“Truth?”
“Always,” I said, giving him a playful side-eye.
“I wasn’t entirely sure but was leaning toward a comedy, to keep the mood light and all.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Thought it would be best if we chose together.”
“Question though, how are we actually going to stream the signal? You’re going to chew through your data in no time.”
“It’s all good. I’ve got unlimited. All I need to do is sync my phone with the projector, and we’re good to go.
“Did you feel that?” I suddenly sat up straight and wiped my forehead before holding my hand out. “There it is again.” But this time, the raindrop was quickly followed by another and another.
“Shit,” he murmured.
“Did you check the forecast?”
“Sure didn’t.” I gave him a pointed look, and he countered by shrugging his shoulders. “California isn’t exactly known for its rain.”
I took my next breath. No sooner than the heavens opened, showering heavily upon us with a vengeance.
Boden shot to his feet and reached for my hand. I squealed with amusement as he lifted me down off the flatbed.
“Here, take these.” He shoved his keys into my palm. “The blue key is for the trailer. I’ll be there in a minute.”
He then jumped back up to disconnect the projector and grab a handful of pillows before he hopped over the side and tossed everything inside the truck. Not one to be scared of a bit of rain, I ignored his instruction and followed suit, pulling the blankets we were lying on into my arms. I then sprinted toward the passenger side door, only to have my footing get caught up in the blankets, propelling me down to the ground with a hardumph.
I rolled on my back away from the mud that was mere inches from giving me a facial, only to have made matters worse by becoming fully entangled in the heavy water-soaked fabric that felt comparable to a weighted blanket. Except this wasn’t calming in the slightest. It was outright hysterical. I tried to wrestle free from the cocoon, but it was fruitless.
Tears of laughter billowed from the depths of my core, blending in with the rain that all I could do was surrender myself to the situation.
“What the—” The precarious situation I’d unexpectedly found myself in brought forth a thunderous roar as Boden bent over at the knees, grabbing his stomach in amusement. “Good God, Lakelyn, you’re a human burrito.”
My body vibrated as his analogy was spot on. “Ah, a little help here,” I cried in jest.
“Of course, of course.” He sprang into action, unrolled me from the mishmash of blankets, and helped me up.
We stood toe to toe with my fingers splayed wide across his chest while his arms wrapped protectively around my back. Gone was our laughter, replaced with a calmness, despite the punishing rain descending upon us. Time had halted as I looked up into his soulful eyes and found myself transfixed. Without loosening his grip, he lifted a hand and brushed pieces of my wayward hair off my forehead. The way his fingertips skirted across my skin was akin to an awakening. Goose bumps gleefully danced up my spine, causing me to shiver against his solid build.
Boden dropped his piercing gaze to my mouth, triggering my breath to hitch and my heart to thump wildly in my chest. As my nerves took over, I closed my eyes and tilted my head back. Pellets of rain skipped freely across my face, and the sensation was invigorating. I let my arms fall from Boden’s sturdy frame and held them out to my side, which caused his grip around my lower back to tighten, ensuring I didn’t once again become one with the rain-soaked ground.
In life, people would typically run or shield themselves from the rain, but at that moment, standing there soaked to the core, I’d never felt so uninhibited. So free and alive. It was as if the heart of each raindrop bled through my pores and pumped new hope into my soul, allowing pure, unfiltered happiness to radiate to the surface. I could feel the hilarity of how I looked on the outside, making my spontaneous smile beam even brighter.
Regrettably, a flash of lightning off in the distance broke the blissful spell I was under and startled me upright. My eyes immediately flew to Boden’s as if nothing but us existed. The intensity of the heat reflecting in his gaze melted my remaining restraints as I pushed up on the tips of my toes and curled my hands around the back of his neck. Boden leaned into my touch, ghosting his breath across my damp skin as the tips of our noses grazed one another. The teasing brush strokes only heightened my arousal, making me delirious with need. It wasn’t until a rolling of thunder rumbled above us loudly that Boden and I both jumped with alertness.
“Come with me.”
Together, hand in hand, we ran toward the trailer.
Chapter16
Boden
Once Lakelyn and I fumbled our way inside the trailer, I wasn’t sure whether to curse the weather or thank the heavens for breaking the barrier between us. But the second I flicked on the lights and saw a shiver ravaging her body, my protective instincts took over. She stood with her arms crisscrossed over her chest, and the moment we’d just shared felt like a distant memory.
“I’ve got clean clothes in here.” I started opening the above cabinets to find what I needed to get her out of the wet clothes. “We can at least change and get ourselves dry.”
“Okay.”
Looking over my shoulder, I could practically see her walls rebuilding before my eyes. I toed off my Timberlands, thank goodness for loose laces, threw down a towel to dry up the puddles we created, and offered her a hoodie, T-shirt, and pair of gray track pants.
