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I guide her to the crosswalk, linking our hands together as we dash to the other side of the street.
"The Incline Railway!" Her gaze flits from the stairs in front of us, to me, and back again. "Is this where we're going?"
"It's our first stop."
She jumps once and pumps her fist. "This is on my to-do list! I'm so excited."
"What else is on your list?" I ask, as we follow the painted-on train track up the stairs to the ticket window.
"Not much." She laughs. "Stella inspired me to make it. She has a whole college plan of things she wants to do. So I figured I'd make one, too."
"Anything I can help cross off it?"
"You already are."
"Anything else?" I ask as I hold up two fingers at the window before sliding my card beneath the glass divider.
“I’ll have to think on it.”
“You do that and then let me know. I’ll help you check every box.”
She rolls her eyes like she thinks I’m joking, but I’m dead-fucking-serious. Emmalyn’s missed out on so much, and if I can help her create some memories, some good memories, then I’ll gladly do it.
Tickets in hand, I guide her around to where we board the cable car, stopping along the way to take a touristy green screen picture.
“Oh, whoa!” she whispers as we step into the back of the car. “It’s freaking slanted!”
“Cool, right? The best seats are the front. Be careful going down.”
She stumbles a little on the way to the front, but I steady her from behind. “Thanks.”
“I know it seems sudden, but I’ll always catch you, Emmy.”
She slides into the front seat, her cheeks rosy as she processes my words.
Once the car is at capacity, the overhead speakers crackle and we begin our ascent up the mountain.
"Oh, wow," she breathes out in amazement. "What a view."
"Sure is," I murmur, staring directly at her, once again finding myself far more taken with the woman beside me than the majestic scenery all around us.
Fuck. I sound like a wus. Yet somehow, I can’t find it in me to care.
I watch Emmalyn the entire climb, hyper-focused on her as she takes in the views. I can’t pinpoint what exactly, but something about her calls to me. Even when I was trying to ruin her, I was drawn to her.
Maybe that’s why I was never able to fully wreak the havoc Rob intended for me to.
Maybe, deep down, I knew she was innocent but didn’t want to let go of Rob’s friendship.
Now, though? Now, I not only want to cut ties, I want to burn the fucking bridge.
I’m so caught up in my mind, in her, that I don’t notice we’ve reached the top until the car jerks to a stop, jolting me forward.
“What now?” Emmalyn asks as everyone begins to stand and walk to the back to exit.
“Follow me.”
Once on the platform, I ask if she wants to go into the gift shop.
“No, not really.” She cocks her head to the side. “Do you?”
“Come on,” is all I reply, taking her hand and guiding her to the stairwell.
I guide her all the way to the highest observation deck, and immediately, she’s at the rail, oohing and aahing over the view. “Man, this is so much prettier than Texas.”
“You don’t think Texas is nice?”
“I mean, it’s not bad, other than the memories associated with it. But there’s something about the mountains that just calls to me, you know? It feels like…home.”
“C’mere.” I crook a finger at her as I step back into a shady corner of the deck.
“What’s up?”
“There’s something I need to do.”
“What?”
As soon as she’s within reaching distance, I hook my arm around her waist and draw her body flush to mine. “This.” And then I crush my lips to hers.
She gasps in surprise, and I seize the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Our tongues slide together in a sensuous dance as I tangle my free hand in the hair at the nape of her neck.
I use my grip on her hair to gently leverage her into the exact position I want her in. Her taste is heaven, like she was made specifically for me, and I can't help but wonder if she'd taste this amazing if I were to kiss her somewhere else, somewhere much more intimate.
Emmalyn smooths her hands over my chest, gripping the material of my shirt as she loses herself to our kiss.
I'm already as hard as the stone wall at my back when she presses in closer to me and rocks her hips against mine, a soft moan slipping past her lips. That sound, that singular breathless whimper, nearly has me ready to strip her down and claim her here and now.
Luckily, the sound of voices trickles our way on the breeze, reminding me we're in public. We're both breathless as I pull away, ending our kiss with a few small pecks.
