Moon Lovers 1(5)
I jerked my thumb over to the ladder. “Then you might want to close that thing, because I don’t know how.”
His serious face was transformed by a sheepish grin. “Oh, right.” He scurried over, closed the ladder, then scurried back and slipped on his serious expression. “As I was saying, this is a secret that needs to be kept between us, otherwise I might lose my job.”
I crossed my hand over my heart. “Till death do us part.”
“I think you’re mixing up your promises.”
“Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.” We performed the age-old ritual of the pinky swear, and he turned back to the door. “I have to keep this locked from the inside in case somebody good at jumping roofs does get up here.” He unlocked and opened the door.
The exit led to a flat patio that faced east and ran along the entire length of the building. It was five feet wide, and there wasn’t any railing at the ends so any slip there ended with a sudden drop and a quick stop at the bottom. I had a healthy respect for heights, so I kept two feet away from the edge, but Garrison stepped right up to the edge as confident as a man with a death wish.
He held out his hand to me. “There’s nothing to fear but fear itself, and the view is wonderful from here,” he encouraged me.
“Fear doesn’t have to worry about falling over the side of a five-story building,” I countered.
“I’ll catch you if you fall,” he promised. I looked him up and down, and decided his scrawny frame couldn’t catch a cold much less my-ahem, shall we say ample weight.
“I’m quite happy hugging myself to the wall in the hopes of not falling to my doom,” I assured him.
He sighed and shrugged, but there was a grin on his face. “All right, have it your way, but what do you think of the view?” I opened my mouth, but he held up his hand. “Other than the drop,” he added.
My mouth snapped shut and I glanced around for a serious appraisal of this hair-raising high-rise. There was tar paper beneath my feet, the crumbling slant of the roof at my back, and in front of me rose the sun over the city in a scene that took my breath away. The glistening lights reflected off the metal roofs and shining windows, and created a forest of brilliance that nearly blinded me. “I think I need sunglasses,” I quipped as I lay my arm over my face.
He laughed. “It is pretty bright, but I’ve been on a lot of rooftops in my day and this view can’t be beaten.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What were you doing on rooftops?”
Garrison sheepishly grinned. “Would you believe inspecting the architecture?”
“No.”
“Former chimney-sweep?”
“Nope.”
“What would you believe?”
“Pervert.”
Garrison snorted and shrugged. “Very well, a long time ago I was a pervert.”
“A long time ago?”
“We won’t get anywhere in this relationship if there isn’t any trust.”
“Because there isn’t. You’re keeping secrets, I’m keeping, well, keeping to myself.” My life wasn’t exciting enough to have lies, much less secrets.
“Well, if we can’t have trust we can at least have this place.” He held up his arms to the patio. “Come here anytime you like, and if you can’t find me I’m usually up here getting a breath of fresh air.” A garbage truck passed down below us. “Or at least what constitutes fresh air for a city.”
“That’s nice of you, but I don’t think I can reach the string,” I reminded him.
A strange smile slipped onto Garrison’s face, like he knew a joke I didn’t. It was probably a fat joke. “I’m sure with practice you’ll reach it, but let’s go down to my apartment and I’ll see what I can make for you.”