Pretend Love Romance by Penny Wylder
Diana
One second I’m in the boat and the next I’m trapped in a storm of ice. At least that’s how it feels. How did I get here? That’s the only thought that I have, but I know that’s not the thought I need to be having. The water is pulling me so fast that I’m dizzy and I’m honestly not sure which way is up.
The life jacket is pulling on me so hard that I’m choking. It hurts. Whatever I’m stuck on is keeping me down. Have to get it off. Have to get it off. The second I touch the clasps, I’m ripped away down into the water, and I’m not better off. I still don’t know where the surface is.
My leg hits something and fiery pain rips up my leg, but it gives me a direction. I think. I fight against the current, swimming in the direction I think is upward. The water of the river is so frothy and churning so violently that it’s murky. Having my eyes open barely helps.
There. My hand breaks the surface of the water for a second before a brand new current grabs me and yanks me back down. I’m running out of breath. Fast. What do I do? Adrenaline surges through me and I kick harder. Faster. It doesn’t seem to matter.
The current whips me down stream through what feels like a new set of rapids, and I slam into a rock so hard that I see white. And then black.
* * *
Fire races through my lungs and I’m choking. There’s warmth on my lips and I cough. Retch. Every nerve in my body burns as I’m hauling in air. I’m shaking and everything hurts. What the fuck happened?
Breathing doesn’t get any easier, but I can breathe. I’m not in the river anymore.
I open my eyes to blue. Blue eyes. Leo is on top of me, his face so close that I can feel his breath. His skin is wet, and his chest is heaving like he’s run a marathon. Now that I’m coming back to myself, I feel his weight on me, knees on either side of my hips.
There was warmth on my mouth when I woke. He gave me mouth to mouth. Did I stop breathing? How? When? Did my heart stop?
My mind is in a daze.
Leo kissed me.
I know that it’s not because of anything but saving my life, but my brain keeps snagging on the fact that he kissed me. And he’s looking at me now with something dark and unreadable in his eyes. He looks like he wants to kiss me again.
More than that, I’m aware of the way that he’s on top of me. Intimate and perfect. He’s so big that it feels like he’s everywhere. My lungs still feel weak, and I’m gasping for breath. Not entirely because I just died and came back, but because of him.
My voice is raspy. “Did I stop breathing?”
Leo searches my face for a moment and slowly smooths his hand over my hair. Down until his hand rests against my cheek. “Yeah.” His voice is rough too. “You did.”
I died.
The realization hits me like a truck. Holy fuck. I died. And he brought me back.
“Diana!” The voice shrieks from close by. It’s Emily, and the spell is broken. Leo eases his body off of mine, and I’m swarmed by my hysterical friends. They’re all talking so fast that I can’t fully process their words.
“Are you okay?”
“Holy shit. When you didn’t come back up, I was so freaked out.”
“Please tell us that you’re fine.”
Emily is crying, and they’re all looking at me expectantly. “I…think so,” I say. “I’m not sure.” I still feel fuzzy. But behind my friends, Leo is standing there, and I can’t stop staring at him. My savior. He dove in after me even though that river was crazy. And the way he’s looking at me…
It makes me shiver more than being soaking wet from the river.
“Oh my God,” Emily says. “Let’s call that a day, huh?”
I nod slowly. “Yeah.”
Leo looks at Emily. “You guys have a phone in your dry bags? I have no idea where my canoe went.”
“We got it,” Emily says. “Once the water calmed down, it wasn’t hard to grab it. It’s over there.” She points through the trees they came through.
“Thanks.” With a final look at me, Leo turns away. But he does it slowly, like he doesn’t want to take his eyes off me. But he does, and he’s quickly back with his phone, speaking urgently. “Okay, they’re coming to pick us up because I don’t want Diana to walk the miles back to the cars. Rafting is off the table until the river is calmer. I apologize. I went down the river last week and it wasn’t nearly as fast. I should have checked before taking you down it.”
Emily smiles at him. “You got us all out in one piece. That’s what matters.”
