15. Gale #2
“Doubt it.” He hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and rocked on his heels, peering again at the canopy of trees.
The conversation was weird. The encounter was weird. I couldn’t figure out why Ozrik was at the cemetery. Why was he talking to me?
A swell of uncomfortable silence grew between us. I fondled the camera and stole surreptitious glances at the landscape, wanting to escape Ozrik while also wishing I knew what to say to keep him there longer, but I wasn’t that guy.
My nerves won out. “I should probably find Olivia. She’ll be fuming if I ignore her much longer.”
“She’s pretty fiery.”
I chuffed humorlessly. “You have no idea.”
Only I couldn’t make my feet move. Leaving meant crossing from the grass to the cemetery road where Ozrik stood.
It meant walking past him. Being closer in proximity.
We were at a safe distance at the moment.
Any closer, and I risked a bodily reaction.
Wasn’t it bad enough that my skin felt charged in his presence?
“Can I ask you something?” he said when I didn’t move.
“S-sure.”
For a heartbeat, Ozrik looked uncomfortable. His forehead creased as he studied me. “We didn’t upset you last week, did we? The guys. Olivia suggested… I hope you didn’t feel… I was worried, and it was a dangerous situation.” He shrugged. “I was only trying to help.”
“No, no. It’s fine. I was fine. Olivia… She’s… overprotective.”
“So, you’re okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
More silence. More unnecessary standing around.
Ozrik wiped a hand over his mouth and chuckled. “I thought you were leaving.”
“Oh.” My cheeks burned. “I am.”
Forcing my feet to move, I headed to the road. As I conjured the words to say goodbye and aim for the parking lot, Ozrik sidled up next to me. My heart moved to my throat when I realized he intended to follow me out.
The air between us hummed. We were too close.
A foot and a half separated us, but I felt every inch.
He radiated heat and energy. My heart galloped out of control.
Could he hear it? I smelled his deodorant or body wash, something as fresh and clean as a forest in the spring, but God help me, I didn’t want to be caught inhaling him, so I over-fixated on my breathing, doing all I could to keep it even.
At some point, he moved in front of me and stopped, extending a finger.
I stared at it, knowing exactly what he was doing.
“Come on,” he urged. “For science.”
I touched the tip of mine to his.
Ozrik jolted as though he’d been shocked, despite there being no static charge. “Zap,” he said theatrically.
I snorted.
He grinned. “I was sure it was going to happen.”
Did he feel it too? The buzzing? The current crawling over his skin?
As much as I wanted to bottle up this playful encounter, I couldn’t dismiss the lingering sense of doom that told me to be careful. What was Ozrik’s endgame? Why was he here?
The road ended at a rusty and twisted cast-iron arch that led from the cemetery into the parking area.
The Jeep was the only vehicle. I approached the passenger side door and opened it, fitting my camera into its case.
I sensed Ozrik, looming a few feet away as though waiting for something. Why wasn’t he leaving?
I shifted my weight and forced myself to turn around and meet his gaze. What did he want?
“Did you get any good pictures last week?” He stood with his fingertips squeezed into the tight edges of his jeans’ pockets. The effort made his shoulders rise, giving him a look of discomfort I was all too familiar with. But what did Ozrik Devereaux have to feel uncomfortable about?
Self-conscious of my work, I moved to block the folder on the passenger seat. It was stupid. It contained images of the storm I wanted to show the team. The ones I’d taken of Ozrik were stowed in a secret pouch in my backpack.
“I did.”
“I’d love to see them.”
I couldn’t think of a reason not to show him, so I grabbed the folder and handed it over. “I’m not a professional. Photography is a hobby. Only a few are any good. The rest are okay.”
“I thought you were featured in magazines.”
I shrugged. “Once.”
“Sounds professional to me.” He opened the folder and thumbed through the stack one at a time. “Jesus, Gale. These are fucking incredible. I can’t believe how close we got. That funnel is almost coming down on your head.” He turned one to show me.
“I remember. I was there.” My name on his lips licked a warm path from my navel to my groin, and I wanted him to say it again. “Thank you.”
“I’m serious. These are… wow.” He chuckled.
They weren’t wow, but I didn’t know how to accept praise, so I said nothing.
Ozrik studied them for longer than I anticipated, his expression open and bright. I couldn’t help noting every close-up detail of this man who had monopolized my every waking thought for a week. The pictures I’d taken paled in comparison to the real thing.
After a time, he closed the folder and handed it back.
I reached to take it, but Ozrik didn’t let go. We stood, each holding one end of the folder, staring at one another for a long time. The invisible current, the one I couldn’t ignore, flowed between us. Did he feel it? Was I imagining things?
He gnawed his lip, glanced away, then asked, “What do you know about lightning?”
My wheels spun over the question, but I didn’t understand and frowned. “I’m sorry? I don’t know what you mean. Lightning?”
“Electrical charges. You know. The cause. Where does it come from? How does it generate? Why does it jump from one place to another? Is it random or purposeful?”
Was he asking for a science lesson? Why did it feel like I was missing something? “I’m not following.”
Ozrik looked contemplative. For about a tenth of a second, I thought he was going to explain, but instead, he chuckled, released the folder, and stepped back.
“Never mind. It was stupid.” Ozrik glanced at the sky. “There’s a storm coming.”
“Yeah. I know. It’s why I’m here.” It’s why you’re here, I thought.
He lowered his gaze and grinned as he backed away. “Don’t let it sweep you up this time, Dorothy. You might end up in the Land of Oz.”
With that, he winked, turned, and headed to the main road. I watched as he waited for a break in traffic and hustled across the street. He approached the Comfort Inn and, before long, was out of sight.
I stood in the cemetery parking lot for a long, long time, unsure what had happened.