Looking ahead, I notice the clouds darkening. They’re beginning to look a lot more rainy than your typical ‘just some clouds rolling in’ like the forecast mentioned.Shit.I’d checked the weather this afternoon, and we’d had a very small chance of rain. Something’s changed, because that up there doesn’t look like a small chance of rain. It looks like lots of rain. I sure hope we’re close to the next town. Part of me doesn’t even want to stop and take the time to see, but we need to know how far out from shelter we are and what’s coming at us. Holly must feel mymood shift because she turns her head forward and clutches me a smidge tighter when she inevitably sees what I see ahead.
“Jaxon, that doesn’t look great!” Holly hollers toward my ear, above the sounds of music and the bike.
“We have to pull over!” I holler back, turning the tunes down.
I decide now’s better than later and pull off to the side of the empty highway surrounded by trees.
I yank out my phone as she hops off the bike.
“Didn’t you look at the weather?!” she asks furiously, and I don’t have the patience for her snarkiness at the moment.
“Yes, I did, and there was a tiny chance of rain. Not anything that looks like that deluge coming our way.” I point toward the dark clouds as she groans in annoyance. I groan back when I pull up the radar as Holly’s phone starts ringing in the storage compartment.
“I bet that’s them telling us what I’m seeing.”
Holly fishes it out and nods at me in answer as she puts the call on speaker.
“You’ve got a ton of pop up storms coming your way. No tornadoes so far, but it’s a lot of rain and wind.”
“We just pulled over to look at the radar because we saw the change in the clouds. Where are you guys?” she asks Sydney.
“A lot closer than you.”
I hear the crack of thunder in the background of the call.Damn it.
“Jaxon, how close are we to the next town?” Holly asks me nervously.
“We need to get the jackets out and get moving.”
“Welp, I guess that answers my question. We’re about to get drenched. Syd, gotta go. I’ll let you know when we’ve made it to a diner or something.”
“Okayyyyy…” she breathes out. “Be careful.”
“We will be. Talk or text soon.” Holly hangs up, shoving the phone deep back inside the compartment.
“How far out?”
“Half an hour. I’ll push it while it’s dry, but we’re not going to make it dry.”
“Shit.”
“Yup. Jacket on, let’s go.”
She tosses me my bomber jacket, and I slide it on before slipping my phone into the waterproof area I got especially for times like this. Holly swings her leg over, closer than the first time she got on behind me, but she’s being shy again.
“Straddle me, Sweetheart,” I practically growl with impatience. “As much as I enjoyed sliding you up against me earlier, you need to do it this time.”
I feel her tense behind me and know how that sounded to her, but I don’t care. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t like it. As soon as she obliges me, I take off, and as promised, I push the speed limit as safely as possible to get us out of the middle of nowhere. I hear the rumble of thunder and see the clouds lighting up ahead of us. If we weren’t out in it, I’d dare say it’s beautiful.
A short time later, I see a mileage sign telling us the next town is ten miles away. The wind has picked up slightly, and raindrops are peppering my jacket. She lifts her head higher, checking out our date with the coming bands of rain.
“If it comes down too hard, I’ll have to stop. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a bridge or an overpass!” I holler.
“We’re almost there!”
“I know, but I won’t have us getting hurt either!”
The rain picks up, but it’s not enough to deter us yet. We pass through an intersection, and by chance, she notices something and taps me on the arm insistently.
