AllFreeNovel
Share Us
39
“Noah. Wake up.”
I groaned, burying my face in the pillow.
“Noah.” A hand was lightly shaking my arm. “Come on. We’ll be late.”
At those words, I blinked my eyes open, and Liam eventually came into focus, his head propped on his arm as he watched me.
“Hi,” I rasped, my throat dry.
“Morning. Time to get up. We can’t miss our time slot.”
“Time slot?”
“You’ll see.”
* * *
London was so quiet at early o’clock on a Sunday morning. It was still dark outside as we headed away from the campus, towards London Bridge. I tugged the sleeves of my hoodie down over my hands, the chill in the air making my fingers turn to icicles.
“Cold?” Liam shot me a sideways glance.
“A bit.”
He moved closer, and then suddenly, his fingers were sliding between mine. “Is that better?”
I could only nod. It was something so fucking simple, but he was holding my hand, in public, and he’d been the one to initiate it.
“Good.” He rubbed his thumb across my knuckle, giving me a soft smile.
We fell silent as we walked across the bridge, hand in hand. His palm was so warm against mine, and I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of this closeness.
After we’d passed Monument tube station and crossed the road, I glanced around me. I didn’t know this part of London well, and I couldn’t work out where Liam was taking me.
“Where are we going?” I doubted he’d tell me, but it was worth a try.
“You’ll see,” was all he said.
A few minutes later, we stopped in front of the entrance to a towering skyscraper with plants covering the outer surface of the bottom part. He tugged me towards the automatic doors, and when we entered, he showed something on his phone to the person behind the reception desk, who directed us towards a lift. There were a few other people around, looking as sleepy as I felt.
Eventually the lift doors opened again, and we stepped out into a huge space with towering glass walls surrounding us, showcasing a 360-degree view of London, stretching away as far as the eye could see. The sky was just beginning to lighten, the sun peeking over the horizon, sparkling on the river and the buildings beneath us, and the sight took my breath away.
“Wow,” I breathed. “This is amazing.”
“You like it?”
Liam’s tone had me turning to look at him. He was eyeing me uncertainly, his teeth clamped down on his lip.
“I love it.”
His face cleared, and he smiled. “This is the Sky Garden. I always thought I wanted to bring someone here one day, but there’s never been anyone I wanted to share it with.” He stepped closer. “Until you.”
Our lips met, right there, out in the open. We were just two boys kissing each other, with no fears, nothing to hide. Just another couple who were so into each other that we couldn’t help but show it.
“Show me the rest of it,” I said when he released me, his fingers again slipping between mine.
He led me up the steps at the side of the three storeys of indoor landscaped gardens, weaving through the greenery that was carefully placed throughout the huge space, across the top, and back down the other side, where we joined the other people watching the sunrise. When he pulled out his phone, turned us around, and threw his arm around me, I couldn’t stop my smile even if I’d tried. He took a few selfies of us with the sun in the background and immediately posted one to his social media. I forwarded the link to my family group chat with the caption “me and my boyfriend,” then turned my phone off so I could focus on him.