At some point they help me into a sitting position. I don’t remember them doing it. The girls go to get our stuff from the canoes, and Leo stays with me. Then there are more people carrying the canoes to a set of SUVs.
“Diana,” Leo says softly. “We need to get you into one of the cars, okay?”
“Okay.”
His arm comes around my shoulders and he helps me stand. My legs are shaky, and I don’t know if they’re going to hold me. But they do. Partly. Halfway to the car my knees buckle, and Leo doesn’t even hesitate, catching me and swinging me up into his arms like he was expecting it.
Warmth floods me. Leo is a furnace surrounding my body, and I have the urge to just close my eyes and rest there. He holds me like it’s nothing. “Why am I so tired?”
When he speaks, I can feel the vibration of his voice. “Dying and coming back will do that to a person.”
“I guess so.”
He sets me gently in the front seat of a truck, and I miss the feeling of him cradling me. It was nice. And warm. I’m cold now. And wet. God, that river was so cold that I don’t think that I’ll ever forget it.
I feel like I’m drifting as the cars drive us back to the lodge. Sleep. I want to go to sleep. That’s all that I want at this moment, just warmth and sleep.
The truck stops and jerks me awake. I fumble with the handle and manage to get the door open, but Leo is already there, pressing me back into the seat. “Hold on a second, hot shot. I need to take you to the hospital.”
I shake my head, but that makes it feel fuzzy and achy, so I stop. “No, you don’t. I’m fine.”
His low chuckle is warm. “Even if you were completely fine, this happened on Blue Mountain’s watch, and we need to get you checked out, okay?”
Leaning my head against the seat, I sag. “Okay.”
“We’ll come with you,” Emily says. “Of course.”
“No,” I say. “Don’t do that. It’s still bachelorette weekend. Doesn’t need to stop to have you guys sitting in the emergency room for hours. I’ll be back soon enough.”
Emily looks at me with concern in her gaze, but she doesn’t fight me. If I hadn’t just almost died, she’d probably already be pushing her way into the truck beside me.
“Can you get some dry clothes for her?” Leo asks softly. “I don’t want her to move much until we can get her checked out, but she can change at the hospital.”
“Good idea,” Emily says and jogs off toward our cabin.
Leo turns to me. “How do you feel?”
“Sleepy.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. But I need you to stay awake, okay? Until we can get you checked out and we know it’s safe for you to sleep.”
I nod slowly. “Yeah.” We’re quiet for a second. “Are you sure you need to take me? Emily would do it. I don’t want to interrupt your day.”
Leo’s eyebrows rise into his hairline. “Diana, it was my fault that you were in the river at all. You’re not ruining my night. And even if you were, it’s my job to take you.” His hand reaches out like he’s going to touch me and then he changes his mind. Softer, he says, “I want to make sure that you’re okay.”
“Here you go!” Em’s voice calls. She has a bag filled with clothes. What look like the yoga pants I brought and a couple other things. Comfortable clothes. I could kiss her. “Come back soon, okay?” she whispers, gently hugging me. “I can’t have my bachelorette weekend without my maid of honor.”
“Back in no time,” I say. “They’re just going to poke me for a while and then send me home.”
“And scan your brain, probably,” Em says. “If they find anything weird in there, make sure to take pictures.”
I laugh. “I’ll try to remember.”
She hugs me again and then steps back.
“Told you it was a bad idea for me to get in a boat.”
“I swear, I’ll never make you do it again,” she says.
Leo takes her place in front of me. “It’s a longer drive, let’s get you buckled in.”
“I can do it,” I say, reaching for the belt, but he stops me. His hands are warm on mine, and my stomach drops when he looks at me.
“Let me,” he says. “Please.”
I don’t pretend to understand why it matters, but I let him secure the belt and check to make sure that it’s buckled. And then he’s climbing into the driver’s seat. “Ready?”
“Yeah.”
The rumble of the engine seems to vibrate inside my skull as we drive away.
