“Me either!”
Wendy’s eyes went wide. “You just blindly led us deeper into the woods?”
Peter smirked. “Not blindly,” he denied with a nonchalant roll of his shoulders. “I followed the sound of the water, obviously.”
“Obviously,” Wendy echoed flatly, watching Peter as he edged around the pool. Wendy carefully navigated the slippery rocks and shifting, multicolored pebbles.
Meanwhile, Peter had found an old length of rope, sun faded and fraying, tied to an overhanging branch. He gave it a tug. Some leaves floated to the rippling water below. The branch creaked but held true.
Wendy didn’t like the mischievous grin on Peter’s face.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, but he was already tugging the faded pink shirt over his head.
Peter laughed and tossed his shirt to the side. “What does it look like I’m doing?” he asked. He stood there, fists on his hips, cocking an eyebrow.
Wendy glanced at his bare chest. It was tanned and toned, with more freckles splayed across his collarbone. A small trail of copper hair led down his flat stomach.
She forced her eyes back to Peter’s. “H-How do you know the water’s deep enough?” she stammered out, cutting a glance to the pool of water. Ripples from the waterfall made it impossible to see down.
Peter shrugged and turned back to the rope. “I don’t!”
“But what if the rope breaks?”
“Then I’ll fall into the water.” Peter laughed, gripping the rope with both hands.
He backed up a few steps and Wendy’s heart leapt into her throat. “But—”
“Peter Pan, remember?” he said, cutting her off and hooking a thumb at himself. “Not afraid of anything!”
Before Wendy could think of another objection, he took a running start off the rock. Hands gripping the rope and knees pulled up, Peter soared out over the water. He crowed loudly and it echoed against the rocky side of the cliff before he plummeted into the water.
Wendy scrambled to the edge of the rock. Below, the water bubbled where he had disappeared. She counted to three in her head, and the seconds dragged by. “Peter!” she shouted. Panic ripped through her. She shot to her feet, ready to jump in after him. She was on the swim team and had taken lifeguard lessons as an elective in the spring. If she dove out far enough, she could—
With a spray of water, Peter’s auburn head popped out of the water. He spluttered and howled, arms viciously cutting through the water. “Argh!” he shouted, voice tight.
“Peter!” Wendy’s heart pounded erratically. “Are you okay?” She frantically searched for any sign of blood or a broken limb.
And Peter was—laughing.
Peter was laughing.
“Holy crap, it’s cold!” he shouted, head bobbing above the surface as he laughed and treaded water.
Relief crashed over her, quickly followed by anger. “You scared me half to death!” she fumed.
Peter smiled up at her, lazily floating on his back. “Come on!” He beckoned for her. “The water feels amazing! After the initial freezing cold, anyway—”
“Peter Pan, I am going to kill you myself!” Wendy barked.
“You’ll have to get in and catch me first!”
Wendy gave him an unimpressed look. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you?”
Peter’s head bobbed, his wet hair sticking out at odd angles. “I do, yes.”
Wendy glowered.
“Oh, come on, live a little, Wendy!” he coaxed. “It’s not even that far! And it’s plenty deep!” He flicked water up at her and it landed on her arm.
She had to admit, it did feel nice.
Wendy groaned and raked a hand over her face. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said, more to herself than Peter. Wendy slipped her sneakers off and left them next to Peter’s abandoned shirt. There was no way she was going to take off her clothes. If she was going to do this, then she would just have to walk back a sopping-wet mess.
“Yes!” Peter cheered triumphantly from the water.
Her grip on the rope was vicelike. She tried to gauge the safest way to swing and gave the rope a hard tug, just to check.
“Yesssss!”
Wendy couldn’t believe she was actually going to do this. She took two steps back and then ran to the edge of the rock before jumping off. She held tight to the rope and tucked in her knees. When she swung out as far as she could, Wendy squeezed her eyes shut and let go.
The sensation of falling through empty air sent a thrill up Wendy’s spine. A strangled shout caught in her throat, but it was quickly swallowed up by water as she plummeted through the surface. The icy water shot through her like electricity, robbing her of the breath she’d held. She kicked her legs and broke the surface of the water, gasping for air and flailing.