Chapter 59-2

As she sat watching the light show in the sky, and clutching onto Chase underneath a blanket of rain, slowly, slowly, her ears got used to the sound of the thunder booming in the background. It was less scary when she knew when it would occur – shortly after each lightning strike – and soon she was able to listen to the gentler thunder’s roar without cowering in fear. The louder ones still made her shake in terror, but with each boom, the impact seemed a little less significant to her. Krislynn was so lost in thought that she didn’t hearing Chase calling her until he stood and gently pulled her up with him. His brown hair was drenched and water kept dripping from his hair and getting into his eyes. She blinked to get the water out of her own eyes, and it was only then she realized her clothes were all wet. “C’mon!” He shouted. “We have to go. This rain is only coming down even harder. Are you feeling okay? You can walk right?” “Yeah, I’m okay.” She shouted, but her legs were actually a bit numb from sitting down in the same position for so long. Nonetheless, she ran when Chase grabbed her and started running. With the raining hitting her, Krislynn didn’t pay much attention to where she was going. The lightning had ceased and only rarely now would she hear a soft crackle above her, but the rain continued, and with each second the droplets seemed to multiple in the sky. That was probably why she was entirely surprised when she found herself standing in front of a small wooden cabin only a very brief moment after. At the door, Chase shuffled a couple of keys in his hands and then opened the door and pushed her in before closing the door after them. It was a really small cabin, and from the door, Krislynn could almost see everything there was to see. There was a small bed in one corner, a desk in another corner, and a fireplace in the middle with a plush fur rug lying in front of it. Some cabinets were installed directly opposite the direction of the fireplace and beside it there was a small room that Krislynn identified as a bathroom after a quick peek. “Where are we?” She turned around and watched Chase shake the water out from his hair in a gesture similar to what a dog might have done. “Is this place yours?” “Yeah. It’s just a place I come to escape for a few days when I need to write. There’s nothing here – not even a shower – so I have absolutely no distractions.” He shivered as he walked to the pile of logs beside the fireplace and pointed Krislynn in the direction of the bathroom. “There should be some towels in there. Grab a couple and dry yourself. I’ll start a fire to warm us up.” When Krislynn finished drying herself up the best that she could, she came back out with a towel for Chase. He had already finished lighting up the fire, but turned the cabin’s lights off so that the fire seemed more luminous and inviting. She could feel the warmth as she took a seat on the brown rug beside him. “I hope this isn’t real fur,” she muttered, passing him the towel so he could dry himself. “Don’t worry, it’s not.” “Hey Chase?” “Yeah?” “Thanks for today.” Krislynn smiled as she said the words before she pointed a finger at him. “Even though I don’t approve of you taking me up here without letting me know what you planned to do! Do you know how super terrified I was?!” “Yeah I know,” he said, laughing slightly. “I guess it was a bit asshole-ish, but you wouldn’t have come if I told you. I’m still sorry anyways.” “Well, as long as we both know.” Chase nodded and the both of them sat quietly in front of the fire watching the logs burn and listening to the soft crackle it made in the process. Even though they had both dried themselves with a towel earlier, they were still damp from the rain since they had no dry clothes to change into. Krislynn’s shirt was glued against her skin and it didn’t go unnoticed as Chase peeked at the outline of her bra through her shirt. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Chase looked the other way. He could feel himself stirring, and realized this was probably a bad idea. He should have just lead them on the trail down the hill, but it was a lot longer than the one to the cabin, and since it would have been another couple hour drive until they got home, he thought it would be easier if they just stayed the night there. But now they were stuck here and it was still early. There wasn’t a T.V or a computer or books or magazines so there was absolutely nothing to do, but to stare blankly at the fire. About the only thing that proved to be a distraction tonight was Krislynn herself and that goddamn shirt she was wearing that kept clinging to her skin. “I’m going to sit closer okay?” Chase jolted in surprise when Krislynn suddenly scooted closer to him. She glanced up at him with those big blue eyes of hers and smiled as she pushed her hair to one side, revealing her long, pearly neck. “It feels warmer when I sit closer to you.” Chase scowled at her, but he couldn’t release his gaze from her bare skin. How could she just sit there and smile so innocently at him? “You’re always this clueless,” he muttered. “Such an awful girl!” “How so?!” She cried, making a face that showed the same amount of animosity as he was showing her. “What’s wrong with you suddenly?! You’re being weird.” Chase wanted to tell her that the reason was because of her. He wanted to tell her to sit further away – no, to sit as far away as possible from him, but he said something else instead. “You’re cold because your clothes are still damp. Sitting closer to me won’t make you warmer idiot.” “Should I just take them off then?” Chase choked from the surprise. “I mean, it would dry faster if I put it near the fireplace right?” She continued. “Plus, I think wearing wet clothes makes you sick. See, you’re coughing already.” “I don’t think it’s from that!” He shouted. “Oh come on, take it off,” she laughed. “Don’t be shy!” Giggling, she pounced on him and it surprised him so much that he fell back. “Wait! Stop! You have no idea what you’re doing!” “Oh really,” she laughed, pushing his shirt up. When she got his shirt up to the point where she could see his bare chest, Krislynn stopped teasing him. Something felt wrong. Chase wasn’t struggling like he was play fighting with her anymore, and when Krislynn sat back up and looked into his eyes, the way he was gazing at her had completely changed.