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“No. What?”
“If the Earth didn’t rotate, we would never have a tropical cyclone. When the earth spins it causes what’s called Coriolis force. The Coriolis force results in a counterclockwise rotation to low pressure in the Northern Hemisphere.”
Talynn squints her nose and looks up at me through her dark brown lashes. “Oh, yeah, I knew that.” She rolls her eyes then replaces her head on my shoulder. “Are you a smarty pants?”
“Me? Valedictorian of my class.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. My graduating class consisted of one.” A smile covers my face even though she’s not looking at me. Why in the world am I so damn giddy when I’m hunkered down waiting on a hurricane?
“One?”
“I was homeschooled so I could play on year-round travel teams.”
She tilts her head slightly and glances up. “Well, it must have worked since you signed out of high school.”
Silence falls between us, but it doesn’t feel awkward. It feels comfortable. Although we’re camping out in her room due to extraordinary circumstances, being here with Talynn feels normal, like there’s nowhere else I would rather be. The wind pounds the apartment building, and we can hear the cracking of limbs and thuds from the hitting the ground. Talynn shudders at the noise, so I draw her in closer and suggest we play the card game War.
This gets our minds off what’s going on outside. “Ideclarewar.” She stares at me like a four-star general knowing they have the enemy incapacitated as she turns over an Ace and two Kings. I flip my first card and it’s a Queen. She giggles, capturing one of my high cards with her Ace. She has this one little dimple that is high on her cheek when she laughs freely. Talynn wins the duel and eventually the game.
Her eyes gleam in victory but mine shine in defeat. I’ll lose a card game every day if it gives me a chance to see her happy. Next, we cut the deck for high card, and winner gets snacks. We both draw a card, and the highest card wins. She slaps her hand against the floor when she loses, and I get the first bite of the candy bar. I win another round by beating her three with my eight.
“That’s not fair. It’ll be gone before I get any, and I might starve.”
“Let me guess—president of the drama club?”
“Very funny, Towles.”
Towles.
Sinking my teeth into the candy bar, I watch Talynn stare at my mouth—or maybe the candy bar. Regardless, it turns me on. I pull the covers over my lap then shift the candy wrapper down farther.
“Don’t you dare. You have to win the bites.”
I laugh before holding the candy bar up to her lips. Every part of my body stills as an overwhelming desire to kiss her washes over me. I think better of it and say, “I don’t usually share, but I’ll make an exception for you.”
She doesn’t bite it, and I hold steady. Finally, I nestle the chocolate coated bar between her lips, asking for access. Fuck, this is almost erotic. It’s a freaking candy bar—this is not sexual. At least that’s what I tell myself when she takes a bite so big that she takes part of my fingers with her.
“Ouch. That’s my throwing hand.”
She smirks and wiggles her eyebrow. “You shouldn’t let things distract you.”
You’re not things.
Hours fly by, because I’m having fun, and because I’m with Talynn. A loud beeping sounds, no doubt due to another emergency weather announcement, and we reach for our phones at the same time.
Hurricane Serena has passed and hit Sarasota and the surrounding areas. Please do the following:
Stay away from floodwater
Never use a wet electrical device.
If the power is out, use flashlights instead of candles.
Be careful near damaged buildings.
Stay away from power lines.
