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The big raindrops start to smack down on the windscreen and bring the smell of hot tar off the road. I can hear the rumble of the storm coming. I roll up the window before I can get soaked. Rounding the bend in the road, I see a car parked on the side of the road with the hood up. But it’s not just any car.
It’s the Volvo. The old piece of crap that Xavier and Natalie drive.
Shit.
Swerving to the side of the road and reversing up a bit so I’m just in front of it, I jump out and run to the driver’s door. It has to be Nat driving it because I know Xavier is away. The glow of my taillights show me the car is empty. My heart sinks. Where the hell is she?
“Nat!” I yell out into the quickly darkening sky and the noise of the rain hitting the ground.
“Natalie!” My voice is loud enough to be heard over top of the noise but still no answer. She must be walking, but I didn’t pass her. Running back to the truck, grabbing my phone, I try to call her and there’s nothing. No signal.
“Fuck!” Slamming my hand down on the wheel, I start the truck back up and whack it into gear. “Hang on, Nat, I’ll find you.”
The wheels spinning in the wet grass as I race off down the road, I slow down so I won’t miss seeing her.
I haven’t seen another car on the road for a long time. It’s not a very commonly used road. So why was she out here?
Thank goodness my lights on the truck are big and cover a lot of ground. As I’m coming along a straight piece of the road, I see a figure huddled under a thick tree canopy trying to shelter from the rain. Her bag is over her head, and she’s just dressed in short shorts and a t-shirt. Not much protection from the weather, but in all fairness, she wouldn’t have been expecting this. That old Volvo has never missed a beat from what I know of it.
Seeing me pull up to a stop, she’s running to the truck, while I’m jumping out and running around to open the door for her.
“Jordan!” she screams at me. Helping her jump up and in, I slam the door and run back around to my side.
I bang the door and wipe the water off my face so I can see. My hair is saturated, so the drips are still running down my face. Nat is trying to do the same. We both look like drowned rats. Her clothes are plastered to her skin, and my body is suddenly appreciating that. Luckily for Nat, she’s not wearing white, because not only would I be getting a show of every curve of her body, but I would be getting a peek at everything underneath too. Not that I would be complaining. I’m wet but nowhere near as wet as she is. I reach behind my seat where there is always a set of gym clothes in here. Not always clean, but she’s in luck.
“Here, change into this shirt.” The noise of the rain hitting the roof is getting louder and her looking at me like I’m crazy gets me laughing.
“Seriously, Nat, I’ll turn around. Just get out of that soaked top before you catch a cold.” That stubbornness hasn’t changed since the last time I saw her. “What? Are you going to make me get out of the truck in the rain?”
“No! Just don’t you dare look!” She snatches the shirt from me.
“You know me, Nat, why would I want to see you naked?” My laughter is louder than the noise from outside as I’m facing my side window.
“Very funny.” I can hear the muffled noise of her trying to wriggle out of wet clothes that will be sticking to her like glue. The bang of a body part hitting something has her cursing.
“You okay back there? Need help?”
“No. Keep looking away. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.” Five minutes she’s been near me and already her feistiness has me going. It’s one of my favorite things about her. She always takes me on—in a good way, of course. “Right, I’m done.” Her wet clothes hit the floor of the truck like a lead weight.
I turn to look at her.
Yep, they’re right. Seeing the woman who lights your internal fire, sitting in front of you in your clothes. That is like crack to a junkie.
“Want to tell me what you were doing out here?” I ask.
Nat rolls her eyes just like she has done to Xavier and me since we were about twelve and started trying to be protective of her.
“Driving, just like you! Except my heap of junk Bessie decided now would be a good time to die. No cell signal and no one to call anyway, so I started walking for help, and then the stupid storm hit, and I got drenched, and I didn’t know what to do and it was getting dark, and I was starting to get scared, like really scared.” She hardly stops to draw a breath. When Nat gets worked up, once she starts, it just all pours out.
Instinct takes over and I’m reaching over and pulling her into a hug. The tears release her anxiety that was obviously building up inside while she was out there on her own.
“It’s okay, Nat. You’re safe now. I’ve got you.” The tears start to subside, like she is trying to stop her vulnerability from showing, and the tough walls start going back up.
She pulls back from me all of a sudden, with a look of surprise and confusion.
“Wait, what are you even doing here? Not here right now but here in town. Xavier never said anything.” Sitting back in her seat, she looks down at my shirt she has on, which is now wet again from leaning against me. “Oh man, you’re wet.” She shakes her head in dismay.
“A-plus for that observation, Nat.”
