“Of course, of course,” Cameron stammered, “I’m sorry about that. But look, we’re in one of the bungalows at Lakeview, and a tree has fallen in front of it, so we can’t get out. Any chance someone can get down here and help us?”
“They can, but it won’t be for a while. This storm has hit hard, and we’re stretched thin. If you can get out the window, that’s probably your best option.”
I went over to one of the windows to check the opening. Muriel would fit, but it would be tight for Cam and me. We’d have to completely strip off to avoid any clothes getting caught and hope we didn’t get stuck.
They obviously had in mind that the entrance door and the patio doors were the emergency exits when they designed the place.
“We could smash the patio door?” Cameron suggested, but I shook my head.
“The storm’s still raging. If our car won’t start for some reason and we smash up this place, we’ll be stuck without shelter unless we make a dash to the hotel. Well probably be safer staying right here.” I new it was a bit of a turnabout from saying the place might be about to come crashing down around our ears, but I’d had a moment to calm down and think rationally.
“He’s got a point there, Cameron,” Vic said, and even in the circumstances, I couldn’t resist giving my friend a little smirk. “You guys hang tight, and we’ll get you out as soon as possible. Is it only you and Hugh?”
“Um, and Muriel,” Cameron said, and there was a long silence on the other end of the radio.
“Interesting,” Vic said finally, and I detected a note of amusement in his voice. “Well, I hope you’ve got supplies and some form of entertainment, because you’re probably going to be there a while.”
“Understood. Over and out.” Cameron put down his radio.
“So, we’re stuck?” Muriel looked like she was about to cry. I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn’t be sure that I wasn’t the reason she was so upset.
“You can leave if you like,” I pointed out mildly. “You can fit through the window and maybe try to get over to the main hotel.”
She appeared to consider it for a moment but ultimately shook her head. “No, I’m not abandoning you. We’ll ride this thing out together.”
“Excellent.” Cameron clapped his hands together happily.
I knew exactly what he was thinking; she was staying with us because she liked us. He thought we were heading straight back to the bedroom to ride out this storm by riding her. That was the optimistic spirit I admired.
“What shall we do then?”
“Well, it’s still basically the middle of the night,” Muriel pointed out. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to try to get some more sleep.”
My friend deflated before my eyes. “Oh. I just thought that maybe we could—”
“We’ll talk in the morning, all right?” Muriel interrupted him and headed back to her bedroom before either of us could say anything else.
“Don’t you dare say I told you so,” Cameron hissed.
I had to laugh. Just like I could read his mind, he knew me like the back of his hand, too. “Fine, I’ll resist, just this once.”
We made our way back over to our respective couches. It wasn’t like I was happy that she’d been so reticent. If she’d torn my clothes off and dragged me back to her bed, I’d have been delighted to admit I was wrong. But I knew that Cameron would be so much more disappointed than me. Being a cynic before my time meant I was better prepared for life’s letdowns.
The wind continued to batter against the windows as I fell into a fitful sleep.
Chapter Six
Muriel Tennyson
I didn’t go back to sleep, despite saying I was going to. I was too restless, thinking about everything. The truth was, I didn’t know what to say to the guys. Thanks for last night? Too cheesy. Let’s do it again? Tempting, but asking for trouble. What the hell do we do now? That was the question I really wanted to ask, but I wasn’t sure there was an answer that would make us all happy.
So instead of sleeping, I stared at the ceiling, or at least the pitch-black darkness that hung in the air between me and the ceiling.
What a mess I’d gotten myself into. The wedding would have been awkward enough, but instead we were trapped together in a bungalow.
Vic knew that the guys stayed with me overnight, so it wouldn’t be long before the whole town knew. What would everyone think? I’d have to say that their car broke down after giving me a lift.
But then, if the guys had shared women before—and the thought of that made me feel ill—perhaps everyone already knew, so they’d just assume I was their latest conquest. Which was true, but I didn’t need everyone to know about it. What if my parents found out? I usually wasn’t a neurotic person, but this combination of friendship, lust, and small-town gossip seemed custom-made to stress me out.