Manhattan_Small Town Friends-to-Lovers Romance by Kandi Steiner

Author:Kandi Steiner [Steiner, Kandi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kandi Steiner
Published: 2019-12-17T05:00:00+00:00

Kylie

“I think I might throw up.”

“You better not!” Mikey screamed up at me. “Remember, I’m below you here. I didn’t sign up for the splash zone.”

I laughed, gripping onto the rusty metal ladder even tighter. My next step was just as trembly as the one before it, and I forced a breath, blowing it out through pursed lips.

“I don’t remember it being this scary when we were ten,” Mikey called up.

“We were fearless. We didn’t think we could die.”

“Well, I seem to be acutely aware of that fact now.”

I laughed again, stopping to get my balance before I took another step. “Stop making me laugh! I’m going to fall.”

“You won’t fall. I’d catch you.”

“Sure. You’d catch me. Right before we both tumbled to our death.”

“Hey, this was your idea, Indiana Jones. Now, climb. We’re almost there.”

Steadying myself, I took a few calming breaths before I started climbing again. The rest of the journey was silent, and when I reached the top, I peeled my backpack off and collapsed, feeling the cool grate of the metal on my damp back.

“Oh, thank God,” Mikey said when he joined me, flopping down on the other side of the opening where the ladder met the base. “You know we’ll have to die up here, right? Because there’s no way I can climb back down.”

A hearty laugh left my chest, and I sat up, still winded, breathing like it was Everest we’d just climbed and not the Stratford water tower on the south side of town. My eyes traced the bright red letters that spelled out our town’s name, each one outlined in black, and our only claim to fame in small, italic print below it.

Home of the Tennessee State Champions Football Team — Go Cats!

Beneath that, in everything from Sharpie and pencil to spray paint and knife-carvings, were names and phrases and years that had been scrawled over time, people marking their place.

Jessie was here.

Color guard team 2005.

Mark and Lisa 4ever.

I smiled, reaching into my bag for a bottle of water. I tossed it to Mikey before digging one out for me, too.

He sat up, took a long swig, and then crawled over to sit next to me, both of us leaning back against the tower with our eyes on the town spread out below us.

“It looks kind of pretty at night,” Mikey said, scanning the lights. He pointed to the American flag blowing in the breeze on the hill east of town, the one that welcomed visitors to our little map dot. The flag was lit up with a spotlight, and right behind it was a giant, illuminated cross.

“It does,” I agreed. My gut twisted as I took another sip of water, eyes falling to my lap. “Sure you won’t miss this view when you leave?”

“Nah,” he said easily — so easily my heart broke a little more. “This is nothing compared to the Manhattan skyline.”

“You’re not scared of a city that big?” I asked. “Of all those people, all those buildings and cars and… and…” I waved my hand.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.