AMACon 4: Serendipitous - English Fiction

Stripped - Her : Au Revoir

"Would you like to watch the sunrise up there with me?" He asked.

I've heard this question before, from a life I'd rather just keep tucked away in my deepest memories. But here it was, being asked again by a man I just met and barely know, and all I could hear was my heart screaming yes. It was surprising as it was scary, because for the first time in a long time, I was excited about something.

"Yes."

He chuckled and took my hand again, then we ran toward the hotel entrance. I didn't miss the way he waved at the guy at the hotel reception who nodded at him but with a face which had "who is she?" written all over it. I figured that RJ must frequent the place because we navigated through the lobby and casino very quickly and was in a staff elevator in under two minutes from the entrance. He pressed a code and I felt like we zoomed to the top of the building. When the doors opened, we stepped out and I thought we ended up at the Observation Deck. But he led me through a narrow corridor and when we reached the door at the end, he stopped and took a deep breath.

"Ready?" He asked, panting, like he could no longer contain his excitement. It was contagious.

"Yeah?" I said and giggled.

He smiled wildly at me before opening the door. When he did, a gust of wind blew my hair about and at first I thought we were in outer space.

I stepped out and the first thing I noticed was the blanket of stars hanging from the deep black sky. I held out my hand stupidly, thinking I might be able to reach them. I've never been that close to the sky, that I had to giggle at the feeling of elation it gave me. The warm desert wind blew smoothly on my hair, and my dress danced between my legs.

"Come on, I'll take you to my spot." He took my hand again and led me around equipments and antenna looking gadgets installed on the floor. We ended up under a square glass canopy that could fit maybe four people. From there, even sitting down, one can see the entire Las Vegas and the surrounding deserts through the glass railing. He probably noticed my surprise when I saw there was a mat there already, because he whispered "I come here a lot," then smiled widely at me, and his dimple was deeper than ever.

When we were settled and sitting down, I could only utter a ridiculous "wow."

"Right?" He said, nodding and very proud of himself like he had just shared the 8th wonder of the world that he discovered.

"This is amazing. How did you find this?" I asked.

"By accident, would you believe it? When I was still--, well there was a time when darkness was consuming me, I asked a friend of mine if he knew the highest possible place I could go to in Las Vegas. He told me to go here. He meant to lead me to the Observation Deck, but being bad at following directions, I ended up here. When I told him about this place, he said only a handful of people knew about it, like a secret hide away, so that's the only door in this entire building that they never lock. When I first got here, I explored, went around all these installations and found this little corner right here."

"Okay, curious question and I'll understand if you don't answer. Why were you looking for the highest spot in the first place?"

"You really want to know? Well let's just say that it was a very desperate, depressing time for me and I didn't want to deal with it anymore."

"Were you... going to jump or something?"

He hesitated and looked far away to the farthest light his eyes could reach. He sighed, then looked back at me.

"Yeah. I was."

My heart ached and broke for him. Whatever it was that he went through must be so terrible that he'd want to just escape from it.

"What made you change your mind?" I choked back my tears.

"A phone call. It was the phone call that changed my life, or extended my life rather. The days after that were painful and I still thought of ending everything, but after a few weeks, my friend brought me here again. The sun was setting and it was so glorious that I almost cried. I thought that that was all he wanted me to see. When the sun completely disappeared, I saw the stars above, more than what you see now, and all the lights below that I didn't see the first time I was here. And then I realized how amazing it was to be alive."

I didn't realize my tears were already falling until one dropped on my hand I had on my lap. I discreetly wiped them while he stared out at the horizon. The sun started to peek out as it began to rise.

There were two things I realized at that moment. One, in just a short time, RJ had crept up under my skin and into my heart. I never thought in a million years that someone would still come and make my heart race. Two, he had just become my sunrise-- my new day, maybe the hope that I have been praying for.

We watched the sun rise in silence. I wrapped my arms around myself as the winds picked up.

"I'd give you my jacket if I had one on, but I didn't know I'd end up here with you tonight." He smiled and wrapped his arms around my shoulder instead.

I leaned my head on his chest and savored the moment. It's been two years since the last time I was held by a man and I thought it'd feel weird. There's something about RJ that made me feel at ease, something I didn't immediately recognize when he walked through that hotel door earlier. I listened to his heartbeat as the sun continued to take over the skies. It gave me comfort that it was beating in time with mine. I snuggled closer, and his arms tightened around me as the darkness fully disappeared. I closed my eyes for a brief moment and felt the sunlight on my eyelids. It had been a great night, probably the best in a long time. I sighed at the thought of the end. And as if on cue, he unwrapped one arm and held my cheek.

"I should take you back. Your friends might start panicking and worrying about you."

I looked up at him and poked his dimple. He smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes, not like last night when he talked about discovering this place. This smile was sad, with none of the excitement it had last night. I wanted to change it. Before I could stop myself, I lifted my face and pressed my lips to his. It was a quick and gentle kiss, then I touched her face and I had to smile when he sighed and leaned on my palm. His eyes were more captivating during the day and it was too easy to drown in them.

I carefully stood up and straightened my dress. When I turned around, he caught me by my nape and pulled me in a searing kiss. His soft lips coaxed mine open and I was lost in him, caged in his embrace. When we came up for air, his nose brushed mine and then he gently kissed my forehead, then my nose and just held me for a few more minutes, until he took my hand and we started our way back down to the elevators and to the lobby.

We easily caught a taxi outside and in ten minutes, we arrived at my hotel. I asked the concierge for an extra key to my room because I wasn't sure if anyone would be able to open for me.

We were alone in the elevator going up to my room, but it was a very short ride so we were not able to say anything anymore. He just held my hand tightly the whole time, even kissed it once, and a part of me silently begged him to never let go. But when the doors opened, he did, so I hesitantly stepped out.

"So how do we do this?" He asked, still inside the elevator.

"I don't know," I said.

"Should we just say it?"

"I guess."

"Okay... on three?"

"Okay. One... two... three..."

"Goodbye."

And right on cue, the elevator doors closed and he was gone.