Damaged ♡ Lashton ✔

Chapter 12

"Come on, babe. Where's your sense of adventure?" Ash teases as his shirt drops to the stone at his feet.

"Adventure or death wish? It's a fine line, Ashton," I grumble, glancing over the edge of the cliff we're currently standing on. I hear the sound of a zipper and look back at Ash in time to see him dropping his jeans, kicking them over to his shoes and socks.

"I've done this before, the water is deeper than you think. Do you trust me?" I look up at his face and he gives me a pout, eyes wide and pleading. I feel my resolve crumble to oblivion and finally let out a huff.

"Fine! But if I die, I'm coming back and haunting your ass."

I pull off my clothes as he claps, a wide grin on his face making his dimples dig deep into his cheeks. My lips twitch but I fight the urge to smile at his cuteness, holding on to my annoyance. He holds his hand out for me and I hesitate before taking it, stepping closer to him. We stand close to the edge wearing nothing but our boxers, hands clenched together tightly as we look down at the clear water, the rocks at the bottom visible and terrifying.

"I promise I would never let anything hurt you; it looks a lot scarier than it is. If you really don't want to do it, I'm not going to force you," he says soothingly, giving me a sweet smile and rubbing circles on my hand with his thumb. I get lost in his kaleidoscope eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"No. I can do this."

"We'll jump together, okay?" I nod, my throat tightening with nerves and my entire body shaking from fear. "On the count of three. One... two... three!"

A scream catches in my throat as we leap off the ledge, my stomach flipping as we fall through the air. This is it. This is how I die. My feet pierce through the clear, warm water at the same time as Ashton's, and we sink deeper and deeper. We still haven't reached the bottom when our bodies lose their downward momentum, and we both start kicking our legs to propel us back to the surface. Once we cut through to air, I gasp loudly, bringing in as much oxygen as I can as I swipe my hand over my face to clear my eyes of the water.

We stare at each other for a moment as we tread water, and then... I laugh. Loud, joy-filled giggles escape me as I look up at where we just jumped from.

"I did it! Ash, I really did it!" I exclaim, grinning over at my beautiful boyfriend.

"Yes you did! I'm so proud of you, Princess. You were so brave." My cheeks flush and I beam at the praise, getting that warm, fluttery feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wrap my arms around his neck as we continue bobbing in the water and scatter his face with kisses while we both giggle.

"Can we do it again?" I ask quietly, smiling shyly and biting my lip.

"Of course we can."

He kisses me softly and then detaches himself from me so he can swim to the edge of the pool to pull himself out. His muscles flex as he hops out, water droplets rolling off of his tanned, smooth skin as the sun shines down on him. I bite my lip harder as I slowly make my way over to him, not removing my gaze from his body. His hair is slicked back from the water and his eyes are bright with happiness. Even though I saw him in a very similar state just this morning in the shower, I don't think I'll ever be able to get used to this view. My boyfriend is a damn god.

"You just gonna stare at me all day, or are you planning on getting out?" he asks with a raised eyebrow, mouth curled up in a cocky smirk. I roll my eyes and pull myself out of the water to stand beside him.

"You can't blame me for appreciating the view," I reply, smacking his ass before running back up to the cliff giggling. I glance back to see him gaping at me before running after me. I squeal as he gets closer and push myself to move faster so he won't catch me, but my efforts prove to be useless as I feel a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist. I scream and kick my legs out as he lifts me off the ground. "Ash!" I manage to squeak out between my fit of giggles and I can feel his chest vibrate as he laughs lowly in my ear.