“Grace?”
“Yes!” I said, a little too desperately. “God, you worried me.” I held up the phone light and saw him carrying blankets, candles, and an old boombox. “Is that from 1995?”
“It might be.” He chuckled, dropping the blankets on the floor and lighting a couple of candles. If I wasn’t scared shitless, this could be romantic. But, I was terrified and wanted to get past the storm. “Don’t judge. I went through a RUN DMC phase.”
“I can see it,” I said a little too loudly. “Sorry, I’m freaking out.”
“Here, put this on. You’re probably freezing.” He handed me a sweatshirt, which I gladly took.
I shoved it over my head and was blasted with his smell; masculine, musky, and Brock. It fell below my knees, and I had to roll the arms up at least five times. I looked ridiculous.
“Th-thank you.” I hugged myself, teeth chattering.
“You look absurd.” One eyebrow raised as he put on a sweatshirt for himself. It had our school’s logo on it, and a desire to cuddle the shit out of him went through me. “Shine that flashlight over here, would ya?”
“Sure.” I stepped toward him as he got the radio set up. “Smart thinking.”
He grinned, the minimal light making him look sexier than hell. “You have to be prepared when you live here. Weather is a bipolar bitch.”
I giggled, nodding at him like a love-struck dumbass.God, get a grip. “She is.”
“Are you okay?” His brows furrowed, grabbing one of the blankets and throwing it over the old couch.
“I’ll be fine,” I managed to get out and moved to the couch. “I’m a little cold.”
“Well, shit, use this.” He handed me another cotton blanket. “My adrenaline warmed me, but I froze my ass off when I found you staring at the sky like a weirdo.”
“Yeah. Not my best moment.”
“It pisses me off to think of what you would’ve done if I hadn’t been there,” he said, tone gruff and possessive? “What would you have done?”
“Probably headed back into one of the buildings. Some of them are open twenty-four hours.” I gulped, placing my hand on his arm for a quick second. “I’m incredibly thankful you were there. Thank you.”
He grunted in reply, shaking his head at me. “What were you doing anyway?”
“I was thinking— “
BOOM.
Thunder louder than I had ever witnessed in my life shook the whole house. “Oh my God.”
“It’s okay. Shh.” He joined me on the couch, putting his arm around me in a comforting, brotherly sort of way. He rubbed my arms up and down, saying sweet things about thunder and lightning and angels bowling. “We’re safe here. This house is old but has a sturdy base. Even if we get hit, which we won’t, we’ll be okay. Do you prefer to go sit in the bathroom?”
“N-no. Here is f-fine,” I stammered, leaning into him a little more. “I don’t know why I’m shaking. I like rain. I’m okay with storms.”
“This one is nasty. It’s been a while since we’ve had one. We were due.” His mouth was close to my ear, his breath hitting it. My shivers worsened, but it wasn’t the cold this time. “Tell me about the first movie you saw in theaters.”
“Movie? Why?”
“I’m distracting you. Answer the question.” His tone left no room for argument, and I appreciated the gesture.
“A Bug’s Life.”
“Yeah? That’s a good one. Mine was The Lion King. I loved that shit.” He laughed, running his hand up and down my arms again. “It’s sad though. But I loved the music.”
“Do you still know the words?” I asked, unable to prevent myself from laughing .
“Hell yeah. Don’t ask me to perform them now, though. I need a drink or three.” He chuckled, turning to face me. “I have an idea.”
