Gets you every time. Why would I want to stop?” Reece told him. Oldest rule in friend rule book—if it annoys them? Do it extra.
“Why haven’t we passed like a single town? I could kill for some coffee,” Angus said.
“Hangover?” Reece asked.
Their night with Cheddar and his boys hadn’t ended early. Their group straggled out of Coachella as the place was emptying for the night. The morning had been painful at best.
“Yeah, a little. Those guys were really cool, though.”
“Hey, not to be a nag, but….”
“I don’t have a drinking problem. I know that’s what you were going to ask.”
“Babe….” Reece couldn’t help being worried.
“I know. I just…. You know I’ve never had one. Not when we were kids and not now. I just needed to be numb for a while.”
“And now?”
“I’m starting to like feeling things again, I guess.”
Reece remembered the concert last night when Angus was backed up against him. When he’d tugged on Reece’s hands until he wrapped his arms around Angus’s shoulders and spooned against him like a couple. Was that what he liked feeling? Reece figured that would be the worst possible question to ask.
“What do you want to do in Vegas?” he said instead. “You’re going to have to give me some guidance.”
“Oh, man. The fountain, you’ll love the fountain, and the inside of the Venetian and the Paris and Caesars Palace. They’re all so gorgeous. And we’ll have to get ice cream at Serendipity, even though it’s not the real one in New York, and there are a few casinos that are new since I was there last. I want to check those out too. And….” Angus trailed off to Reece’s laughter.
“That sounds like something you’d need to write down.” He was relieved by Angus’s apparent enthusiasm.
“Nah. That’s like having an itinerary. That’s the last thing I want to do.” Angus shook his head.
Reece remembered Brad was a big itinerary person on vacation, so he could easily see why Angus would want nothing of the sort.
“No itineraries.”
“Oh, and we’ll need to buy swimsuits. The pool will be open, and it’s always nice to swim.”
“Swimsuits.”
“Yeah.”
Reece always had the hardest time with Angus in a suit, when his little star tattoo peeked out the top and he looked like a pale sprite that had ventured out of the forest for some sun. He also needed to get his shit together. He imagined that holding Angus for two hours the night before hadn’t helped with his ridiculous crush. But he didn’t know what to do about it. The crush seemed like it wasn’t ever going to go away.
“Where did you get us a room again?” Reece asked.
“Planet Hollywood. Tonight and tomorrow. I wanted to stay there last time, and it’s in a great spot near the fountains and a bunch of other stuff. You’ll like it.” Angus yawned.
“Cool. Hey, you look tired. You want to take a nap?” Reece asked.
“That would be rude. Ditch you out in the middle of nowhere.”
“Don’t worry about it. We didn’t sleep much last night.”
Angus reached over and patted Reece’s thigh. “I’m not going to take a nap. Tell me about the books you’re editing.”
Angus knew talking about his books was a weakness for Reece, so of course he asked. Reece loved his job, and he’d always been more than happy to talk about it. Angus had always told him he liked it too, liked hearing about books before they were out, discussing plots and characters and action sequences.
“So you think Georgia’s next book is going to be pretty big?” he asked.
“Yeah, I actually do. She’s been doing amazing things with her sci-fi settings. I’m really impressed.”
“Good. I hope she hits it big.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
REECE WAS already overwhelmed by Vegas about five minutes after they got there. It was dinnertime, since they hadn’t managed to get out of Indio until after lunch, but there were so many lights and so many people, and everything was
“Why haven’t we passed like a single town? I could kill for some coffee,” Angus said.
“Hangover?” Reece asked.
Their night with Cheddar and his boys hadn’t ended early. Their group straggled out of Coachella as the place was emptying for the night. The morning had been painful at best.
“Yeah, a little. Those guys were really cool, though.”
“Hey, not to be a nag, but….”
“I don’t have a drinking problem. I know that’s what you were going to ask.”
“Babe….” Reece couldn’t help being worried.
“I know. I just…. You know I’ve never had one. Not when we were kids and not now. I just needed to be numb for a while.”
“And now?”
“I’m starting to like feeling things again, I guess.”
Reece remembered the concert last night when Angus was backed up against him. When he’d tugged on Reece’s hands until he wrapped his arms around Angus’s shoulders and spooned against him like a couple. Was that what he liked feeling? Reece figured that would be the worst possible question to ask.
“What do you want to do in Vegas?” he said instead. “You’re going to have to give me some guidance.”
“Oh, man. The fountain, you’ll love the fountain, and the inside of the Venetian and the Paris and Caesars Palace. They’re all so gorgeous. And we’ll have to get ice cream at Serendipity, even though it’s not the real one in New York, and there are a few casinos that are new since I was there last. I want to check those out too. And….” Angus trailed off to Reece’s laughter.
“That sounds like something you’d need to write down.” He was relieved by Angus’s apparent enthusiasm.
“Nah. That’s like having an itinerary. That’s the last thing I want to do.” Angus shook his head.
Reece remembered Brad was a big itinerary person on vacation, so he could easily see why Angus would want nothing of the sort.
“No itineraries.”
“Oh, and we’ll need to buy swimsuits. The pool will be open, and it’s always nice to swim.”
“Swimsuits.”
“Yeah.”
Reece always had the hardest time with Angus in a suit, when his little star tattoo peeked out the top and he looked like a pale sprite that had ventured out of the forest for some sun. He also needed to get his shit together. He imagined that holding Angus for two hours the night before hadn’t helped with his ridiculous crush. But he didn’t know what to do about it. The crush seemed like it wasn’t ever going to go away.
“Where did you get us a room again?” Reece asked.
“Planet Hollywood. Tonight and tomorrow. I wanted to stay there last time, and it’s in a great spot near the fountains and a bunch of other stuff. You’ll like it.” Angus yawned.
“Cool. Hey, you look tired. You want to take a nap?” Reece asked.
“That would be rude. Ditch you out in the middle of nowhere.”
“Don’t worry about it. We didn’t sleep much last night.”
Angus reached over and patted Reece’s thigh. “I’m not going to take a nap. Tell me about the books you’re editing.”
Angus knew talking about his books was a weakness for Reece, so of course he asked. Reece loved his job, and he’d always been more than happy to talk about it. Angus had always told him he liked it too, liked hearing about books before they were out, discussing plots and characters and action sequences.
“So you think Georgia’s next book is going to be pretty big?” he asked.
“Yeah, I actually do. She’s been doing amazing things with her sci-fi settings. I’m really impressed.”
“Good. I hope she hits it big.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
REECE WAS already overwhelmed by Vegas about five minutes after they got there. It was dinnertime, since they hadn’t managed to get out of Indio until after lunch, but there were so many lights and so many people, and everything was
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