Page 102 of Wild Stars

Hailee hugs him, and I steal a look at Geo.He looks like a kid on Christmas morning, smiling from ear to ear with excitement.

“This is Zebulon, my—” Geo’s voice disappears and then there is a miniscule silence as he looks to hisdemographic, who only responds with, “friend.”

Geo frowns only slightly, but soon recovers, even if it is not genuine.

Perhaps Geo is not the only one wading into unknown waters.

Something tells me this Zebulon may be encountering new challenges of his own.

When we finally arrive at the canyon, Dare is the first to plop his sweet ass down on the ground.

With his space cat tank top and his long, dark hair pulled back into a bun, long eyelashes standing out against the desert orange tones surrounding us, he looks absolutely perfect.

I take a seat next to him, removing a bottle of water and a rice crispy treat from my backpack.

“Thought you might need this.”I offer him the items.

“You’re a fucking angel,” he groans, tearing the treat right out of my hand.

In my peripheral vision, I can see Geo and Zeb standing beside one another, talking closely.Richie and Hailee are snapping a million selfies of themselves with the dessert.

I’m sure their photo will be everywhere the second it hits Instagram.

“You know that stuff is terrible for you, right?”I open my own water.

Dare tears into his rice crispy treat, moaning like he does when I have him tied up in my Italian ropes.

“Sugar makes everything better,” he gushes, licking his fingers clean.

“Spice is quite nice, too,” I say, pulling out my own snack; some gochujang seaweed crisps.

“Bet the stars here would be fucking top tier,” he says softly through bouts of chewing.

I wrap my arms around him, a smile forming on my face.His body is warm and sweaty, and fits to my side perfectly.Like the sun and the moon fit together for an eclipse, existing as something rare, beautiful, and magical.

“Maybe we’ll have to come back and see for ourselves,” I suggest, looking down at his fiery, dark eyes.Dare looks up at me, and I think there is no better sight.Grand Canyon or not.

The smile that forms on his face is sublime.

“Hmmm...that gives me an idea...”He flashes me with a mischievous grin.

“Good idea or bad idea?”I ask, because with Dare, I never know how things will end up.

But if I’m being honest, that’s why I love him.

“I’ll let you be the judge,” he says as he leans his head on my shoulder.

“Yes, sir,” I reply as I hold him close, singing out the melody of my current work in progress,Savior.

“Rescue me from anarchy, deliver me from war

Show me what it’s like to love, my savior

And I’ll show you what it’s like to be adored.”

Dare swoons at my voice, and I grin.

When he sings along, improvising lyrics of his own, I think there’s nothing better than this.

---