Chapter Nineteen
Shane tossed his bags down and turned in a slow circle. Wow.
The hotel website hadn’t lied about the “elegant luxury” of their suites.
This one was beautifully decorated in neutral tones, with floor-to-ceiling windows giving an amazing view of the bustling Strip.
The king-sized bed, decadently fluffy and covered by a thick down comforter, looked sinfully inviting.
Shane flushed hot at the sight of it, picturing Matt tangled up in the sheets, drowsy and sated, his dark eyes slumberous as he gazed up at him.
Not long now.
Shane texted Matt the room number before spending a few minutes unpacking, his body humming with anticipation. It was only mid-morning and Matt’s plane should land within the hour. Plenty of time for them to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Strip, have an early dinner and then—
Swallowing hard, Shane unzipped his toiletry kit and fished out the lube and condoms he’d stashed there. Five whole nights alone with Matt. Five glorious nights with no teammates, no instructors, no training evolutions anywhere in sight. They’d have nothing but privacy, time…and a big, soft bed.
Shane tucked the items away in the nightstand before collapsing down on a nearby leather sofa.
He’d hit the road before dawn to make the five-hour drive from San Diego, and that was after spending all of the previous day on a plane from Florida with Alexis and Libby.
He’d just close his eyes for a few minutes while he waited for Matt to text…
A persistent, irritated knocking woke him abruptly. Shane forced his eyes open, for an instant completely disoriented. Was he late for training? He sat bolt upright and almost fell off the narrow couch, awareness returning in a rush. Hotel. Matt on his way. No, Matt was here!
Shane surged to his feet and stumbled toward the door, yelping when he banged his shin on a metal coffee table. Biting off a curse, he fumbled with the dead bolt and finally yanked the door open only to be greeted by Matt’s stormy face.
“Took you long enough,” he snapped as he pushed his way inside. “Traffic from the airport was insane and I need to piss like you wouldn’t believe.”
He stalked toward the bathroom and slammed the door, leaving Shane standing there with his mouth hanging open, anger bubbling hotly to the surface. What an asshole!
“Yeah, good to see you, too,” he called sarcastically before picking up Matt’s discarded bags and hurling them onto the bed. Stomping to the window, Shane leaned against it with one shoulder and stared unseeingly out at the city below. So much for a tender reunion.
He grunted. Tender? Ah, who was he kidding? This wasn’t supposed to be some romantic getaway, this was just a chance to finally scratch an inconvenient itch so they could get back to more important things. They’d have this trip, and then they’d be moving on. Right? Right.
So call it what it is, dumbass. The beginning of the end.
The bathroom door was wrenched open, and Shane took a deep breath before turning to confront Matt’s baleful glare. Annoyance and weariness swept over him. Fuck, if you’re gonna play it like this, why did you even bother to come?
Their eyes locked. Matt’s face was rigid, his lips pressed tightly together, hands clenched into fists.
He looked pissed, but underneath the irrational anger, Shane could sense the pain lurking along the edges, the same pain that was twisting his own stomach into knots.
Goodbyes were never easy—God, they sucked—but this one was gonna be its own special brand of hell.
His pique drained away.
“Hey,” he said softly. “I’m sorry traffic was awful.”
“Yeah, well…” Matt blew out a breath, rocking up on the balls of his feet like he was about to bolt, like all he was waiting for was Shane to give him a reason.
Oh, no. You can try, but I’m not going to let you push me away. Not like this.
“So what now, clown?” Matt’s voice was impatient, his body language growing even more forbidding by the second.
Desperate, Shane was racking his brain for a response when suddenly—thank Christ—inspiration struck.
“So,” he said brightly, “how about a workout?”
* * *
They decided on rock climbing.
After a quick trip to a climbing store to rent some equipment and get some site recommendations, Shane found himself standing at the bottom of a cliff that loomed some one hundred feet in the air.
The store clerk had told him there were cool views of the Strip from the top and that it was a good place to practice lead climbing and belaying.
Now Shane gazed ruefully up at the cliff face. He’d made the right call in suggesting this as a way to reconnect with Matt, but now he was gonna end the day blubbering like a baby while clinging by his fingertips to a goddamn rock. Not a good look for him.
“Nothing to be afraid of.” Matt appeared next to him and tilted his head back to stare up, too. “No way I’m gonna let you smear this gorgeous body all over the ground.” He smacked Shane’s ass smartly. “At least not till I’m done with it.”
