Chapter 12 - Dean
Dean
“We have clothes.” Lily pulled an ugly sweatshirt over her head. “We have food.” She nibbled at the applesauce before pulling the foil cover back over the package. “Do you want some?”
“Take care of yourself. I’ll eat later.”
“Can you pull over?” Lily asked once the dollar store disappeared from view.
I parked in a doctor’s empty parking lot. “Tell me what’s bothering you so I can fix it.”
“Well, that’s direct,” she said before shoving a spoonful of applesauce in my face. “Eat first, and then we’ll talk.”
I winced at the too sweet taste before swallowing and said, “I’m not known for my excessive tact.”
Lily shuddered. “Stephanie said I’m the first woman she’s seen in days. She knows help isn’t coming and says he doesn’t listen to her.”
“Ray struck me as a decent husband.”
“That’s not the point. ”
I had expected her to bring up my dry kiss given without permission, or the way I ordered her to gather supplies. “We’re on our own. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.”
A brief laugh escaped before she gave a rueful smile. “Like partners. You’re getting it.”
“He should listen to her. He should also protect her, no matter the cost.” I took her left hand, palm up, stroking it so her fingers lay flat, and kissed each one.
“No matter the cost? Is that what you do with me?”
I dropped her hand. “That makes me sound like a monster the way you say that. Is that how you see me?” The idea stung.
Lily gripped my chin, letting her thumb trace the tender spot below my lower lip. “No, that’s not you at all. There’s a man in there.” She knocked on my head. “I almost see him.”
Her brother saw my potential and nurtured it, while her father considered me his son’s pathetic friend. The charity case he occasionally looked after, but only so far and only so much.
Would it be different once we reached Deer Lake? Anger roiled in my stomach, surfacing the bitter acid, begging me to find its target. Lily had potential, while I had a few possessions in a single black trash bag. I took no comfort from that backward town. “I appreciate you noticing,” I said.
Her lips tightened. “Yes, I expected you’d say that. Dean, I paid you a compliment, and you didn’t notice. Why is that? It’s not from rudeness.”
I looked over her shoulder. “I don’t get many of those.”
“You don’t recognize them.” She tilted her head, frowning. “What would you do if I kissed you?”
“Remove your clothes and fuck you.”
“That was a serious question,” she spat.
“That was a serious answer,” I shot back and smiled. “What would you do if I said we aren’t going to Deer Lake?”
She jerked. “You’re lying.”
I smiled at her. “Am I?”
Lily twirled, looking out the windows to guess our direction. “Where are we going?”
“I told you. Some place where I can keep you safe.”
“You promised Deer Lake.”
“You were in that dollar store with me only a short time ago. Three men tried to rob them yesterday. Who in Deer Lake can protect you from that?”
“The sheriff.”
The fucking sheriff. “Kiss me, and I’ll change my mind.”
“Kiss you so you’ll keep your promise? That’s blackmail.”
“My favorite hobby.”
Lily set the applesauce container on the console, with the spoon on top. Her sour expression amused me. “One kiss. We both know you’ll take me home.”
“One kiss and we both pretend my threats are real.”
“I don’t believe it even a little.” She rolled her eyes, casting me an indulgent smile before pressing her dry lips to mine.
I grabbed her, forcing my tongue into her mouth as she relaxed, allowing it.
My anger disintegrated, replaced with a blooming awareness of Lily and the lingering taste of apples in her warm mouth.
I softened the kiss, letting my lips stroke hers, as she petted me up my chest to my shoulders, before wrapping her arms around my neck. I cradled her face and pulled her against me.
More of these, and she’d find me a changed man.
She pulled away to ask, “Are you enjoying yourself?”
“More than you’ll ever know. Bliss. That’s what you are to me.”
Our kiss continued until the windows fogged and our lips swelled.
The urge to take her in the parking lot didn’t fade as easily as my anger. “Do that more, and you’ll turn me into your faithful servant.”
“I figured that part out. I just haven’t figured out what to do about it yet.” Lily stroked her swollen lips before picking up her applesauce. “We’ve headed north the entire time, haven’t we?”
“It’s what you want. Where else would we go?”
“I knew it.” Lily picked up her applesauce and shoved another spoonful into my mouth. “Eat. No more humble brags about nobly sacrificing yourself for me.”
I forced it down. “It’s not nobility. It’s selfishness.” She shoved another spoon at me. “Also, I don’t like apples.”
“Seriously? What would you do if I forced you?”
The tip of her spoon touched my lips. I ate it. “Please stop.”
“Would you eat more if I asked?”
“Dammit. Yes.” I opened my mouth, preparing myself for the torture.
A laugh erupted before she stuck her tongue out at me. “Stephanie said three men tried to rob them, but she thinks it’s more. One of them mentioned their brother.”
I straightened at the reminder, “What else did she say?”
“Isn’t that enough? Because it feels like a lot.”
I laughed at her word choice. “It’s plenty. Thank you for telling me.”
“You’re welcome. Now, drive.” She tapped my thigh. “It’s not dark, and I look forward to another claustrophobic night trapped in a vehicle with you.”
I pulled back onto the two-lane county road, moving northeast this time, closer to Deer Lake.
“Have you ever been in a hurricane?” Lily asked as I drove around another downed tree. “Heavy air with no wind before it hits, like the hurricane is storing it until the gusts strike all at once.”
“What are you saying?” I veered to the left, crossing into the median to avoid another tree.
“It feels like that right now. Heavy before the scary part hits.” She shrugged. “Or maybe the comet made me paranoid. Maybe tomorrow it will snow, or the sun will come out.”
“Best hope it doesn’t snow. We’re unprepared for that.”
The road curved, and another tree blocked our path. The downed tree’s base was a clean cut. Someone had dropped this one.
“Dean?” Lily pinched my arm.
Four men, and one held a shotgun. I’d enjoy this. “I see them.”