17. Gale #2
I opened my mouth to explain, but no words came out. The intensity of Ozrik’s gaze was too much. It stripped me bare, and the last thing I wanted was to feel naked around him. He already turned me inside out without trying, but I sure as heck couldn’t divulge personal feelings.
Besides, how could I explain spiritual turmoil to a guy like Ozrik?
How could I describe the isolation and alienation I faced every day of my life because I didn’t know how to merge and blend with society?
I didn’t know how to be the person God made me, no matter how hard I tried, but I couldn’t be anyone else.
Even Olivia wouldn’t understand. Dad wanted to, but I wasn’t brave enough to have that conversation yet.
Standing toe to toe with Mother Nature had been the closest I’d been to peace in a long time, and I knew how messed up that sounded.
Ozrik glanced in the back seat, and my skin prickled. “What are you doing?”
It wasn’t like he knew about those hidden pictures in my backpack, but they were there, within arm’s reach. He could find them, pull them out, and ask me why I had focused the camera on him rather than the storm. Why I printed and kept them.
But no, that was my active imagination torturing me. Ozrik didn’t know or care about photographs.
“Where’s your camera?” he asked.
“Under your feet.”
“Oh shit.” He checked the footwell and drew the case onto his lap.
It was muddy and wet from his running shoes.
“Why didn’t you say something?” He wiped smears of mud with the bottom of his jacket but only managed to grind the dirt into the fabric.
“Do you have a towel or something in your backpack?”
“No. It’s fine. Leave it.” I took the camera, inspected the case, and opened the zipper to check inside.
“Is it waterproof?”
“Supposed to be. Never tested it. Don’t worry about it.”
The sky lit up, an incredible production of sight and sound. A window-rattling boom reverberated in my chest. Rain pounded the windshield, blurring our view of the world. It was relentless.
“We should get going,” Ozrik said.
“You’re certifiable.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. Most days. Come on.”
“Are you serious?”
“You said it’s waterproof, right?”
“Yeah, but…”
“I assume it’s expensive. You shouldn’t leave it behind. It might take ages before you get a tow truck out here. You don’t want someone breaking into the Jeep and stealing it.”
“Okay, but…” I studied the storm. “We’re going out there?”
“Are you afraid?”
“No.” The word came out sounding far too defensive, giving me away.
“Aw. Don’t worry, pup, the Ozman will keep you safe.”
“I don’t need you to keep me safe.”
He shrugged. “I’ll do it anyway. Like I said before. I don’t leave people behind.”
Ozrik winked and shuffled to his knees before I could find another protest. Before I knew what was happening, he braced one hand on the passenger headrest and leaned over me to wrap his fingers around the door handle.
There, he paused, his face inches from mine, so close I couldn’t breathe.
So close, my eyes widened at our proximity, and I sat perfectly still lest I accidentally touch him.
“W-what are you doing?” I had visions of him kissing me, but those were my obnoxious fantasies and not real life, and if I didn’t eject them from my brain, I would be very, very sorry. He would see it written all over my face… among other places.
“I can’t use my door. The wind is too strong. You saw what happened.” He grinned. “What’s wrong, Gale?” That roguish glint appeared in his eyes. “Do I frighten you?”
The answer was yes. One hundred and ten percent yes, but it wasn’t a confession I was willing to make. My entire body was on fire, and I didn’t trust my voice not to squeak. It took everything in my power not to look at his mouth. At his shapely lips.
A now familiar current of electricity ran through my veins again. If he touched me, I would burst into flames.
Ozrik didn’t wait for an answer—maybe it wasn’t a real question. Laughing, he popped the door. Assisted by gravity and the fierce wind, it tore from his hand, springing back and bouncing on its hinges.
“Oops.” He cringed. “Didn’t expect that.” Peering down into the flooded ditch, still leaning over me, still too close for comfort, he said, “Looks like we’re going to get wet. Hope I don’t melt.”
