Chapter Nine #2
He didn’t give Callie a chance to protest. He pulled her to her feet and led her to the parking lot, now an impromptu dance floor. The DJ had set up and was playing country music, and several people were dancing.
“Follow my lead,” Joel encouraged.
He had misread her hesitation. She knew how to do the two-step; it wasn’t dancing she was afraid of, but the possibility of having fun.
He pulled her into his arms, and she confidently rested a hand on his shoulder.
He started to lead, but Callie had no trouble keeping up.
As they moved across the dance floor, Joel picked up the pace slightly, holding her closer, and Callie followed with a smile.
When the song ended, they were slightly out of breath.
Joel didn’t let go, and she smiled up at him.
The music switched to something slow, but instead of suggesting they return to their place on the beach, Joel kept holding her close to dance through the song.
“I’m impressed,” Joel said. “You know how to two-step.”
“Most small-town girls do,” Callie retorted.
“Right,” Joel replied. “I forgot you didn’t grow up in the city.”
Suddenly, Callie became acutely aware of how close his body was to hers.
His hand rested at the small of her back, a respectable distance from her ass.
He held her close, but not so close that it meant anything.
He was being a complete gentleman, yet he was smiling at her.
They were sharing a moment, and it terrified her.
“I need a drink,” Callie said, pulling away from his arms.
She started heading toward the drink table, and Joel followed her, but pulled her aside so they wouldn’t be overheard.
“I don’t know what you’re hiding from,” Joel said. “And I don’t understand why you keep punishing yourself. I promise I have no intention of complicating your life any further. I just thought you could use a friend.”
Tears began to sting in her eyes as she looked up at him.
“I really could,” she replied.
“If I ever find the person who hurt you,” Joel began.
“What if I’m the one who hurt them?” Callie whispered as tears slid down her cheeks.
“Then you must have had a good reason,” Joel replied, but Callie shook her head. She hated that he thought she was a good person.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her. She found some comfort in him, but she knew she didn’t deserve his kindness. Then she caught a scent. He was wearing cologne, the same as Ryan’s. She pulled away from him quickly.
“I’m sorry,” he said, thinking he had offended her.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Callie replied, feeling guilty that he thought he was at fault for something. “It’s just your cologne. It reminds me of someone.”
“Then I’ll switch,” he confirmed.
“You don’t need to change your cologne for me,” Callie objected.
“It’s time anyway,” Joel said. “I’ve worn this since college. All the guys there wore it. Maybe I should find something more suited to my age.”
“Well, if it’s for your personal development, I can’t object to that,” Callie joked, forcing a smile.
“There’s our Callie,” Joel smiled back. “Come on, let’s find you that drink.”
A storm hit on Monday. It was the first fierce one since Callie had arrived.
It was a hurricane that had already left several islands in ruins before it hit the East Coast. The ocean waves looked like they could be a dozen feet high, and the wind could blow someone over.
Callie wasn’t sure whether Joel would close the restaurant, but she decided to show up for her shift just in case. She had nothing else to do.
Although it was only a few minutes' walk, she was completely soaked by the time she got to work. Joel let out a laugh when he saw her.
“I was about to call you,” Joel said. “It’s dangerous out there.”
Joel disappeared into the back room and returned with a towel, which he wrapped around her.
“You’re dripping all over my floor,” he accused.
“So sorry,” Callie replied sarcastically, shivering.
“I should have a change of clothes in the back. You should get comfortable,” Joel said.
“Should I not just go back?” Callie shrugged.
She barely had the words out of her mouth when there was a loud bang and the power went out. Callie looked at Joel, terrified. He went to the window to find the source of the noise.
“A transformer must have been hit by something,” he replied. “Now you do have to get changed and get ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“The power won’t be back on any time soon,” Joel explained. “That means anyone without a generator will come here for food and heat.”
Joel led her to the office and handed her a hoodie and sweatpants, which were way too big for her, but they were the only options he had.
He told her he needed to turn on the generator and left her to change.
Every piece of her clothing was soaked. She carefully hung her things to dry and dressed in Joel’s clothes.
