I glanced over at Griffin once more and bit my bottom lip, holding in a squeal.
If only fourteen-year-old me could see me now.
Chapter Five
GRIFFIN
The Narrows were crowded, but neither Juliette nor I cared. We were too busy taking in the views, gazing up at the afternoon sunlight filtering between the sandstone walls. Water lapped around our thighs, cool and soothing against our sore muscles.
I kept looking at her when I should’ve been watching my footing.
Her mouth was slightly open, eyes moving slowly up the canyon walls. “I can’t believe this has been here my whole life and I’ve never seen it.”
I couldn’t believe it either. If I’d lived less than three hours away, I would’ve begged my parents to bring me at least once a year.
“Is it as awesome as you thought it would be?” I asked.
She drew in a deep breath like she wanted the southern Utah air to reach every atom of her body. “Even better.”
“Me too.”
I’d set my expectations high. I’d seen the pictures. But the two-thousand-foot-tall walls—the way the water had carvedthe red rock into curves and hollows—no photograph did it justice.
Picking our way up the riverbed, Juliette couldn’t stop looking up. Which meant she kept stumbling into me. Her Chacos splashed my left thigh. “Sorry!” A moment later, she tripped again, falling sideways.
I caught her by the hips and steadied her. She felt warm beneath my fingertips, and I didn’t rush to let go. “I gotchu.” Her eyes were the same soft blue as the sky above.
Her fingers curled over my shoulders as she stared right back. She seemed perfectly happy to stop right here with parents and kids romping by.
“This is harder than I thought it would be,” she admitted. “My feet keep rolling off the rocks.”
“Right? My ankles might swell if this keeps up. Then I’ll have cankles.”
Her laugh mixed with the heat and the chatter around us, and it felt like déjà vu. I took a mental snapshot and stored it away.
“Can I tell you something?” she asked in a hush, the smile slipping from her face.
I straightened. “Of course.”
She ran a hand over her forehead, as if to shield herself from my view. “I don’t usually do that.” She chewed the corner of her lip, her eyes drifting to my Adam’s apple. “What I did last night…offer to sleep with someone I just met. Have one-night stands.”
I gave her hips a squeeze. “That wasn’t what I was thinking, but thank you for clarifying.”
“I mean, don’t get me wrong.” She smiled, cheeks going pink. “I was willing to take one for the team if it saved you from Nessa.” Her laugh faded, and her expression turned somber. “But I’m glad we didn’t go through with it.” Herfingers gripped the sides of my T-shirt. She looked up into my eyes. “I’m glad that didn’t become part of our story.”
Our story? That sounded… like this might last longer than the weekend.
My hopes tried to punch their way out of my chest with a whoop. But I knew better than to get ahead of myself.
So I simply grinned and said, “Yeah.”
Just then, a stiff gust of wind blew in. It was so forceful, in fact, that it knocked us sideways. We stumbled together, feet sliding off the rocks, as the current took us down. I hit the water first, going under. Juliette landed against me, and I caught her, my arms wrapping around her back.
In three seconds, we were on our feet, completely soaked, clothes glued to our skin. Juliette gasped when the next gust hit. I pushed her hair out of her eyes.
She blinked hard. “Crap, that was cold. Thank goodness for waterproof mascara.” Goosebumps prickled her arms, and I rubbed them. Her black tank top clung to her skin, showing off every curve. The girl had serious abs, probably because she had almost no body fat.
But she didn’t even notice me checking her out because she was too busy checking me out. “S-so Hollister d-didn’t Photoshop that, huh?” Her teeth chattered, but she managed to say, “Dang. Y-you’re not p-playing fair.”
