Page 45 of The Plus One

The guides explained where to jump and warned us not to hesitate once we stepped forward. Sierra and Stephen went first, holding hands as they ran off the edge. Everyone cheered when they surfaced. A few more people followed, including Tiana and Markel. I turned to Ace. “We can climb down, right?”

“We could.”

I grabbed his hand tighter. “Good. Lets g—.”

“But we’re not.”

“Ace.” He removed his shirt and tossed it onto a rock. My eyes immediately dropped to his chest. Tattoos covered his arms and part of his torso. Sweat ran down his stomach and disappeared beneath the waistband of his shorts. I temporarily forgot about the cliff. “See something you like?” he asked.

“No. I’m trying to figure out if all those muscles will help you survive the fall.”

“You worried about me?”

“If something happens to you, who’s taking me back to the resort?”

“Mhm.”

“Don’t do that.”

He smiled and held out his hand. “Come jump with me.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

“Ace, I can’t. I’m scared of heights.”

“Then we don’t jump.” I glanced at him out the corner of my eye. “I’m not forcing you, Kema. We can walk down.”

Everyone was swimming beneath us. Then I noticed Markel watching me. Tiana noticed too. Fuck them.

“You’re holding my hand the entire time,” I told Ace.

“I got you.”

“Please don’t let go.”

“I won’t.”

We approached the edge together. The closer we got, the farther away the water looked. I stepped back. “Nope.”

“We don’t have to do it.”

“I want to.”

“You sure?”

“No.”

Ace laughed before placing his hands on my waist. “Don’t look down. Look at me.”

“What if I drown?”

“You know how to swim.”

“Nigga what if when I hit the water I forget?”

“In the three seconds it takes us to hit the water?”