Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Dean parked his car in the parking lot of Noelle’s apartment building and looked up at the sky nervously.
It was clear that another terrible thunderstorm was brewing.
The sky had gone from a pale blue to moderately cloudy to thick with gray storm clouds in less than an hour.
He felt the wind rush against his car, shaking it slightly.
He watched the way the wind tossed and churned the branches of the trees surrounding the parking lot.
This isn't good, Dean thought. That last storm we had on Friday was terrible. The ground must still be soaked with water after all of that rain and hardly any sunshine this weekend.
Ordinarily, he didn't mind thunderstorms too much.
He found them exciting, and he liked the way the thunderclaps seem to split the air.
He knew, however, that too many rainstorms at once were dangerous.
His own property had been slightly damaged by the last storm, with one of the branches of the birch tree in his backyard falling off.
He was lucky it hadn't hit the roof of his garage.
He felt worried that more people in Rosewood Beach were going to have their properties damaged by the storm that was clearly about to unleash itself on the little town.
I'd better get out of my car before the raindrops start falling, Dean thought.
As if in defiance of his decision, at that moment the sky split open and rain began to fall in torrents.
“Shoot,” Dean muttered, and dashed out of his car.
He wasn’t far from the door that led into Noelle’s building, and he raced across the sidewalk toward it and ripped it open, tumbling inside.
He stood panting in the lobby, feeling relieved and laughing with the adrenaline that came from his short sprint.
He’d only gotten a little wet, and he felt glad about that.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d run that fast, especially without it causing him any pain.
“Thanks, thunderstorm,” he panted. “Now I know just how much better my body is doing.”
Whistling cheerfully, he buzzed Noelle’s apartment and the inner door opened for him a moment later. He took the stairs to Noelle’s apartment two at a time, reveling in how much energy and strength he had.
Noelle met him in the hallway and gave him a big hug. He could tell that she was happy to see him but also a little worried about the storm.
“It’s pretty bad out there,” she said, taking his hand and leading him back to her apartment. “I was on the balcony until a few minutes ago, and the wind has really picked up fast. That makes me worried it’s going to be another really bad storm.”
Dean nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. I really raced into your building, but if I hadn’t, I would have gotten totally soaked. It’s really pouring out there.”
She shut the door to her apartment behind them and they walked over to the sliding glass doors that looked out onto her balcony. The rain was pummeling down from the sky like a curtain of water, and the wind was now making the trees thrash wildly.
“I don’t like this,” Noelle said, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head against his chest. “What if something breaks?”
Dean swallowed, watching how intense the wind was.
“I think we should bring your balcony furniture and your potted plants that you have out there inside your apartment. I know you took the cushions in already, but I’m worried that wind is strong enough to knock the metal chairs and table back and break your windows. ”
“Okay,” Noelle said, and he saw her square her shoulders as if bracing for the impact of the storm.
“Ready?” he said, placing his hand on the slider door handle. “I’ll grab the furniture, you grab the plants.”
“Three, two, one, go!” she said, and Dean tore open the door.
The wind was cold and the rain was colder, and he grunted as he grabbed the first metal chair, thinking to himself that it didn’t matter that he’d stayed relatively dry before, since he was going to be soaked to the bone in a matter of seconds.
Noelle squeaked and spluttered as she grabbed the first plant, and Dean found her reaction to getting drenched to be so cute that he was soon laughing despite how cold the water made him.
They worked busily, moving the pots and the furniture inside in under three minutes.
Finally, they stood gasping and laughing in Noelle’s living room area, surrounded by the puddle that was being formed by the water dripping off their clothes and the furniture and pots.
“I’ll go get some cleaning rags,” Noelle said as Dean shut the slider door firmly. “That was a wild adventure.” She laughed. “Thanks for helping me.”
“What else are fiancés for?”
“Mmm, how about snuggling on the couch and watching a movie while we eat frozen pizza? I think our plans to go out for dinner tonight have gotten rained out.”
Dean grimaced. “You’re right. It would be foolish to go out in weather like this. I don’t want to eat frozen pizza, though.”
“I thought you loved frozen pizza. I even have Hawaiian and barbecue chicken, which I know are your favorites.”
“I like cooked pizza. Can we heat the frozen pizza up in the oven first?”
Noelle shook her head at his silliness, but he could tell she appreciated his effort to cheer her. “Yes, we can, Mr. Smarty Pants. Can you preheat the oven while I get the rags?”
“Sure thing.”
A few moments later, they were both back in front of the slider doors, mopping up the floor with the rags.
It didn’t take them too long, and afterward Noelle took a shower while Dean changed into the pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt that he kept at her place for when they watched movies together.
Both of them loved cuddling up in comfortable clothes, and Noelle had bought him the set because they were especially soft inside.
While he waited for Noelle to finish getting changed, Dean put the pizzas into the oven and listened to the wind rushing against the side of Noelle’s building.
