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Rowdy had given me a quick tutorial back at the lake house before that asshole gunned it down the dirt path and left me in his dust.
Fuck it.
I hit the gas, increasing my speed until I finally began to gain on them. The path ended up ahead underneath a pair of broken bridges with their centers blown out. Apparently, it was the only public access to the passable side of the mountains.
I could see Golden standing underneath one—shirtless, blonde-tipped dreads hanging around his powerful shoulders and his light skin competing with the sun.
I pictured his signature brooding frown as he watched us race toward him and grinned as I gunned the ATV, earning a startled look from Rowdy when he glanced over his shoulder and noticed too late me closing in.
I didn’t slow down even as I ate up the last of the gap.
His lips parted to warn Roc when he caught on to my intent, but it was too late as the front of my ATV collided with the back of Demi’s, the hit nudging her ATV forward and freeing her from their clutches.
The impact had my butt lifting from the seat, and I just barely kept from flipping over the handlebars when Rowdy thrust his arm out and caught me before I could.
He shook his head in disapproval, so I blew him a kiss and gunned it past them both. I followed Demi across the invisible finish line and slowed to keep from hitting the partygoers as I circled the ATV around.
Roc and Rowdy raced across the finish line, hopped off, and immediately came to blows over who came in last.
“They so damn childish,” Demi told me after cutting the engine and climbing off.
I nodded my agreement and did the same, waving hi to Golden. In typical Golden fashion, he wordlessly tipped his head at me as he took his time heading over to break up the fight happening between Rowdy and Roc in the sand. I stuck my tongue out at him as I followed Demi over to the food.
Fred was manning one of the three smoking grills while people sat around the picnic tables enjoying the food or playing Spades. There was even a volleyball net set up with a game currently in play as the rest danced to the music, swam in the lake, or swung from ropes. One rope was tied underneath the bridge closest to the water line, and another was hidden higher up somewhere in the trees on a small cliff.
There were basically three different parties happening at once—one at the house, another in the middle of the lake, and here at the far end underneath the abandoned bridges.
Joren was still passed out drunk, so Jada, thankfully, had agreed to stay behind with her husband and look after Halo until Roc’s mother came to get her. I didn’t know why, but like Joren, I felt uneasy around her. I needed time to process the feeling.
God, however, must have had time to play today.
As soon as Demi and I were done stuffing our faces, Joren—awake and sobered—arrived with Jada on the back of his ATV. Apart, they were both stunning. Together, their beauty was blinding. Joren and Jada both looked like they belonged in a magazine.
I wondered if they had kids. Joren never mentioned them, but then again, he never really talked about his wife, either. It would be a shame if they didn’t since no one could argue that the two of them would make some beautiful babies. I just hoped neither passed on their personalities.
Demi and I got the bright idea to challenge the guys to a game of volleyball—girls against guys. We lost horribly. I even had to endure endless ribbing after I tried to keep the guys from scoring the winning point and ended up with a face full of sand.
With my makeup ruined, I figured I might as well get wet, which somehow led me over to the rope. I remembered thinking what a bad idea it was as I waited for my turn and, again, once it came and I stepped up.
“You sure?” Rowdy asked, hand on the rope, keeping me from running to the edge of the cliff. I was feeling daring today. “Don’t expect me to jump in there and save you if your scary ass drowns.”
I spat out sand for the umpteenth time since the game ended and glared over my shoulder at him. “Shut up, Owen.”
He chuckled, and my heart galloped in my chest when he finally let go of the rope. “I’m fucking with you, baby. You know Daddy got you.” With a stinging slap on my ass, Rowdy stepped back, slipped his hands in the pockets of his trunks, and with a nod toward the water, he sent me on my way.
Here goes nothing.
I gripped the rope tighter and sprinted toward the water.
Time seemed to stop once my feet left the safety of the small cliff.
I forced myself to let go of the rope, throwing my body backward in that split second between suspension and dropping and executed a perfect flip.
After, I watched the glistening expanse of the water rapidly approach and thought,Wow, this is a really bad idea.
And then I plunged underneath the surface.
It was dark.