Shane glared at him. “The things I do for you.”
“I’m more interested in the things you’ll do to me.” Matt winked, then turned to step into his sit harness and clip several cams to it. “I’ll lead first, and you belay.”
Shane pulled on his own harness, then threaded the rope into the friction brake, feeding it out carefully as Matt nimbly started to climb.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know what to do.
Rock climbing was something he and Jon had done together every summer for years.
The problem was, he didn’t like it then, and he didn’t like it now.
“Think I’m gonna free-climb for a while, Shay-Shay.” Jon’s hazel eyes were sparkling with adrenaline. “See ya in a few.”
Shane sat obediently at the bottom of the cliff, waiting for him to come back, all the while worrying himself sick. Finally he leaned against a rock and fell asleep, waking abruptly when Jon nudged his shoulder.
“Where’ve you been?” Shane demanded, his ass and neck screaming from their uncomfortable position.
Jon shrugged. “Met a group of girls camping at the top, hung out for a while.” He grinned. “Totally didn’t think I’d be there so long.” He slung his arm around Shane’s shoulders. “C’mon, Shay. Don’t be mad. I had a lot of fun.”
Shaking off the memories, Shane watched Matt carefully until he reached the top of the first pitch.
“Okay, your turn. I got the belay.”
Shane climbed up in Matt’s wake using his cams, removing them as he passed. Matt kept a careful slack in the rope, ready to hit the brake if he called that he was falling. When he reached the ledge, Matt leaned in to give him a short, hard kiss. “Good job. You wanna lead this next one?”
He didn’t, but he’d die before he let Matt know that. He started up the cliff face, searching out hand and footholds and jamming in cams every few feet before clipping the rope into the carabiners. Matt belayed him from below, yelling encouragement. “I got you. Lookin’ good. Lookin’ real good.”
Shane huffed a breathless laugh at the exaggerated leer in Matt’s voice, surprised at how much he started to relax the higher they went. They made a good team, working smoothly together, the trust flowing easily and naturally between them.
That made all the difference, he realized when he at last sprawled at the top of the cliff, exhilaration pumping his blood wildly through his veins. Trust.
“You lied to me.” Matt collapsed down beside him, propped on his elbow. “You weren’t scared at all.”
Not with you at the other end of the rope, Shane wanted to say. Because I knew you weren’t gonna leave me to go off chasing your high, your good time. You had my back.
“Not entirely true.” Shane smiled up at him. “I just managed it better this time. You’re really good at it, too, Soup.”
Matt shrugged, smiling back, and Shane couldn’t help but hook him around the back of the neck and pull him down into a soft kiss.
“Hi. Missed you.”
“Mmm.” Matt pulled away slightly. “Sorry I was a dick earlier,” he said, his words little puffs of air against Shane’s cheek. “Long flight, kind of peopled out, you know? Shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“Kiss me again, and all’s forgiven.”
Matt lowered his head and Shane closed his eyes, his senses full of the smell of hot dust, the feel of Matt’s stubble, the slickness of his tongue. With a groan Matt broke the kiss, then sat up, his breathing rough.
“Ready to get out of here?” he asked huskily. “Guy said it’d be an easy hike down.”
They inventoried their gear and stuffed it in their packs before going in search of the trail they’d been told wouldn’t be far away.
It wasn’t hard to find, the traverse back down to the base of the cliff made even more enjoyable by the stunning views of the canyon and the glittering Strip far off in the distance.
By the time they returned their rental gear to the climbing store, Shane was ravenous. He suggested a barbecue place he remembered seeing on the way in, so he and Matt stopped and proceeded to stuff themselves with ribs, coleslaw and banana pudding.
They got back to their suite just as darkness was falling and the Strip was really coming alive. Shane proposed a walk but Matt shook his head, saying he was dying for a long, hot shower. He grabbed his kit and disappeared into the bathroom, gently closing the door behind him.
Left to his own devices, Shane couldn’t help but stare at the bed, the covers now invitingly turned down, gourmet chocolates resting on each pillow.
He puttered around, digging out his charger to plug in his phone before grabbing up the ice bucket and going in search of the machine.
When he got back to the room, he poured himself a glass of water and perched on a barstool to sip it slowly, eyes glued to the bathroom door.
At last it opened and Matt emerged in a cloud of steam, a towel wrapped low around his hips, his skin freckled from the sun and glistening with water droplets.
“Your turn,” he murmured, glancing at the bed and back at Shane. “That shower is amazing.”