Page 56 of The Game Changer

“I guess so,” I tell him. I’m afraid of heights, so the thought of going up the elevator to the observation deck in the Arch scares the bejesus out of me.

He squeezes my hand. “I’ve got you, babe,” he says, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

“You’d better,” I tell him as we approach the ticket booth.

“Two for the top, please,” he says to the booth attendant as he slides some cash through the little slot. The young man prints off our tickets, passing them to us through the slot along with Johnathan’s change. He grabs the tickets and we make our way over to the elevator doors where we’re greeted by an employee.

“Tickets, please,” she says and John hands them over. “Once to the top, please take your time looking around. The last elevator down is in about ninety minutes, so you’ve got some time to explore and see the sun set,” the employee tells us as she rips our tickets, handing one half back to John. We step onto the elevator just as my palms start to sweat.

“You okay?” he asks as we start to move. I can feel my anxiety starting to kick in. I don’t really like small places and I don’t like heights, so the two together are really throwing me for a loop. “Just breathe, babe,” he says, and I suck in a breath. He turns so he’s facing me and cups my cheeks in his hands, pulling my face up to look at him. I follow his breathing pattern, and can feel my body start to let go of some of the tension that it was holding on to. “We’re almost to the top,” he tells me then brushes his lips on mine.

The bell dings, alerting us that we’ve reached the top just before the doors slide open. We walk out and I’m surprised at how okay I am up here. I look out over the city and am just amazed at the beauty before me. We find an area that isn’t packed with people. I stand against the railing and look out the small window in front of me. John boxes me in from behind, his arms coming around me as he rests his chin on my shoulder.

“It’s so beautiful,” I tell him as we watch the sun start to slowly make its descent as it sets.

“It is,” he agrees.

“How many times have you come here before?” I ask.

“Only a couple of times. Once in probably fifth grade, I think. It’s a staple field trip, or at least it was when I was a kid. I guess I don’t really know if they still do it. I came back again once as an adult on one of my visits back home because my mom wanted to come see it as she’d never been.”

We stand in silence as we watch the sun set, it really is an experience to watch it from up here. The sky is filled with so many different shades, from pinks and oranges to some purples and blues in the distance. We couldn’t have picked a better night to come here. I’m just glad I didn’t chicken out and got on the elevator to come up.

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