“Yeah, so can you let us in?” Cammy says.
I step aside, and from the corner of my eye, I see Harmon coming down the stairs.
“Good afternoon, ladies. I hope you’re ready for a busy day.”
“Busy?” Chrissy says. “You said it was going to be fun.”
“Oh, it is going to be fun, but it will be busy.”
I stare at Harmon with a raised brow. All he does is smirk.
Chapter Forty-Four
Cassius
We leave from Navy Pier to get on a boat that’s going to give us a tour. My sisters and I have never been on a boat before. Chrissy is thrilled, while Cammy looks nervous. I’m too focused on them to know how I feel. Or maybe that’s my way of dealing with my own nerves because my stomach does feel a little funny.
We take seats at the top of the boat so we can get a better view. Chrissy takes the seat closest to the water and immediately leans over the edge to look down. I flinch to reach for her but stop myself.
She’s fine; stop worrying.
Cammy is on her right side, me on hers, and Harmon on my other side at the aisle. We’re three rows back and the seats are quickly filling up.
I glance down at Harmon’s hands that are resting on his lap as he looks out at the buildings across the way. Iwantto hold his hand, but we haven’t had a conversation about PDA. His sexuality is a big thing for him, always feeling like he had to hideit, so if he isn’t ready for this yet, that’s okay. I don’t want to push it or make him feel obligated. Now isn’t the time to talk about it.
Once everyone is settled in their seats, a man in a bright yellow shirt and matching bucket hat comes up the stairs and picks up a microphone at the head of the boat.
“Good afternoon, riders!” The sound echoes around us.
A few people respond with “hello” or “hi.”
“Thank you for riding with us today. My name is Michael and I will be your guide for this extravagant journey we are about to partake upon.” He’s very animated, good at his job, and goes on to explain some safety rules and what to expect from the trip that will be about an hour long.
An hour. I can totally handle an hour on a boat. It’s not like we’re going out to sea. Though, maybe I should mention that I don’t know how to swim… Neither does Chrissy. Cammy was the only one who was confident enough to take swimming in gym in high school. At least she’d be able to save Chrissy if the boat went down.
I nudge Harmon and lean closer. “Do you know how to swim?”
“I do. Why?”
I sit straight again. “Just wondering.”
Okay, good. If the boat goes down, I’ll be saved too.
Hopefully…
When the boat moves away from the dock, Harmon takes my hand. I look at it, then at him. He still looks as cool asever, staring at a particular building across the way, so I don’t think this has anything to do with nerves. It doesn’t seem like he noticed what he’s doing. He just did it. I smile to myself and settle into my seat more.
As the tour gets going, I listen to what Michael is saying, but I’m much more fascinated by the city and everything going on. It’s all so beautiful, and though the history on the buildings is fascinating, I’m enjoying the visuals so much more.
Until we get to one building in particular.
“Alright folks, eyes up on your left. Here you will see the spectacular Timeworks building. This building was originally completed in the late 1980s, part of Chicago’s postmodern river revival. It wasn’t always called the Timeworks building, though. That happened when Harmon Stone, CEO of Stone Timeworks, moved headquarters from Houston, Texas, to this lovely big city we are currently floating in.” I can’t help but glance at Harmon from the corner of my eye—he looks as if they aren’t talking about him and what he’s done. Cammy is also giving him a curious look, while Chrissy is too excited to hear a word this guy is saying.
“Once the building was purchased, renovations were done to preserve the original structure of the building while modernizing the interior. Every single window on that building was replaced when Mr. Stone purchased it because the old ones didn’t let in enough light. Who would have thought? A CEO who isn’t a vampire!” He chuckles, and so do some of the passengers. “Now, if you look all the way to the top of the building, you’llsee where his company conducts business while the floors below are utilized by law firms, tech companies, and other businesses. Everyone, let’s wave at Mr. Stone up there and hope he sends us all free watches.”
Ninety percent of the people up here wave. I don’t know how to react, but Harmon laughs to himself, shaking his head. I’m glad he finds this humorous… because I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone right now.
The tour goes on, and I learn a lot about the history of the buildings around the river, but mostly, I get to see the city from a boat, and that’s pretty damn cool.