CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

The second time they made the hike to Ritter falls, Jack has only slipped once and to his credit, it wasn't because of lack of skill but because he was practically running over the rocks.

Reagan was amused because despite Jack clearly being the more enthusiastic one between the two of them, they were roughly climbing at the same pace.

By the time they've reach the 13 feet tall rock, Jack was panting and he asked for a pause to regain his breath.

"God, I forgot how awful the hike was." He took a long exhale, "And it's 2000 degrees out, to make it worse.

She chuckled, "You regretting it?"

He straightened up, "Not in the slightest."

Jack led the way this time, recognizing the rocky path going upwards and his hands were shaking but he got to the upper landing in less than five minutes.

It was hardly believable but he was the one who helped Reagan climb up that time.

The moment he had sight of the rushing water, Jack let out a sigh. Whether it was a sigh of relief from the fatigue, awe or because a part of him wasn't sure he'd see the falls again, Reagan wasn't entirely sure.

He turned back to look at Reagan, a wide smile on his face, and took her hand before she could say anything.

"I don't think I'll ever see this place," he said as he led them towards the edge of the water, "And not have my breath taken away."

He dropped his hold on Reagan's hand to hold onto the hem of his shirt before he pulled it off and over his head with one quick tug.

Reagan tried her hardest to stop herself from heating up.

Vividly, she heard the clanging sound of his belt buckle being undone and he didn't turn back before he pulled off his pants, leaving him in just a pair of boxers when he jumped into the deeper part of the water before Reagan could process what was happening.

The water splash reached hair and she trembled because—

"This is so fucking cold," He screamed to the top of his lungs as he resurfaced from the clear water, "Oh my God the water is fucking freezing."

Reagan couldn't help herself from laughing because against his own word, Jack submerged his head in the water once more before he resurfaced to whip his floppy hair out of his face.

Jack was visibly shivering but he was laughing all the same.

"The water comes from the mountain, idiot," She shook her head amusedly while rubbing the skin on her arms to warm herself, "What d'you expect?"

Jack replied by splashing a generous amount of water to where she stood and Reagan flinched in surprise at the feeling of the cold water against the warmth of her skin.

"Asshole," She flinched back but she couldn't help herself from laughing along with Jack.

"You comin' in or what?" He called out to her, hands swaying to keep him afloat.

Reagan rolled her eyes but took off her shoes along with her socks. She walked to the shallow end of the water to dip her toe in and the moment the water made contact with her skin, she felt like an electric shock went up to her bloodstream.

"This is ice," She hissed, "It's too cold!"

"C'mon, you baby," He whipped some more water towards where she stood and she was thankful he had terrible aim, "It's not so bad once you're in. Just jump in and get it over with!"

Reagan shook her head in disbelief, "God, we're gonna be sick for days."

"Oh, c'mon, Wallace," Jack whined teasingly, "This is the absolute worst time to chicke—"

He didn't get to finish off his sentence because Reagan, in a moment of boldness, pulled off her dress with one swift tug and discarded it next to Jack's own clothes.

And the next thing she heard was the silent whisper of, "Fuck," along with an audible gulp.

She didn't look at him and forced herself to walk towards the deeper end of the water.

By the time she was knee deep, she looked at Jack as she rubbed her arms for warmth, "I feel numb."

Jack let out a loud laugh, the asshole.

"Just walk faster!"

Reagan glared at him, "Make me."

She realized her mistake too late because Jack suddenly let out a lopsided grin in a way she found too familiar and by the time she realized what he was up to, he was a foot away from her.

In a fraction of a second, he had her hoisted up by the waist and the flash of a devilish grin was the last thing she saw before the pure white.

"Don't you da--!"

She barely had the time to yell out dare before she was plunged into the water.

For a few, brief seconds, Reagan felt like she fell into ice and all her senses went haywire. But when she resurfaced while spluttering for air, the first thing she saw was Jack.

Jack whose arms were holding her upward by her waist despite having his head thrown back in laughter. Jack whose smile was as bright as the setting sun behind him. Jack whose eyes were crinkled im absolute joy, and Reagan felt her entire body warm up at the sight of him.

"Asshole," She huffed, splashing water towards him and he only laughed, barely flinching away.

He submerged his head into the water for a split second before resurfacing to push his hair out of his face and continued to grin dumbly at Reagan.

"You're beautiful," he said after a pause, dopey smile on his face. Despite the freezing water that her body was still adjusting to, she felt herself heat up even more.

"Shut up," She scoffed, and it only prompted Jack to smile wider.

The bottom of the lake where the water pooled was too deep, likely from the years of rushing water from the falls pushing it lower and they had to kick their feet underneath to keep themselves on the surface.

They were afloat, almost weightless, and Jack had no difficulty in pulling her closer to him before putting both hands behind her knees and coercing her legs to wrap around his waist.

