I take in a quick breath. I did it.
I spin around and put my arms around Jay and hug him tight, burying my head into his warm chest.
“I did it!” I say, pulling my head back so I can look into his eyes.
In your face, people who didn’t believe in me. Which is no one, since only Jay knows I’m doing this.
I look to Jay, and his smile has reached the sky again. “Now you can officially cross something off the list.”
I touch my purse with the list in it, nodding my head. Elena would be so proud.
Jay keeps his arms around me and moves us so we can both look out the window again. I lay my head on his chest, feeling his warmth and comfort, and look out at the city below me.
I pull away and look up at his face. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he says, locking his eyes with mine.
The air between us changes. I feel like I might need to blink, but I don’t want to break the spell I’m suddenly under.
“Liza,” Jay whispers my name as his eyes move down to my mouth. His hand moves up to my face, and he caresses the side of my jaw with his thumb.
He leans in, and then I lean in, and before some idiot can interrupt us, his lips are on mine. My hormones immediately start in with the hallelujah chorus. His lips are soft and spectacular at the same time. Our mouths meld together almost as if they were meant to do this. Like our lips are matches for each other.
I pull him toward me, and he deepens the kiss. I never want this kiss to end. I never want this night to end. I just want to stay up here on the top of the Empire State Building, basking in the glory of overcoming one of my biggest fears and locking lips with this very amazing man.
After basically making out for a couple of minutes and neither of us caring one iota about the PDA we’re demonstrating right now, Jay slows the kiss and then pulls away but keeps his face close to mine. My lips feel like they’re on fire.
We smile at the same time.
“That was—”
“Totally,” I say, cutting him off, knowing exactly what he means without him even saying it.
He pulls me into him, and I rest my head on his chest again, my eyes returning to the view below us. Jay rests his chin on top of my head. I swear I could stay here forever. Well, my legs might give out at some point, and I’m pretty sure I’d need to use the ladies’ room in the near future. But for now, I’m just going to pretend like I could do this forever.
“I don’t think I want this to end,” Jay says what I’d just been thinking out loud.
“Me either,” I say.
“Maybe ...” He pauses, uncertainty in his voice. “Maybe it can be a beginning.”
“I’d like that,” I say, feeling my pulse start to race as my hormones high-five each other. Jay lets out a heavy breath, like he’d been holding it waiting for my answer.
“So if this is the beginning, maybe you should tell me your first name,” I say.
“My first name?” he asks, confused.
“Yeah, I saw you had an initial before your name on your credit card.”
“Did you steal my wallet?” he jokes.
“No!” I say and pull back so I can make sure he’s actually joking. “I saw it at the lounge.”
“Oh, that,” he says and then shakes his head. “I don’t think I know you well enough to tell you that.”
“Jay,” I chide. “I think we know each other well enough.”
He leans in and kisses me on the nose. “It’s Chance,” he says.
