"Relax, Nicole, I'm a building inspector and I inspected this window washing rig this afternoon."
"So you're telling me not to worry. That this isn't dangerous. Is that what you're saying?"
"No, this is dangerous as hell. But this is all about us and doing something most people will never be able to do. Think about it. How many people have ever watched the sunset from the 28th floor."
"Without safety harnesses," she added.
"Yes, without safety gear."
Nicole reached over and grabbed Joe's outreached hand. He helped her get into the carriage and she held the hem of her dress as the window washing rig creaked and moaned. It was dangerous as hell but they wouldn't be able to do this with safety gear. Yet falling out of the tiny rig meant certain death. Her heart jumped to her throat because Joe pressed the lever and the rig lurched.
"What the fuck are you doing?" she shouted. "You scared the shit out of me!"
"Sorry Nicky," he grinned. Joe could be an asshole like that. He had played rugby in college and stood a strapping, muscular 6'2 where Nicky stood 5'7" and weighed 160. She had dark black hair, big breasts and was terrified of heights. Still, when Joe had told her about watching the sunset in this dangerous spot, it seemed like it would be something memorable. Something to tell the grandkids, right?
He lowered them to a spot between the 27th and 28th floor and stopped. They were perched just below the windows of the two floors. It was a perfect spot so no one looking out could see them.
"What do you think of the view?" Joe had to shout. From their vantage point, she could see the smaller Los Angeles skyscrapers below. And to the west, the sun would be setting soon. But the view down below scared her. The cars, trucks and people all looked like tiny ants. Joe unbuttoned his shirt and a strong gust almost whipped it to Catalina Island.
The rig gave another lurch and she splayed her hands over his bare chest. She drew her nails over his skin, raking through his coarse chest hair. "Please don't get us both killed," she hissed. With a smile, he kissed her. She pressed her breasts against his chest and put her hands over his shoulders. He seemed to like that.
"Well, we're gonna have to hurry if we're gonna do a quickie," Joe tunneled his fingers through her hair.
"A quickie? Here?" she sounded incredulous.