Chapter Eight
Eminem’s Lose Yourself echoed out of the metal bowl. Fitting especially given the moments we’d just emerged from. Personally, I was just about to truly lose myself, but for an entirely different reason.
Elliot dropped his hands, but held me close, pulling me tightly. “I saw the remnant of the flash. I thought you had, too.”
I shook my head. How foolish would it be to admit I’d been lost in the moment? Probably very teenagerish, so I refrained from speaking.
“Do you want something to drink?” His voice rumbled in my ears and sent shivers down my spine.
“Yeah, please.” My mouth had gone as dry as a desert suddenly.
He placed the water bottle in my hand, but it was fairly light, being almost empty. “Let’s grab some more.”
“I’ll add it to our running list.” I was a half-step behind him to the counter. He grabbed two more bottles from the display case.
“Of course.” He cracked the lid on his and chugged it down. “Thank you.”
I nodded, then chugged half the bottle.
“You all good?” His brow arched.
“Maybe if you keep kissing me like that, I won’t even notice the storm.” I shook my head and covered my face in shame. What the William Shatner of over dramatics was I thinking? “That was… Oh my gosh…”
He pulled my hands down and stared into my eyes. “I’m more than happy to try if that’s what you want.”
But then it would be forced, and not natural like it had been. We’d both been caught in the heat of the moment and somehow, I sensed he knew it too.
A flash of lightning beyond the window stilled my soul, and I felt the heat from the dancing and the kiss rush out of my body in a land speed record.
Elliot searched my eyes but, for whatever reason, he didn’t lean down to kiss me. Just as well, as my lips turned to ice. It would’ve been like kissing a fish. Instead, he held me tight and inched us over to the metal bowl where his phone continued to play. Pocketing it into the back of his jeans, with the music still playing, he picked up the bowl. Just like in the movie The Shawshank Redemption when the thunder threatened to rip my heart from my chest after the sky flashed, he banged the metal bowl against the stainless-steel counter.
He looked absolutely ridiculous, but it worked. The thunderous sound Mother Nature produced wasn’t so bad; it was tolerable and certainly not as loud as Elliot’s clanking. He reminded me of a toddler who bangs the bowls onto the floor and giggles with glee, and if I wasn’t mistaken, there may have been a small smile pushing out to the corners of his lips. There certainly was on mine.
“I adore seeing that,” he whispered, pointing to my face and encircling it with his finger.
Like a schoolgirl, I blushed big time. “Thanks.”
“Did that help?”
I nodded and pulled my stringy hair over my shoulder. “Amazingly enough, yes.”
“Perfect. If it helps you, I’m totally on board.”
Silly Mother Nature for having intervened in what had been a magical moment. As I stood again on my tiptoes and brushed my lips over this sweet, sweet man, he kissed me back, but it wasn’t as passionate as it had been.
Mother Nature had indeed killed what had been brewing between us.
“You are…” Despite all the romance books I’ve read, I didn’t know the right word to describe him. He was… amazing, but that didn’t seem perfect enough to suit him. “Thank you for that.” It was all I could muster out. With the moment gone, it was back to reality, and that meant back to wondering what else was in store for us. “Did you time the flash and the thunder?”
“No, I was momentarily distracted.” A wink came my way, and my soul fluttered back to life knowing that all was not lost.
“I see.” But I was thankful for his distraction.
“I can keep an eye and an ear open and report back to you with my findings.” It was said tongue in cheek, but I was okay with it. He wasn’t making fun of me in the least. “Do you want something to eat? Are you okay to eat? We still have banana bread and a bear claw to destroy.”
I inhaled sharply and tossed my gaze out the window. It was still dark as night as the town hadn’t yet regained power. “Let’s wait until the storm has passed, then it’ll be safe to eat.”
A few years back, I’d tossed my cookies. It had happened only once, but still. I didn’t want to get sick in front of him, or near him.
“Fair enough.”
A flash came from my left and my breath whooshed out of my body. Here we go again.
Elliot, ever the sweetheart he was, tightened his grip around me and pulled me back toward the chair. “This worked well last time.”
He flopped into the wingback, I sat on the armrest, dangling my legs across the other armrest, and placed my head against his shoulder as he covered my exposed ear with his warm, soft hand. As the storm raged on, he never loosened his grip, but this storm didn’t seem as intense with ground shaking and bright flashes as the first one had been, and passed by after a few moments, or at least it felt that way.
Although I loved the way he was holding me, my neck was kinking, so I pushed out of his protective embrace. “It’s going away, isn’t it?”
