The house Jim showed me was beautiful and special because of the couple who used to live there. I caught glimpses of their lives — their young, smiling faces in the pictures on the walls and the souvenirs from the trips they'd been on. Alfie and his wife saw lots of places. As we stood looking at the photo of the two of them in Paris, Jim drew an arm around my shoulders and pressed me to his side, planting a kiss on my forehead. 

"What?" I asked, blushing because of the tenderness of the sudden gesture.

Jim chuckled. "Nah, nothing."  After a brief pause, he sighed. "Okay, that's not true. I would like to go there with you. I would like to go to lots of places with you."

"So, you like traveling."

"I love it. It makes you see things in a different way."

"How?"

"You realize there are more cultures, more people, more languages than what you're used to. It's enriching. It makes you open your mind. And let's not forget about the food."

"Always the food."

Jim bent his head down and pecked my lips. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"You're not. Living in France was the best decision I could've made. It was different, and it helped me grow up. For the first time, I had to manage on my own, without my dad."

"It must have been hard. You were basically a baby."

I fake-punched Jim's side. "A baby at eighteen?"

Moving to stand behind me so that the two of us faced the photo-covered wall, Jim circled my waist with his arms, keeping me close to him. 

"I don't mean it in a bad way," he said. "But objectively, it must have been intimidating. I bet it was the first time you'd been away from home for so long."

"Yeah." I shrugged. "But there's always the first time, right?" 

"Right."

"What about you?"

"The first time I traveled far without my family?"

I nodded, studying Jim's expression.

"I was eighteen." He smiled. "My friends and I took our savings and went on a trip. We didn't go abroad; we just visited some places far from home. We slept in tents, drank so much I couldn't look at alcohol for a couple of months after that and made other questionable choices."

"Questionable, huh?" I quirked my eyebrow. 

Laughing, Jim squeezed me tighter. "We were a bunch of hormonal teenagers, baby. I'd love to believe growing up made me wiser."

"You called me baby."

"And you liked it."

"I did. As long as it doesn't mean that you see me as someone young and stupid."

Laughter rumbled in Jim's chest. "Of course not. You're very far from stupid. And there's nothing bad about being innocent. If anything, it's adorable while it lasts."

"Was losing your innocence on that trip one of your questionable choices?" I teased, not really expecting Jim would answer. Come to think of it, I shouldn't have said anything at all, given that I chose not to tell Jim about my lack of experience for now.

"I lost it before," Jim said into my hair. "I don't regret it. It was great for a seventeen-year-old me. Again, those things do get better with age or practice."

"Did you practice a lot?"

The question tumbled out of my mouth before I could think better. 

Luckily for me, Jim didn't find it nosy. He cupped my cheek with his palm and made me turn my head and look at him.

"I'm starting from scratch with you. A little or a lot, it doesn't matter. Everything will be for the first time between the two of us, and definitely better than anything I'd experienced."

My eyes zeroed in on his lips before my gaze met Jim's. "How do you know?"

"We connect. And I've never liked anyone this much before. Have never cared about a girl this much before, either."

I tipped my face up and planted a kiss on Jim's jaw. "Okay. You convinced me."

"I'm persuasive like that." Jim wiggled his brows, his green eyes twinkling. "Let's see the garden, and then it's time for lunch and something daring."

I followed Jim out of the house, trailing behind him, with my hand still clasped in his.

We walked down the gravel path and ended up surrounded by trees. According to Jim, some of them would bloom and have new leaves soon.

He was a walking bunch of contradictions. The guy who loved staring at the skyscrapers out of his window and was at ease surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the megalopolis was just as comfortable in the middle of a garden. 

Jim knew a great deal about many things, and I had an inkling that I hadn't learned everything about him yet. There sure had to be more layers to uncover and more things that would surprise me. It was thrilling in a weird, new way.

***

After the tasty lunch in a cozy restaurant in a nearby town, filled with jokes, food-sharing and hand-holding, Jim drove back to the city.

By the time his Audi came to a halt next to one of the business centers, it was dark. Jim circled the car and opened the door for me. I raised my eyebrows when he tugged at my sleeve and nodded toward the entrance of the building.

"Are we going to break into it?" I asked. "Is that the daring thing you planned?"

Jim leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose. "A night in jail together with an innocent girl. Is there anything better?"

A giggle pushed through my lips. "You're insane."

"And an idiot, idiot, idiot, and a fool for you. No worries, I have the card. I'll let us in."

Jim took my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it before we strolled to the entrance of the imposing skyscraper.

Inside, everything was made of marble and glass and looked expensive. I glanced around me in awe all the way to the elevator.

The heavy, shiny door slid open. As soon as we were inside, Jim punched a button without an ounce of hesitation, and we started the ascent.

It seemed endless. Jim kept me wrapped in his arms and didn't let go of me until the cabin opened with a ding, and he stepped out of it. 

A 'wow' left my mouth as soon as I caught a glimpse of our surroundings. We'd climbed higher than I'd ever done it before and ended up in a sort of a tower with the glass walls and ceiling. 

Jim put his arm around my waist and led me closer to the glass. 

"I want to take a picture of you," he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. 

I smiled, nodding, and waited until Jim got the photos he wanted. They were quite a few, judging by the time it took him to take them.

"Can I see them?" I asked.

"I'll text you my favorite ones later."

Jim crossed the distance between us. A gasp left my lips when he lifted me off my feet and put his palms on the back of my thighs, making me circle his hips with my legs. My back touched the glass behind me, and my heart drummed a chaotic rhythm in my chest because of the sudden fear of heights, paired with the excitement from having Jim's lips on my neck.

"Are you scared?" he murmured, kissing the soft skin.

"No," I whispered, struggling to find my voice. But my grip on Jim tightened, and he smiled, peering at my flushed face.

"Skydiving was my initial plan, but then I thought it might be too much. We're starting slow."

The twinkle in Jim's eyes was back. I ran my hand through his hair and smoothed a thumb over his eyebrow. "I like slow."

"I like you," Jim said, inching his mouth toward mine. 

His lips captured mine and coaxed them to open. He kissed me slowly, with his mouth gliding against my own and his tongue caressing mine with unhurried, gentle swipes. Jim changed the angle to kiss me deeper, palming my backside and nibbling on my lips. Then, his mouth descended to my neck, placing a trail of hot kisses on it, all the way down to my shoulder.

His heat burned me through the fabric of my clothes. I forgot about the altitude and the fear of it, and even about the beauty of the night city skyline.

"I love your taste," Jim whispered, biting my neck gently. "Everywhere."

I squeezed my eyes shut, memories of last night flooding my mind, making me aware of every hard inch of Jim I did feel through his clothes.

His lips returned to my mouth, more eager and insistent. I kissed him hard this time, sliding my fingers through his hair and tugging at the roots, biting his lips and caressing the tip of his tongue with mine.

We stopped, needing to catch a breath. Jim took advantage of the moment and spun me around again and again, making the city lights surrounding us blend into a kaleidoscopic blur.

My laughter echoed between the glass walls. "I'm gonna get dizzy," I panted, gripping Jim's neck. "And you will fall."

The spinning stopped. Jim looked into my eyes and then pressed his forehead to mine. "Too late. I already have."