“That’s pretty forward, don’t you think?” I tease.

He tosses his shirt on the tarp, and I stop teasing because, wow.

The last time I saw Brody without his shirt was years ago. He was, maybe, sixteen. And it was a beautiful sight then. But now? He’s a wall of tanned, muscled perfection. Broad shoulders, cut, inked pecs, ridged abs, just the right amount of dark-gold chest hair, and a matching trail disappearing into his jeans.

“See something you like?” he asks, amused.

I put a hand out and stroke the pretty. His abs flex under my touch, a small groan escaping his mouth. He captures my hand with his as I find his waistband.

“I want to show you one of my favorite things,” he says, stripping off his jeans. Now I really can’t take my eyes off him. He’s wearing gray cotton boxer briefs, and my touch has apparently positively affected him, because—yeah. The bad boy is big.

“I want to see it.”

His eyes follow my gaze and darken, but he says, “You can see that later.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“Ah, Rachel,” he says. “If I’d had any idea how much fun you’d turn out to be, we would have been doing this years ago. C’mere.” He leads me to the edge of the rock outcropping we’re sitting on.

“We’re going to jump.”

“Are you out of your mind?” I demand, stepping back from the vertiginous drop.

“Nope,” he says. “Do you want to go first, or should I?” His eyes rake over me, appreciative. “You could lose the dress.”

“What if someone comes out here?”

“I bet your underwear’s pretty.”

I roll my eyes at him. “There is no earthly way I’m jumping off that cliff.”

“Okay,” he says, and shrugs. “See you in a few!”

And with that, he’s gone over the edge, yelling.

“Brody!” I call. My stomach lurches, and I peek over the edge, my heart pounding. But when I look down, he’s in the water, pumping his fist and howling with joy. It’s as much emotion as I’ve ever seen Brody express, and it fills me with delight.

“It’s so awesome!” he yells up to me. “Join me!”

It’s like there are two parts of me, the one whose heart took flight over the edge when Brody jumped, full to the brim with Brody’s happiness.

And the other part, which is full of objections: things that could go wrong, reasons I need more time to think about this. Like, a year.

Maybe if I’d known ahead of time. If I’d worn a bathing suit. If I had a towel.

If I knew the temperature of the water…

“You don’t need a plan! Just do it!” Brody calls.

I feel seen.

I’m not sure I can totally explain what happens next.