Road Trip

Chapter 16

We were up relatively early the next morning, getting some picnic supplies at the local supermarket for the trip to the canyon. The drive was relatively quick at least compared to all the other driving we had done, and before long we were driving along the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Blake had looked up some lesser-known places to stop, so we could enjoy the views without as many crowds, and we set the GPS to one.

"This is the right mile marker, pull over here." She said, studying the travel site with the list.

The road had several pull offs, and I slid the car into one. Since I had been driving, I hadn't been able to get a good view other than glimpses where the trees thinned out, but now I could take in the breathtaking site. "Holy shit." I said, dumbfounded.

"Its so much bigger than I expected," Blake agreed.

"I'm glad we stopped here," I said, taking her hand and walking down a short path.

"I don't know that I can take it all in." she admitted. "It's just too big."

I was beginning to sense a theme here.

"You almost done?" I said, smiling at her hidden meaning.

"Oh, one more, hold on. I think I just want to relax and enjoy it."

"Uh huh, well done. Were you thinking of those all the way here?"

"Can I plead the 5th?" she giggled.

The pathway led to a ledge overlooking the canyon, and it was a little intimidating that there were no railings. When there is something this big though, it would be impossible to provide enough safeguards. I pulled Blake down beside me on the ledge, just staring. As silly as she was being, all her statements were true. The sheer size of the canyon was hard to comprehend. No matter how many pictures or movies you see it in, you just can't appreciate it without seeing it. It was almost overwhelming.

"Thank you," I said to her, squeezing her hand.

"I can't believe we're here," she replied.

I let go of her hand, and slipped my arm around her waist, gently pulling her closer. She slid over at the pressure and leaned her head into my shoulder. "If I ever went on another road trip, think you'd want to go?" It probably wasn't the best way to ask, that would be a long time coming, and there should be a lot of other steps beforehand, but Blake should know how I was feeling about her.

"Are you serious?" she asked, hopefully.

"Yeah, I am. I don't think I could take another road trip without you," I admitted truthfully.

"I would absolutely go with you, anywhere and anytime," she smiled up at me.

I leaned down, looking into her eyes as my lips approached hers, hoping she would meet me halfway. I didn't need to worry; she was way over halfway when she pushed her lips up into mine. I could feel her lips curl into a smile as our kisses turned more urgent.

I pulled back, staring at her eyes. "Go ahead, say it." I said with a smile.

"Well, its huge, but once you get used to it, you just can't get enough," she said, trying not to laugh.

I just groaned. How was I falling for a girl with so many bad jokes?

But really, there weren't many better places for a first kiss.

"So, what now?" I asked her. I wasn't sure how far she wanted to take this relationship. Was it a relationship? Did she just want a fling?

"Well, obviously we should eat some lunch. Then I booked us a hotel down in Sedona for the night, and then we should decide where to go," she said checking off the points on her fingers.

That wasn't quite the answer I had been looking for, but then she might be as confused as I am. About us anyway.

Lunch at the edge of the canyon was simple, just some sandwiches and chips along with water. But the view was better than pretty much any restaurant in the world, so 5 stars for sure. We took our time, and then explored a few more of the hidden pathways that Blake had found on the web, each as amazing as the next. We took a lot of pictures, something we hadn't done at our previous stops, but this was too good not to memorialize.

"I think I want to come back here someday," I said, looking down into the canyon where hikers could be seen on some of the trails. "I'd like to go further down into the canyon next time."

"Want company on that trip?" she asked, looking excited at the prospect.

"Absolutely!"

We finally broke away from the canyon, though it was hard to leave and started our drive down to Sedona. The roads in that area were along smaller box canyons, though it was hard to see much in the fading light, but I could tell that it would be gorgeous in the morning. As a surprise, Blake had even booked us a dinner reservation at a place serving rattlesnake sausage, which turned out to be quite tasty. I had the best copilot on the planet.

The trek around the canyon had worn us out, and after some showers to clean the dust and sweat off our bodies, we crawled into bed. We had grown comfortable enough with each other that I didn't even hesitate to pull her close so that we could snuggle under the sheets. It was going to be rough going back to sleeping alone.