Chapter Thirteen #2
“Again asking for the impossible.” She huffs but makes no attempt to turn back, no doubt her curiosity winning out.
Without responding, I use my hip to shove open a door on the left, pulling her into the stairwell with me.
“Watch your step. Some of the stairs aren’t in the best condition.”
“Great.” She blows out a heavy breath, her focus going to her feet as we climb the six floors that lead to the roof.
By the time we reach the top, my legs are screaming, as I’m sure are Maisie’s, but she never says a word of complaint.
“Ready?” I ask, pausing by the door that exits the stairwell.
“If it means getting off these steps of death, then yes, I am.”
“So dramatic.” I chuckle, killing my flashlight, feeling her instantly tense next to me.
“Macallan.”
Before she can say more, I push open the door, leading her out onto the rooftop, which offers the most incredible view of campus. Only that’s not the view I’m currently looking at.
I watch as Maisie’s eyes widen in surprise, releasing my hand to do a full three-sixty turn.
“This place is...”
“Pretty incredible, right?” I step up next to her, allowing myself a moment to look around. The sun is but a dull glow on the horizon now. It will only be minutes before night takes us, and then we will be sitting under a sky full of stars, if the clouds cooperate, of course.
“How did you know about this place?” she asks, crossing to the edge to look down. I stay a respectable distance away, mainly because I don’t like heights.
I like the view from up here, but I have no desire to look down.
“Some of the guys come here from time to time.” I gesture to a pile of beer cans in the corner, making a mental note to tell those fuckers they need to clean up after themselves.
“Nice.” She rolls her eyes at the mess.
“Not the cleanest bunch,” I agree.
“But... I thought you were taking me to dinner.” She turns fully to face me.
“I am.” I reach out my hand, watching her hesitate for only a few seconds before finally taking it.
Leading her around the side, I smile at the gasp that slips past her lips when she gets her first look at the picnic I planned for us. I’m happy to report that nothing seems to have moved in the hours since I brought everything up.
There’s a blanket spread out, an unlit lantern sitting in the middle, a blue cooler on the far side, which contains some sandwiches I picked up from her favorite deli, as well as a six-pack of beer.
I had to track down Charlotte to ask what to get her, which was a very interesting conversation, to say the least. And by interesting, I mean she threatened to remove my favorite appendage if I did anything to hurt Maisie again. Quite the spitfire that one.
I tug on Maisie’s hand, guiding her to the blanket before offering her my other hand to help lower her to the ground. Once she’s settled, I drop down next to her, lighting the lantern so that once the last rays of sunlight have slipped away, we won’t be sitting in darkness.
“Beer?” I ask, opening the cooler.
“Sure.” She nods, accepting the bottle I hand to her after I’ve twisted off the cap.
After repeating the process with my own beer, I tip it to my lips, taking a long pull before setting it off to the side.
“I got sandwiches from Sub Hub.”
“That’s my—”
“Favorite. Yeah, I know.”
“And how could you possibly know that?”
“I may have paid a visit to a certain redhead who threatened to dismember me if I wasn’t on my best behavior.”
“You went to see Char?”
I nod. “I did.”
“Brave.”
“She is quite intense.”
“When it comes to the people she loves, yes, she is.” She watches me pull the sandwiches from the cooler.
“Turkey on rye for the lady.” I hand her the wrapped sandwich.
“She told you what sandwich I like.”
“She did.”
“I’m shocked you went to such effort.”
“Why?” I pull out my own sandwich, setting it in my lap.
“When you said dinner, I just assumed you were going to take me to some fancy restaurant and try to overcompensate. But this...”
“This?” I cock a brow.
“This is rather thoughtful.”
“You seem surprised.”
“Because I am.” She slowly unwraps her sandwich. “Do I want to know how many girls you’ve brought up here before me?” she asks, taking a bite out of the corner of her sandwich.
“None,” I answer without hesitation.
“Yeah, right.” She waits until she’s chewed and swallowed to say.
“No, I’m serious. I’ve been up here a few times with the guys, but I’ve never brought a girl here.”
“Then why bring me here?”
“Maybe because I’m trying to woo you.” I throw her earlier words back at her.
“Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through for someone you’ve already slept with.”
“My goal isn’t to sleep with you.”
“It isn’t?” I can’t tell if she’s relieved or disappointed, but if I had to guess, I’d say the latter. “Then what is your goal?”
“To get to know you.”
“Why?” She takes a drink of her beer, grimacing at the bitter taste before taking another drink.
“Do I need a reason why?”
“Yes.”
“Because I can’t stop thinking about you. Because I’ve realized what a monumental mistake I made letting you slip through my fingers. And because if I don’t try to make things right, I’m not sure I’ll be able to live with myself.”
“You didn’t feel that way before.”
“That was before. This is now.”
“What changed?”
“Everything.” I shrug. “Nothing.”
“Well, which is it? Everything or nothing?”
