Chapter 9
9
“Holy shit,” Jo breathed. She grabbed the front of her shirt in her fist, pressing her knuckles against her racing heart. “Do we need to get underground?”
“It’s just a watch,” Felix said, far too calmly. “That means we keep an eye on the sky and the alerts. We only have to shelter if it’s upgraded to a warning.”
“Okay.” Jo swallowed and glanced around the empty lobby. Peggy wasn’t here. Judging by the complete silence from the rooms beyond, neither was anyone else. “Is everyone gone?”
Felix nodded. “No one’s come in since the watch alert went out about an hour ago, and Peggy went home early to get her chickens secured.”
Jo’s mind raced, flashing with images of Dorothy (and her little dog too) dashing through sepia-toned plains. “Do I need to go home? Do you?”
Felix walked over, stopped an arm’s length away. He put his hand on her shoulder, like he’d done at Stan’s last weekend. He made eye contact with the same kind of steadiness Jo had been trained to use in medical emergencies. “Do you have a basement at home?”
Jo focused on Felix’s deep brown eyes and tried to recall what her landlord had told her when she moved in. There was definitely something about a designated tornado shelter, but, at the moment, she couldn’t remember the details. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’m not sure where the shelter I’m supposed to use is.”
“Okay, then we’ll stay here,” Felix said, cool as a goddamn cucumber. “Would you feel better if we went downstairs now?”
The Wicked Witch of the West’s theme music was now looping like a broken record in Jo’s mind. How could she have been so stupid? Sure, she’d never actually seen tornado weather before. But if she hadn’t been in such a rush and gotten distracted talking to Aida about her silly boy problems, maybe she would have put two and two together. The music in her head crescendoed, mocking her. She shook her head, trying to clear it away.
Felix apparently took that for a no, but Jo could barely remember what he had even asked. He slid his hand to her upper back and murmured “okay.” He guided her around the desk, where she plopped onto a chair and let her bags tumble to the floor. A male voice intoned softly from a yellow handheld radio beside her, rattling off numbers and meteorological phrases that she only partially understood.
Felix took the other chair. “May I have your phone, please?”
She blinked at him. “Why?”
“I’d like to install the Butler County Severe Weather app on it. And the NWS Mobile app.”
Jo unlocked her phone and handed it over without further protest. Watching him work and listening to the steady drone of the man on the radio had a mildly calming effect. Jo’s heart rate returned to something closer to normal, and her flashbacks of The Wizard of Oz faded away.
“Thank you for doing that,” she said to Felix. Looking at the careful way he held her phone, she could almost feel the imprint of his touch on her back.
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Do you mind if I give you my number and text myself so I have yours? I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep relying on email to communicate.”
“That’s fine.” She watched as he created a new contact for himself with his full name. Of course, Jo thought. So formal. He typed a message reading “Jo” and tapped send. Finally, he gave back her phone.
“Let me know if you need any help with the apps,” he said. He grabbed his own phone to save her number. “You can turn off some alerts and sounds, but others, like tornado watches and warnings, will always push through.”
“You stayed for me.”
Felix froze, not looking up from his phone.
“Didn’t you?” she prompted. “I never responded to your email, so you stayed here in case I showed up. Instead of going home like everyone else.”
“I needed to make sure you were safe.” His voice was soft as a whisper, but too rough to be called one. He lifted his chin a fraction of an inch and peered at Jo through his eyelashes. His gaze seared her skin with dark fire, her face heating from the scorch of it. Her pulse throbbed once—hard—in her temples, in her wrists, between her thighs. Felix had never looked at her like that before. No one had ever looked at her like that before. Like she was something worth keeping safe.
Felix knew the look he was giving her was too honest, too intense, too real. But the past hour had turned him into a wreck, and he didn’t have the energy left to stop himself.
This was Ashville’s first tornado watch since Jo had moved here. As soon as it was announced, he’d emailed her to make sure she had heard. Then he’d spent an hour refreshing his inbox over and over, even though it should have refreshed automatically with each new email. When he didn’t hear from Jo, there was no question of whether he’d wait for her. The shelter downstairs was as safe as his basement. He would stay. He had to. He couldn’t simply lock the door and walk away and hope for the best. Wait to hear from Jo on the other side of her first fucking tornado. He needed to see for himself that she was okay and give her somewhere safe to wait it out.
