Em stood on the dizzying edge of the unfinished floor, wind tugging stray hairs loose from her careful bun. She pressed the rolled-up blueprint to her chest, her heart pounding for reasons she’d never admit. Theo approached, his boots heavy, his eyes already searching her face for fractures. In the gold of dusk, the tension between them seemed to thrum like the cables running through the building’s skeleton.

“I shouldn’t even be showing you this,” Em murmured, her voice barely louder than the city hum far below. She unscrolled the plans with trembling hands, revealing a cluster of scribbled notes and a mischievous, leafy sketch blooming in the corner. Theo traced the lines with his finger, his calloused skin grazing hers—fire racing under her skin.

“A rooftop garden? Hidden in structural notes?” He grinned—softened by a vulnerability Em hadn’t seen before. “You really believe something beautiful could survive up here?”

Em tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, unable to meet his eyes. “It’s just… I wanted a piece of this place that was mine. A secret, for when everything else feels—” She broke off as Theo’s gaze sharpened, heat flaring in the small space between them.

Silence stretched. Then Theo spoke, voice rough and low. “Sometimes I feel like no one actually sees me. I do the work, I keep everyone safe… but I’m just my father’s kid, just the guy who doesn’t make trouble. I want to be more than that.”

Em’s hand hovered, almost touching his cheek. “You already are,” she whispered, desperation threading her words.

Somewhere below, a shout rang up from the scaffolding, but up here, the world felt impossibly small. Theo leaned closer, his breath warm on her lips. Em’s lashes fluttered shut. Their mouths collided—a slow, searching kiss melting into something hungrier. Em’s hands cupped the back of Theo’s neck, drawing him closer, pressing her body against his. Theo yielded, then gathered her into his arms, pinning her safely against the raw steel as the city burned orange around them.

The kiss deepened, growing desperate, nothing gentle left. Em’s hands tangled in Theo’s shirt; his tongue traced her lower lip, seeking entrance. She gasped, letting him in, feeling the world drop away, his palms sliding under her jacket—rough, reverent. She arched against him, clutching at the blueprints as if they were the only thing tethering her to reality.

Suddenly, the radio clipped to Theo’s belt crackled, a garbled message shattering the moment. He pulled away, breathing ragged. “I’m sorry,” he managed, thumb tracing just beneath her jaw.

Em shook, chest heaving, grief and yearning tangled tight. “Don’t be.”

Downstairs, Lexie found Dean sitting on the curb outside, his head in his hands. At the clang of her boots, he looked up, cheeks streaked with sweat—eyes red, but defiant. “You’re not going to make fun of me?” he said, voice trembling.

Lexie knelt, letting silence fill the space. “Whatever it is, I probably feel worse about my own life,” she joked. But when Dean shuddered, she reached out, tentative. “Talk to me.”

He wiped his face. “I had a panic attack in the cab. Couldn’t breathe. I thought—if anybody knew—” His voice broke, shame flooding every syllable.

Lexie squeezed his shoulder, grounding him. “You’re braver than all of them put together, you know.” Her eyes lingered, fierce and kind. Dean nodded, a tear slipping free, but this time he didn’t wipe it away.

Later, Theo scoured blueprints in the back office, searching for answers—and found something worse. A second set of plans, scrawled with cut corners and red-flagged shortcuts. His jaw clenched; the risk to the crew was real, far more than anyone suspected. Heart pounding, he pressed the incriminating papers to his chest. He knew what he had to do. But as he locked the file drawer, a note fluttered out from beneath the stack:

Stay quiet or lose everything.

Theo’s hands shook. He looked up—Em’s perfume still clinging to his shirt, longing and terror warring in his chest. For one moment, he wondered what he’d just put on the line for a single stolen kiss.

To be continued...