Page 70 of Because of You
He just winks at me. “The Incline. Seriously.” He hits the button to unbuckle my seatbelt and comes around to open my door. He takes my hand, and we head into the lower station. I am instantly filled with nostalgia. The Incline is a cable car that goes up and down Mt. Washington. It has been around since the eighteen hundreds and is as much a symbol of Pittsburgh as three rivers, golden bridges, andMister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I came to the incline on countless school trips as a kid and even rode a few times as a teenager just for fun. But like Kennywood, it’s been years since I sat in one of the red wooden trolley cars. Ben pays our fare, and we enter one of the cars. He sits down first and pulls me into his lap.
“We’re the only ones in here, you know. Plenty of seats.”
He just wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me back against his chest. “I like you close to me.”
Well, okay then. “Benji, you are positively swoony.”
“Only for you, Hal.” He whispers into my ear, and goosebumps erupt all over my arms. Something he absolutely does not miss. I can practically feel his smirk against the back of my head.
The incline starts to move, rising up Mt. Washington. The higher we get, the more the view opens up in front of us, and fiveminutes later, we’re at the top. Ben takes my hand, and I follow him out of the trolley and into the upper station.
“So, are you going to tell me what we’re doing up here?”
“Come with me.” He leads me out of the station and over to the observation deck. No matter how many times I have seen it, the view at night takes my breath away. From up here, downtown Pittsburgh stretches out in front of us, the city lights casting their glow over the three rivers and the fountain at Point State Park, where the rivers meet. We have a perfect view of the golden bridges stretching across the rivers, the illuminated buildings, and the stadiums, empty of people at this late hour.
Ben pulls me in front of him and crowds against my back. His hands rest on the observation deck fence on either side of me, caging me in. I lean my head back against his chest and take in the view.
“This is what we’re doing here,” he says. “The view. I just…needed to see it.” His voice drops at the end until it’s practically a whisper. I turn to look at him, curious. But then he keeps talking.
“I haven’t let Stonegate know yet that I’m turning down the deal. I don’t want that life, but there’s a tiny piece of me that wonders what it would be like. So, before I turn it down, I wanted to come up here and look at the view. I have lived in Pittsburgh my whole life. I grew up here and went to college here and started my business here. And I thought that maybe if I came up here, I could quiet that tiny bit of wondering.”
I turn in the circle of his arms so I can see his face. “And?”
“Fuck, this view. It reaches in and grabs me by the chest every single time. I can look at this view—at the rivers and the bridges and the shape of the skyline—and understand everything about myself. This is my place. This city. This view. It’s a part of me. It’s buried deep in my soul. I’m a Pittsburgh boy, Hallie, and I don’t want to be anything else. There’s no part of me that needs anything different than what I have righthere, on the banks of these three rivers. I’m calling Stonegate tomorrow.”
Emotion swamping me, I stand on my tiptoes and pull Ben’s mouth to mine. His lips are soft and warm. And when he takes my face in both of his hands, his mouth moving softly over mine, I feel it straight down to my toes. The kiss is soft and sweet, and when he pulls away, he leans forward and presses his lips to my forehead, hands still cupping my face. Then he wraps his arms around me and tucks my body into his. I circle my arms around his waist, and he turns us so we can look out over the rivers together. I feel safe in his arms as the warm summer breeze swirls around us, content right down to the tips of my toes.
“Thank you for coming with me. I needed you here with me for this. I just…need you.”
My heart squeezes at his words. “You have me.”
“You’re a part of it too, you know.”
“A part of what?”
“A part of this life. My life. The one I see when I look at this view. The only life I want. It might be too soon to say this, but I hope maybe one day it can be our life. That we can live it and build it together.”
God, this man. This sweet, kind, big-hearted man. He came to me with his heart in his hands at the exact time I needed him. And it feels like it was supposed to be this way all along. He has always been there when I needed him, and I’m glad I can be that for him, too. His arms tighten around me as he leans down and presses another kiss to the top of my head. My body explodes with warmth, and butterflies swarm in my stomach, and it’s all so clear to me. Standing there wrapped around each other, high above the city we both love, staring out at the fountain and the bridges and the city lights, I slide gently into love with my best friend. And it feels so completely right. Ben is it for me. It wasalways going to be us. Hallie and Ben. We are the most perfect fit.
“It’s not too soon,” I whisper to him. And then I burrow deeper into his hold, and I let myself dream a little about a shared life with Ben and everything the future holds.
Chapter Forty-Two
Ben
Hallie’s porch is dark when we walk up the steps to her front door hand in hand. I’m holding onto my control by a thread. Being with Hallie up on Mt. Washington was more intense than I anticipated. When I looked out onto the city I love while wrapped around the girl I love, I saw more than just the right move for my business. I saw my future with Hallie.
I have always known I wanted a future with her. I have hoped for it for more than a decade of my life. But up on the Incline observation deck with her, I saw it more clearly than I ever have before.
Us living together, going to sleep and waking up together every morning. Hallie sitting at the counter every day with her first cup of coffee, talking to me about whatever case she is working on while I make breakfast. Kissing her goodbye when she leaves for work and her waiting for me in bed when I get home late after closing the bar. Whispering secrets across our pillows and walking around our city through all four seasons. A wedding and a family and a life we build together.
I have never let myself think that far into the future when it comes to me and Hallie. Until tonight. And now that I openedthat door in my brain, I can’t close it again, and I need her more than I need to take my next breath.
We stop at the door, and Hallie fumbles around in her bag for her keys. She finds them, but before she can fit the key into the lock, I spin her around, press her back against the door, and seal my mouth over hers. The keys drop with a clatter. With my hands on her waist, I press against her so she can feel all of me. So she knows how she affects me. How much I want her. Hallie’s arms wrap around my neck and tangle in my hair, tugging just enough to have me groaning into her mouth. Our tongues dance, and I press even more firmly against her, sliding one of my legs in between hers. I lift my leg up just enough to press firmly against her center. She moans and rocks against me, and it almost has me coming in my pants like I’m fifteen again.
My dick is straining against the zipper of my shorts, and I fight to hold on to my control while Hallie grinds onto my leg. Our mouths move together in a kiss that is wet and filthy and so damn hot. I can feel her heat through my shorts, and the noises she’s making tell me she’s close already. I need to see all of her with a desperation that borders on manic. I tear my mouth away from hers and tighten my grip on her hips. “I fucking love watching you take your pleasure, Hallie girl. But when you come for me tonight, you’re going to be spread naked over your bed so I can see every inch of you.”
Hallie lets out a whimper that has my cock hardening even more. I lean down and kiss her again, all teeth and tongues until we are both panting for breath. Then I pick up the keys and unlock the door as quickly as possible, kicking it shut behind me. In two strides, I’m in front of Hallie, reaching down for the hem of her dress. I lift it over her head and toss it to the ground behind her. Then I stop dead in my tracks. My breath wheezes out of my lungs as I take her in. She is wearing tiny red lace underwear and a matching bra with lace cups that barely containher hard nipples. Her eyes are bright, and her face is flushed and glowing. Her lips are wet and red and puffy from kissing me. She is a fucking wet dream. It’s a miracle that I don’t just pass out right on the spot.