Jo didn’t look away from his scrutiny. Her breath quickened, and some instinct within Felix told him it wasn’t from fear of the storm.
“Oh,” Jo finally said, all round eyes and round cheeks and round glasses. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Before he could respond, two klaxons of emergency notifications blared.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.” Jo was white-knuckling her phone with both hands, wide eyes locked onto the screen. Felix’s phone displayed the same message she was seeing.
TORNADO WARNING IN YOUR AREA. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. FOR MORE INFORM…
“Come on.” Felix offered her his hand. She took it without hesitation. But when he pushed to his feet, she didn’t move. She was still staring at her phone. He roughly pulled her up, jolting her into action. Her feet were barely under her when she started running for the stairs. Felix gripped her hand tighter and ran alongside her.
At the base of the stairs, he took control. He steered them to the large, empty room at the end of the hallway, in the dead center of the building. Once the door was securely closed behind them, Felix turned on the flashlight on his phone. He stuck it in his pocket, light facing out, to keep his hand free. Because no way in hell he was letting go of Jo.
He reached for the hook on the wall that held the portable radio.
And immediately realized his mistake.
“Shit. I have to get the radio. I left it on the desk.”
“What?” Jo’s hand clenched even tighter around his. She grabbed at his forearm, pulling on his sleeve. “You can’t go up there!”
He almost touched her cheek. At the last second, he diverted to her shoulder, chest to chest with her. “Cell service isn’t reliable right now. We need that radio to know what’s going on and when it’s all clear. I’ll come right back. I promise. Stay here.”
Jo released him, hovering a breath away. “Hurry.”
Felix tore himself from her side, leaving a piece of his heart behind to watch over her.
He pounded down the hall, up the stairs. The windows rattled. He didn’t spare them even a glance. He launched himself at the desk, hopping up to land on his belly on the tall counter. A soft “oof” escaped him. He snatched up the radio and, in the same movement, shoved himself backward. Looping the wrist strap over his hand, he made a beeline for the stairs. Two steps down, he tripped on the carpet and had to slam against the wall to catch himself.
Fuck.
He took the rest more carefully. Nurse or not, the last thing Jo needed right now was a broken ankle—or worse, a broken neck—to deal with.
She was rooted to the same spot he’d left her, white as a sheet and clutching her phone to her chest. She hadn’t even turned on her flashlight. Felix pushed the radio strap up to his elbow and took Jo by the shoulders.
“You okay?” he asked.
She stared right through his chest, eyes glazed over.
“Look at me, Jo,” he demanded, making his voice deep and commanding. She started but obeyed. “There you are,” he continued, more gently. “Stay with me. Are you okay?”
“No, I am not the fuck okay.” Her words were flat and emotionless.
“What can I do?”
“Get me out of here. Put me on a plane back to California.”
A stab went through Felix’s heart. He shoved the feeling aside. Later. Later, he could process what the thought of sending Jo away did to him. “What can I do that doesn’t involve leaving this room?”
Something in Jo shifted as the shock wore off. She started to shake. Her phone thudded to the floor; her palms pressed against her cheeks. Her fingers curled around the arms of her glasses, digging into her temples. She wasn’t looking at him anymore.
“I-I—I don’t…”
“Shh, it’s all right, cari?o. Come here, come sit down.” He guided her to a corner and sat her on the floor. On the radio, the tornado warning was repeating over and over. Nothing about a touchdown. Not yet.
Jo hugged her knees to her chest, wedged into the space where the two walls met. Felix sat beside her and stretched his legs out long, a third wall to protect her.
“I hate this,” she muttered, staring into the darkness. “I hate this so much.”
“This is the safest spot in the building. We’ll be okay.”
“Earthquakes just happen. They’re over before you know it. Waiting around like this is so much worse. Christ, I was just starting to like it here.”
She sounded more like herself, so Felix took a chance at teasing her, hoping to draw her out more. “You do know you moved to Kansas in the middle of tornado season, right?”
Jo finally looked at him, wincing. “Honestly? I didn’t think about it too much. I was afraid I’d chicken out.”
Well, that explained a lot. Her surprise about the tornado watch despite ominous weather, her ignorance of alert apps, her apparent lack of a waterproof jacket. But it did raise another question.
Perhaps keeping her distracted was a good idea. They might be here a while.