As she pulled the sweater over her head, she caught the scent of his cologne again and paused to suppress any thought of Ryan.
The lights came back on, indicating the generator was working.
Joel came back to check on her, but when he saw her bra and panties hanging over his office chair, he blushed.
“If Edna sees this, she would get the wrong idea,” he laughed, and Calle blushed.
Joel had correctly predicted the residents’ arrival.
The restaurant quickly filled with those without power.
Edna was so busy in the kitchen that people didn’t mind waiting for their meals.
They had nowhere else to be. Although there was an initial rush, after people were fed, they didn’t leave.
The restaurant became a social gathering.
Joel’s supply of beer and wine was almost depleted, and everyone seemed to have forgotten the dangerous storm slamming the building.
Callie slid into a bar chair at the counter next to Joel.
They were both exhausted and needed a moment's rest. Then the door opened, and Callie’s heart stopped when she saw who had entered.
It was Ryan, and he had Damian with him.
“Oh fuck,” she whispered, but Joel heard it.
“Are those guys trouble?” he asked.
Callie didn’t respond. She watched as Ryan scanned the room and finally spotted her at the back of the restaurant.
As Ryan and Damian headed toward them, Joel stood and stepped between them and Callie.
Callie stayed silent, thinking she was hallucinating.
Why would either of them come looking for her, and how had they even found her?
“What are you doing here?” she said softly as they approached. Joel hadn’t moved from his position, blocking Ryan from getting any closer.
“I need to talk to you,” he replied.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Callie responded. She wasn’t angry; she was fighting back tears. She had hurt him so badly that she couldn’t understand why he’d ever want to see her again. “Look, I’m sorry for what I did, and I know you’ll never forgive me. So why would you come find me?”
Callie got up from her chair, intending to escape to the back office, but Ryan called after her.
“I do forgive you,” he said quickly, before she could leave. “But there’s nothing to forgive. It wasn’t your fault. It was mine.”
Callie paused. Then she turned back, stepping past Joel to speak to Ryan directly, without the whole restaurant hearing.
“How is me sleeping with your best friend not my fault?” Callie said harshly, but quietly. “You’re nuts if you forgive me.”
She heard Joel draw in a deep breath as her secret was revealed, and she quickly regretted saying it, not because of the pain in Ryan’s eyes but because her only friend was now judging her.
“It’s not that simple. Just give me a chance to explain,” Ryan gave her a pleading look.
Joel looked at both of them, confused by the exchange. He was also watching Damian closely, who had not yet said a word. There was nothing angry or threatening about Ryan. He did not act like a man who had been cheated on. Joel could see he was truly there to help Callie.
“Maybe you should discuss this in my office?” Joel suggested.
Callie was about to protest, but she realized that the arrival of two more strangers in the middle of a terrible storm had drawn the attention of all the patrons.
If she tried to force Ryan and Damian to leave now, there would be a big scene.
And they really had nowhere to go. With the storm, it wasn’t safe to leave.
She debated for a moment whether to run out of the store and back into the storm, but she knew they would chase her.
Joel took her hand, almost as if he knew she was considering running away.
“No matter what, I’m your friend,” Joel whispered in her ear, so the others wouldn’t hear. “I’ll stay with you if you want me to.”
She nodded and let him lead them to the office. But when he opened the door, she stopped in her tracks. Her clothing still hung from various pieces of furniture.
“Oh shit,” Joel blushed as Callie quickly gathered her things.
“I got caught in the rain,” Callie explained defensively, hoping Ryan would believe her.
“Obviously,” Damian said with a friendly smile. “Your current outfit isn’t your usual style.”
Callie didn’t understand why they were being so friendly and nice to her.
She trembled with fear and sank into the chair behind the desk.
Damian and Ryan sat across from her, looking uncomfortably at Joel, who stood off to the side, leaning against the wall.
She wondered if they would start talking while Joel was in the room, but she wasn’t going to be alone with them.
“Callie, this is a private matter,” Ryan said, glancing again at Joel.
“And you’re in my establishment,” Joel replied coldly to Ryan. “Talking to my friend. I leave only if she asks me to.”