Chapter 20
Luna
“I’m not getting on that thing,” I say, shaking my head and staring at the motorcycle.
Hell no. I’m not that adventurous.
But Rio smiles. “Trust me. It’s the fastest way, and you’ll love it. I swear.”
I shoot him a doubtful look.
“Come on. I want to show you El Cabito, but it’s hard to get there by car. You can hold on to me real tight. I’ll go slow unless you want me to go faster. You know, like last night.”
I shoot him a death look, but then laugh. Yesterday was so good, even thinking about it makes me hot and tingly between my legs.
Tito and Sel will go on one motorcycle, and we will go on another. His security follow us in the Wrangler behind and in front.
We ride at a slow pace at first, but when it starts to feel like we’re dragging, I yell for him to go faster, and we do.
I’m holding on to him with all my might.
Then we get to the treacherous road. I can see why a motorcycle is easier to ride there, but Rio seems so adept, so I put myself in his hands and just concentrate on the platanales and all the green trees.
We pass houses and muddy areas, but it’s obvious they do this all the time.
He doesn’t even seem fazed at all. We go up hills, and my stomach flops, but he yells, “Mami, mira pa lante y agarrate fuerte de mi.”
Look forward and hold on to me.
And I do, plastered against his back with my face against his shoulder, until we make it up. The sound of waves crashing are mermaid cries calling for us to come closer. He speeds up, and we finally arrive at the top of the hill.
When we get our first glance of the sea, I smile, and we stop and park. We enter the restaurant and order Presidentes.
Sel and Tito go over to the side terrace, where local art is on display, to take photos and check out the inventory. Sel wants to buy some pieces. I decide to wait until we go into the town.
I look over and see people jumping off the cliff into the water, and I turn to say they’re crazy for doing that, but I catch the smile on Rio’s face. It’s wistful, maybe a little lost in thought.
“You’ve done that before?” I ask.
He turns, leaning into me, and nods. “Yeah, sometimes. I was a crazy-ass kid. One time, I jumped face-first. I thought that was the scariest jump I was ever going to take in my life.” He laughs. “I think my balls shrank back into my body.”
I look at the drop and how far down people fall, where the last jumper’s head looks like a marble. My stomach takes a dip. “What is it like?”
“Your heart is like a sledgehammer trying to knock out of your chest. The first time, I just jumped. Then, I developed a technique. First, I position myself at the edge of the cliff. I like to visualize where I can land. Then I jump and let myself be still on the way down. Don’t fight, just let the water swallow me, and I open my eyes.
You’re surrounded by this beautiful world of turquoise blue, where it’s quiet, and for a moment, you drift down, and then your body pushes you back up. ”
There’s something so magical in his description and the marvel in his eyes. I can almost see it in my mind’s eye.
“You make something petrifying sound so amazing. I’ve never done anything that scary. What can be more terrifying than that jump?” I ask, looking at the insane drop.
He grows serious. “Letting you into the casita yesterday.”
The intensity in his gaze breeds a lump in my throat, and I have to swallow to breathe.
“Why was that so scary?”
“It’s my sanctuary, the most precious thing I have. Not everyone will understand. It’s hard when you’ve opened the door to someone, and then you have to close it. Would they use it against you?”
I think about his ex. The way Perla talked to the media about his struggles.
He’s not the person he used to be, and that’s a real shame. I couldn’t fix him and wasn’t going to drown with him. He needs to fix himself.
I swear to myself in this moment that no matter what happens between us, no one will know from my mouth about the casita or anything else he entrusted me with.
“There are doors that are not meant to be closed once you open them,” I say, looking from him to the cliff and back to him. “I would be petrified to jump off that thing…”
“Yeah,” he chuckles. “It’s cause you’re smart. That’s not for sane people.”
“…But I want to jump…with you.”
His eyes go round, and his head shakes. “Luna, it’s dangerous. I…I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’m scared, but you’ll be there. You won’t let anything happen to me.” I take his face in my hands. “I want to see what you see. Experience what you do down there. Share it with me.”
He starts to shake his head, but lets a couple of breaths pass, then finally nods. “Okay.”
Ten minutes later, I question everything—my choices, the power of my intestines, my sanity, and his. What the fuck are we doing?