He shifted, angling his torso toward her. “Jo, why did you move here? Of all places, why Ashville?”
She didn’t answer at first. Then, letting out a long sigh, she said, “Remember, at Stan’s, how I said I broke up with someone? He… he actually broke up with me. Maybe I should have seen it coming, but I didn’t, and it got messy. We lived together, and when he ended things, I floundered for a while. I didn’t know where to go. It was right after the holidays, so I’d just spent a bunch of money on Christmas gifts. I didn’t have a deposit saved up, and I couldn’t afford rent on my own anyway. I really didn’t want to do the whole roommate thing again in my thirties. Plenty of people do it, I know, but we’d been together so long—”
“You don’t have to justify yourself to me,” Felix interjected.
Jo knit her brow and regarded him for a moment. “Oh. Thanks. Anyway, I was crashing in Aida and her fiancé’s guest room. One night, she sat me down with a bottle of gin and a laptop and told me to figure my shit out.”
“That sounds harsh.”
“No, that’s just Aida,” Jo said with a tiny laugh. “I needed a kick in the pants, and she knew it. She’d watched me wallow and fed me ice cream and Thai food for two months at that point, and there was no end in sight. Literally, the only things I did outside work were sleep, eat, and run our MnM game. I hadn’t even looked at apartments in weeks.”
“Then I amend my statement,” Felix said. “That sounds like a pretty great best friend.”
“Yeah,” Jo stared at her hands, clasped on top of her knees. There was a gentle, affectionate smile on her face. Felix wondered if she ever smiled that way when she thought about her friendship with him. The way he did, especially whenever he saw the damn library key. Lately, he’d taken to running his thumb over that meaningless, stamped G.
“So what happened?” Felix prompted.
Jo’s smile turned sly. “We got blackout drunk that night, is what. When I woke up, I had a hangover so epic that bards should write songs about it. And I found tabs open on my browser for”—Jo ticked them off on her fingers—“‘lowest cost of living cities in the U.S.’, a map of Ashville, the jobs page on the White Hills website, and my email, where I somehow already had an approved apartment application. Luckily, I didn’t apply for my job while blacked out, but once I stopped barfing and could see straight, I decided to go for it.”
Jo tipped her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Felix allowed his gaze to wander down the line of her throat. It bobbed as she swallowed. His eyes trailed all the way down to the point of the V-neck of her sage green shirt. His lips fell open of their own accord, and sensation flooded to his dick. Jo took a deep, shuddering inhale, and Felix realized, with the same level of subtlety as being hit by a truck, that she was trying not to cry.
Fuck. Shit. Stop it.
Felix bent the leg closer to Jo and slung his arm casually over his knee. Hiding the tightness in his slacks because Jesus Christ, man, the woman is crying. The fuck is wrong with you?
“But it wasn’t just about money,” Jo continued, oblivious. “Jeremy and I were together a while. I didn’t know what it was like to be me, on my own, anymore. I thought it might be good to get a fresh start somewhere, where I didn’t know anybody. I wanted somewhere cheap… but also somewhere far. I don’t know if I was being brave or just trying to get away from the people who looked at me with pity. But drunk-me thought we were brave, and that bitch chose Ashville. Aida and Trey gave me the money for movers, and I drove out here. Just me and Merry. God, I hope he’s okay right now.” She opened her eyes and met his gaze. “So that’s the story. Here I am. In the middle of a fucking tornado, sitting in a library basement, with a—”
SLAM!
Jo screamed. Felix jumped and yelled, “Fuck!”
It sounded like the entire library, books and all, had collapsed on top of them. The ceiling trembled, though the walls were rock-steady. They were both frozen, waiting for the next sound and… holding each other tightly.
Jo’s arms were wrapped around Felix’s waist. Her grip was so strong it was a struggle to draw a full breath. Her face was buried in his chest, rapid breaths fluttering his shirt, glasses digging into his pec. Felix had somehow draped his long legs over hers. Her knees were poking the back of his thigh. His were flattening her boobs. He could feel the underwire of her bra against his kneecap. His upper body was folded over her protectively, one arm down her back and the other covering his own head and neck. He was breathing against her hair, practically tasting that sweet, fruity scent that cut right to the core of him. And, it appeared, he was clutching a handful of her thick, fleshy hip to draw her body even closer against his.
