‘She is.’ Eve nodded, squeezing his arm. Stephen dropped a pair of keys into Eve’s open palm, still staring at Laura in awe.
‘There’s so much I want to say.’
Eve smiled. ‘And you will.’ She took Laura’s hand. ‘Come on.’ Eve held her hand lightly as they climbed several flights of staircases. By the time they reached the very top, they were both puffed with exertion. Laura hoped there was an elevator back down.
Eve rested her hand on a door, their destination. ‘Okay … close your eyes.’
Laura heard the jangling of keys slotting into the large metal door. A rush of frigid air swarmed Laura as Eve’s guiding hands pulled her forwards. Eve brushed Laura’s hair away from her face. ‘Open.’
Before her lay the glowing rooftops of New York City. Thousands of lights blinked in the distance; the moon hung low in the sky. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked out over Central Park. It was breathtaking. Eve motioned to a blanket and some glowing jars, set out like a run way in front of them.
‘This is … this is amazing, Eve. I mean, the view and the …’ Laura ran a hand through her hair. Eve motioned for her to come closer. She handed her something cold to the touch. Laura looked down at a golf club extended in her hand. Eve’s slender fingers guided Laura into a golfing stance, then she thumbed a bright pink golf ball down.
Eve gave her a childish grin. ‘Let’s see if we can hit some stars.’
Laura focused her breathing. She hit the pink ball with a satisfactory crack, and watched the ball plummet away from her and disappear into Central Park.
Eve hummed a beat as she grabbed her own club. Laura stared as she hit the ball with a practised stroke, much farther than her own. Eve leaned, scooping another ball from the small basket next to the glowing jars. She spun it in her hands then threw it as far as she could into the park. The pink sphere curved into the darkness and vanished.
‘How am I doing so far?’ she asked, looking out into the night air.
‘Well, I’m impressed, I have to give you that.’
‘Hungry, too?’ Eve dug around in the large brown paper bag, steam rising from it. She lifted a cheeseburger to Laura, sitting on the blanket spread out under the glowing jars. ‘These are the best burgers I’ve ever tasted.’
Laura sat crossed legged beside her; for a moment, they ate in silence. She counted the jars lined up on the rooftop, twelve, of varying colours. Brighter than the lights of the buildings that surrounded them. Eve faced outwards, letting the satisfaction of the date wash over her.
‘Why did you do all of this for me?’ Laura asked.
Eve swallowed. ‘Because I wanted to. Because …’ She searched for the words, not entirely sure herself what had got into her. ‘I think you deserve to be treated well. Everyone does.’ She smiled, thinking how stupid she sounded. ‘Even if you’re as famous as you let on to be.’
Laura punched her on the arm. ‘I felt like such a dick when I said that to you.’
Eve chuckled. ‘I felt like a dick for you.’ She laughed once more and sighed out into the view of the city. She brought her knees up to her chest. Her eyes took in every detail, like they were painting through the air.
Laura grabbed the polaroid camera and shuffled closer to Eve, pulling her close. Eve smiled back at Laura, their foreheads almost touching. Laura clicked the button. Eve combed her hair back. A light breeze shifted across the building tops. Laura caught her eyes. She bore through them, shutting everything else out. This was what she wanted the first time she saw her from that store window: to be this close to this creature. Who had stopped her, made her look twice and carried her forwards without plausible reasoning. She wanted closeness, she wanted her breath on her skin, she wanted to know where she had got the scar on her temple, or why only the third knuckle on her left hand was bruised. Laura found herself immersed in a way she hadn’t been before. Her hand touched her cheek, her jaw, her shoulder. Laura moved her body forwards and melted into hers. Their lips found each other. Laura’s finger slipped on the camera, their first kiss captured in a glowing orb of light. When they drew apart, Eve found herself without words. She clasped her hand in her own and lay down.
Laura did the same. She stared out into the abyss of stars, counting the ones that flickered. ‘Tonight, the sky is ours.’
Laura’s hold on Eve grew a little tighter; as the bike rolled to a stop, she didn’t want to let go of the roar of the bike, the wind that whipped around her face and the warmth from Eve’s body.
‘Here we are.’ Laura slid off the bike and hugged her cold arms.
Eve couldn’t help but stare at the imposing building, the apartments that overlooked Central Park. ‘You … you live there?’
Laura nodded. She watched an old couple walk through the gold entrance doors. Eve dismounted the motorbike and stood in front of Laura. She caught a flyaway strand of Laura’s hair and tucked it behind her ear. The night’s cover masked her blushing cheeks. She made a move to walk her to the front entrance. Laura shook her head, placing an unexpected hand on her chest. Laura thought she would have to explain, that someone might see them together and post a picture that would be the end of a secret life she had always lived, never this recklessly. But she found herself making more than one exception to the rule in the same night. Eve seemed to understand; she showed no malice.
Eve walked slowly backwards from her. ‘Just to let you know, I’m not going to wait three days to call you.’
Laura smiled, counting her steps. ‘I never did like conventional.’
Eve collapsed onto her bed. She couldn’t rid the warmth from her fingertips. She ran a shaky hand over herself, in remembrance of all the glances she had stolen when Laura wasn’t looking. She spread open the pile of polaroids they had collected over the night. Eve wrote quotes on the back of them as if stamping memories in a line. She lifted an early one, taken of Laura without her realising. In the picture, her head was raised to the sky, a slight, almost secretive smile on her lips. In the background, a shapeless cloud floated by.
Looking at the rooftop pictures, Laura had captured them both mid-kiss. She remembered how vulnerable she felt when her lips touched her, like she was standing at the edge of the building, thinking of jumping. All the anxiety between her shoulders had melted away until she took another breath. Eve had motioned to the stars, not knowing what to say. But in that moment, the sky had bored her. She only saw Laura. The way she angled her chin back to look into the light of the night, her forehead creased in concentration. Eve worried that, if she moved, the moment would, too.
Eve’s phone lit up, showing three missed calls from Anna. She called her back.
‘Hey.’ Eve always spoke louder on loud speaker, thinking no one could hear her if she didn’t.
‘Hey loser, how did it go?’
‘Really well … great, actually.’
‘Great, that’s great, kid. So, do I at least get to know his name?’
‘Nope. I enjoy leaving you in the dark.’
Anna whined, but Eve wouldn’t give in. ‘Well, at least one of us is getting some action.’
‘Oh, come on. Don’t wallow in self-pity until you reach cat number six.’
‘You’re such an asshole,’ Anna chuckled.
‘Sorry, I’m just in a good mood.’
‘It’s good to hear. Well, I better let you get back to enjoying your good mood.’
Eve was suddenly overwhelmed with a deep love for Anna, for everything she had helped her through and everything she had been for her. ‘I love you, Anna …’
Caught