Kiss Me [COMPLETED]

PROLOGUE

March 14th, 2005

I looked down and thought if I were careful, I shouldn't hit anybody's car. It felt silly to worry about stuff like that just minutes before I was just a splat on the asphalt, but I couldn't help thinking that if I ended up in the windshield of Laurie's Lexus, my parents would have to pay for the damages. I squinted my eyes and calculated the distance carefully once more. If I only take one tiny step off this roof, it should be just fine. Why does the highest building have to be right next to the stupid parking lot?

"If you are going to jump, then just jump already," Tyler said in a tired voice. "If not, then get off the damn roof..."

I looked at him, marveling once again how handsome he looked in his leather jacket and black Ray Bans. God, I loved him so much right now that my heart ached. He looked at me through his sunglasses, his blond hair falling on his face.

"Steph," he said quietly. "This is ridiculous... Get away from the edge."

I just shook my head. Tyler sighed and flicked his cigarette away.

"Fine," he said. "Do whatever you think is right, then."

"I love you, Tyler," I said, thinking that he would say that he loved me back; that he would beg me not to jump; that all those movies and books about guys like him falling in love with a girl like me were true; that he would dump Laurie today just so he could be with me.

He looked at me and took off his sunglasses. I knew that he was about to say everything I wanted to hear, and I actually took a tiny step back from the edge of the roof.

"I know," he said and put his sunglasses back on.

I was waiting for him to say more, but he just sat there, absent-mindedly flicking his Zippo on and off.

"Tyler..." I whispered, feeling lightheaded.

"Steph," he finally said. "I proposed to Laurie last night..."

I just stared at him. All I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat. He was saying something else, but I couldn't hear him. I turned away from him and looked down at the parking lot. If I am really careful, I'll land right there, in the empty parking spot between Laurie's Lexus and somebody else's Toyota. I closed my eyes, but then decided it was a bad idea – I needed to see where I was about to land. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. I threw a last glance at Tyler who was sitting a couple of feet away from me, his Zippo making incredibly loud clicking noises. I wondered why all I could hear was his Zippo and not his voice, and then I took a step off the edge of the roof.