“Oren—” She clambered and cursed before finally catching a good handhold. As she lifted herself up, she whimpered. “Oh God. I’m going to die.”
“Just...climb,” I murmured approvingly, enjoying the view. This was probably the second, maybe third, time I’d ever seen her in a dress, and I was getting to see it from below. Damn, I was a lucky son of a bitch. And bullshit she’d dressed that way for my parents. No way had she put on that lacy black thong to impress my mom.
She climbed well in heels, which impressed the fuck out of me. When I started up after her, though, the ladder swayed from our combined weight. She froze, squeaking out her fear and clutching the rungs for dear life until she grew used to the movement.
When she once again started a slow ascent, she glanced down to ask, “Is it illegal to climb up here?”
I shrugged and sent her a grin, wondering how quickly I could get her out of that thong. “More than likely.”
She faced forward again. “Oh God. What do we do if we get caught?”
“I imagine we go to jail.”
She paused. “Oren!”
“What?” I nudged her in the ankle to keep her moving. “Why are you so worried? I’m the guy; I’ll be the one who’ll more than likely get gang raped by Bubba and friends if we’re tossed in the slammer.”
“Oh, you are just so funny.”
“Yeah, I figured that was why you kept me around.”
She snorted, but we’d reached the roof of the old cinema, so I was happy. Caroline paused as soon as she shimmied herself off the ladder.
“What now?” I have no idea why she was suddenly whispering after we’d just had a loud argument all the way up the side of the building, but I thought it was adorable.
I hooked my arm around her waist and turned her in the direction I always went when I came up here by myself. “This way.” Then I kissed her hair.
After I sat down in the exact middle of the roof, I pulled her into my lap so she wouldn’t have to sit on the grimy shingles and get a dirty ass. No reason to smear such perfection. Plus her lacy-wrapped tush felt really good against my junk.
Once she was settled against me, I tightened my arms around her and kissed the side of her neck. “Now lean back against me, look up at that sky, and just...enjoy,” I whispered into her ear.
She followed my instructions only to let out a gasp of delight. “Wow.”
“I know, right?” I looked up too, and the night seemed to swallow us whole, making me feel so insignificant and small in this moment and yet important and integral to the universe. The sensation was impossible to explain. It was one of those things you just had to feel.
Caroline seemed to get it though. She tightened her grip on my forearm and inhaled a deep breath. “The sky is so perfect from here. The stars look so close and yet so far away.”
I nodded. Oh, yeah, she totally got it.
We sat in silence for a good fifteen minutes, just letting the evening take us away to that place that felt peaceful and free.
The only problem was we couldn’t stay here forever. Caroline broke the lovely silence by saying, “So...your sister’s name was Zoey?”
I blew out a breath and stretched out my legs under her before running my hands over her thighs. “Yep.”
She turned her face in toward me to kiss my jaw. “And that’s why you write her name all the time.”
I scowled at the stars. “I don’t write it all the time.”
Caroline laughed softly. “I’ve caught you doing it more than once.”
>
I growled out a sound but tipped my face over to rub it alongside hers.
She let out a cute hum as she caressed my scruff. “You’re really uncomfortable with this discussion; it’s kind of adorable.”
“Thanks.” I curled my arm around her waist in an effort to feel comfortable with something...even if it was just her ass in my lap. “I’m glad one of us is amused.”