“I would believe so. There’s quite the distance between flash and rumble, but thankfully there haven’t been any crackers.”
“Thank you.” I stared into his charming face, brushing his hair off his face.
“It’s no big deal.”
“It is to me. You’re not making fun of me, and instead, you’re going out of your way to help me deal with it. That’s more than…” Did he need to know my last boyfriend thought I was a baby because of the fear? He had never understood the terror, but in all fairness, I’d never let him in to know why it bothered me.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain. Remember, I was made fun of all through high school. I know what it’s like, and it isn’t fun.”
“It’s not.”
He shifted underneath me.
I tipped my head, hearing gentle, muted beats of music. “Is your phone still on?”
As he twisted off to the side, I hopped off, giving him easier access to his back pocket. Tapping the display, he silenced the Black Eyed Peas.
“You certainly have an eclectic mix of songs in your playlist.”
“I like a good beat when I’m doing cardio.”
“And the slow songs?” Because those had been intermittently spaced throughout his queue.
“Gives me time to catch my breath.”
I tipped my head from side to side to work out the kinks, and feeling a tad chilled, I put my leather jacket back on. “What’s your battery life at?”
A quick tap on the screen. “Twenty-eight percent.”
“No more dance parties, as fun as it was. You’ll want a little battery power when the cell phone towers go back online, or whatever it’s called when they start working again.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Could easily be a few days from now.”
Days?
“Think the power will come back on first?” I dragged my wingback chair to park beside his and flopped down into the seat.
“I’d almost guarantee it.”
I looked hopefully out the window, waiting for someone—anyone—to walk by so we could alert them. “We’re not getting out of here tonight, are we?”
Elliot had done the same. “I think it’s safe to say we’re definitely stuck here overnight.”
As lovely as the Coffee Loft was, it wasn’t a B however, we’d have no choice but to lean our heads into the wings and hope for the best. Sleeping sitting up? Yeah, that wasn’t ideal either.
I scanned the space. Aside from the chairs Elliot and I sat in, there was nothing with a cushion, so it’s not like we could even make a makeshift bed out of them like you did when you were a child. The bar-height tables were an option, but again, it was a super hard surface.
I turned and stared at Elliot.
“Yeah, I’m thinking the same thing and have already ruled everything out.”
“So, we just plan to spend the night awake?” It was the only option, aside from sleeping sitting up that seemed doable.
He shrugged. “Maybe? Or wait…” He jumped onto his feet and walked to the prep area, calling back. “There should be towels.”
A few heartbeats later, I joined him. “Would there be enough to sleep on and make a somewhat cushioned bed?”
“Do you have back issues?”
“I will if I have to sleep on an unforgiving tabletop.” I tried to let a laugh slip, but it was fake and forced, easy enough to hear through it. “I am a bit of a princess, I’ll have you know.” It was total tongue-in-cheek, but with truth woven in.
“Maybe I should call you Princess Peach, considering how easily you bruise and your need for comfy sleeping quarters.”
“Hey.” I ran my fingers over the bit of a bump on my forehead. It was still tender but thankfully the bump felt smaller. “Even if the name fits, I think that name is already copyrighted because it’s a Mario character, right?”
“Oh, it’s most likely definitely copyrighted, but it’s not going to go on your driver’s license or anything, so I think we’re safe there.” He squatted down and opened a bottom drawer. “Well, we have enough to make…” There was a weighted sigh. “A pillow.”
I sighed, not focusing on the lack of towels. “Well, if you’re giving me a nickname, then I think it’s only fair that you have one, too.”
“And you’re going to come up with it on the fly? Just create something out of thin air? That’s not quite how nicknames come about.”
“Seriously? Do you hear yourself?” I laughed. “How did you come up with Princess Peach? That was totally on the fly.”
“Yeah, well…” He handed me a mediocre stack of towels. “Hold this. There should be more.”
Drawers opened and closed, but my hands didn’t get any heavier.
“No luck, eh?” I hugged what we had to my chest.
“Sadly, no.” He rose and shook his head, then slapped a palm against it. “That’s right, Nina took them all home to do laundry this afternoon.”
Along with my shoulders, my chin fell too. “Oh, well, that doesn’t help us now.”
“No, it doesn’t.” He leaned against the display case and let out a deep, low groan as the back of his head knocked against the glass. “What are we going to do?”
“No doubt we’ll figure it out.”
“I feel like I’m letting you down.”
