Page 41 of Wild Pucker

The observation deck is stunning in itself, and the views are out of this world. All of Toronto is stretched out before us. I can see the arena, the baseball stadium with the roof open, the waterfront, the dozens of skyscrapers that make up Toronto's skyline, and the maze of streets often clogged with cars and people commuting downtown. I've never really appreciated how beautiful our city is, and I've rarely considered how a big city could be beautiful, but it is.

I'm a small-town girl at heart. I've shifted from a town with a population of less than twenty thousand to a bustling city of over two million. I've gone from wide open spaces, farmland, and the quiet sounds of the country to streetcars, high-rise apartment complexes, and the racketing chaos of a metropolis.

And I love it.

I’m also starting to love the man in front of me, and it's so much more than the puppy love I felt for him growing up.

Chase is standing back from the enormous windows overlooking the city, teetering from foot-to-foot. I walk over to him, grab his hand, and pull him over to the windows. He follows, albeit hesitantly. Even through the bulky suit, I can see his heart pounding in his neck. I place my hands on his cheeks and force him to look into my eyes.

"Trust me," I whisper, drawing his forehead down to mine. "You are one of the most incredible men I have ever met, Chase. Don't let fear win." Something soft passes over his gaze, and when his eyes meet mine, I melt for him. I pull back just a little, push up on my tippy-toes, and brush a kiss across his lips. It's not a kiss meant to incite passion. It's meant to lend courage, but even that short meeting of our lips ignites my blood and makes me want to climb him like a tree. Instead, I move my mouth to his ear and whisper a promise.

"Come with me now, Chase, and we'll come together later."

His eyes go molten, sending a thrill shooting through my body. That I have this effect on him empowers me to be daring.

"What are we waiting for?" Chase bellows at our instructor. "The lady wants to dangle with me. Let's do this!"

I laugh and Chase smirks, shooting me a wink. Even though I still see the fear in him making his movements ridged, he's trying to cover it up for me.

Slowly, we move onto the ledge. It's windier than I thought, and the coolness sucks my breath away. We are so high up that everything below looks like tiny pinpricks. I once read that if you dropped a penny off the CN Tower, the velocity of it hitting the sidewalk below would demolish part of it. I test the ropes on the track, just in case. I don't want to imagine what I would look like on the sidewalk if I fell from this far up.

"Okay, love birds," our guide Carl says. "Time to walk the edge."

It's only five feet, but it's the longest five feet I've ever walked. Chase and I tippy-toe to the edge, doing a slow shuffle-crawl the whole way. Carl motions for us to give our ropes a test and lean forward. I have no qualms about heights, and even my stomach flips around like a fish that just hit land.

"I think I know why dinner comes after and not before this," I chuckle, glancing downward. Seeing the long, long plunge down to earth makes me dizzy. I can only imagine what's going on in Chase's head.

"Okay, first we are just going to lean back," Carl directs us. We place our heels on the metal edge, our backs to the city. I grab Chase's hand and squeeze tight. He squeezes back. Hard.

Almost like we're doing a trust fall, we start to lean backwards. There's an awful moment when I wonder if the rope will catch right before it pulls taut. If anything goes wrong, it's an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime free-fall down to street level.

But, of course, the rope stretches tight so Chase and I are hanging over the city. It's insane and exhilarating. I let out a whoop of excitement and laugh. This is one step away from flying. The wind whips my ponytail around my face, making me laugh even harder. Avery is standing a safe distance away with her phone, giving me a thumbs up.

At a snail's pace, Chase and I shimmy along the track. Our instructor has us do a few more maneuvers. My favourite, to Chase's horror, is called "Toes Over Toronto." Instead of leaning backwards, we flip around and lean forward, looking straight out over the city. It's breathtaking, and not just because the wind beating against us sucks the air from my lungs. When we turn back around, Carl starts taking pictures of us in different poses.

"Let's give the people what they want," Carl shouts over the wind. "Kiss the girl!"

"What do you think, big guy? Do you have it in you? Or are you too scared to come over here and kiss me?"

Chase never could resist a challenge. He scoots over faster than I've seen him move all day, angles his body towards me, and presses his lips to mine. If I thought kissing Chase with both feet planted on solid ground was good, then kissing Chase with nothing but a thousand feet of air below us is earth-shattering.

Despite the cool air, his lips are warm and soft. He pulls my lower lip into his mouth, nipping me softly. Goosebumps break out over my skin. I want to take his face in my hands and deepen the kiss, but one hand is locked in Chase's grip and the other is on my rope. A cough sounds just as Chase runs his tongue along my upper lip, and I'm tempted to open for him.

"Let's keep this PG for the folks watching at home," Carl chuckles at us, causing me to blush. I risk a look in Avery's direction, and she lowers her phone, grinning at me. She makes an obscene gesture with her hands and then throws a hip thrust in for good measure. I roll my eyes and laugh. Chase laughs right along with me.

♥?

Dinner is fantastic.

360 The Restaurant is disgustingly cool. It's classy, but not so much so that you feel like you can't touch the table setting without ruining it or getting the stink eyes from the staff.

Chase seems much more relaxed, even though we're technically still over a thousand feet above the ground. I wonder if food tastes better up here. Even the bread tastes amazing, but I've always been a glutton for gluten.

"Is it just me, or is this bread like stupid good?"

"It's not just you," Chase smiles, stuffing a warm, buttery piece into his mouth. "It's delicious."

Our waitress arrives and pours us white wine before taking our orders. We both order appetizers. I get the beet salad with buffalo mozzarella, and Chase orders the seafood chowder.

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