Ozrik climbed over me gracelessly, and I had to close my eyes and clench my jaw when his entire body brushed mine. He was wet and muddy and smelled like a rainstorm, but it was quite possibly the greatest scent of all time. I would drown in him if given half a chance.
At one point, he straddled my lap as he blindly sought the side step. His foot slipped, and he landed directly on top of me. His ass connected with my very aroused crotch.
Time stopped. If lightning struck me down right then and there, I would not have been sad. In fact, I prayed for it, and God owed me.
Of course, it didn’t happen.
A hint of curiosity swam in the dark depths of Ozrik’s eyes. There was no way in the world he didn’t notice my erection. I was doomed. If he didn’t kill me, he would spend the rest of his life humiliating me. He would tell his friends. The whole town would know. I would have to move to Antarctica.
A long, torturous silence swelled between us. Nothing happened, then, instead of calling me on it, Ozrik cackled. At first, I thought he was laughing at me, but no. He was laughing at his clumsiness, like this was the greatest fun he’d ever had, like I wasn’t ten seconds from vomiting. Or crying.
“I missed the step.”
“I gathered.”
Why wasn’t he moving? Why wasn’t he calling me every disgusting name in the book?
“This wasn’t exactly how I planned my escape.” He glanced at the full ditch outside the door, then back. “Am I crushing you, Gale?” He emphasized my name in a way that spoke volumes.
“N-no, but… I-I could have gone first.”
“This is far more fun, though, isn’t it?”
He wet his lips, then braced a foot on the side step. With a sly and knowing wink, he finally, finally heaved himself off my lap and landed in the ditch with a splash, sinking to mid-thigh.
“Whoa. It’s deep here.”
More lightning flashed. More thunder crashed.
The storm raged on.
Fearing Ozrik would steal a glance at my traitorous body to confirm his suspicions, I tugged my shirt lower and was about to clamor out behind him when a look crossed his face, and he held up a finger.
I paused as he fumbled in the pocket of his raincoat and withdrew his lit-up phone.
“It’s working.” He laughed. “Sweet. I have a signal. Well, two bars. It’s Vern. Hang on.” He connected the call, stuffing a finger into his other ear as he shouted, “Hello.”
I used his distraction to properly calm down and ensure my body wasn’t on display.
Ozrik seemed to struggle to hear over the storm. Rain beat down on his head, soaking him anew. At one point, he shooed me to the passenger side and got back into the Jeep, slamming the door and blinking raindrops off his lashes.
“That’s better. Say again.” A long pause ensued. His face contorted as he listened. “Fuck. Are you serious?” Another pause. “Okay. Or we can walk through the flooded part, and—Whoa. Fuck. Vern, relax, I won’t. It was a suggestion.”
Another cracking boom rattled the windows. A gnarled branch about ten feet long, carried by the wind, bounced along the road and vanished into the ditch across the way.
“You’re breaking up… What? Hello?” Ozrik removed the phone from his ear and checked the screen. “Shit. I lost him.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Your sister said there was a tree down?”
“I don’t know what she said. I could barely hear her.”
“Well, there is a tree down, and it took a string of power lines with it. It’s all flooded up that way, and Vern doesn’t think it would be wise to go anywhere near them. He said the whole area is compromised. Noah is calling the power company to let them know.”
I absorbed his words, glancing at the raging storm. “So, we’re stuck here?”
“For the time being. Unless you want to swim up the road the way I came, but—”
Lightning flashed and forked, reaching for the ground only a short distance from us. Thunder rode on its heels. “Are you insane?”
“Some would say yes.” Ozrik searched under the driver’s seat, found the lever to move it back a few inches, and stretched his legs the best he could. “That’s better. Might as well get comfy. It’s you and me for a while. Whatever shall we do?” The devilish smile returned to his face.
I couldn’t decide if this was my worst nightmare or my greatest fantasy come to life.