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He smiled wide. “Just you wait. Follow me.”
I watched him reach out for a sagging spot in the barbed wire of the fence. He lifted the loose wire and waved. “After you.”
My brow furrowed. “What?”
“Trust me. This will be worth it. But first, we have to climb through the fence.”
“Whose property is this?”
“Mr. Hawkins,” he replied. “You know he doesn’t care. It’s not like he’s keeping any livestock in this field. This fence has been broken for years.”
“Unless he comes running out here with his shotgun and thinks we’re trespassers, he doesn’t know,” I argued. “He’s not exactly all with it these days in his old age, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he shot us before he even realized who we were.”
“I do this all the time,” he winked.
I sighed but pushed forward and climbed under the fence. Keith followed behind me and then took the lead to guide me through the field. I didn’t have the faintest clue where we were going until we were all the way on the other side, at the base of the giant Silver Point water tower. Even then, I didn’t understand what we were doing out there.
“Now what?”
“We go up,” he answered with a mischievous grin as he approached the bottom of the ladder.
“What!?” I laughed.
“Come on. You’re not scared, are you?”
I gulped and craned my neck to stare down the top of the ladder, where he seemed to think it was a good idea to climb. It had to have been over fifty feet up in the night sky, and while my heart was pounding at the thought of going all the way up there, it was the good kind of fear and excitement. It was the same rush I got when a giant wave appeared before me and my board in the ocean.
“No, I’m not afraid,” I huffed.
I stepped forward, ready for the challenge. But as soon as I lifted my foot onto the first bar of the ladder, I remembered what I was wearing. Of all the nights I chose to wear a short dress, it just had to be that one.
“Oh,” I frowned. “Okay, you’re going to have to go up first.”
“You are scared,” he teased.
“No, I’m not. But look at me.” I tugged at the hem of my dress. “No way am I going to let you stare up my skirt the whole way.”
He got close and leaned against the ladder, caging me in with his strong, towering frame. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said with a taunting, hungry tone.
“Yes, it is,” I argued. “From that angle, going all the way up there? No way.”
“Not that I was expecting this, but I think it only sweetens the deal. It will make the view even better. Besides, I can’t have you going up behind me. If you fall, I have to be able to catch you.”
“I don’t need you to catch me,” I huffed, crossing my arms. “I can grab the bars just the same as I would even if you were behind me. Anyway, while it’s a very romantic thought, I guess, that you would catch me…if either of us falls, we’re probably screwed.”
“So, you’re chickening out on me?”
I let out an exasperated groan. “Fine. Just mind your manners.”
“There’s only one way I can look, and that’s up,” he defended.
I turned my back to him and positioned myself to start climbing, deciding I didn’t care if he had a full view up my skirt for a fifty-foot climb or not. He could look all he wanted. It’s not like anything else was going to happen between us. Right? Right, of course not.
My hands and arms shook as we went higher, but eventually, my adrenaline rush caught up to me and overpowered my nerves. We kept going in silent focus until we made it onto the railed platform at the top.
I was speechless as I stood there and caught my breath, taking in the view. The sky looked darker up there, and the stars shined brighter with breathtaking brilliance. Then, there was the view of the whole town below us.
“You can see every corner of Silver Point from up here,” I marveled.