Thank goodness there aren’t any trees close to the side of the apartment building, he thought. I wonder if it makes it better or worse that Noelle’s apartment is so high up?
“Is everything okay?” Noelle stepped into the kitchen area with a frown of concern on her face. She seemed to have noticed Dean’s worried expression and gotten worried herself.
He couldn’t stay worried when he looked at her, however.
She had a pink towel wrapped around her hair and she was wearing a fuzzy white hoodie with bear ears sewn to the hood and fleece pants with smiling clouds printed all over them.
He thought she looked so adorable he started grinning the second he saw her.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” he said, pulling her into a reassuring hug. “It’s intense, that’s certain, but I think you’re all snug and secure up here.”
“What if something happens?” she said into the arm of his hoodie.
“Everything’s going to be just fine. Nothing’s going to happen. Come on. What movie do you want to watch? Something old? I saw that you rented The Wizard of Oz from the library. Do you want to watch that?”
Noelle nodded, smiling gratefully at him, and they made a bowl of popcorn to go with the pizza. Soon the pizzas were ready, and they settled down on Noelle’s couch to watch The Wizard of Oz, which was one of her favorite movies and also a favorite of Dean’s.
They’d finished eating and were about halfway through the movie when there was a terrific flash of lightning followed instantly by a bellow of thunder. Then a snapping sound seemed to reverberant through the entire apartment and the lights went out.
Noelle gasped. “Oh, no!”
“Okay, so I lied,” Dean said with a grimace that Noelle couldn’t see. “I guess something did happen.”
“Oh, boy,” Noelle said, scrambling off the couch. “Good thing I didn’t get groceries today.”
“Hopefully the power comes back on before the stuff in your fridge spoils,” Dean said encouragingly. “Apartment buildings usually do pretty well in these kinds of situations.”
“I hope you’re right. Let’s go get some candles.”
He stood up and they used the flashlights on their phones to make their way into the kitchen.
“Ah ha,” Dean said, opening the cupboard under the sink and taking out a huge flashlight. “Aren’t you glad I insisted that you have this in case of power outages?”
“Yes, sir, you’re very clever,” she teased, standing on tiptoe and giving him a kiss as he turned it on.
“Why thank you.”
They turned off their cellphone flashlights to conserve the batteries and used the emergency flashlight to locate Noelle’s box of matches. She had plenty of scented candles placed around her apartment, so they went around the room lighting them one by one.
“It’s going to smell really good in here soon,” she joked as she settled back down on the couch with Dean. He snapped off the flashlight and smiled at her, thinking to himself that she looked beautiful in the soft glow of the golden candle flames.
“Very good. What should we do now, future Mrs. Owens?”
“I don’t know. I think the movie is a bust for now.”
“Good thing we’ve both already seen it.”
She laughed. “Otherwise you’d be up all night wondering if the scarecrow ever got a brain.”
“It’s true, I would be.” Suddenly Dean got an idea, and he grinned. “You own the book, right? The Wizard of Oz? I remember seeing it on the bookshelf.”
“Yes, my grandmother bought it for me when I was little!” Noelle’s eyes lit up excitedly. “Do you want to read the book, since we can’t watch the movie?”
“Why not?”
“I love that idea!” She hopped off the couch and scampered over to her bookshelf, where a beautiful green copy with gold letters of The Wizard of Oz was resting.
Noelle brought it back to the couch, holding it gently as if it were a treasure.
“I’m so excited to read this with you. I haven’t read this book since I was a kid. ”
“I’ve never read it,” Dean confessed.
“Oh, then you’re in for a treat.” She chuckled. “It’s not like the movie. Well, not exactly like. It’s pretty weird.”
“Weird enough to give me nightmares?”
“Psh, probably.”
Chuckling, they snuggled up together and Dean held the flashlight beam against the pages while Noelle started to read.
Once she finished the first page, she stopped and told Dean that it was his turn.
They continued like that, taking turns reading every other page, until Dean was getting swept up in the story.
I love this, he thought. It’s even better than watching a movie, since we get to interact more. It’s a more high-quality way of spending time with her.
As they were transitioning to a new chapter and it was Noelle’s turn to read, she paused.
“You okay?” he asked, noticing her troubled expression as she stared into space.
“I’m just thinking about our storage unit,” she said, biting her lip. “All of our wedding decorations are in there. Do you think it will be all right?”
“I think it will be more than all right,” he assured her, stroking her hair back gently. “Those storage units are built of sturdy stuff.”
She laid her head down on his shoulder and sighed. He didn’t know if it was a sigh of letting go of her worries or a sigh of holding onto them, but he continued to stroke her hair as he held her.
I hope I’m right, he thought, glancing toward the windows that looked out into the black night. The wind howled, rattling the windowpanes. With a storm like this, all bets are off.