Bella and the Summer Fling by Amy Sparling

Author:Amy Sparling [Sparling, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-20T06:00:00+00:00

9

Bella

It’s only when I close my eyes and hold onto Liam that I’m not scared. I can forget about the world around me, the terrifyingly long trip back down to solid ground, if I just breathe slowly and listen to the thump, thump, thump of Liam’s heartbeat underneath his T-shirt. It’s a soft cotton shirt, gray with a Fox head logo on the upper corner. And it smells like him. Or maybe that’s just him that I smell. All woodsy and clean, even though it’s hot outside and my forehead is beginning to sweat. He still smells amazing.

He lets me hold onto him for a long time, but eventually I need to pull away. There’s only so long you can hug someone who isn’t your official boyfriend while you’re standing at the top of a huge rock.

I didn’t tell him the whole truth about this stupid rock. He knows I’m a little scared of it, but the truth is - I am terrified of it.

I’m not a fan of heights, and I’m not a fan of trusting my own feet. Every step I took on the journey up here felt like a monumental task to force my body to keep its balance. I was so scared that I’d slip and fall and go tumbling down the rock, breaking every bone in my body along the way.

Riding dirt bikes and soaring ninety feet through the air? No problem.

But this rock? It’s terrifying. That’s why I never made it up here in all the times I’ve been here on field trips and weekend lunches with my friends. But for Liam, I’m willing to step outside of fear. He planned this date for us and for a few minutes in his truck today, I was about to tell him I didn’t want to do it.

I step back, but still hold onto him as I turn and look around at the world below us. It’s absolutely beautiful. The sky is a crystal blue with only a few white, puffy clouds. I see my town, and the next town over. Behind us is mostly vast stretches of Texas hill country, with the occasional house or farm peppered throughout.

“I’m so glad I came up here,” I say, as I stand in awe of the beauty around me.

“Ready for lunch?” Liam asks. He slides off his backpack and kneels down as he unzips it. I stand here and watch him unfold a navy blue blanket onto the rock. Then, very carefully, I kneel down too, and sit on the blanket. My fear of heights lessens after I sit down. I feel safer on my butt. Less likely to fall.

“Okay, don’t laugh but I did the best I could,” Liam says. He takes a lunch kit out of his backpack and lays out the lunch he made for us. There’s sandwiches, chips, strawberries, and cupcakes from the best bakery in town.

“You made us lunch?” I say, giving him a coy smile. “That is really sweet.”

“Sweet or lame?” he says, handing me a soda.

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