American Honey

Before I could stop him, Reed hauled ass into the back yard. He shielded his head with his arm as he ran. Once inside of the large utility shed, I felt a little relieved. I didn’t know this man, but I certainly didn’t want him to die.

A few moments later he came out carrying a bunch of items. I held open the door as he ran inside.

With hands full he dropped everything on the countertop. I shined the light over all of it and saw that he’d found candles, a lantern, a tarp, bungee cords, and a large can of soup. “This was all I could grab at once. There’s more canned goods out there if we need to eat.”

“Will that tarp work?”

He sighed. “I’m going to have to climb out on the roof and check out the structure.”

“Are you serious? You’ve seen what it’s like out there. I won’t let you climb out on the roof to inspect in these conditions.”

“I’m not asking for your approval.” He headed for the stairs, leaving me in the kitchen while I tried to figure out a way to get him to stop. By the time I’d made it to the second floor he was out of the window. I rushed to it, looking outside to see if he’d already fallen to his death. I imagined him lying in a wet puddle, his sexy body a tangled disarray. Then I saw him, clinging to the dormer while using one hand to stretch out the tarp. I don’t know what got into me, but I hustled to get out the window to offer him assistance. While the night sky lit up with bolts of electricity, we were hanging out on a dilapidated roof.

It was for sure the stupidest thing I’d ever done.

Reed saw me and pointed to the window. “Get back inside, Erica. I’ve got this under control.”

“You can’t do it alone. I’m here to help you.”

“Get inside,” he yelled.

Feeling defeated, I turned around to head for the window, but lost my grip and began to slide down the shingles. That puddle I’d seen earlier wasn’t waiting for Reed. It was going to be my death instead.

Just as my feet cleared the gutter, I felt a hand grabbing my arm. My body twisted to see Reed holding on to me for dear life. “I’ve got you.”

My feet dangled as I tried to reach my other hand up to him. Panic had set in. Once he finally had me, he pulled me up to safety and got me inside of the window. Reed climbed in to follow, and watched as I fell to the ground crying. I’d almost taken a terrible fall; something that could have ended my life. He’d saved me, and I couldn’t begin to know how to thank him for it.

He got down on his knees in front of me. “I need you to go downstairs and wait for me. Can you do that?”

I nodded and listened to him this time, trusting that he had been right all along. I had no business getting out on that roof.

I heard a loud noise coming from upstairs as soon as my foot hit the first floor. Against his orders, I ran back up the stairs and saw him climbing inside of the window. Though I couldn’t see it, the sound of the tarp was above us. I pulled the flashlight out of my pocket and looked at Reed. He had blood pouring down his leg. “You’re cut.”

“I slid and sliced my leg on a piece of flashing.”

In the hallway bathroom I found a first aid kit under the sink. I sat the flashlight down on the vanity to use for light. Reed hobbled inside and sat down on the edge of the tub. I opened the peroxide bottle. “This is going to sting.”

He sucked in air as I poured it over the open wound. I dabbed it with a dry cloth and applied some ointment, before fastening it up with band aids. Once I was finished I stood back up and backed away from him. Reed got on his feet, breaking the distance between us. He was so close that I could see the stubble on his face clearly. His lips parted, and I became mesmerized by his handsome attributes. “Thank you.”

I looked down at my feet. “I should be thanking you. I almost fell off of the roof. You probably saved my life.”

I felt the back of his warm hand running over my cheek. “I couldn’t let someone so beautiful fall to her death.” His comment caught me off guard, and I wasn’t sure how to take it. Up until this very moment I’d considered this man a complete stranger, maybe even a threat. The fact that he’d literally gone out on a limb for me, and then rescued me had changed that. This man wasn’t going to hurt me. If he wanted to he could have let me fall. In that very moment the uncomfortable feeling wasn’t because I was scared. It was because I was blushing. Luckily it was too dark for him to notice.

Even though I was ashamed at myself for even finding his comment to be flattering, I turned to look at him in the dim light of the bathroom. If I was someone else I’d be playing off of his words, doing whatever I could to impress him into jumping into bed with me. Unfortunately, the most daring thing I ever did in my life was skinny dipping with my sister and her friends in a pond when we were seventeen. My last lover had been intimate with me once with the lights on, and the person I lost my virginity to had never seen me naked. I wore a shirt the entire time.

The man in front of me wasn’t like anyone I’d ever been around. He was mature, and probably experienced. He’d seen more in his life than I knew existed in the world. That’s why I knew his compliment wasn’t meant to be an advance. He was simply being kind when he knew I was freaking out, and because of that I knew I had to get control over myself. “We should probably go back downstairs so you can rest your leg.”

We did just that. After getting downstairs, I helped Reed prop his leg up on the coffee table. Then I grabbed us two bottles of water out of the pantry. While I handed him his, I sat down across from him again. A chill hit me, reminding me that I was walking around in wet clothes. I stood up. “I’m just going to change my clothes again. I’ll be right back.”

He started to get up. “Until you get the whole roof checked out I’d be careful about going on the second floor. These old houses weren’t built to withstand that many years of pounding.”

I kept walking. “I’ll be right back. Wait here for me.”

Once I got to my aunt’s room I grabbed my bag and started rummaging through it to find something to put on. The flashlight wasn’t a big help. I managed to put on a pair of yoga shorts and a tank top. The dry fabric hit my skin making me feel much more comfortable. I then walked into the closet and fetched pillows and blankets, knowing that neither of us were going to be able to sleep on the second level of the house. Silently I was thanking God for not having to go through the whole tree episode alone. Against my better judgment I probably would have jumped into my car and manned out the storm inside of it.

When I got downstairs Reed was already up. He’d crouched down in front of the fireplace. “What are you doing?”

“The temperature is supposed to drop. There is a stack of wood in the box that will take us through the night. Plus it will give us some light. There’s no telling when those batteries are going to go dead in that flashlight.”