“I got it,” Zeb says, pinching Bonnie’s elbow before turning to go back in.
“I call next,” she calls after him. “I want to chat with all the crazy fuckers up in the A.M. hours.”
“You got it,” Zeb says, disappearing into the room.
Bonnie’s eyes meet mine across the bar, and I force a deep breath into my lungs. She’s smiling softly, a glint in her gaze like she’s up to something, and it makes me curious.
“What?” I ask.
“Can I show you something?” she asks.
Anything.
I’ll go anywhere with you, be anything you want me to be.
“Sure.”
Bonnie grabs two sodas, pushes on a pair of Ghostface bedroom slippers, and grabs a key and her phone from the bowl by the door. “Hey, fuckers, we’re going up. Text when it’s my turn,” she says loudly to the band.
“Heard, Bed,” Mads replies.
Bonnie smiles my way and motions for me to follow. I peer behind me at Kade, who nods.
“Text me if he shows,” I tell him.
“Got it, boss,” he says with a wink.
I discreetly flip him off, though I’m screaming inside.
Bonnie opens the door to the lift foyer, then leads me into the stairwell to the left of the elevator.
“We’re going to the roof?” I ask when she begins ascending the steps.
“Yeah,” she replies. “Have you been up here yet?”
“Once. Just when Kade and I came by to scope things out.”
She pauses at the top door and uses the key to unlock it, and when she opens it to the outside, I feel my stress lift slightly.
A thick fog lingers in the air. Fairy lights strewn across the pergola cast amber circles in the grey darkness, illuminating the outdoor couches and plants decorating the area beneath. Rugs, fake grass, and raised beds designate small, dedicated spaces around the rooftop, each with its own set of lights whimsically woven in nearby. Board games and puzzles sit on a few of the tables, along with a Lego building area in the far corner.
It’s my first time seeing the space at night, and it’s so beautiful that I pause a few steps from the door.
“Wow.”
“Right?” Bonnie grins over her shoulder at me as she steps toward the bricked edge. “It’s always been one of my favorite places. When Wren moved in, she added all these plants. It looks so cozy now.”
My gaze snags on some of the skull and raven pillows, the snake on the largest rug, and the gothic cathedral Lego set someone is in the middle of building.
“Who is the builder?” I ask, nodding to the set.
“Ah, Reed usually,” she says. “But I think that might be Andi’s.”
I stuff my hands in the pockets of my zip-up hoodie and watch her lean over the balcony ledge.
“If I lived here, I don’t think I’d ever leave this roof,” I say.
Bonnie smiles at the sky. “I was staying at Reed’s a few weeks back, and that’s pretty much what happened,” she says. “I love his apartment, but something about this space up here just calms my racing mind.”
