Page 123 of Bottles & Blades
Do I give a fuck?
Nope.
The doors open, and we shuffle off the elevator into the glass-enclosed top of the tower. The city’s lights sparkle below us and I guide us over to the bar on the balcony.
The most Paris thing ever? Not just taking the elevator to the top and staring out at the city beyond.
But also having a glass of champagne at the top while cuddling close against the wind and getting lost in the City of Love.
“Here you go, buttercup,” I say, passing her the plastic flute after we’ve paused in a sliver of open space.
“Thank you.” She wraps her hand around mine, squeezes lightly. “How is this real life?”
“It’s the life you deserve,” I murmur.
She leans against me. “Pretty soon you’ll have me believing that.”
“I’ll work on getting you there.”
She smiles and shakes her head as she sips her champagne. “This is perfect,” she says on a sigh.
“It is,” I agree.
We stand there for long minutes, sipping our champagne, cuddling close, people and city watching.
But, eventually, we have to find our way back to the elevator.
The ride down is less crowded, and before long we’re striding back out onto the pavilion…
Just as she begins to sparkle.
“Oh!” Tiff exclaims, her gaze overhead, her mouth dropped open, her expression one of wonder as the lights overhead glitter for long moments. “That’s beautiful.”
“Yes, you are.”
Her head tilts back down, and she smiles. “Charmer.”
“Truth teller is more like it.”
A shake of her head, but then she just sighs and pulls her phone out of her pocket. “Take a picture with me?”
We take a selfie, arms wrapped around each other, bodies pressed close, the lights sparkling behind us, and I know I need a copy of it.
Need a permanent memory of this moment.
“Send that to me?”
She nods, taps on her phone screen, and I feel the buzz of a text message on mine.
I take her hand as we walk through the wide open space to our waiting car.
She’s fading as we drive.
Asleep by the time we reach my apartment.
I rouse her enough to make our way upstairs, thankful that the building has an elevator to get us up to the top floor since she leans heavily against me the whole way.
Then I’m unlocking the door, pushing us inside.
