The guy went up the stairs, and his footsteps pounded until the door opened. He didn’t come back in, nor did Elle move from my embrace. The walls had stopped shaking at this point, so maybe the worst had already passed?
“What’s the radio saying?” Elle asked.
“Moved on toward the next town. We’re good.” The guy pocketed his phone. “Might hang back for a few minutes then leave.”
“Me too,” another man said.
Without discussing it, we all headed back upstairs where it was still dark. Charlie had never installed emergency lightswhich made sense, but it would’ve been nice to not have to use our phones to avoid tripping. Elle and I still held hands, which I wasn’t going to mention. I liked the connection. I guided us toward the bar where we left everything as it was.
“Don’t bother with the tabs tonight.” Elle took a shaky breath. “Our system is down.”
“Hell, just keep the change. It’s on me.” The mustached man with long gray hair slapped a hundred on the bar. “This should cover everyone’s, right? Plus tip?”
“Thank you, but it’s not necessary.”
“Tough, Sunshine. Take it.”
She smiled at him, the flashlight hitting her eyes so that they seemed even more brown. Speckled with gold and green on the edges, they almost looked hazel, andfuckI was thinking about her eye color and how it reminded me of plants and moss. I broke apart our hands and ran my fingers through my hair. I didn’t even know who I was anymore.
“Be safe out there, y’all.” Elle pushed herself to sit on the bar, her bare legs dangling over the edge. She crossed them at the ankles. “Cleaning up and shutting down should be fun, huh, Calzone?”
“Let’s do the bare minimum and come back tomorrow.” I squinted in the dark toward the trash and the few glasses we had to clean. Thankfully, since it had been slow, we’d both kept up on side work, so the final touches wouldn’t be major ones. I got out my phone and searched for power outages, and there was a social media post about multiple powerlines being hit.Hours.It could be hours until there was power. “Probably won’t come back on tonight.”
“The freezer.” She frowned, and I traced the curve up her lips with my eyes, damn near able to picture every feature of hers from memory. “I don’t wanna throw all the food and storage away.”
“Charlie doesn’t have too much back there.” The walk-in cooler though…that would be a lot of spoiled items. “We could go buy a generator and use it for that?”
“I think we have to. That’s thousands of dollars.” She chewed on her lip as the last customer left. They’d all slapped a few bills on the bar, leaving Elle and I each a hundred bucks in tips. It felt weird to do nothing to earn it, but if I put it toward the generator, it’d make me feel better.
“Let’s pick up the glasses and go. I’ll drive.”
An hour later, we returned from the hardware store with a generator. The stormfront looked super cool when we were on the back end of it, and Elle even got me to stop and take two photos. The wall cloud was artistic in a way, just terrifying.
After a lengthy call with Charlie on how to set up the generator to the walk-in cooler, we had it up and running so the perishables wouldn’t need to be thrown out. It felt good to save them.
Without the air conditioning though, the bar was hot as hell, and Elle was feeling it too. Sweat beaded on her forehead and upper lip, and her white shirt kept sticking to her. She wore a lacy bra thing underneath, and every time the fabric clung to her, my stomach swooped.
“My brother just texted me. Want to head over there for a bit? He has power and air. God, I’m a hot potato.” She fanned herself with her shirt, lifting up the end to wipe her face
Jesus. Her stomach and her skin and the bottom of her bra showed as she wiped sweat from her brow. Nothing about the situation was sexy, but my skin prickled with need. I wanted to lick the sweat off her.Too far.
“Um, Van Helsing’s?” Did I want to hang out at his place? Not at all. But Elle should, and I knew, somehow, she’d refuse to go if I stayed back. My former teammate and I had come a long way to be friendly, but he’d warned me off his sister countlesstimes, and he’d see right through my restraint. I ran a hand over my face, sweat dripping down my temples. “He has air, you say?”
“Sure does. Lots of it.” She wiggled her eyebrows before her gaze dropped to my chest. “You’re so sweaty, Cal.”
“So are you.” I eyed her right back, trying not to stare at the faint outline of her breasts. They wererightthere, and with the damp shirt…” We should change before we leave.”
She rubbed her lips together, an odd look crossing her face. “So, you’re coming?”
My stomach sank. “Unless you’d rather I don’t. I can hang here. Actually, it’s best if I do. You go. I’ll drop you off.”
“What? No! If you’re not going, I’ll stay with you.” She shook her head and walked toward me. Her loyalty and care knocked the breath out of me. It made me feeltoo damn much.
I held up a hand. “No.”
“Cal Holt. We’ve been buddies all day, and we’re not stopping now. Your nose is sweating, and our apartments will be even hotter. Let’s shower and head to Gabe’s for a few hours.”
Buddies. Pals. Besties. It was a gift and a punishment for her to call mebuddies.I wanted so much more but knew I couldn’t offer it. I pinched my nose, feeling the moisture, and sighed. She was right. The rain had brought more humidity, and I’d admit I smelled. “Fine. Shower, then we leave.”
