“My fault,” he said finally, voice back to that normal, smooth, calm.
“It's cool. You don’t have to apologize.”
“She’s been... shit’s complicated.”
“You don’t owe me an explanation, Kade.” I meant it… sorta. Part of me wanted to know everything.
“I know I don’t.” He was quiet for a second, and I could feel him choosing his words carefully. “But for real, that’s done. Been done. She just... doesn’t wanna accept it.”
“Oh,” I replied, forcing lightness into my voice, “well, at least now you can have a drama-free weekend.”
He looked over at me, and something in his expression made my breath catch. “That’s the plan.”
Thunder cracked overhead, loud enough to make me jump. The rain was torrential now, the kind of downpour that made you wonder if the sky was ever going to run out of water. “Jesus,” I muttered. “This is insane.”
“We’re almost there. Ten more minutes.”
I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way he was gripping the wheel tighter, leaning forward slightly to see through the rain. The road was barely visible, and every fewseconds, lightning would flash, illuminating the trees on either side of us. “You sure you know where you’re going?” I asked.
“I’ve been to this cabin a hundred times, Storm. I could drive here blind.”
“Let’s maybe not test that theory.”
He smiled, just a little, and some of the tension eased. “Trust me.”
I did. That was the problem. I trusted him completely, with everything, in ways that probably weren’t smart for someone I was supposed to bejust friendswith. The GPS announced we were five minutes away, and I could feel my pulse picking up.
“You still with me?” Kade’s voice pulled me back.
“Yeah. Just thinking.”
“About?”
About how your hand felt on my knee. About how you just ended a call with another woman to focus on me. About how I’ve been lying to myself for years about what you actually mean to me.
“About how I’m gonna make you watch all my favorite movies this weekend, and you can’t say no because you owe me for rescuing me."
He laughed. “That’s not how this shit works.”
“That’s exactly how that works.”
The cabin appeared through the rain, surrounded by trees that swayed violently in the wind. Kade pulled up as close to theporch as he could and put the car in park. “Ready to make a run for it?” he asked.
I looked at the rain, then at the cabin, then at him. His eyes were already on me, dark and intense in the dim light. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” The rain pounded on the roof of the car as Kade reached for the door handle.
The second I opened the car door, the rain hit me, cold as hell, coming down in sheets so thick I could barely see the porch ten feet away. “Come on!” I grabbed both bags from the back seat and handed her the umbrella.
Stormie climbed out, squealing as the rain thundered through the umbrella. I was right behind her, taking the steps two at a time, water pouring off me by the time I got under the overhang. “Oh my god,” she gasped, shaking her hands out, her hair plastered to her face and neck. “That’s fucking insane!”
I set the bags down on the covered porch and dug in my pocket for the key. My hoodie was stuck to my skin, heavy with water, and I could feel it dripping down my back. “You good?” I asked, glancing at her as she stepped beside me.
She was wringing out her hair, and her hoodie was clinging to every curve. I looked away fast, focusing on getting the damn key in the lock. “I’m soaked,” she said. “Like, completely soaked. I think there’s water in my shoes.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you run through a storm.”
“You said run! I ran!”
The lock finally turned, and I pushed the door open, reaching inside to flip the light switch. Nothing happened. “Fuck,” I huffed. “Power’s out.”