Page 120 of Here & Now

Twenty-seven

The next day, the storm arrived just after they’d eaten dinner at her house.

My house. She loved the sound of that.

They were sitting on the couch, and he was flipping through channels, trying to find a movie they both wanted to watch. Outside, rain pelted the windows, and the sky was a dark and moody gray.

She nestled closer and leaned her head on his shoulder.

He glanced down at her with a concerned frown. “Are you okay?”

She scrunched up her face. “I’m trying to be.”

He set down the remote and put his arms around her. “Is it the storm?”

She nodded. “I’ve never been here during a bad one, or if I was, I don’t remember it.”

The forecast was calling for heavy rain and strong and potentially damaging winds, but the storm wasn’t categorized as a hurricane—at least not yet. Her mom had called earlier to warn her about it, but at that time, the skies had been perfectly clear.

“It’ll be okay,” he said, giving her a squeeze.

A flash of lightning and a loud clap of thunder rattled the windows, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“You need a distraction.” With his arms still around her, he picked up the remote and began scrolling again.

He paused on a listing for a horror movie.

“No!” she said. “That’ll only make things worse.”

“I was just teasing.” He scrolled down to a romantic movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. “How about this?”

She nodded enthusiastically, but then another round of thunder and lightning caused the power to go out, plunging them into almost total darkness.

“Please tell me you have candles.”

“In my bedroom.”

“Come with me.” He took her hand and led her down the hall and into the bedroom.

It was even darker in here because there was only one window and the blinds were closed. She pointed to the scented jar candle on her dresser and the box of matches beside it.

He lit the candle, bathing the room in a soft, warm glow and the scent of coconut. She’d bought the candle at a local shop, thinking she’d take it home and be reminded of the island. Now it would get to stay right where it was.

“We need to come up with a plan B,” he said, glancing around the room. “Got any board games?”

She laughed. “Seriously?”

“It would be a good distraction.”

She backed up to the edge of the bed and sat down. “I have a better idea.”

He eyed her from where he stood by the dresser. “Oh yeah?”

“Um-hmm.” She scooted to the middle of the bed.

He started walking toward her, but she held up a hand. “Take off your shirt.”

“Now who’s bossy?” He quickly peeled off his shirt and let it fall to the floor.