WE’RE WAITING in line for a cable car ride to Sugarloaf Mountain, one of the highest peaks in Rio de Janeiro. I watch as a large cable car speeds toward us down a collection of thin wires connecting two summits.
My impending demise.
“Are you going to be sick? You’re starting to look very pale.” Lily stifles a laugh.
My hands strangle the metal railing. “Nope, I’m fine. Just enjoying the views.” I suck in a deep breath, then glue my eyes to Lily’s.
“I can’t believe that you’re afraid of heights. You’ve shown me pictures of you skydiving and bungee jumping off bridges.”
A rush of panic spreads beneath my skin.
“I always did those things with my friend, Tate, because he would hype me up the entire time. Actually, he should be coming to Rio this month with his wife, Tara.”
The death box comes to a screeching halt at the landing point ahead. I swallow the balloon of panic.
“It’ll be fun to meet some of your friends. I bet they have all sorts of embarrassing stories about you.”
“I’m sure they will.” I don’t have the energy to crack a joke, but Lily smiles brightly enough to briefly soothe the nerves excavating my chest. “Tell me why my brain decided to recall a scene from Jurassic Park where the T. rex chomps away at the trailer hanging off the cliff?”
“I bet if you didn’t watch so many horror movies, your thoughts wouldn’t be proposing different scenarios for death.”
“That’s not going to stop me anytime soon.”
We climb up the stairs, and she turns to face me. “Nico Navarro. Scared. Consider me stunned.” Lily’s eyes roam over me in disbelief. “Honestly, I’m impressed with how bold you are at conquering your fears.”
“What’s life without a little risk? But let’s change the subject. Um.” I hesitate. “How does it feel being so far away from home?”
“Well, besides having to dress like Adam Sandler?” She points at her outfit.
The comparison gets a laugh out of me. Lily’s wearing one of my clean tees, a pair of basketball shorts, tall white socks, her combat boots, and a New York Yankees baseball cap. It’s entirely too adorable and strangely s*xy.
Despite her somewhat boyish attire, every tourist and local with a pulse stared at her the entire journey over here. Strangers gawking has already left me irritable on more than one occasion. If this is how possessive I feel from one kiss, maybe taking this trip together was a bad idea.
“Honestly,” she continues, “I’m not sure if it’s hit me just yet. One minute we’re in New York, drinking all the top-shelf liquor at the Mademoiselle. Then we’re in San Francisco and my best friend is suddenly someone’s wife, and now we’re here, across the world. Is this what your life feels like all the time?”
“Yes.” I swallow away the dryness in my throat. “I live for waking up in different beds, in different cities, never having to live through the same day over and over.”
Her head tilts. “And the mornings where you wake up and don’t know where you are?”
“Never been a problem.”
She shrugs. “I guess you can’t beat a king-sized mattress overlooking the ocean.”
Or the fact that Lily Rodin is sleeping a few feet away from me for the next month.
“You’re five-six, Lil. Why would you need so much space to begin with?”
“More room for extracurriculars.”
“Is that what they’re teaching in college nowadays?” I nudge her slightly.
Lily gives me a mischievous look. “It seems to be my most-attended lecture.”
“Safe to assume you’re still perpetually single?”
A playful smirk eclipses her lips. “Interesting follow-up question.” “Trying to stay distracted, remember?” And find out if you’re actually
available or if I’m way over my head.
It’s got to be the latter.
“Of course I’m single, Nico.”
“Not of course. You’re like a modern-day Morticia Addams mixed with Brigitte Bardot.” The comparisons do her effortless s*x appeal absolutely no justice. Lily Rodin is in a league of her own.
“You’re forgetting about the generous sprinkle of suburban dad.” She winks and tugs at my basketball shorts around her waist.
I want to kiss her again so fucking badly. Just to see what would happen if there weren’t any interruptions.
I don’t blame my brother for trying to keep us apart for the last two years because there’s definitely something between Lily and me. Likely a buildup of s*xual tension that we both need to release, but regardless of what this might be, I need to explore it.
Explore her.
We’re both adults who like to have casual s*x. We could manage a no- strings-attached situation. But if the kiss between us is any indicator of how we’d be in bed, then I’m not sure a summer fling would satiate my craving for her.
“I’m surprised people don’t just throw themselves at you,” I muse.
“Oh, they do.” Her mouth quirks into a smile, but it deflates almost instantly. “But dating’s been exhausting lately. Some days, I want to fuck, load up on snacks and bowls of ramen, then spend the evening rolling around in bed without any of the awkwardness. Plain and simple.”
My kind of woman.
“We can start right now.” I grab her wrist and pretend to descend the stairs in the direction of our hotel.
Lily plants her feet firmly, yanking me back to her.
“We could, but we’re not going to. You have a gondola to ride.” Her brows raise in a stern expression.
“Right, we’re not going to do that because of the gondola.” “And every other reason under the sun.”
“Uh-huh.”
