“See you Wednesday, then.”
“Yes. See you then.”
There’s an awkward moment where neither one of us knows what to do. A kiss goodbye seems counterintuitive, and I’m not much of a hugger.
In the end, I lift my hand in a stilted wave, then show myself out.
I walked home with the taste of her still on my tongue and the unsettling certainty that wanting her wasn’t the problem.
The problem was that I wasn’t the only one.
Chapter thirteen
Chapter Thirteen: Lila
“Will you remind me again why I agreed to this idea of yours?”
Noah flashes me a grin better suited for a toothpaste ad on the Q train, then gives my safety harness one last tug on the straps. It’s a devious maneuver that has me shuffling an inch closer to him.
“Because I’m incredibly charming and irresistible,” he quips.
“Oh, yes. And humble, too.”
He cackles. I gaze out at Manhattan’s skyline across the East River, already glittering in the early evening light.
Ambience,Jake had insisted earlier today.The illusion of encroaching darkness will add to the ambience of the whole thing.
He’s the camera expert, so I figured it was best to follow his lead.
The roof of the FDNY’s training tower in Queens—one of many, which is basically a glorified abandoned warehouse that’s been repurposed for various firefighting drills—sprawls out large and expansive beneath us.
I didn’t think I was afraid of heights, but now that I’m standing on the edge of a four-story building, my stomach is doing flips.
Then again, that could also be due to Noah’s proximity.
Because, hell, Jake really had a vision. Noah, with all his golden-boy good looks, is practically radiant in this kind of light. And if he’d stop grinning so peevishly, he could pass as downright angelic. Either way, I’m positive the public is going to eat up this episode of Save A Hero when it drops.
“It’s not too tight, is it?” Noah asks me, gesturing to my harness.
“No, why?”
“You’ve got a weird look on your face.”
“Perhaps the weird look is due to the fact that I’m being told to jump off a building.” Some ways behind us, the camera crew isstill setting up, so I can spare a few moments for nerve-induced petulance. “This was supposed to be a demonstration, Noah. Not an actual execution.”
“Execution? Fuck’s sake, Blondie, I’m not planning to kill you.”
I shake my head in exasperation. “You know there’s more than one meaning to that word. It’s a homonym.”
“What is this, the SATs?”
“And what if I push you off the ledge right now…”
Noah chuckles. “Relax. Like you said, it’s only a demonstration. You’re not jumping off a building, Hart. You’re being rescued from the top floor of a burning building by a strong, heroic firefighter. Your only job, as a mere civilian, is to show how easy it is to be calm and collected when us dependable, capable public servants come to your aid.”
Pursing my lips, I dare to glance back over the edge of the roof.
“A mere civilian,” I echo in a mocking tone.
