Making Up (Shacking Up 4)

“Mmm. That’s tough. I love California, probably because it’s on the ocean, and Colorado because it has the mountains. What about you?”

“Right now, as of this minute? Here.”

I elbow him in the side. “Don’t be a cheeseball.”

I feel his lips turn up against my skin. “Nothing beats making a gorgeous woman come in one of the seven wonders of the world.”

I roll my eyes and my cheeks warm. I can’t believe he did that. I can’t believe I asked him to. “Okay fine, aside from making me come in the Grand Canyon, what’s the coolest place you’ve been?”

“Probably Greece. The architecture and the mountains are stunning. I think you’d love it, especially Meteora.”

“There are monasteries built on the top of mountains, aren’t there?”

“There are.” He rests his cheek on my shoulder. “I’d go back in a heartbeat.”

“You can pack me in your suitcase.”

“You’d be fun to travel with, I bet.”

“I don’t know about that. I don’t usually go with much of a plan. I find a place I want to visit and drive until I get there. Sometimes I sleep in my car at rest stops and don’t shower for days at a time.”

“That actually sounds pretty fantastic. Well, apart from the lack of showers and sleeping in your car. That part sounds dangerous.”

“The lack of showers wards off the creeps, and I have pepper spray in the glove compartment, although right now my car needs some work after the last road trip, so it’s off the road for a bit. Anyway, I also took self-defense classes when I was eighteen, so I can put a three-hundred-pound man in a chokehold if I need to.”

“Seriously?”

“No, but my parents made me take karate when I was a kid, so I can throat kick someone if required.”

“Hmm. Well, if we went on a road trip together, I’d ruin all the spontaneity by finding campgrounds or hotels to stay at. And we’d stop at every touristy spot on the way to wherever so we could take a million pictures and post them on social media to make everyone wish they were half as adventurous as us.”

“Are you always a planner?”

“I sort of have to be.”

“Not having a plan is kind of freeing, though, you know? If you’re not constrained by things like hotel reservations, you can do what you want when you want, and there aren’t any disappointments.”

“We should do that, take a road trip before I have to go back to New York,” Griffin says.

My heart stutters at the idea, and the reminder that his time here is limited. All the more reason to make the most of it, I guess. “We should.”

Buzzing comes from Griffin’s pocket. He pulls out his phone and silences the alarm. “We need to head back before Vern leaves us here for the night.”

I stand and brush the red dust off my butt while Griffin does the same. “We should get a picture first.” He pulls out his phone and puts it on selfie mode. He’s all thumbs, though, so he holds the phone steady and I hit the button, taking at least forty pictures, half of them of the top of our heads since selfies don’t seem to be Griffin’s strong suit. We manage to get a few good ones, me tucked into his side, the Canyon rising behind us, and his eyes on me instead of the camera.

The look on his face should be a red flag. As should the look on mine. But we’re both going in separate directions eventually, so I ignore how bright my eyes are and how wide my smile is.

On the helicopter ride back, Griffin sits in the middle and I take the outside. I think he didn’t like how interested the pilot seemed in whatever I was saying, which was a whole lot of “Ooohh that’s so cool!” and “Oh! Check that out!”

I thread my arm through his and rest my cheek on his bicep as the pilot tells us all about the scenery on the way back. I can feel Griffin’s eyes on me, and I glance over to find him smiling. “What?”

He presses his lips to my temple. “I love your enthusiasm for life.”

“And I love your surprises.” Yup, I’m definitely in the feels danger zone, but for some reason, I don’t experience my usual compulsion to run in the other direction. Maybe it’s because I know this can’t actually go anywhere, and he’s not looking for a relationship, just someone to hang out with while he’s in Vegas.

“Will I have time to freshen up before dinner?” I ask as we pull back onto the freeway, heading toward the Strip.

As amazing as the trip into the Canyon was, I’m a sweaty, sticky mess after hanging out in the middle of a desert fishbowl with the sun beating down on me for several hours. At the very least, I need a bathroom and a pile of wet wipes. And new underwear. Thankfully, I brought a backup pair to go with my dress for outfit number two.