Second Chances

Chapter 17: The Falls

Kenna

        I woke up the morning after the club incident with a pair of arms around me. I opened my eyes slowly and immediately saw Jacks face. He looked so peaceful as he slept. His arms tightening around me protectively. I reached up and softly touched his cheek. He sighed and snuggled closer. Reluctantly, I quietly got out of the bed and went to the bathroom. After that, I went to the kitchen to make breakfast. While I cooked, I thought about the guy at the club. And how scared I'd been. But Jack had been there in an instant. I remember feeling safe with him and that brought a smile to my face.
"Hey how are you feeling?" I heard Jacks sleepy voice as he walked in the kitchen. I turned to look him. He was shirtless and still wearing the pants from last night. Sleep was written all over his face but he still looked so good.
"I'm okay. Replaying everything that happened." I answered. I started laying plates out, already done with breakfast.
"I'm sorry that happened to you, Ken. I tried to get to you as fast as I could." He said. "I'm so sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. But thank you for taking care of me after that. I just didn't want to be alone after that." I told him as I sat down with my food. I could bring myself to meet his eyes.
"It's no problem at all. I don't mind." I could hear the smile in his voice so I looked at him. He smiled bigger and started eating.
Breakfast continued with easy conversation. We agreed to go hiking to the falls. After breakfast, we changed and started our hike. I had on a sports bra and yoga pants, my bathing suit tucked in my pack. After about an hour, we finally made it to the falls. I took the time to marvel at the beauty. There was a large area of water that narrowed to a stream. The falls were magnificent. Jack didn't know it yet but there was a hidden cave behind the falls, right about the waterhole.
"This is so amazing." He said, looking out over the water.
"It gets better. I'm gonna change over there." I told him as I walked off between the trees. I quickly changed and went back to the edge of the water. He was still changing so I went ahead and jumped in. The water was cold but it felt good after that long walk. I swam a little farther out and enjoyed the view of the falls. When I turned around, Jack was walking to the water, swim trunks on.
"Is it cold?" He asked as he looked at the water.
"Nope it's not cold at all." I said with a sweet smile. He smiled back and took off running. When he reached the edge he yelled "CANNONBALL!" really loud and jumped. I was laughing hard when he finally surfaced.
"You are such a liar! It's freezing!" He sputtered. I kept laughing as he swam closer to me. I started swimming away from him. "Oh no you don't. Come back here. You're gonna get it!"
About the time I got to where I could touch the bottom, he caught up to me. By this time, I was squealing and laughing uncontrollably. He wrapped his arms around my waist, picked me up, and then threw me back into the water. When I came back up, he was the one laughing now.
"Jerk." I said as I splashed him. I laughed more as he splashed me back. "Come on. I wanna show you something."
I started swimming towards the falls with him following behind me. I stopped close enough so that the water splashed on my face. He came up beside me.
"You wanted to show me a close up of the falls? Look, pip squeak, I could see it perfectly from out there." He said with a smirk.
"No dummy." I held out my hand. "Come with me." He took my hand without hesitation as I made my way under the waterfall. The water was even colder and made me squeal. Within seconds, we made it through. I looked around the large cave with a smile. When I turned back to Jack, he was in awe. I tugged on his hand and made my way to the rocks. We both pulled ourselves up and sat on the edge, looking at the waterfall from inside.
"How did you know this was here?" He asked.
"Me and my dad found it by accident. We were trying to find the rocks behind the waterfall and just slipped right in. Zane is the only other person who knows about this place." I told him.
"This whole place is amazing. And I mean the island in general. I love it here." He said quietly.
"Well that reminds me. I wanted to talk to you about something." I said timidly. He nodded his head for me to continue. "When we went to the pack house yesterday, Zane brought something up. He told me that I could move here. He'd welcome me to the pack."
"And you want to do it." He said. He looked down and a moment of sadness crossed his face.
"He also extended that to you." I said slowly. He whipped his head around. "I just figured I'd bring it up. I don't want to go back to being miserable. Two of my best friends are here. My gran. All that's missing is you."
"Where would I live? I mean, what would I do here?" He asked. I could tell he was seriously thinking about it.
"You can live at the house with me. Be my roommate. I'm sure Zane could give you a job. He'll probably find something for me too." I said, my voice getting quiet again. "Just think about it. You don't have to answer right now."
"Yeah I'll think about it." He said with a smile. "Now come on. I wanna swim." He held out his hand and pulled me into the water. Together, we swam back out.