“Hey, look.” I reached for a curtain and pulled it aside to expose the window. “The rain’s letting up a bit. Want to make a break for it?”
A noticeable gleam appeared in her eyes. “I’m already soaked. You feel like getting wet?”
Fuck yeah, I did. And getting rained on was okay, too.
I took her by the hand and led her out of the house, through the back door. It was still raining, but only a smattering of raindrops caught us on our way to the Airstream.
Once we were safely inside, I closed the door and switched on the lights. Fortunately, I had left it unlocked.
“Wow,” she breathed softly. “This really is bad ass.”
After my parent’s passed, Axel and I continued updating the Airstream the same way they used to. New countertops here, a fancy antique fixture there. It was silly, but it felt like a part of them still existed in here.
“Thanks. I spend a lot of time out here. Sometimes my brother and I need space from each other.” I moved over to the small booth and pulled my charger off the table. “Here,” I said, handing it to her. “You can plug it right there beside the toaster.”
She did, connecting her dead phone to it as well. When she turned back to face me, we had our first official awkward as fuck moment.
“So…” I began, tapping my fingers on the table and trying to think of PG ways to spend the time while her phone charged. “You an art history major at Southeastern?”
Her smile was small but appreciative. “Just art.”
I nodded, jerking my chin toward her hands. There were small smears of what looked like paint stains on them. “Paint? I should’ve figured.”
She glanced at her hands, looking embarrassed. “It’s actually dye from some cloth and clay. I had a mixed-mediums assignment due yesterday.”
“Cool. Could I see some of your work sometime?”
She folded her bottom lip in while inhaling. “My final project will be in the student showcase after finals. I haven’t started on it yet. Trying to find inspiration, I guess.”
“I’ll have to go by and check it out.”
Silence stretched thick and suffocating between us.
I wanted to do what I normally did in these types of situations. Lift her sexy ass up on the counter and spread her legs, getting myself in between them as quickly as possible.
But this was different for multiple reasons.
I didn’t bring women into the Airstream, much less fuck them in here. I also didn’t want to screw up and scare her off. It was a miracle she was here to begin with.
She’d appeared like an apparition and I’d been half-stunned ever since.
“You want a beer or a bottle of water or something?”
“Water is good.”
I retrieved one from the fridge for each of us, handing over hers before opening mine.
“Sorry there’s no television out here. I mostly come out here to study and chill, minus the Netflix. Wi-Fi doesn’t extend well this far from the house anyway.”
Her full lips drew my attention as she spoke. “I’m not really much of a TV person. Between school, work, and running my brother to and from practice and games, I’d never be able to keep up with anything.”
“Hence the beauty of Netflix. You can binge watch an entire season of a show in one night.”
She responded with a half-smile. “I’m usually too tired to miss out on precious sleep for anyone or anything. Binge-worthy shows included.”
I hoped this meant she wasn’t currently dating someone.
“So, no boyfriend going to stomp up in here in a jealous rage?”