Her face conveys an undeniable I’m-not-going-to-budge-on-this expression, and I respect her stubborn front.
But I’m also going to have so much fun trying to prove her wrong. We follow the line of people until we’re on the landing.
“Have you thought about any plans for when you’re back? Your birthday’s next month, right?”
Lily’s green eyes stretch with surprise. “Did you put together a profile on me?”
I tilt my head toward her. “What do you mean?”
“Memorizing my tea, and now my birthday. You got a crush on me, Navarro?”
Something like that. “We’ve been friends for two years. It would be weird if I didn’t remember those things.”
“Some of my hookups barely remember my name.” Lily scoffs. “Well, I’m not much better, but y’know what I’m saying.”
“All this time I thought your name was Lucy,” I tease. A sharp nail jabs my side, making me spasm with laughter. I clasp the rail for dear life. “Okay, okay, I’m kidding.”
“I don’t wanna think about it. For once in my life, I don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow, let alone a month from now.”
“We could think of all sorts of fun things to do if you stayed for the rest of the summer.”
“I can’t stay.”
“You—”
“Com licença.” The gondola attendant looks at me.
“Uh, você fala inglês?” I stumble out in my kindergarten-level Portuguese.
“Oh, yes. We have room for two more. The couple in the front, please come down.”
Lily takes a step away from me. “Oh no, we aren’t a—”
“Come on, sweetie pie.” I wrap my arm around her waist, tucking her under my shoulder, and step forward. “We don’t want to hold up the line.”
“Please forgive my husband.” A forced smile plasters on her face as she decides to play along with my schtick. “His faculties are not operating at capacity today. All that drinking.”
“Oh, wife.” I squeeze her tighter into me. “I know you don’t want me to tell everyone how late you kept me up last night with that wicked s*x drive
of yours.” I shoot the attendant a knowing grin. “We’re newlyweds.”
“My baby muffin, I had to keep you up because you were struggling to find it for hours.”
I lean down and whisper into her neck. “Finding things is a specialty of mine.”
Lily’s glare is a terrible distraction as she ushers us toward the creaking glass cabin.
I’m going to be sick.
“Maybe we don’t need to do this at all,” I croak.
“Yes. Yes, we do.” Lily pulls me tight and yanks me into the gondola.
The devilish look on her face screams, There’s no going back now.
The moment our feet hit the flooring, the gondola sways.
My knees tremble. I lean more weight onto Lily, and she guides us to an empty seat.
I clamber onto a chair, gripping tightly onto the edges. “Why’s it shaking? Are the screws coming loose?”
“I’m going to say it’s safe to assume all gondolas are like this.” She stands beside me, brushing her hair off her shoulders.
“Yes, but this one’s hundreds of feet off the ground.”
“1,296 feet, to be exact.” Lily pockets the brochure and stands in front of me. “You like to snowboard,” she says reassuringly. “Just pretend we’re on a ski lift.”
“When I snowboard, I can fall into fresh powder, not a bunch of rocks.” I’m going to faint.
The welcome announcement plays over the intercom in Portuguese before switching to English. “Welcome to the Sugarloaf Cable Car. The ride will span three minutes. We hope you enjoy the views.”
Oh, fuck. This is really happening.
Lily’s mouth hangs open as she stares out, entirely captivated by the sight of Rio. I take a deep breath. Her familiar scent melts across my senses. She smells like her namesake, dewy and fresh, with a trace of sunscreen and the citrusy bergamot of her morning tea.
The tram moves, and my stomach falls into the soles of my feet. “I don’t feel okay at all,” I whisper.
Lily squats, crouching on her tiptoes, and claps her hands on my knees. “What can I do?”
Each paralyzing sensation in my limbs loosens under her touch. “Kiss me again.”
Her palm lands with a loud smack on my skin. “No. Be serious. Why didn’t you tell me you were this afraid of heights?”
“Wanted to surprise you.”
“Let me actually help you. Come here.” Not waiting for my reply, Lily takes my sweaty palms between her hands. My nerves fire on all cylinders at her sudden tenderness. “Take some deep breaths. In and out.”
I mimic the rhythm of her breathing, my fingers interlocked with hers.
Finally, my spine unwinds. “I’m okay?”
“You’re okay.” Lily smiles reassuringly, and I get lost in the green of her eyes. The panic drains away. I become too aware of how close her face is to mine. Each of my lungs aches for an entirely different reason.
I lift my chin to her. “Maybe I should be scared all the time.” “Shut up and don’t ruin a nice moment.”
“Thank you.” I force a smile.
Lily tightens her hand around mine. “We’re almost there.”
Is this how it would be if she stayed all summer? Her reluctantly holding onto me as I melt beneath her touch?
I wonder what my brother would have to say about this. “Can you hold my hand the entire way back?” I smile.
The golden sunlight kisses her features, bathing her skin in an iridescent orange glow. It’s beautiful out there, but there’s a whole other wonder right in front of me.
She rolls her eyes. “You never give up, do you?” When it comes to her? “Never.”
