Wanderlust by Skye Warren

when people might have traveled this river
without a map. What a shock it must have been to anyone traveling
this river without knowing about the falls up ahead.
    To my surprise, Hunter took off his
shoes and waded into the river.
    He turned back, a grin on his face.
“Come in.”
    “ What? No.”
    “ It’s a little chilly but
you’ll get used to it.”
    “ I don’t do rivers.
Or…nature.” That was mostly because I’d never been around rivers…or
nature, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. No doubt he’d mock
me.
    “ You don’t do rivers, but
you want to see Niagara Falls.”
    “ I wasn’t planning on
swimming in it.”
    He made a skeptical sound. “Yeah,
because they wouldn’t let you anyway. This is better.”
    I shook my head. “Freezing to death.
Falling to my death. No, thank you.”
    “ I wouldn’t let anything
happen to you.”
    “ Oh good, because I trust
you completely.”
    At that, he laughed. “Just try it out.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
    I scowled. “What are you, a
motivational speaker?”
    “ In another life, yes.
Come on. If you don’t like it, you can get back out.”
    Oh fine. I toed off my shoes beside
his on the dry, sandy bank. The first touch of water sent a shock
up my spine, and I gasped. But I forced myself all the way inside,
both fearful and excited of the strange feeling of cool water
threading between my toes. The current was much stronger than it
looked from the surface. It felt like it was pulling me along with
it, and I had to fight just to stand still. The rocks beneath my
feet were smooth and slippery.
    Exhilarated, I stood in the middle of
the river and looked around at the trees and fog-frosted mountains.
I’d seen all of this before from just ten feet away on the bank,
but it was different here. Now I was immersed, experiencing the
sights as well as seeing them.
    A smile of wonder crept over my face.
Hunter grinned back at me, suddenly looking boyish.
    “ Well?” he
asked.
    “ Not bad.”
    “ Hah. You love
it.”
    “ Okay, I hate you five
percent less.”
    He rolled his eyes and turned to walk
in the direction of the current. “Come on, let’s go.”
    “ Wait, where are you
going?”
    “ I thought you wanted to
see the waterfall.”
    “ Uh, yeah. See it. Not
fall to my death in it.”
    “ You’re not going to
die.”
    “ I know, because I’m not
going over there.”
    He shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’ll meet
you back at the truck.”
    “ No, wait. Okay, I’m
coming.”
    I followed him through the
river, feeling nervous but excited. I was walking through a river
in a secluded park toward a waterfall. I was doing this . And I never would have
done so without Hunter. I put that thought aside and focused on my
steps. I slipped off a particularly rounded rock, and Hunter
reached back to steady me.
    “ You good?” he asked,
breathless. His eyes shone with excitement too. I’d never seen him
so alive, so intense except when we had sex. In a way these were
both carnal things, to roam and to fuck. He was a carnal man, one
who found pleasure in doing and living and being. It radiated from
him, and I absorbed his enthusiasm by osmosis.
    No more attitude, I told
myself. Not today. Just enjoy
this.
    “ I’m good,” I said,
grinning.
    When we reached the edge, I looked
down at the rush in awe. I couldn’t see the bottom, just the white,
glittery mist a few feet down. But farther along I could see the
river continue, calm again. I felt powerful, as if the water
running past my shins were channeled through me.
    “ Crazy,” I said, not
taking my eyes off the panoramic view.
    “ Crazy,” he agreed. “And
now we jump.”
    My heart sank. “I thought you were
joking about that.”
    “ I never joke about
extreme sports,” he said solemnly.
    That tugged a smile out of
me. I wished he weren’t so endearing when he wasn’t terrorizing me.
I looked down at the waterfall again. Not that far. Definitely the kind of
thing someone could