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I too, began to look around. “Ha!” I shouted in triumph. “Look no further, good sir.” Stooping to pick it up, I regretted it immediately. That thing was way heavier than it looked.
“Here, hold the door,” Jake suggested, making no effort to laugh at my baby muscles that were apparently only good enough for minor tasks, not for heavy ones like that.
After the door was securely propped open, Jake silently took my hand in his, walking us to a set of four steps. I must’ve balked at the thought of climbing more steps because Jake cut his eyes to me.
“I can carry you up if you’d like?”
Oh, how I wanted that. To be in his arms. To be against his strong body. To breathe him in.
But I had dignity and needed to preserve it somewhat. What kind of girl would I be if I couldn’t make it up four puny steps?
I had already taken the first step when I replied. “These Jell-O legs can manage, but thank you.”
It was after nine and the sun had gone down not long ago. The glow from the city lights cast everything in an artificial orange-ish hue.
We were on a rooftop platform of sorts with a large antenna off to one side. Opposite that was a wall and Jake sank down looking like he had when we were at the castle in Portland. He patted the ground.
Obligingly, I sat down next to him. The roof still held the heat from the day, warming my bum.
“Do you frequent rooftops a lot?”
“Probably more than most,” he admitted. “Nobody thinks to look for you up here. Plus, where else can you get views like this?” He nodded his head beyond the edge of the building.
Our hotel was in the center of downtown and he was right; from here the view was unparalleled. Portions of each high rise were illuminated and if you looked hard enough, rooftop bars and terraces were lit with strands of Edison lights.
The horizon was obstructed by the skyline. The portions that were visible glowed in a beautiful lavender color that eventually faded into the black expanse of the night sky. Several stars were even visible.
“I never knew I was missing out on something like this,” I marveled. “It’s really something.”
Jake leaned over and extracted a flask from his pocket. When he was done, he offered it to me.
Tentatively, I took a whiff, unsure of its contents. The liquid was smooth and smoky; I waited for the burn but it never came.
“Usually I take my whisky with Coke, but this is really good neat.”
“Yeah. It’s a fifteen-year double cask. It can get ya in a bit of trouble since it goes down so smoothly.”
With the taste mellowing on my tongue I hinted, “I like a little trouble.”
“Me too,” he divulged ambiguously.
“What’s something not a lot of people know about you?” I asked suddenly.
He took a swig, thinking. “I’m fluent in French. My parents were always supportive of whatever I wanted to pursue, but they told me knowledge was something that transcended any profession. They wanted me to have something to fall back on, I guess. In case this didn’t work out.”
“They sound really great.” I pictured a young Jake slaving over books while doing his homework. Like everything it seemed, he excelled at whatever he put his mind to. “Surely it comes in handy when you travel?” I ventured a guess.
He shrugged. “It does. But when we do movie premiers, we’re never in the city more than twenty-four hours.”
“So you’ve never had the chance to put your skills to good use then,” I surmised.
He nodded slowly.
What a waste. Here was someone who had the means to travel or even live anywhere he wanted, and he hadn’t. I was beginning to understand the other side of his profession. The one that was restricting.
I took the flask from him.
“Do you regret this lifestyle?”
