An hour! Jesus!
“I’m so sorry! I’ll figure something else out!” I feel emotional all of a sudden. I didn’t even consider where he lived. This area is so large! He’s really far away.
“Like hell, Micky, I’m on my way. Don’t be sorry.”
“But you’re so far away,” I argue.
“Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up tosince I last saw you?”
“Caine, are you sure?” I ask. “I…”
“Mick, just talk to me,” he says softly.
I swallow and blink back tears. I can’t believe he’s coming to help me, and he’s over an hour away!
“I was in Austin, visiting my best friend,” I tell him.
“What’d ya do in Austin?”
I spend the next hour talking to him about Raquel, I share stupid shit like the shopping I did (thank you, Jack), my studying, and how I just took the boards.
“How long until you find out if you passed?” He sounds genuinely curious.
“It can take over a month,” I explain. “It kind of sucks.” I laugh.
I see a pair of headlights pull up in front of me, then see a big black pickup truck pull in beside me. My chest aches at the sight of the star of my sex dreams now not two feet away from me.
I’m not sure what compels me to do what I do next, but when I see Caine get out of his truck, I open my door and jump into his arms. I don’t even care that it’s pouring rain; I’m just so happy to see him.
“Woah,” he says as I slam into him, but he catches me.
I close my eyes when he wraps his arms around me, his scruffy face nestles in the crook of my neck. For the first time in two hours, my heart calms. He smells clean this time, like fresh air, leather and man. He’s warm, and for some reason I feel… safe.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
For a moment, his arms tighten around me, and I feel his hand rest along the side of my face, and oddly, it feels comforting. But then he lets me go, and my feet drop back down to the earth.
“Let’s get your car hitched,” he says. “Get in my truck. I need to pull in front of you.”
I really don’t want to let him go, which is ridiculous, but I force myself to and hop into his truck.
I wrinkle my nose at the smell inside; it’s gross. It smells like a dirty wet dog… no… not a dog… but some kind of animal I can’t identify. I open the door because, fuck… I need to get some air.
“What’s wrong?” Caine hollers when I poke my head out.
“Nothing,” I say as he rounds the back of his truck and hops back in.
“Then close the door.” He smirks and shakes his head at me.
I shut the door and try to breathe through my mouth.
Caine turns his head and starts to laugh when he sees me. “You’ll get used to it.” Well, he clearly knows why I’m making a face.
He pulls his truck in front of mine and then hops out again. After about ten minutes, he has my car hitched to his truck, and he’s back inside.
“You’re drenched!” I announceas though he doesn’t already know he’s wet.
“I’m fine,” he says, waving me off. “I’m glad I got here when I did; it’s really coming down now.”