Fuck if it wasn’t as soft and yielding as he’d imagined.
“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit,” Jo was saying, over and over.
Felix shushed her and said, “Radio.”
“Sorry,” she whispered.
They sat there, unmoving, clinging to one another, and listened. The touchdown had happened a couple of minutes ago, about a mile outside the town limits. It had lasted a mere forty-seven seconds. Felix’s distraction was so effective they’d both completely missed it.
But the tornado warning wasn’t lifted yet.
“There might be another one?” Jo wailed against his shirt.
“Sounds like it,” he replied into her hair.
“Well. At least you smell good.”
Felix’s hand flexed, involuntarily, against her hip.
Jo really, really didn’t want to let go of Felix. He practically engulfed her, and she still wasn’t close enough to him. Too many clothes in the way. Oh Jesus, was this that thing where people who were about to die got really horny all of a sudden? Some“we might not make it through the night, sweetheart, so let’s make every moment count” bullshit?
That was the only rational explanation for why she’d blurted out how good he smelled, like cloves and coffee with a hint of vanilla sweetness. And for the way her pussy twitched when his large, warm hand tightened on her ass. Because Felix was fully grabbing her ass right now. And she did not care to stop him. She knew it was a great ass. That’s why her “signature look,” as her friend Kim called it, was high-waisted pants and cropped tees.
Just two people with great asses, holding each other in a dim basement, terrified of dying.
Two people who were friends. And colleagues. Fucking hell, they were at Felix’s workplace. He’d been so considerate of her at White Hills last weekend. She owed him the same.
“I think I’m okay now.” Because Jo was only human, she allowed her hands to slide along his taut waist as she released him. One of her fingers snagged on the fabric between his shirt buttons, and she heard his breath hitch. He disentangled from her quickly after that.
They sat on the floor, backs to the wall. Staring dead ahead, not looking at each other. Silently waiting for the all clear.
It came about ten minutes later. No more touchdowns were reported. The skies were clearing, the weatherman said, leaving only a few high, light gray clouds.
Felix got to his feet and offered Jo a hand up. She took it, but they both let go as soon as she was standing. She retrieved her phone from where she’d dropped it in a panic, relieved to see the screen wasn’t cracked and everything worked fine.
“Shall we go see what that sound was?” Felix asked, running his fingers through his hair. Fingers that had just been on her ass.
Stop it, you animal.
Cautiously, they went upstairs.
In the middle of the children’s area, they found the source of the noise that had sent them into each other’s arms. The entire space was situated under a massive glass skylight, which had shattered when a tree branch ten feet long and two feet across landed on it. The branch had hit a bookshelf on the way down, toppling it and scattering books all over. Felix glanced back toward the stairs in the lobby.
“We were right underneath this,” he whispered.
“Shit.”
“I’m so glad that’s all it was.” He raked his hair again. “I-I thought the whole building had come down.” Felix stared at the mess of branch, books, and glass, his eyes slightly unfocused.
“You okay?” Jo asked. He nodded distractedly. “Felix?”
He blinked his eyes back into focus and found her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head, stepping closer to him. “Don’t be. This was fucking terrifying.”
“I meant I’m sorry I, um…” He blushed and looked in the general direction of the floor. “I was overly familiar with you.”
Jo hid a smile. She’d never heard a more polite term for feeling someone up. “Hey, I made you listen to my sad little moving-to--Kansas story, so maybe we both overstepped a bit tonight.”
“You didn’t—Jo, I shouldn’t have—”
“It’s all good, Felix, really,” she interrupted. No way could she tell him she actually, kinda, really, really liked it. “If it makes you feel better, I accept your apology, but I’ve gotten a lot worse from guys I’ve liked a lot less. We were both scared. Please don’t worry about it.”
“All right,” he said. “Thank you for understanding.”
“No problem.” She gestured broadly around the children’s area. “What do we do about all of this?”
Felix stood a little straighter, falling back on his professionalism. He almost pulled it off, but Jo could detect the slight flutter in his voice as he took in the destruction. “Right. We have emergency protocols. I need to call Warren and the appropriate response team—likely that’s the fire department. No injuries makes this simpler.” He turned sharply to Jo. “You’re not injured, are you?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him, warmth spreading through her at his concern. “Anything I can do to help?”
“I can handle it. You should go home, make sure Merry is okay. And your car.”
