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“You eat enough food?” he called to Renzo. “Let’s ride in the second van. You want a window seat?”
“I’m good on food, and yeah.” Renzo went in front of Canaan to board the van. The only two seats together were the back row, and Renzo claimed the window, leaving Canaan the middle seat next to threesome-wanting Ariel, who looked only too pleased to end up with them.
“I’ll trade with you if you don’t like riding in the middle,” she offered.
“I’m cool.” Canaan leaned into Renzo. “I’m still so tired. I’ll probably sleep most of the way there.”
“Late night?” Ariel’s brown eyes went wide, like she wouldn’t mind hearing a play-by-play.
“Room was too hot,” Canaan lied, even though the real issue was the hot dude in his bed, not the AC.
“You sleep.” Renzo wrapped an arm around Canaan. “Guess I can be your pillow. I’m going to put my headphones on, chill, and I’ll wake you up if we pass anything super interesting.”
Damn. You’d never know this was the same guy who’d turned him down flat that morning. And he said Canaan was the good liar? Renzo was so damn talented at pretending to be the best boyfriend on the planet that it wasn’t funny. And if he wasn’t careful, Canaan was going to get hooked on his considerate treatment. Not to mention that Renzo’s meaty shoulder and pec made the best pillow ever. Unlike in the hotel bed, he managed a deep sleep, only rousing when Renzo gently shook him.
“We’re at the watchtower, Sleeping Beauty.”
“Does that make you the prince with the magical kiss?” Canaan asked hopefully.
“Sure.” Renzo gave him a kiss so fast Canaan wasn’t even sure their lips connected. “You’re gonna be happy I made you do the stairs yesterday. We get to climb the tower.”
“Eighty-five steps,” the guide cheerfully announced, gesturing at the tall stone tower perched at the rim of the canyon. They had a short walk from the parking lot to reach the structure.
“Only you and Kelly are going to be pumped about that,” Canaan groused to Renzo.
“Kelly what?” Kelly, who’d been in the front of their van, caught up with him and Renzo.
“Oh, I was just saying that you and Renzo are probably the only two of us looking forward to the climb.”
“Damn right I am. View is supposed to be one of the best in the world. I missed the desert so much while we were abroad.”
And I missed you guys. Canaan didn’t say that, of course, as it would be way too mushy, even for old friends.
“You wanna race me on the stairs before the main group catches up to us?” Renzo gave Kelly an appraising glance, most likely finding a kindred spirit for his love of bets and physical challenges.
“Absolutely.” Kelly handed his camera and water bottle to his wife. “Hold these, Ronnie. I’ve got some ass to kick.”
“You wish.” Renzo laughed as he and Kelly set out down the path at a jog.
“Your guy seems fun,” Veronica observed as she and Canaan maintained a more sensible pace.
“He is. Not sure how I got so lucky,” Canaan said truthfully.
“Well, if anyone deserves good things, it’s you.” Veronica gave a soft sigh. She’d been around the band from the early days. “It’s so crappy that you missed out on the payoff with the band. You put in all that sweat equity. You would have loved some of the venues we hit on this last tour.”
“Eh. It is what it is.” Canaan took a long drink of his water. The dry desert air had nothing on the arid wasteland of his hopes and dreams where the band was concerned. Because Veronica was right, he had put in the time. However, he’d made a choice, and he wasn’t going to regret being there for Grandma. Speaking of, he sent a fast text to Grandpa, checking in with him. Family had to come first, even when it was hard.
The watchtower had a round room on the ground floor with incredible views through large windows, but the real attraction was the viewing deck, which proved to be worth all the stairs. Below them the Grand Canyon stretched out, a massive scale that was hard to process. The Colorado River was little more than a thin blue line in the endless expanse of red and brown rock.
Renzo and Kelly were lounging against the railing, talking like old friends with matching smug grins at having beaten the rest of them. Renzo’s smile spread even further when he caught sight of him, making Canaan’s heart clatter like a snare drum.
“Are you going to be this bad on the hike?” Canaan asked, going to stand next to Renzo. “’Cause I’m not racing you down a cliff.”
“Nah. I’ll slow down.” Renzo’s grin said otherwise though. “Gotta appreciate views like this.”
“Yeah.” Canaan forced his eyes away from Renzo and back to the landscape. Renzo relaxed and enjoying himself was almost as captivating as the surreal canyon before them. And because he could, he leaned into Renzo, letting himself pretend for just a moment that everything between them was real, that the joy in Renzo’s smile really had been because he was that happy to see him and not because he was playing a role. If only...
