The water was a spectacular sight as we wound our way down the island. It was hard to believe that we had nine whole months of this ahead of us—that as amazing as it was here, there was so much more amazing waiting to happen.
When we hit a pothole, Leah bumped against my shoulder, and then inched toward the window, as if touching me wasn’t acceptable. I swallowed, knowing that my stupid physical craving to get my hands on her would only screw over my trip, my GPA, and her life. Hell, my life, too. She was too important to even think about that way.
Besides, I’d always wanted what I couldn’t have, and that had to be it. She was in the center of my radar because I already knew she was untouchable.
Ten minutes later we stood outside next to a large sign that read pedestrian path to the crystal caves of bermuda.
“Spelunking?” I asked hopefully.
“Sightseeing. Come on.” She smiled over her shoulder, and I followed after her, enjoying the slight sway of her curved hips ahead of me.
We passed rows of palm trees, a botanical garden, and finally made it to a curved archway that started a ramped descent. The stone walls rose around us, becoming a tunnel and, though the walkway wasn’t steep, I didn’t miss the way Leah’s fingers tightened on the banister.
“Why don’t you let me go first?” I asked, sliding to the side. She shot me a curious look, and I shrugged. “That way if you stumble, I’ll catch you.”
“Catch me?”
“Well, it would be more like you catching yourself on my back, but you can use me.”
Her eyebrows shot sky-high.
“My back. You can use my back.” And any other part of me you want. “You know what? I’m going first just to make this conversation stop.”
I took the lead behind the tour guide, shaking my head as he rambled on about the history of the cave. Where the hell was my game? Not that I was trying to hook up with Leah, but it would have been nice to put two words together correctly.
We made it out of the tunnel, and I sucked in a breath. “Whoa.” Stalactites hung from every square foot of the ceiling, all pointing to the clearest, bluest water I’d ever seen.
Leah’s cheek brushed my shoulder as she leaned around to see. “Told you it would be worth it.”
I turned to her, my lips brushing across the crown of her head. Her hair smelled like oranges, and damn if I didn’t like it. “It’s beautiful.”
She pulled back enough to look into my eyes. “And you’re thinking of how fast you could skateboard down the ramp, aren’t you?”
Actually, it hadn’t even occurred to me. I’d been too focused on her. You’re slipping. I glanced back up the ramp, past the remainder of our tour. “I could probably get a ton of speed, but I’d need something to bank me through this turn.”
The two girls behind us giggled, and the hot blond one gave me the smile I’d become accustomed to in the last three years I’d made a name for myself. The one that usually ended with a phone number I didn’t use because I’d already moved on.
“Do you ever stop to think that you’re moving too fast to savor anything around you before it’s gone?” Leah asked.
I jolted, my entire body snapping to face hers. Had she been in my head? No. She was leaned over the railing of the outcropping, absorbing everything around us, experiencing it in a way I didn’t, because she was right—I was always moving too fast.
I leaned next to her, her bare shoulder rubbing against mine, and simply watched, not only the incredible scene around us but the play of emotion on her face, as she did the same. “This was worth slowing down for,” I admitted.
She turned those eyes on me, and I realized that I meant that in more than one way. It would be so easy to run my fingers into her hair, tip her face to mine, and kiss her, to see if she tasted as sweet as she looked. Maybe then I could be satisfied, the challenge over, the curiosity appeased.
You know better.
“Hey…um…aren’t you Wilder?” a guy asked from behind me, and I could have hit him for cock-blocking me and thanked him at the same time.
I turned around, but Leah didn’t. “Yeah,” I answered.
“Whoa!” The guy high fived his Abercrombie-styled buddy, the hot blonde tucked under his arm. “I knew you were on board but didn’t expect to get to meet you!”
“Well, hi.” I gave them a nod.
“Hi,” his girl said with a smile and a once-over that let me know she’d be all too happy to take a private tour of my room later.
Oddly enough, that didn’t sound too appealing.
“Dude, we saw you at the Summer X Games year before last. The Big Air finals were crazy! You nailed it!”
A sliver of apprehension cracked the peaceful veneer I’d had since we left the ship. “Thanks. It was…a night.” What would you give to have changed it?
“How did it feel?” Abercrombie asked.
“Winning?” I clarified, reaching for the railing behind me. Don’t do it. Don’t ask.
“Beating your best friend. Everyone figured Nitro was going to take gold that year, and then you owned it!”
My fingers dug into the railing. Beating Nick had never been in the plans and had sucked almost every ounce of joy from the moment they hung that medal around my neck. It had been the start of a spiral I hadn’t been able to stop.
No one had.
“Where is he, anyway?” the other one asked before it got too apparent that I wasn’t going to answer the first question. “I haven’t seen him on the Renegade Channel in forever.”