“Oh my God, Felix. What about Tito?”
His eyes went wide, and he scrambled for his phone. He didn’t even turn off the flashlight first, just jabbed at the screen and pressed it to his ear. After only a few seconds, the jovial timbre of Tito’s voice came over the tiny speaker.
“Tito, thank God,” Felix said and continued in rapid-fire Spanish. He gave Jo a relieved nod, and she gave a thumbs-up in return.
She wandered back to the lobby and peered out the windows. If it weren’t for the tree branches, roofing shingles, and other debris scattered around, it would have seemed like a perfectly normal Friday evening. The sky was as big and blue as could be. The sun hadn’t even set yet. Strange. It had felt like the middle of the night somehow, huddled underground with Felix, safe in his embrace.
Jo shook her head at her own flight of fancy and went behind the front desk. Her books, dice, and pencils had scattered when she’d dropped her tote, so she crouched to clean up. It wasn’t long before Felix joined her, no longer on the phone. He pulled a binder out of a drawer and, with trembling hands, flipped to a tab in the middle. He paused when he realized Jo was watching him.
“I‘m going to run home to check on Merry,” she said. “If he’s not too traumatized, I’ll come back and help out.”
“You shouldn’t clog up the roads,” he said in a clipped, distracted tone. “It’s not safe. There could be downed trees or power lines, and emergency vehicles need to get through. It would be best if you went home and stayed there.”
She dropped her gaze, feeling stupid for suggesting it. Of course it wasn’t safe to be on the roads right now. “I’m sorry,” she said meekly. “I’m only trying to help.”
Felix scrubbed his hands over his face, his stubble rasping against his palms. “No, I’m sorry, Jo. I don’t mean to be rude. I appreciate the offer, but I’m just going to be waiting for other people to show up. There’s not a lot for you to do.”
He had a point there too, but he was clearly still rattled by what had happened. She didn’t want to leave him alone like this. “I can keep you company?” she offered.
Taking a step toward her, he put his hands in his pockets. “I’d rather you get home safe tonight.”
Jo moved closer still. She crossed her arms over her chest, the weight pressing down her boobs reminding her of where Felix’s knees had been. “You’re shaken up, Felix. Has it occurred to you that maybe I want you to get home safe too?”
From the way his face went slack, Jo was afraid she knew the answer. He had been so caring and patient with her when she began to panic downstairs. Did he really have no one who showed him that kind of concern? Her heart ached for him. Felix deserved someone who made him feel as safe and secure and seen as he made others feel. As he made her feel.
He leaned heavily on the edge of the desk and sighed. “How about this? You go check on Merry. Text me when you make it home safely. I’ll tell you what’s going on here and how I’m doing. Once Warren arrives, I should be able to pull myself together.”
“Always the professional,” Jo murmured.
Felix gave a sheepish shrug. “If things are really bad, or if I need something, I’ll let you know.”
“I agree to your terms,” she said, “with an addendum of my own.”
He broke into a small smile. “I’m listening.”
“Either way, whether I come back or not, you text me when you get home tonight too. No matter how late it is.”
“Deal.”
They shook on it.
Jo
I’m home. Car is fine and roads weren’t too bad. A bunch of people were out clearing debris and stuff already. Merry is fine, the dingus. Probably slept through the whole thing.
Felix
Glad to hear it. Warren just walked in. More soon.
Waiting for the fire department to arrive. We’re low priority because no injuries.
Jo
The deal was you also tell me how you’re doing.
Don’t make me drive over there.
I hear the roads are unsafe.
Felix
Sorry for the delay. Deputies arrived to take a report for insurance and they needed my statement. They might want yours as well. I gave them your name as the other witness but not your contact info.
I’m better. Warren took charge as soon as he got here, so I’m following his lead.
Jo
Good. I’m here if you need me.
Felix
Thank you.
Jo
I can also send cat pics.
Felix
I just got home. I’ll tell you the whole story when I see you, but things went smoothly. Warren assured me everything will be fixed well before the MnM launch night.
Always yes to cat pics.
I’m getting some sleep. See you next Friday, if not sooner.
Jo
Always???
No take backs
Get ready for me to unleash hell upon your data plan
Not tonight, I’m almost asleep over here too
But soon
Felix
Go to sleep Jo
Jo
Sooooooooon