Page 73 of All I Feel

Lark shrugged. “When my guy decides he can no longer live without me in his life, I guess.”

After adding three more dresses to the pile of those I intended to try on, I let out a sigh. “It makes no sense to me. You’re the most beautiful girl in the world, Lark. How could he not have found you yet?”

“I have no idea. Let’s just hope he hasn’t already found me and decided I wasn’t worth the trouble.”

“He’s a fool if that’s the case.”

She smiled at me. “Are you ready to go try these on?”

I nodded.

Then Lark and I hauled ourselves and more dresses than were reasonable to the fitting room. We found some we liked, bought them, and continued to make our way through the mall, stopping at all our favorite stores. We had the best time together—as we always did—and it wasn’t until hours later, approaching dinnertime, when we finally made our way out to her car.

Lark drove me home, and with multiple bags hanging from my arms, I waved at her from my front door. As she took off, I shoved the key into my door and stepped inside. I didn’t make it more than a few feet before I realized that something was wrong. That smell wasn’t right.

Quickly, I backed out of the house, closing the door behind me. Then I pulled out my phone and called the fire department before I called Ace.

“I wondered if I was going to hear from you today,” he greeted me. The happiness in his tone warmed my heart. “Are you and Lark done blowing all your money?”

“Ace, I need you,” I rasped.

Immediately, he was on alert. “Where are you?”

“Home. Well, outside my home.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Lark just dropped me off, and I went inside, but I came right back outside when I was smacked in the face by the overwhelming smell of sulfur. Something’s not right.”

“Shit,” he hissed. I heard some rustling in the background. “Did you call the gas company?”

“The gas company isn’t exactly saved in my phone,” I revealed. “I called 911 and requested the fire department.”

“Alright. I’m on the way. You stay outside as far from the house as possible. Do not go back inside unless someone from the fire department or gas company tells you that it’s safe. I’ll be right there.”

Safe.Safe.Why was I suddenly feeling so unsafe? First, my car. Now, this. “Okay.”

Ace must’ve sensed my distress, because he promised, “I’m coming, Princess.”

Nodding, I whispered, “I know.”

While I waited for Ace to arrive, my mind spiraled a bit. Was it strange that I was praying the experts would come in, sweep the home, and tell me everything was fine? I’d look like a crazy woman, but I’d have preferred that to the alternative.

That wouldn’t happen. The smell was too strong. So the next best alternative would be them telling me that I’d called just in time, because there was a leak from some crack in a pipe or something like that.

Random. This had to be random.

I stood there, holding my bags for a long time—at least, it felt like an eternity—until the first responders arrived. I told them what I knew; the words coming out even though I felt like I was in a haze. Then I waited even longer while they did what they had to do.

Eventually,finally, a big body pressed into me from behind as strong arms wrapped around me. Without hesitation, I spun around and plastered myself to him. With my arms still loaded with my purchases, I couldn’t hold on to him the way I wanted to, but I did the best I could.

“Have they told you anything yet?” he asked.

I shook my head, burying my face deeper into his chest. Ace sensed what I needed and held on just a bit tighter.

After a while—I no longer had any sense of time—a gentleman I assumed was from the gas company and a police officer walked up to us. “Is this your place?” the officer asked Ace.

“It’s hers,” Ace replied.