“You mentioned the car accident. I’m sorry, Zaila.”
I shrank from another crack of thunder, my eyes fixed on the sky. Gunnar moved closer, shielding me from the spits of rain that splashed up from the growing puddle in the doorway.
As another bolt of lightning seared across the thick, roiling mass of clouds, Gunnar asked, “What do clouds have on?”
I stared at him, my mind blank. “I do not know, and frankly, I don’t want to know.”
“Thunder wear.”
I stared at him. “That’s…terrible.”
“I know!” he said, his grin widening.
Gunnar’s brain operated on a different frequency than mine. “You actually like those jokes?”
“Love them,” he confessed, his eyes twinkling. “The cheesier, the better.”
“Why?”
His smile slipped a little. “Karl.” He turned wistful. “My brother used to tell them when I was scared—and I was scared of a lot when I was young.”
I tried and failed to picture Gunnar cowering. A moment later, another thunderclap boomed overhead, even closer this time. I wrapped my arms around myself. “Tell me another joke.”
“Why are piggy banks so wise?”
I sighed even as my mood lightened a little. “Why?”
“They’re full of common cents.”
My lips tipped upward. “Okay, that one was marginally better.”
“What do you call a hot dog on wheels?”
Thunder rumbled, but I ignored it. “What?”
“Fast food!”
I couldn’t hold back the giggles. “You are ridiculous.”
“Guilty,” he said. “One more? I promise this is a good one.”
“Fine,” I said. “But if it’s a knock-knock joke, I’m walking out into the storm to let the lightning end my misery.”
“What did the ocean say to the beach?”
“No clue.”
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Nothing. It just waved.”
I groaned even as I chuckled. Was a groan-chuckle even a thing? “These comments—I won’t call them jokes—are so awful that they’re hilarious.”
“Exactly.” Gunnar clapped, his blue eyes warm with humor. He was gorgeous—completely open and engaged. I knew instinctively that few people saw him like this. “I knew you’d come around.”
The rain showed no signs of stopping, but I wasn’t as miserable as I’d thought I’d be. In fact, I was having fun.
“Okay, your turn,” Gunnar said. “Tell me your best joke.”
I hesitated. I wasn’t known for my comedic timing or my karaoke. “I don’t really do jokes.”