“We’re going to jump together. When the man says go, we push at the same time from our knees. Do not lean forward. We want to go straight down. Point your feet. When you hit the water, don’t flail, just go with it and let yourself sink. And then open your eyes. We will swim up.”
I swallow and nod, not trusting myself to speak because my heart is pounding in my ears. If I don’t die from the fall, I may croak before I jump. But I’m determined to do this.
We remove our clothes and stay in our bathing suits. One of our security collects everything. As we are walking to the ledge, Sel screams my name.
“What the fuck are you doing? Come back. Both of you.”
I wave at her like I’m brave and fun and not about to lose my breakfast. “I’ll be back, Sel.”
“You’re fucking insane. Did you convince her to do this shit?” she asks Rio.
“Nope. My idea. Hey, if I die, you can have my clothes, my room, and all the custom jewelry.”
“That’s not fucking funny,” she yells.
“It’s really not,” Rio agrees.
“Come on,” I tell him, like the panic is not climbing the walls of my chest the closer we get.
He squeezes my hand so tightly and lets go as we take our places on the edge. One look down at the drop, the water so far away like a galaxy, and my stomach turns. My heart punches my chest, and my throat is closing by the second. What if I die? I’ve never jumped this high. He’s done it a lot.
“Ready?” he asks.
I nod. And I suddenly need to say something to him.
The other man is going to do the countdown.
“One…two…”
Before he says three, I turn to Rio. “I love you.”
“…three.”
I push off hard from my knees. It feels like an eternity, yet at the same time, like a blink of an eye.
I experience everything: the wind coursing through my body, the water rushing toward me, and the inability to open my mouth.
I want to scream, but the words don’t come out.
One second, gravity is dragging me down violently and my eyes are closed as I slide into the water.
I count two seconds and open my eyes, expecting full darkness.
Instead, I’m surrounded by the bluest, most beautiful silence I’ve ever known.
It’s an empty turquoise canvas, and I’m getting propelled up. Just like Rio said.
My heart drops because I don’t see him. I whip my head around and he’s right there, behind me.
His eyes are clear with a smile on his face.
He stops in front of my face and brings his hand behind my neck.
Bubbles float around us as he pulls me in for a kiss.
I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around him, and we float up with my face on his neck and our bodies entwined.
When we break the surface, I blink against the salt burn, but he’s there, and I can’t stop staring into his eyes.
“You did that, Mami.”
With my heart hammering in my chest, I pant, “With you.”
“And you said you love me.”
“I do.”
He exhales and steals my breath with his kiss.
* * *
Rio
I speed down the road with the Caribbean Sea straight ahead and Luna’s arms secured around me, her hands splayed on my chest, the right one right over my heart. I’m feeling all the things—the adrenaline, the fear, the excitement, and her love.
I love you.
The words followed me down the cliff and under the water. In a world of blue nothingness, she was everything. When I turned, I couldn’t help but kiss her and hold her and then let the same gravity that sank us to the deep push us together to the surface.
All I want to do is stare at her, look into her eyes, and see that love.
When we climbed back up the stairs, my world already felt different.
Even as she got fussed at by Sel, her gaze would find me.
I wanted to send everyone away and just go somewhere with her.
But it would expose us to people who may want to harm me or get money from me.
I don’t ever want to put her at risk in any way.
I had planned to take her to Las Terrenas, but I chose Playa Rincon instead. This is more personal, and the people know me. They’re more respectful here. Las Terrenas would be too crowded with tourists, and it would turn into a circus. Here we have more control.
When we get to the beach with the soft sand and salty breeze, I’m happy to see there are fewer people than usual. It’s a Monday, and not many people come out.
“You know there’s a great beach outside your house, right?” Sel says.
“It’s different here. You want this experience. There’s no conconete in the house.” And I get to chuckle when her eyes go big. No real Dominican can resist the combination of a coconut bread and a large cookie. The conconete here in Samaná is unrivaled, with fresh coconut chunks baked into it.
“Oh my God,” Luna squeals, looking beyond us. “LPs!”
LP, short for long play, like the old records, are giant versions of yaniqueques, the famous Dominican fried dough sprinkled with salt.
They’re flaky, crispy, flavorful, and perfect at any time of the day.
She and Sel do a mad dash for the vendor like little kids.
I signal the security guard who holds the money to go pay for them.