Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 102282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“You put the ride sharing app on my phone. I’m hardly trapped. Would you feel better flying? I could—”
“Nah. Gas is way cheaper.” No way was he taking Grandpa’s money if he didn’t have to. “I’d just hoped...”
There had been a moment, up there on the ridge listening to music together, that he’d been sure Renzo would say yes to camping. That was the only reason he’d asked. It had all seemed so magical, predestined even. Four days with Renzo had sounded like heaven in that moment. And he’d let himself get carried away by his own silly fantasies of where this thing could be headed...
And therein lay the crux of his bad mood. He should have known better than to get his hopes up where people were concerned. Other than Grandpa, they always let him down. Always.
“Well, I hope that you have a good weekend. And that you and Damian repair things.” Grandpa sliced the melon into rough chunks. Grandma would have made perfect melon balls, but they made do, the two of them.
“Things are fine between us. He’s one of my oldest friends.” Canaan loaded the finished pancakes onto a plate. He wasn’t sure friend was the right word for Damian anymore, but he didn’t want to get into it with Grandpa.
“I always did like that boy.” His grandfather smiled fondly.
“He’s okay.”
Damian was extremely good at winning over parents and grandparents, laying the charm on thick, and he’d always been the one member of the band to always thank Canaan’s grandparents for the rehearsal space. Once upon a time, Canaan had loved that about him—the way he’d seemed to appreciate the role Canaan’s grandparents played in his life. His respectfulness had gone a long way to melting Canaan’s teenage heart. Of course, that was before Damian had shown that all that concern was little more than an act.
Grandpa’s smile slipped into a frown. “The rest of the band...”
“Is fine.” This was an old argument, his grandfather complaining about the band’s influence on Canaan while trying to stay supportive. And honestly, his grandfather hadn’t been there in Prague when things got ugly. But Canaan wasn’t about to go ruining his opinion of Damian by reopening a hurt he’d very purposefully covered over.
On the counter, Canaan’s phone tinkled with a message alert. But this was time he’d set aside for Grandpa so he didn’t lunge for it, even though he wanted to.
“Go on. Check it.” His grandfather gave an indulgent wave of his hand before adjusting his thick glasses. Canaan had talked him into hipster frames at his last eye appointment. Today he’d paired them with a T-shirt from the women’s college one of the girl cousins attended out east. “Maybe there will be something to lift your mood.”
Apparently, Grandpa was psychic because there was a message from Renzo. Just uploaded the video. She did a nice job with the editing. Turn the sound off if you don’t like the music ;)
Damn. He had to sneak a peek. “You mind if I put on a quick video that a friend did? It’s him working out.”
“Clothed?” His grandpa was well-versed in Canaan’s viewing habits.
“Let’s hope so.” Canaan hit Play. There were already a shit ton of comments. And thankfully, Renzo was wearing more than usual, in a white tank top with black sweat pants. The opening riff of a song he still heard in his sleep sounded.
“Isn’t that your single?” Grandpa smiled as he peered down at Canaan’s phone. And it was. Renzo had grabbed Kirby’s Revenge song “Heavy Lifting,” which did fit the tire workout perfectly but also there was no way it was coincidence that he’d picked one of their early songs where Canaan was the drummer. He likes me.
“And there’s the look that’s been missing all weekend.” His grandfather clapped him on the shoulder before moving away to set the table. “Bring this friend around?”
“It’s not like that,” he protested even as he hoped it was exactly like that. He watched another few moments of Renzo tossing tires around before he typed a fast reply.
Pretty badass. I’ll forgive you the music choice. Heading to work soon. If you’re thirsty today, come say hey.
The reply came while he was serving up the pancakes and bacon.
“Go on. You’re more entertaining than a reality show.” Grandpa handed him the phone. “We’ll call this episode, ‘The Drummer and the Dumbbell.’”
“Ha. And he’s not a dumb jock stereotype. Smart as hell.”
“I’ll trust you.” Laughing, Grandpa dug into his food.
Canaan went ahead and glanced at his phone.
I do have a free drink card... And that was it. No mention of camping, no request to see Canaan after work, but it was exactly flirty enough to send Canaan off to work happy. It was Sunday and the bus schedule was terrible, so he had the car, which was another reason to be in a good mood.