Eventually, I did.
We would ride out the night here in this freezing box of death. There was still time.
“Bee? Are you okay?” His gaze searched mine, and I could only begin to guess what he thought of me. We hadn’t met in stellar circumstances, and now we were about to become trauma-bonded.
“This is stupid,” I said.
He huffed out an amused breath at my verbal eloquence. “There’s no reception in this dead zone. But we still have the radio if there is an emergency,” he said, delivering more fun news.
I groaned and dropped my head into my hands, my half-cropped hair swinging past my ears. “Damn this weather. Damn this town,” I said. “For getting us stuck here.”
He stood. “We have heat. We have supplies. We’re going to be okay. It might be a long night, but as soon as the sun rises and the storm passes, help will come.” He sounded optimistic. Delusional but optimistic. Very much on-brand for me. I begrudgingly respected that.
I sighed and settled into the hard plastic bench. He sat in the one across from me. The cold was noticeable through the snow pants. I would be miserable if he hadn’t gotten me these clothes. It would be polite to thank him, but I wasn’t ready to. I had to keep my guard up around him. Not because I was scared, but because … well, I didn’t want to think about why. I just wanted to mourn the failure of this night so far. I pulled my hands into my sleeves.
“Azi said there are extra blankets and pocket hand warmers around here somewhere. We can break into the emergency stash any time we need to. I don’t have food or water?—”
“I have food.” I perked up.
Bee for the win.
I dug into my bag and pulled out a water bottle and a plethora of assorted snacks. I also had several pairs of panties. It was only meant to be one night, but you could never be too careful. He saw none of this except the food I fanned out between us.
“Were you planning to be up there a while?” he asked.
“No,” I answered too quickly. “That would be weird.” I focused intently on tucking away the panties deep into the bag to hide the guilt written all over my face.
I had been planning on at least the night. I wouldn’t feel comfortable stealing goodies from the snack bar.
“You didn’t have a winter coat, but you packed”—he turned over the treasures in his hand—“cookies, fruit snacks, and not one, but two different types of trail mix.”
“Sometimes you want more savory than sweet.” I shrugged.
He studied the assorted snacks. “Did a toddler pack your bag?”
I quickly shoved everything back into my bag, chin lifted haughtily.
“I get low blood sugar,” I said with a sniff. Thank God, the Pop-Tarts didn’t fall out, or I’d never hear the end of it.
One didn’t pack health food and protein bars when having a life-changing adventure.
“Oh no,” he said, his tone suddenly serious. “You’re diabetic?”
I narrowed my eyes. “No. But I get really hangry.”
He let out a breath. “Not really something to joke about.”
I looked at him blank-faced. “I’m not joking. I turn into a different person. Just ask Deckard. You think I’m short-tempered and impulsive now …”
His eyes widened fearfully. “Let’s hope it won’t come to that.”
We both looked out the window. The tram didn’t shake as much, which was a miracle with how close he’d come to hurling just a few minutes ago. With snacks returned for now, I rummaged around until I found the chile socks.
I looked up from where I tugged off my canvas shoes and slid on the extra chile socks he snagged for me. He watched me thoughtfully, worrying his big, pouty bottom lip. He was considerate. Aside from the abduction thing. I still didn’t understand why, though. Was it just for his job? Was he looking to be employee of the month? He didn’t have to make me feel comfortable too. I didn’t know how to handle this sudden attention and likely wasn’t handling it well. I would thank him when this was all over.
Not yet, though.
After that, we fell into silence. I checked my phone. No reception, as he warned. I looked out the window, not sure what I expected to see. It was called a whiteout for a reason. In the dark of the night, the streaming white flakes by the lights gave the effect of flying through space.