Reagan didn't show any resistance and when their heads had only inches of distance apart, Jack placed one hand on the small of her back as support while the other tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Sunset's coming," He said in a whisper, only loud enough for her to hear beyond the rushing water, "And there's no better way I'd spend it."

Reagan smiled back at him, "Me neither."

Jack's eyes flickered to her lips and he looked at her eyes for a sense of permission before he leaned in to kiss her softly. She felt her the knots in her chest loosen.

All other thoughts and feelings flowed out of her other than Jack and the way he was holding onto her.

Jack took her chin with one hand to guide her head to tilt sideways and Reagan complied easily. Her entire body felt like it was touching an open current but before their kiss went deeper, Jack pulled away.

"Hey," he whispered, breath heavy, while their foreheads were still resting against each other and Reagan opened her eyes to look at his that were closed shut, "You think it's possible to fall in love with someone in less than a week?"

And that's when Reagan's entire body went numb.

She stared at his, dumbstruck, until his eyes eventually flickered open.

Jack's eyes looked so vulnerable and hopeful and she didn't know what to do.

"Hey," he whispered again, softly, and Reagan's heart felt heavy at the sight of him looking hurt.

"You..." She started, not knowing exactly what she wanted to say. Reagan gulped, "You don't mean that."

Without missing a beat, Jack shook his head.

"You don't know that."

It took a few beats before what he said processed in her head and by the time it did, she felt too many emotions overcoming her all at once. Reagan was too overwhelmed with emotions and all she was capable of doing was kissing him once more.

When she opened her eyes, the sky was dark and there were hardly any light left but she saw Jack in front of her clear as day.

Jack was about to say something, words almost visibly on the tip of his tongue, when something in the water suddenly caught his eye.

Reagan followed his train of sight to see a stream of glowing blue green dots in the water and her mouth gaped in bewilderment, "What in the world?"

Jack mimicked her response before he looked at her and laughed in disbelief, "The water's glowing."

"I think theyre planktons," She blinked at him before looking back down at the water surrounding them, "Bioluminescent planktons."

She drew a handful of water out of the stream and she saw the water she touched turning a bright electric blue at the movement of her hand.

"My god," she breathed out and Jack looked back at her with the same look of absolute awe. It looked nothing short of magical, having the rushing water gleaming under no light other than the muted ones coming from distant fireflies.

Reagan never spent days in Ritter falls long enough to witness the sun going down until it was dark enough to see the glowing stream and she didn't know how else to describe it—Ritter falls was already an image of paradise and the countless blue and yellow lights that illuminate it by night made it almost unearthly.

Reagan couldn't describe the sight of Jack swimming in Ritter falls with the water cascading behind him and glowing blue light illuminating his eyes as anything less than the most beautiful scene she's seen all her life.

And then silence came.

Reagan fell silent and so did Jack and they didn't need anymore words as he brought them closer to where the water was falling.

The downward current was stronger for a short time as they swam to the rock the water was falling from and they duck under the sheet of cascading water until they were eventually behind it.

The planktons were still there, though fewer, and the falling water they passed through dimmed the light and the view around them, but the sight of Jack underneath the waterfall wasn't any less beautiful.

They only shared silence while the water fell and Jack's arms tightened around her.

"Reagan," He whispered out, not in a way that he was calling her but more as if he wanted to feel the sound of it coming from his tongue. His voice was soft and gentle as he pulled her towards him, "C'mere."

Jack hoisted her up onto a flat surface over an elevated rock and Reagan's legs circled around him on instinct.

The water was still freezing her bones but the feeling of Jack's skin flush against her own felt warm.

He kissed her, eyes closed. His lips pressed against her then pulled away before leaning in again gently.

His hand was stroking her waist and his nose was nudging against her cheek and Reagan swears she could almost hear the sound of him saying, "I love you."

But it didn't come.

Though all she needed was the way he looked at her to understand what he meant.

lmao what was that ending. SORRY THIS SUCKS I'LL EDIT IT TOMORROW BUT ALSO THIS WAS A P LONG CHAPTER THIS IS MY HIATUS APOLOGY

man i tried the entire scene of how they approached getting into the water as a metaphor of how they approached their relationship

ALSO IM SORRY USHSHS I MIGHT WRITE A ONE SHOTS BOOK FOR THIS STORY ONCE IT'S OVER THAT MIGHT INCLUDED SMUT BUT FOR NOW it's up to you to decide whether they've had sex there or not idk man whatever makes more sense to u

anw i made a manip of jack and reagan in the water

The blue around them was supposed to be the glowing planktons i couldnt get it right so i added fireflies HAHHAHAHHA :'( sad

anw hellooo thank you for still sticking with me. i will still finish this story, i promise but i apologize for taking so long. also just a reminder that kind words go a long way.

thank u for still reading this, friends. much love.