Freedom of Olympia

24. Brooklyn

"Well, I've had quite a few nightmares that left me in a miserable little ball, but I've never had a breakdown with someone else in the room." He stared off to the side, the weak sunlight bouncing off the water and dancing in his eyes.

"Why last night then?" He eyed me like he was trying to gauge whether or not his next words would upset me.

"Best I can guess is that I'm more vulnerable with you. Like, I told you that first night I don't bottom, right? That was true. I didn't. It was my way of staying in control." I didn't know what to say. If him bottoming leads to him having panic attacks, I was fine bottoming the rest of my life.

"I didn't mean it like that," he answered my thoughts, brushing at my frown with his thumb. "Me bottoming for you isn't why I'm vulnerable. You're my partner, Jase, my equal. I can't be selfish with you like I was with the rest, because I actually care about what makes you happy. And to be completely honest, it kind of scares me."

"It kind of scares me too." I stared into those captivating eyes. "But it doesn't matter how scary it gets, because I have you. You're the light in all this darkness. And whenever you feel that light dimming, I'll be there for you because I love you."

"I love you, too." He pecked me once before turning me around in his arms. "Now behold," he said in his best impression of a ringmaster. "The Brooklyn Bridge."

It was breathtaking. The two stone towers seemed so imposing rising from the depths of the river, from down on the water. The cables weaved perfectly, reminding me of spiderwebs. I guess spiderwebs was befitting for the Gothic style of the bridge. To make everything better, Percy had pulled me flush against his chest, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"It's beautiful," I said, kind of weakly.

"It is," Percy whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine all over again.

"Thank you for showing me the bridge." The ferry made it's way underneath the bridge, casting a chilling shadow over us. Percy hummed his acknowledgement behind me, pulling me closer in the dark.

The ferry docked, and we made our way back towards the bridge to walk over it. The sidewalk was bustling with people. I found it a little overwhelming. Seeing the hordes of people from our car never prepared me for actually navigating this madness. A burly man bumped into me so hard, I nearly fell on my ass. Percy didn't seem to care that the man was twice his size as he told him off. The scene instantly reminded me of the 'I'm walking here' scene from Midnight Cowboy, which in turn made me realise something I should have ages ago.

"Oh my gosh, you have a New York accent!" I exclaimed as the man slinked off. Percy stared in amusement before he took my hand and lead me through the crowd, inching me slightly behind himself like he was my shield.

"You only just realised that?" he smirked at me over his shoulder.

"Well, yeah." I felt kind of sheepish. "You grew up in the city, though, so of course, you have a New York accent." Percy just chuckled as we kept walking. I stopped, tugging on his arm to make him face me. "I like it. It's sexy."

"Well, that's good," he said through a smirk. "Too bad it's not getting me laid."

"Oh, shut up!" I shoved at him playfully. He laughed as he pulled me along again. "Besides, I fully intend to rectify that once we get back to the dorms."

"You don't say. Tell me, how, exactly, do you plan on rectifying the situation? You know, assuming I can wait that long." His smirk turned awfully devious as a blush spread through my face. I could feel the heat right up to my ears. "Aw, come on, Jase," he leaned in toward me a bit more. "Talk dirty to me."