Past the doorway, cement and metal gave way to a grassy, windswept hill. A few trees were scattered around the clearing, but the hilly terrain wasn’t conducive to the dense canopy I’d seen in other places around Valemont. In the distance, I couldhear the faintest drone of The Hollow’s music, but it was easily drowned out by the cool night wind.
“Well?” Spencer wiggled an eyebrow. “What do you think?”
I couldn’t hide the grin from my face. “It’s a start.”
“A start?” She grabbed my shoulders from behind with a playful shake. “You drive a hard bargain, Bunny. Lucky thing I like a challenge. Come.” She gestured for me to hop on her back.
“It’s okay, I can walk.” I laughed.
But she just patted her shoulders again. “I was being serious about the shoes. We’re not getting those things muddy. Come on.”
Shaking my head, I took a running start before hopping up on her back, letting her do the hard work of adjusting her grip under my thighs. “You sure this is okay?”
But she simply nodded, plodding on through the tall grass. “I’ve got you.”
Riding on her back was nearly as exhilarating as riding on her bike. She took off across the clearing at a sprint, making my heart drop to my stomach.
“Spencer!” I clung tight to her shoulders, though her iron grip under my thighs left me with no questions about whether she’d drop me.
“Almost there!” She picked up speed, spinning and whirling as we went.
By the time we reached the small rocky outcropping she’d had in mind, my heart was racing. “Are you kidding me?” I laughed, “This is like, fifty feet from where we started. Half of that was just spins. You didnotneed to carry me.”
“I know.” She smirked, kneeling until my feet met the ground. “I just like to.”
“That’s goofy.” I blushed as I released my grip on her.
“I’ll be goofy for you anytime. I’d do anything to see you smile.” As she stood up straight, her dark eyes glimmered, a nearmatch for the starry sky behind her. Despite the chill in the air, I could feel my cheeks heating under her gaze until, mercifully, she turned her eyes forward.
“Okay, watch your step. It’s a steep drop past the edge, and I don’t want you to find out the hard way.” She led the way toward the edge of a large stone that jutted out over a valley. I kept my eyes down on the rock’s jagged texture, nervous that if I misplaced a single step, I’d fall.
Spencer wasn’t joking about the view. Even the rock was pretty. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen something quite like it: its sparkley, speckled surface looked like it had been carved in tiny rivulets by some divine force. At some spots, it kind of looked like a miniature mountain range, and in others, it was almost the shape of gnarled tree roots.
Pretty to look at, fucking difficult to traverse.
While I was inching along, Spencer picked over the rock as deftly as a mountain goat. “It’s so cool, right? Apparently, it got left here by a glacier like a billion years ago. That’s why all the lines point out this way.”
“That’s cool.” I muttered, glad that if I died trying to look at some rock Spencer liked, at least it was a cool rock.
Clearly, Spencer could sense my nerves. She picked her way back over to me before offering me a hand. Her arm was sturdy as I braced myself against her.
Once we reached the edge, she helped me take a seat a few feet from the ledge. I leaned forward to get a look down, and my stomach dropped. “Fuck, we’re high up.”
“Told ya.” My heart leapt into my chest as Spencer plopped down at the very edge of the outcropping, dangling her feet over the edge. “Spencer, you have to be more careful than that.”
“It’s okay, I’ve been out here a million times.” As she kicked her feet back and forth, that devilish grin curved her lips again. “Didn’t take you for such a scaredy cat.”
“I’m not a scaredy cat!” I huffed. Determined to prove it to her, I scooted an inch forward, and then another and another until I was sitting beside her, legs firmly crossed beneath me. “See?”
Spencer laughed. “What I see is that you’re shaking like a leaf.”
“I’m just cold.” I lied, gripping Leo’s jacket tighter around my neck to steady my hands.
“Uh-huh. Because I’m sure Leo’s jacket is real fucking flimsy. Let me warm you up.” Draping an arm around my shoulders, she pulled me tighter against her side.
And to my surprise, I leaned into the touch. I couldn’t help but be grateful to have something grounding to hold onto as we dangled over certain death.
“Better?” She raised an eyebrow.
