Romancing the Storm: Second Chances by Alana Hart, Alana Claire

will be fun. Put your suit on," Judah demands.
    We turn our backs and dress and clamor up the cliff to the top of the falls so we can have one good jump. I'm hesitant, but Judah grabs my hand and smiles at me. "Come on, we can do this," he says and counts down from three and we sail off the top to the deep cold pool below.

Chapter Fourteen
    After our little swim, we head back to the cave and dress just as the winds begin to rage through the trees again. As quick as our break happened the darkness filters in along with the constant lightning flashes and low rumbles of the thunder. I look at Judah who sat down for a moment. "Round two," I say as the wind whips around filling our cave with the fine cool mist from the falls.
    "Tonight we'll have a fire and tomorrow night too. It won't be so bad. The wood has dried enough," he says as he makes a fire pit and starts a small fire. We have non-perishable food so we don't have anything to cook other than a few marshmallows to roast. We eat the pre-packaged crackers and peanut butter and smoked sausage. Judah requested foods we could take on picnics, so we have plenty of that, thankfully.
    "This is the last of the fruit," I say as I hand Judah an apple. We munch our dessert as the storm picks up, the wind howling through the already ravaged trees.
    "I suspect we'll lose more trees. We'll be okay, come here," Judah says. I sit beside him on the log he had pulled in a few days earlier.
    "Nice comfy sofa," I joke as I lean on him. I'm weary from the day. He reaches his arm around me drawing me closer to him. Everything within me screams to abandon Blaine and turn to Judah.
    I glance up, and he's smiling at me sweetly, his eyes lingering on mine. The moment is right. I bite my lower lip and return my head to his shoulder. He sighs. I know he's frustrated. I am too.
    After a while, it grows uncomfortable, so we rearrange the towel and blankets and put the log on our backs. The fire mesmerizes us as the dancing flames cast eerie lights throughout the small cave. As the storm intensifies the waterfall wall shields us nicely. The ferocious booms of thunder do not make us jump as it did the first half of the storm.
    Judah reaches over and grabs my hand. I let him and my heart thumps hard. I'm scared, not of what he's doing, but of my feelings.
    "Gracelyn, why are you here with me?" he asks.
    I shift my weight. "You asked me to go on vacation with you." I smile at him.
    "No. I know that. Why do you hang around with me? I want to know."
    I sit up and look him straight in the eye. "I think you're great. We're besties. We've been besties for years and years."
    "Is that all?" he asks while averting his eyes.
    "What's this about?" I ask and pull my hand from his and rub his arm.
    "This," he says and leans in and kisses me. At first it shocks me. He's never kissed me like this. I grasp his arms, my heart beats wild, I want more, but then I remember Blaine and pull back.
    Tears burn my eyes. "Judah, you know I'm involved with Blaine. We plan to talk marriage when he returns. He asked me to wait for him." I pull back and put a little space between us.
    "Really Grace? Did he ask you to wait for him?"
    "Yes," I say as I make a fist and beat my thigh. I look towards the wall of water, my eyes darting about trying to find something on which to focus.
    "I don't think he meant that. I don't. I think he went off with his father on an adventure. You think I'm a wanderlust, your boyfriend is a wanderlust plus, only he doesn't want to include you in on his plans. I hate to see you hurt. But you have fun with me right?"
    My eyes swing back to him. He stares straight through me, unrelenting like the storm outside. "I do have fun with you. I enjoy being with you. You are my best friend. I can't imagine life without you," I say and bite my lower lip. Why can't I be honest with him?
    "What if Blaine were here right now and what if I asked you to marry me? What decision would you make?" he asks taking me by