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“And now I’m wondering if that last statement was a compliment or a backhanded one.”
“Consider it a statement of fact. Now also consider that you did something really nice for me, and I want to do something really nice for you.”
“Which is?”
“Show you something nice from the other end of the spectrum.”
“Uh, spectrum?”
“The way the ‘other half’ lives.”
Shane hesitated as I stopped outside a dark building halfway down the block we’d been walking along. He looked up as he realized this was our destination and arched a brow. “And that involves this…abandoned building?”
“Well, there might be someone squatting in it, so it might not be totally abandoned,” I said with a chuckle, taking the small space between the buildings and walking through slowly. “And be careful you don’t trip over anything. Kind of hard to see.”
“As my confidence in this grows smaller and smaller,” Shane muttered, following after me toward the cluttered backyard. “And if there is someone living here? Or, as you said, squatting here?”
“Then I offer them part of what I’ve got in this bag, and they’ll probably leave us alone,” I told him, grinning when I found the ladder against the back of the building. “Homeless people aren’t dangerous, angry people who desperately want to beg for money. Most of them just wanna be left alone and a nice bite to eat once in a while.”
“So, we’ll just pretend the ones who are after drinks or drugs don’t exist?”
“Well, if they want that over food,” I said, grabbing a rung of the ladder and giving it a jiggle to make sure the fixture was still solid, “then that’s where another part of the bag comes into play.”
Shane watched me climb, and I could hear the amusement in his voice. “And on the off chance they are violent?”
“Talk ’em down,” I said, beginning to climb.
He sighed once there was enough space and began to follow me up. “And if that fails?”
“Hit ’em with something hard enough to stun them and take off like a bat out of hell,” I said, carefully ensuring each rung was solid before continuing. The way up was built almost like a fire escape, but with ladders rather than stairs. Thankfully, the fixtures were as solid as they had been the last time I visited.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that despite all your optimism and idealism, you aren’t a pacifist,” I heard him mutter as we walked around to the next ladder.
“Optimism and idealism don’t exclude you from needing to defend yourself,” I told him as we neared the top. “And just because I actively try to save lives, or at least make them more comfortable, doesn’t mean I’m going to give my life up to someone willing to take it.”
“How eminently practical of you.”
“I live to please.”
Shane’s chuckle echoed over the edge of the building as I clambered onto the roof. I watched him do the same, pulling himself up with a grace I envied and had taken notice of for quite some time. It was in the sleek, almost catlike way he held himself, and even when he moved suddenly, it was with precision and intent. Even climbing off a ladder had a smoothness I found attractive.
Taking in the silence, Shane gazed around the rooftop. There wasn’t much to see, just a dirty roof with a few bits of clutter left over from the abandoned construction project halted years ago. There was a sealed door leading into the building and a couple of what I assumed had been either air conditioning units or part of the heating system.
I pointed behind him. “That’s what this is about.”
Still looking unimpressed, he turned, and I could see the moment he realized why I’d brought him up here. His shoulders eased immediately as he gazed over the back of the building. From here, there was no building tall enough to obstruct the view out toward the bay making up the western side of Cresson Point. Even from this distance, you could make out the glitter of the moonlight on the ocean and perhaps the waves cresting white at the peaks.
I looked out onto the city, seeing its lights glowing warmly as I walked to the edge and sat down. “I lived a couple of streets over from here once. It’s not that great a part of town, but I didn’t like going up to the roof where we were because Jesus, that place just screamed money. But this was a decent enough neighborhood, and I liked it. One day I just happened to spot this building, got curious, and found…well, exactly the path I led you up here on.”
“I never took you for an urban explorer,” Shane said as he positioned himself on the ledge beside me. I smiled as our knees knocked together gently, and Shane didn’t pull his leg away from the almost innocent touch.
“It was when I was new to the city,” I told him, opening the bag on my lap. “It was so weird being away from Tucson. It’s a city, yeah, but it’s not a city like Cresson Point is. All the sounds and lights, the weird smells and the weird weather, it made it hard to adjust.”
The corner of Shane’s mouth twitched as he accepted the tall can of cold beer and the small bag of chips. “So you got restless and decided to wander.”
“Yep,” I agreed as I took out my can and bag of chips. “And after I found this place, I’d sit up here for ages, just looking out on everything. For whatever reason, it always made me feel better. Like, from up here, the city wasn’t so full of weird shit I wasn’t used to, and it wasn’t freaking me out. It was just this place full of people, some sleeping, some awake, but all of them out there. Plus, seeing the ocean was pretty cool.”
“Yes, I can’t imagine you were able to see the ocean as often living in the middle of the desert.”