“Huh? How?” I scrunched my face up as my head tipped to the right.
“Well, I’m the man…” He pointed to his chest. “I’m supposed to make sure the lady is well taken care of, and all her needs are met.” There was a deep undercurrent of pain lancing through his words.
“Hey.” I rubbed his arm with my free hand. “This isn’t the 1950s. We may be trapped, but we’re not lacking shelter or food or bathroom needs. I’ve got clothes on my back, although they may stink to high heaven by the time we get freed, but still. I have a jacket to keep me warm, and we have all these extra towels. Trust me, I’m being well taken care of.” I moved my hand to tip up his chin. “You are doing more than is necessary. And…” I inhaled and exhaled slowly. “And I am sharing this—whatever you want to call it—with someone who is pretty darn amazing.”
“Yeah?” Even in the darkened glow, there was no denying the deep crimson staining his cheeks as a shy smile tickled the edges of his lips.
“Of all the people to be trapped with, I’m glad it’s you.”
A note of hope coloured his words. “I’m glad it’s you too, although a place with a comfy bed would make it even better.”
“Details. We can make the next trapped together moments better.”
His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “What?”
“I’m only kidding; however, don’t these things tend to run in threes or something? I’ve already been trapped up on the top of the mountain, same kind of thing, albeit, it was much, much colder. And we had blankets.” I nudged him. “But we sat on the floor or on the chairs, resting our heads on the tables. It worked up there, and it could work here too.”
“So good for the back.” The sarcasm was thicker than the towels.
“Meh. I was due for a massage anyway.”
“I’m sure there’s got to be a way for us to be semi-comfortable. It’ll come to me; I just need to think.” He stepped around me and headed back to the front, moving the wingbacks. “I got it. I think.”
He pulled the cushions out of the wingbacks and set them on the table nearest the window. The first wingback he flipped onto its back; its seat becoming the headboard.
“Oh, I see what you’re getting at.” I manoeuvred my wingback to match, butting the top of the chair to his.
It wasn’t ideal, but it would totally work for a single person to lay on even if it wasn’t long enough. No one was sleeping on the floor.
“It’s perfect.”
“Well…” He set the two seat cushions on the floor beside the oddly positioned wingbacks. “I think perfect is a stretch, but it’ll work. Beats sleeping on the floor.”
“Technically, we are sleeping on the floor.” I gave him a friendly nudge and he responded by wrapping his arm around my waist.
“Details.” He laughed. “Should we have a bedtime snack?”
“What are you, five?”
“Yep.” He nodded and unhooked his arm to hold my hand. “I always have a snack before bed; usually something protein-based, but it does help me sleep. Now, I don’t think there’s anything left that isn’t considered pure junk food, but at least it would be something.”
We wandered back to the nearly empty display case, save for the three remaining items .
“What are our final choices?” I stretched a napkin out on another tray.
“There’s that awful raisin-tainted cinnamon roll and a maple leaf sugar cookie.” He pulled out the last treat and looked at it. “I think this is a chocolate croissant, but it could be our raisin one, too.”
“What is it about people adding raisins to baked goods?”
“Nina tries to please the masses.”
“And masses of Jasper townsfolk are into raisin-tainted foods?”
“Apparently, it’s the hippie way.”
“For real?” Jasper was beautiful and amazing, but I never considered it a hippie town. Sure, it was quaint and full of mom-and-pop stores, but that only added to the charm.
“I don’t know. I’m just going by what the visitors say.” He added the questionable pastry to the tray.
“And that’s what they say?” I couldn’t be more shocked. “I’m quite surprised. I’ve never heard our town referred to like that. It’s small town for sure, but I think it’s quite modern.”
“Hey, I’m not arguing with you. I don’t make the goods, and I’m not the one doing the ordering, I just refill the display as needed. Besides, I love it here, that’s why when I moved here, I stayed.”
“When did you move here?”
“Right after high school. There was a call for help on the ski hill, total seasonal work. I did that for four years, and at the end of each season, I went back home. But I didn’t like the hustle and bustle of city life, so at the end of my fourth year, I found a place here and set down some roots.”
“That’s cool. I’ve been here my whole life. The big city scares me. Too many people.”
“Yeah, I prefer the quiet of the small-town life too. Except in moments like this.” He glances toward the window.
One thing about small towns was that the services weren’t up to a big city level. The downed tree blocking our exit could be there for … I swallowed. I didn’t want to think how long we could actually be trapped in here.
The reality was, we could be stuck for days.