15:30

Fourteen

" It's okay, it's okay. You're only a human. This was just a bad idea, a very bad idea," Jay gently said as he rubbed her back.  She was still  into his chest, refusing to look anywhere else. Her eyes were shut and teary.

"I'm such a buzz-killer Jay , I ruined a perfectly good birthday plan," she said softly.

"Don't you dare say that. None of this is your fault . I insisted because I thought it would be  fun. But it's not fun, Tara, it made you cry. I can't do that - I can't make you cry. I wouldn't do anything that would make you uncomfortable, okay?"

"Okay," Tara was now hiccuping.

"Let's go someplace better."

Tara didn't answer. She was thinking. After a few minutes she said, "No. I gotta man up about this."

"Tara , honestly," Jay said shaking his head.

"It's your birthday Jay. And you were so excited about this plan. I can't do this to you."

"You don't have to torture yourself either. I know I said I'll help you get over this but, um-"

"I'll give it one more try, Jay," she said.

"You've got this Tara. You're a strong woman," he whispered directly into her ear.
Jay opened his arms so Tara could turn the other way and face her fears. She turned around, squinted her eyes and panicked. Only this time, since Jay was right behind her, she felt a bit more secure. Her breath was rapid and her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to erupt.

Slowly, she opened her eyes to the beauty of rooftop views. Everything was exactly how Jay had described it, breath taking and worth it . Everything looked tiny. The headlights from cars, Street lights , and lights from surrounding buildings all blended in and made it a worthwhile scene to look at. People were barely visible, even cars looked like little matchboxes moving along the roads. It was 3 am, but the city was far from quiet.
For the first time in years, she felt blissful.

"Open your arms like this, let the wind take you to a different level of happy," Jay said as he gently lifted her arms. The way they both were standing  now looked like the king of the world scene from Titanic.
Tara closed her eyes and felt the wind, through her.

There was something about being up there.
Something strange, unfathomable.
Something good.
The lighter up, busiest city on the planet at her feet. But she was away from the hustle and bustle. In a world of her own.
The stars above her , twinkling, shimmering, studded in the night sky.
Jay, holding her from behind, assuringly. Letting her know that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. The reason why she could brave up and did not faint on the spot.
And the ecstasy of being free from the fear of heights.

The tears of fear had dried up from her face. Now another one left her eye. But this one was purely, purely a tear of joy.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"Scary, beyond terrifying, Jay. But surreal. I feel alive. And it's such a good thing to feel. "

"You took a chance, Tara. And see what happened."

"Thankyou for bringing me up here. You were right, it's going to be fun."

"Hey you know what that means? Time for celebration!" Jay said.

They sat down on the edge, their legs dangling from the roof. The more time that Tara spent there, the lesser she was afraid about it. The fear was dissolving.

"You know, I do a lot of mental things. Like absolute psychotic stuff. But none of them ever involve heights. I didn't know the city looks so  beautiful from up here. I was missing out something major."

"There's a first time for everything," Jay said, opening a can of beer and handing it to Tara.

"Cheers to the girl who did it!" He added.

"Cheers to the man who helped her," Tara said.

"And cheers to one hell of a city, the most exciting place in the world."

"The best place to be, indeed."

"I should thank my boss for this. If he hadn't given me this break, I would probably not have the time to appreciate all this. Which reminds me- you see that tall glass infrastructure there -" Jay said, pointing towards his office.

"Mhm."

"Where I work. My first home actually, I spend more time there, less in my apartment."

"Workaholic I see. I'm sure being successful in your professional life means a lot to you."

"Yeah, it's the only thing that's in my control, that's why being good at it matters to me. No matter how horrible life gets, work becomes my escape."

"Which explains why you were so sad about the whole promotion thing."

"Not anymore though. Because if I had gotten that promotion, it would have never resulted in me meeting you."

Tara blushed again. She was used to men complimenting and flattering her. But the way Jay said it, the honesty in his eyes like he meant every single word that he said, made Tara happy.

"How did we both get so lucky and end up here? Unless ofcourse you were a New Yorker all you life."

"Nope, I wasn't. I was born in Providence. What about you?"

"Oh , me I'm a west coast girl. Born and brought up in the Bay Area. I was working in Boston, until of course I got sacked."

"Then you moved to New York."

"Let's just say, it happened. It was really not my intention , but yeah, it happened."

"So are you happy about it? I mean with your job and everything. For an attorney who's worked her ass off to pass the bar exam and then not being able to do what she actually wanted to, must be hard right?"

"It is. I did apply to a lot of firms actually, but my termination letter said that I was 'inefficient' and that I 'lack the basic skills'. It's like a scar now, everywhere I go , I have to present this letter and then they don't give me the job. My ex-boss really ruined my life. But I'm okay , I think I will be. Its been three years now."

"Tara I admire you so much for being this strong in rough world."

"Jay honestly, I've accepted this life, for the most part. Only maybe," she paused.

"Only maybe?"

"Only maybe a little part of me still believes that I was destined to do something great and meaningful with my life."

"Tara, trust me when I say it. You're living a great life. You think about the happiness of other people in a place where all people think about is themselves. To me, that's a great life, a meaningful life."

Tara dimpled.

"You say such nice things sometimes, it's difficult to not like you. "

"That's the idea, basically."

They stared at each other. Just kept on staring, deeply, with passion. Their faces were really close to each other. It was not pitch dark, a crescent hung in the sky. Jay could see Tara. He saw her, raw, sans makeup , with dried up tears on her face. The real her.

"Is this the part where we kiss?" Tara asked , breaking the silence.

"No this is the part where we play a game," Jay said, jokingly.

Tara thought for a moment.

"Not a bad idea , actually. Let's play a game. Something to get to know each other better. Ooh I haven't done those for quite a while now."

"Lets do it."

"So I've got this stupid thing in mind. I've had it for while. You try to guess things about me. And I'll do the same. And if you guess it right, you get a point. If you don't, you have to say a random thing about yourself. Whoever has lower points at the end treats the other with a favor, now or in the future."

"This is going to be fun. What kind of favor though?"

"A sexual favor," Tara said with a smirk.