“Both.” I blow out a breath. “All I know is that right here with you is the only place I want to be. Take that as you will.”
“Pretty words.”
“Well, in this case, they’re actually true.”
“So you say.”
“So I say.” I smile, unwrapping my own sandwich as she tears off another bite of hers.
She doesn’t say anything else and neither do I, falling into a comfortable silence as we eat. By the time we finish, it’s completely dark, the stars starting to peek through the clouds. I pull two more beers out of the cooler, offering one to her before opening the other for myself.
I can’t tear my eyes off her as she lifts the bottle to her lips, her throat bobbing as she swallows.
“It really is beautiful up here,” she says, lowering the bottle to rest on her leg.
“It really is.” When she finally looks at me, I’m looking at her. Hell, who am I kidding? I haven’t stopped looking at her since we got up here. She’s far more beautiful than the view, hands down. And when her brilliant blue eyes meet mine, it only intensifies this thought.
“The stars are coming out.” She looks up at the sky.
“Which reminds me.” I reach around the cooler, grabbing the pillows and blankets I brought up. “Here.” I offer her a pillow. “It’s much better if you lie down.”
Moving the lantern to the side, I wait until she has her pillow situated before lowering the flame to where it only emits the smallest amount of light and then move it to the side. Dropping my pillow next to hers, I shift, dropping down beside her moments later.
“Sometimes, when I’m feeling upset or conflicted about something, I come up here and lie just like this, staring up at the stars. It reminds me of how vast the universe is and how I’m but a small part of it.”
“Doesn’t that thought frighten you?” she asks, her head lulling in my direction.
“No. In a weird way, it gives me comfort. Puts things into perspective.”
“I guess. Though when I think about the world that way, it frightens me, knowing I’m living on a tiny speck like in that Dr. Seuss book.”
“Horton Hears a Who.” I smile. “That was one of my favorites when I was a kid.”
“Mine too.” She smiles, and the sight damn near steals the breath from my lungs.
Fuck me, she is gorgeous.
I mean, obviously I’ve always known it, but looking at her like this, under the light of the stars, so close to me that all it would take is shifting a few inches and my lips could be pressed to hers, it’s enough to have every one of my senses firing on all cylinders.
“My mom used to read to me every night.” I turn my attention back to the sky, knowing if I don’t, I’m most certainly going to kiss her, and I promised myself I would let her make the first move.
“Most nights I would pick that particular book. She knew it so well by the time I was in preschool that she could recite it from memory.”
“My brother, Jackson, used to read it to me. After Lily, my mom...”
I turn back toward her, watching emotions she tries to hide slide across her face.
“What happened to her?”
“I don’t....” She shakes her head, prepared to tell me she doesn’t want to talk about it, and yet, to my surprise, that’s not what she does.
“She was two when she died. I don’t remember the specifics, only that my mom needed to step away and she told me to stay with my sister.
I was only five at the time and was not known for my listening skills.
I was also easily distracted. I don’t know why I left the room.
Honestly, I completely forgot about the fact that I was supposed to be watching Lily until I heard my mom scream.
” She loses herself to the memory. “She drowned.”
“I’m so sorry.”
She closes her eyes for a brief moment and when she opens them again, her entire expression shifts.
“I have no idea why I just told you that.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“No, I mean, I never tell anyone about Lily.” She shakes her head like she’s trying to shake off her confusion.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m honored that you felt like you could tell me.” I take her hand, entangling our fingers together, once again thanking the heavens when she doesn’t pull away. “I can’t imagine how that must feel, having lost a sibling.”
“Made worse by the fact that it’s my fault she died.”
“You know that isn’t true. You were only five...” I rub my thumb along the back of her hand.
“My mom blamed me... She never said so, but I could feel it. Could sense the shift between us even at only five years old. Jackson started tucking me in at night. Jackson started putting me on the bus. Instead of my mom reading to me, it was my brother.”
“Sounds like you’re extremely lucky to have him.”
“He’s a pain in the ass most days, but yes, I honestly don’t know where I’d be without him.”
“And your mom? Are you two close at all?”
“We are now. It took time, but eventually our relationship recovered. Or at least the best it could recover given the circumstances.” She releases a slow breath. “Thank you for bringing me here,” she says after a long moment.
“Thank you for coming.” I squeeze her hand that’s still tucked in mine.
“Can I ask you something?” She rolls onto her side.
“Anything.” I mirror her action, shifting to my side to face her, so close that only mere inches separate her lips from mine, a fact I am all too aware of.
“Why did you really bring me here?”
“I already told you.”
“But what’s your end game? What do you want from me?”
“I want a great many things from you, Maisie Rose.” I reach up, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, allowing my hand to linger on her cheek. “But right now, I’ll settle for your friendship.”
“And what if I don’t want to be friends?”
“Then I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me.”
She stares at me for a long moment and then does something I never expected. She leans forward and presses her lips to mine.