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Once the rest of the guys had headed back to the hotel, Jason and I began the walk toward the tower. The evening air was warm, even though it was almost ten. People still milled around, walking leisurely by the river. Some stopped to stare at the view, but I was more interested in watching the other people we shared this moment with.
I’d gone all poetic since I’d got on the train, suddenly seeing the magic and beauty in every moment. It was much easier to do in Paris than in Cornwall or Sheffield. Not that Cornwall and Sheffield didn’t have their own kind of magic, but it was the same magic. Over and over. Paris was new. It seemed as though every person around us felt it too.
“I think you might be my sanity on this trip, Lucy.” I turned my head to look up at Jason, unsure I’d heard him correctly.Sanity? Me?Jason smiled. “I get bored easily. If we’d gone back to the hotel, I wouldn’t have slept. I’d have probably gone back out to a bar or something until some of the adrenaline wore off.”
I couldn’t say I didn’t understand. It was too early to go back to my room, and I was buzzing about the fact that I was away. There would be a lot of places we wouldn’t get a chance to fully explore, but we had time in Paris, and I didn’t want to waste a second. Watching French television alone would definitely have felt like a waste.
“Well, any time you want some company, just let me know.” I grinned.
“I’m glad you’re here. It’s been hard since everything happened last year. Drew still finds it difficult to relax and trust me since the relapse. Mack and Joey are worried too, but they handle it better. I think you’re going to be the only person on the tour who isn’t staring at me, waiting for me to crack again.”
“That’s not true, Jason.”
Notcompletelytrue. Drew did find it hard to trust Jason. They had been through counseling to fix their relationship, and it had made a huge difference. But some scars didn’t heal. Jason had done so many things to Drew and Ellie when he’d been high on drugs that, no matter what, there would always be some doubts. As for me, well, I worried too but in a much less obvious way.
The way I viewed it, Jason had to be allowed the freedom to keep living. Otherwise, what was the point? He may as well have died in that hospital bed if he wasn’t allowed out of anyone’s sight or given the trust to go his own way.
“This is only the beginning, Luce. As the tour rolls on, you’ll see it.”
I just shrugged. He knew better. It was his life.
“Do you know why Drew kept glaring at you when you suggested us going off on our own?”
Jason laughed. “I told you. He doesn’t trust me.”
“Doesn’t trust you with me?” I questioned, though the answer was probably obvious.
“Doesn’t trust me not to do something inappropriate.”
“Such as?”
“Hit on you, Lucy. He doesn’t trust me not to hit on you.”
My jaw dropped. It was no secret that I’d be totally okay with him hitting on me—well, maybe it was a secret to Jason—but the idea he had thought about it in any way blew my mind.
“You’re not going to hit on me,” I said. “Why would you?”
Jason wrapped his arm around my shoulders again. “Of course I’m not. But, like I said, he worries.”
It would have hurt if I hadn’t prepared myself for that comment. The fact was, I was resigned to the way things were. I was the girl who silently liked the guy without saying a word because being in his life as a friend was better than making things awkward with a confession that wouldn’t get me anywhere.
As we got closer to the Eiffel Tower, my breath grew shallower with every step. It was stunning. There were so many people outside it, hovering around the base, staring up at the lights the same way Jason and I were. Awestruck.
“Wow.” I craned my neck to look right to the top.
“It’s amazing.”
Jason pulled me closer to him as we stared, and I rested my head on his shoulder, both of us appreciating the perfection of the moment. The sounds of the city faded as we took in the whole of the tower.
“I need to go up there,” I said. “Can we please come back tomorrow?”
“Sure we can. I think the rest of the guys will want to come too. Although, it won’t be as magical in daylight.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I think this will always be pretty magical.”
He smiled down at me. “Eiffel Tower selfie?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
