Chapter 14 #2
I can feel people’s eyes on us as we file in line for the ride.
They might not be recognising Camden and Tanner straight away, but they can tell they are important.
They’re both so tall and muscular and striking.
They look practically inhuman, like Greek gods walking amongst mortals.
And with Tanner’s extensive ink and long blonde hair, he stands out even more.
My parents must hate seeing me all over the news being romantically photographed with a tattooed footballer.
I can’t believe they agreed to all of this.
They have to be getting something more out of this in the end.
I just don’t know what. I eye Tanner for a moment, trying to decide if he knows.
He looks at me with a smile and I quickly shake the idea away.
As we wait in line, Indie and Camden are all over each other and it makes Tanner and me look like boring arseholes by comparison. We both stare at them for a bit and then look at each other. Exhaling in unison, we come together. His hands snake around my waist; mine reach up to hold onto his arms.
“Why are you smiling like a creep?” I ask.
“I thought I was doing a sexy smile.”
“If by sexy you mean the kind of smile my Uncle Morty gives me then, by all means, continue.”
His face falls, but he shakes it off and smiles again. “I’m just thinking about all the naughty things I’m going to do to you tonight.”
My brows lift. “Do tell.”
“I think I’d rather keep you in suspense.”
He leans down and drops a kiss on my lips as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. It’s both surprising and pleasing.
“How was that?” he asks with a wink.
I frown. “How was what?”
He leans down to whisper in my ear. “There’s a photographer at ten o’clock.”
I feel my giddiness plummet. I want to pull away, but I know I need to stop being such a moping martyr. Instead, I decide to raise the stakes.
I reach up and pull him down to my lips and moan in satisfaction when I get a hold of his lower lip.
I feel him chuckle against my mouth and then his tongue dives in, taking a commanding sweep of me.
He pulls back and murmurs, “Trying to steal a sneak peek of what my tongue will be doing to you later?”
I smirk. “Oh God, I hope that’s a promise, Harris.”
“You know it is, Ryan.”
I’m smiling happily as I turn around in his arms to move down the line. He continues holding me from behind as we approach the pod. When I see that the pods don’t stop for us to board, I suddenly get nervous. I stop midstride and Tanner clobbers into me.
“What’s wrong?”
“It doesn’t stop,” I answer, fear prickling my scalp. “I don’t think I can do this. I’m scared of heights.”
“Scared of heights? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t know the bloody things don’t stop for us to board! I thought I’d be okay!” This is so not the Tequila Sunrise moment I thought it would be.
He rakes a hand through his hair. “We’ve been in line ages.”
“I’m sorry, all right. Just go without me.” I try to shoo him away.
He scowls. “Don’t be stupid.”
“Don’t be yourself!”
His nostrils flare at my snipe, but I don’t care.
“Fucking hell, come here.” He reaches his hand out toward me.
“No!”
“Just…trust me, all right? Come here.”
His demand is firm but sincere, so I take his hand. We’re ushered up to the pod while Indie and Cam are still too busy smiling like loons at each other to even notice that I’m in the middle of a full-blown panic attack.
“I don’t know what your plan is, but I’m not going on that thing.” My body is stiff as a board.
“Just keep quiet and trust me, woman,” he growls.
“I don’t think I like your tone.”
“That’s funny. I don’t think I ever like your tone.”
“You know, Tanner, this tone only comes out around you. In everyday life, I’m lovely.”
I turn to see the pod coming closer when Tanner suddenly bends over and scoops me up like a baby.
“Don’t you dare!” I pound a fist on his chest. “You’re going to hurt yourself!”
“I’m going to hurt you if you don’t shut up.” He walks with purpose onto the pod, carrying me in his arms as if it’s the simplest thing in the world. He sets me down just as quickly as he picked me up, and I’m shocked to see I made it on safely.
The pod is bigger than I expected, like the size of a small bedroom. It’s a big round glass ball with a long bench down the middle.
I beam up at him. “I didn’t die.”
He fights a losing battle with his scowl. “You didn’t die.”
“You just hefted me in here like it was your job.”
He rolls his eyes. “You’re pretty much my only job for the next few weeks, so I figured it was up to me to make sure you’ve seen London properly while you have me.”
I smile and stare at him for a moment. “Thank you.”
His brow flashes into a frown. “It was nothing.”
“Belle, look!” Indie says, tearing my gaze away from Tanner.
I look around to see us slowly rising up over the River Thames, the city lights casting a golden glow on all of us with slices of shadows moving over us from the pods above us as we climb.
It’s stunning. I slowly make my way to the edge and grab the railing, feeling a little unsteady but getting more comfortable with every passing second.
I stare out at the city and marvel over how incredible London truly is from up above like this.
Warm arms wrap around me, encasing me against the railing.
“You like it?” Tanner whispers in my ear, resting his head on my shoulder.
I nod. “I love it. Can we ride it twice?”
I feel his chest shake with laughter. “We’ll come back another time.”
I frown at the empty promise, but let it go because I don’t want anything to ruin this experience.
“Is it this pretty during the day?”
He nods. “It’s a different pretty. You can see farther out if it’s not too overcast, so you get a sense of the grandness of London. At night, though, you get a sense of the magic of London.”
His words make me smile. “Would you ever leave London?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like if you got an offer to play somewhere else?”
He exhales. “Footballers go where contracts are, especially if they aren’t married with kids. I have nothing tying me down, so yeah, I guess I’d leave London.”
His words hurt me because they speak some of my truth, too. I have Indie and we’re incredibly close, but that’s it. It’s a rather lonely existence when you think about it.
I turn in his arms and thread my fingers through his hair. “Don’t you forget I’m tying you down for the next month.”
He stares at my lips and tweaks his eyebrows. “I hope that means to your bedpost.”
I laugh and drop my face to his chest. “I would love nothing more.”
He kisses the top of my head and I hear the sound of a camera shutter go off. I turn my head to see Indie holding her mobile up and capturing a picture. That simple sound effect brings me right back to reality.