Page 68 of Hooked
Cary stepped back as Jeremy pulled himself over the edge. He felt the surge of adrenaline and the rush of pleasure when he looked out over the tops of the trees.
“Damn.” He let out a long breath and slapped Cary’s hand in a firm grip. “That was awesome.”
The rock stretched back in a long, easy slope away from the face that jutted up through the forest. A long black granite slab warmed by the sun. Jeremy stretched out and let the wind cool the sweat over his body as Cary got out his camera and began to take pictures.
“The guide was right. Great views of Grand Sentinel.”
“Uh-huh.” Jeremy didn’t care about taking pictures. For him, the thrill was being in a place few others could reach. It was about the quiet and the focus of the climb. He rolled over and pressed his cheek to the granite.
“Gonna take a nap now.”
Cary chuckled. “Okay. I’ll wake you up when I’m ready to go.”
“Cool.”
He closed his eyes and drifted for a while, listening to a pair of hawks as they hunted. The sun was fully overhead when he realized he could smell the scent of meat cooking below them.
Emmie had packed kebabs, fruit, and a pasta salad. Tayla had said something about brownies.
“Cary!” Jeremy sat up. “You about ready to head down?”
“In a few. Smells good.”
“I know. We need to climb with girls more often,” Jeremy said. “The food is always better.”
“Wecouldpack food and cook like grown-ups.”
“But we always end up grabbing beef jerky and trail mix instead.”
“True.”
Jeremy took a deep breath. “Hey, Cary?”
“Yeah?” The older man was still taking pictures.
“I’m falling hard for this girl.”
Cary walked back up the granite slope and started packing up his camera. “Dude, you’ve already fallen. Bad. This has been going on for months.”
“But it’s only getting worse. And she’s moving to San Francisco.”
“You don’t know that yet.”
“She said the interview went really well.”
Cary paused and looked at him. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
Cary took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“I can’t leave Metlin.” His shop was here, but even more, his family was here. He couldn’t leave his pop. He couldn’t leave his parents, his sisters, his nieces and nephew. Not even if he was falling in love with Tayla.
“No.” Cary shook his head. “You can’t leave Metlin.”
“And I can’t ask her to stay.”
“I wouldn’t advise it. If she stays, it has to be her choice.” Cary looked down at him. “Be careful, man.”
