Chapter 7 (Change)

When I wake up, she's already awake. "Morning beautiful."

She laughs and hits me with a pillow. I catch it and take it out of her hands. I start tickling her and she laughs maniacally. When I stop, I kiss her gently.

"What are we doing today?" she asks me.

"We are going zip lining today!" I say. I see the look of terror on her face. I know zip lining is a big jump from paddle boarding but I think she'll enjoy it.

"I know it sounds and maybe looks scary but it's so much fun. You'll be okay, you'll have a great time. And if you get scared, just tell and I'll help you get through it. You're not afraid of heights so this should be a breeze. You're harnessed in so you won't fall too. It's perfectly safe. And afterwards, we can go to this painting studio."

"Okay. I'll go, but we have to paint. No cancelling because it's boring."

"It won't be boring if you're there." I say and kiss her cheek. "Come on, let's eat and get dressed."

We get in the car about an hour later to go to the zip line course. Christina refused to go because her make-up would sweat off. When we get there we sign the papers and they lead us to a shack where our equipment is kept. Jess has some trouble putting it on. Almost all of her straps are twisted. After I fix her gear, we head to the first zip line. She stands on the platform twiddling her thumbs nervously. I grab her by the waist and pull her towards me. Will looks at me a little sad because Christina bailed. I think he's a little upset that his girlfriend didn't come but mine did. He'll get over it.

"It'll be okay. You'll be harnessed in, safe. You don't have to go first if you don't want to."

"Okay." She looks out at the zip and squeezes my hand, nervous.

I walk over to Will and ask him to go first because it will make Jess feel better to see someone go before her. I figure I'll go last so I can help Jess get attached to the line. Will goes first and Jess watches carefully. When he makes it to the platform, he gives us a thumbs up, signifying that he's unhooked and Jess can go.

I hook Jess in, grab her hand and kiss it. "You're safe. I promise. When you get to the platform Will's going to help you take the trolley off so I can go." I kiss her forehead and step back so she can go.

She looks back at me, closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and steps off the platform. She screams the whole way down the line. Will catches her at the end and takes the trolley of the line so I can go. He gives me a thumbs up and I hook my trolley into the line. I step off the platform and spread out my arms like I'm flying. When I get near the end, I start to break myself with my gloved hand. I slow to a stop and unhook myself.

Jess hugs me and says "It was scary at first but then fun. How did you stop yourself?"

"When you get further down the line, there's a yellow piece of tape. When you get to it, put your gloved hand on the line and pull downwards. It'll slow you down so you don't crash into Will every time."

We all laugh and Will says "I'd appreciate that."

The rest of the course is easier for Jess. The first one is always the hardest. At the end she thanks me and says she had a lot of fun. We head back to the house to pick up Christina so we can go painting. When we get there Jess and Christina pick out medium sized canvases. Will and I pick out smaller ones.

I decide to paint the moonlight reflecting on the lake. Exactly the way it did that night Jess and I went paddle boarding. When I finish, it actually doesn't look that bad. It definitely looks better than Will's though. His attempt at painting a pig ended up looking more like a wad of pink bubblegum.  Christina painted a sunflower. I did't know she could paint. I ask Jess what she painted and she says "It's a secret. We'll show each other's tonight."

We head back to the house and eat dinner. Then, Jess pulls me into our room. 

"Go get your painting."

I get my painting and she gets hers. We show them to each other. We were both thinking about that night, apparently. She painted the waterfall we climbed. Where we shared our first kiss.It's incredible. She got every detail right. She's remarkable.

We look at each other and laugh. She kisses me softly and we look at each other. We stare into each other's eyes for a while. Then, at the same exact time, we both say the most powerful words in the English language: "I love you." We look at each other again and smile, knowing we both meant them completely.

Author's Note

This is the last chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Will still take suggestions and advice on this story if you have any.

Reviews

[Krystal Nicole]

I liked it. Overall, I think it just needs to be edited (there were typos, but not too bad) and I feel like it needs to be longer. I loved the characters and your dialogue was great. The concept and the overall story was great, but it feels like it was a little abrupt at the end. I needed more!