"I'm a mess," I said, ducking my head.
"Beautiful," he repeated, reaching a hand out to stroke my cheek.
I shivered as goose bumps that had nothing to do with the rain popped up on my arms. We were crazy to be standing out in the middle of a hurricane, but it felt exhilarating. "You're not too shabby yourself," I said, watching with hooded eyes as he lowered his mouth to mine. The wind continued to howl around us and the rain poured down in buckets, but we were lost in our own world as his tongue gently teased its way past my lips.
I lost track of how long we stood there. Maybe it was only a moment or it could have been an hour. Only when the sound of wood being split snagged our attention, did we finally come up for air. Another tree had snapped, not thirty feet from where we stood.
"I think that's a sign that we better go in," Josh said, tucking me protectively under his arm. The wind was so strong that it felt like it could have lifted me off the ground if not for Josh holding on to me. I huddled against him, suddenly anxious to get inside. I didn't realize we'd stepped so far from the safety of the building. A palm frond blew into us, slapping my bare legs painfully. Josh picked up our pace, sidestepping more debris. The wind and rain seemed to be working against us, making the journey treacherous. Water sloshed up past our ankles, soaking our shoes.
I let out a sigh of relief as Josh pulled the door open and ushered me inside. "That wasn't my best idea," he said sheepishly, pushing a wet lock of hair off his forehead.
"At least I'm not hot anymore though," I giggled. Now that I had gotten the hurricane experience out of my system, I preferred the security of being inside. "I can't believe you guys have been out there all day," I added, stepping into the supply room to grab two towels for us.
"It wasn't quite this intense an hour ago. I won't be surprised if it's shifted more toward us," he said, drying his hair.
"You're right, it did. The governor has already declared a state of emergency for the coastal area, and Mitch already announced that no other crews will be sent out. It's time to hunker down and ride out the storm," Vanessa said from her perch behind the reception counter.
I shivered even though I really wasn't cold despite my wet clothes. It was more to do with nerves. At least none of the guys would be going out in the horrible conditions again, but I was concerned about what the newest update would mean. The way Vanessa said we had to "ride it out," scared me. Suddenly, the building that just moments ago had seemed secure and solid felt as flimsy as the house of straw in the Three Little Pigs story. "I'm going to change into something dry," I said, needing a moment to get my inner freak-out under control. I grabbed my backpack and a flashlight and headed for the dark bathroom in the back.
The bathroom had a spooky feel with my flashlight casting shadows on the walls. I locked the door behind me and leaned against it. A kaleidoscope of feelings ran through my head as mushy butterfly thoughts about Josh mixed with my fears over our current circumstances.
"Hey, you okay?" Josh asked when I finally emerged from the bathroom in dry clothes.
I flushed slightly, glad that he'd missed my meltdown. "Yeah, it was just a pain to get my wet clothes off," I answered without thinking about it.
"I could have helped with that," he quipped, winking at me.
"Perv," I snorted, swatting his arm as we headed to the crowded break room.
Butch and Buttercup were sitting at a table with Larry when we entered. Judging by the distressed look on Butch's face he had already seen the van.
"You said you'd tell him," Buttercup chastised me as Josh and I sat down with them.
"Oops. I got sidetracked," I said, flashing a guilty smile Josh's way.
Josh squeezed my hand. "Sorry, that was my fault. I wanted to show Rain something out back. That's a drag about your van."
Butch lifted his head, displaying his saddened puppy-dog eyes. "Dude, did you see it? It's crushed like a can."
"At least you can get a jeep now," I said, attempting to pacify him.
"Maybe, but it won't be the same. That van held a lot of memories."
We all did our part to help Butch grieve over his loss. After a few minutes, I got him talking and he launched into a description of the exact jeep he had in mind, complete with removable top and doors like the one Larry drove. Larry offered to hook him up with a buddy who owned a used car dealership once the storm passed. Butch's response was so enthusiastic that Buttercup and I exchanged a grin over their bromance.
The patrol station became more crowded as the rest of the crews returned. We moved the fans from out front into the break room since that was where everyone seemed to have gathered. They helped to circulate the air but did little to combat the body heat from everyone shoved in the same space. No one complained though. We accepted our forced confinement and turned it into a party. There were still plenty of sodas and bottles of water in coolers and leftover bags of chips from lunches during the week. A few of the guys had decks of cards on hand and a mini poker tournament broke out at some of the tables.
Josh snagged a deck of cards and a bag of Doritos for him and me and we spent the next hour playing War while we exchanged random facts about ourselves.
"Seriously?" I asked, laying down a ten of hearts next to his five of spades before scooping both cards up and adding them to my own stack. "You've never been to a renaissance fair?"
He turned over another card. "Guilty."
"How is that even possible?"
He shrugged. "We're talking about a renaissance fair, not a theme park. Lots of people have never been to one."
"I know, but everyone should go at least once."