nook behind the falls, smooth and carved into the wall from what must be thousands of years of water falling in this very spot. Maybe since the beginning of time.
We tuck ourselves behind it, into a spot that’s smooth and perfect for two people to stand or lay or to do whatever else they want.
One hand twists through my wet hair, and the other cups my cheek to his palm, while his eyes tuck inside me like a memory I always wanted to make right here in this spot. No one can see us back here, and the boat sits empty.
“You sure?” he asks, stealing a glance at my lips.
“I haven’t been able to think of anything else since we came,” I tell him.
“No regrets then,” he says, crashing into me, heating my body up with his kiss. The misty water collapses and rushes down beside us, filling the air, drowning everything else out but the feel of his lips tangled up against my own.