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“Hi,” I said, feeling as if the world had conspired to make me happy on this… thunder crashed… and my world suddenly crashed along with it. “Don’t tell me it’s raining.”
“I could, but that would obviously be a lie. It’s more than raining. It’s some sort of storm the likes of which hasn’t been seen here since the last flood over in Cricket,” he said, then he held out the mug. “I found an assortment of tea bags in your kitchen, milk and honey, and thought you might need this. It’s black tea… with milk and honey. I hope it’s the way you like it.”
“More like love it. Thanks.” I went to sit up to reach for the mug, realized I was naked, and pulled up the covers. Dustin grinned and gazed down for a moment, then back at me.
“Thanks for that,” he said, still grinning.
“It wasn’t on purpose,” I told him, trying to hold back my own grin.
“Whatever the reason, you made my morning.”
“Anything I can do to help,” I told him, trying not to be embarrassed for exposing my naked breasts. “Where’s Cody?”
He sat back in the chair and crossed his ankle on his knee. Damn, but he was all man, all six-foot-four of him. “Trying to help Natalie and Bernard with a way out.”
The windows lit up with a flash of lightning, then thunder once again raged. I’d closed the heavy curtains last night, and along with the dark skies, the room seemed way too dark for morning.
“Can you hand me my shirt, please,” I asked him, pointing to my oversized flannel shirt. If we were going to have any kind of conversation, I needed to be somewhat dressed. “And maybe pull back the curtains so I can see what’s going on out there?”
He went over and slid my shirt off the hook on the back of the closet door, tossed it to me, and turned to let some light in, which gave me some momentary privacy. He then turned back and sat in his chair, grabbing his mug while he made himself comfortable. The windows behind him showed the crazy storm thrashing a once peaceful scene of trees, flower beds, and lawn that had already been trashed by the downpour and the crazy wind.
“When you say, a way out, what does that mean exactly?”
“Some of the roads are flooded, and it looks as though they won’t be able to make their flight at SFO today.”
My stomach clenched.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I slugged the bed for emphasis.
Yeah, this made me angry, angrier than it probably should. But damn it all, for the past six months, Natalie and her wedding had sucked up most of my time and energy. Probably the reason why my last boyfriend dumped me. I didn’t want her needs to come before mine for one more second. She had to leave.
Today!
More thunder and lightning, only this time, I could see it crack the sky.
No way would I allow them to be stuck here when I was just getting my life on a pleasurable track, albeit a somewhat wobbly track, but a track nonetheless. Besides, I was looking for some real downtime to figure things out; having Natalie around for who knew how many more days would cause nothing but drama, both for me and for Cody, which also affected Gabe and Dustin. None of us needed the extra stress right now. They were getting ready for a big tour, and I was getting ready for a new path with my life. Both equally important and nothing, including Natalie, would get in our way.
I would see to that.
“But how do you really feel about this turn of events?” he asked, grinning, with absolutely no reaction to the entire situation whatsoever. How could he be so calm? I didn’t understand the concept. Gabe seemed to be the more easy going of the two. Was I wrong about Dustin? Along with his teaching skills, was he also calm under stressful situations?
Getting to know these three men would take some doing… and Natalie couldn’t be part of that equation for even one more day.
“Maybe there’s a chopper we can hire to airlift them out? Or a local airport with some private planes that can take them to SFO? Hell, I’ll even pay for it.”
Wind slapped the rain against the windows, and the roar from it hitting the cabin roof intensified.
He shook his head, then picked up his own mug of tea, which was all I had in the cabin. No coffee.
“Do you hear what’s going on out there? It’s a monsoon of some sort. Bernie already tried both of those options, but until this storm blows over, no one is going anywhere.”
I sipped my tea and tried to calm down. Usually hot tea calmed my nerves, but not today. Way too much was at stake. “I’m sure it’ll be gone in no time.”
And as I said the words, thunder shook the entire cabin.
“This can’t be happening!” I yelled.
“If it’s any consolation, the breakfast in Sweet Whiskey had to be cancelled, so we don’t have to try to drive there this morning. Instead, Tammy and Jimmy are hosting the breakfast for everyone at their place. “
