Page 30 of Always a Roommate
“Where are you going?” Shane asked.
I stopped and turned to him, taking in the lines of his face as another flash of lightning made them visible for a moment. “Do you expect Tanner to actually be prepared for something like this?”
A sound escaped him that was somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle. “Not exactly.”
“Candles, flashlights. He won’t have any of that.” I started walking again, feeling my way toward the dive equipment. “Which is why we need dive flashlights. We just have to hope they already have batteries in them.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Well, unless by some miracle the power was just tripped and it’s not an outage—not likely—then we’ll be in for a long, dark night.”
I reached the area of the store that sold everything from wetsuits to BCDs to weights. I waited for the sky to light once more so I could see them. On a hook, a handful of flashlights hung by rubber wrist bands. I reached for them and tried to turn them on one by one.
Nothing.
When a beam of light cut through the dark, I turned. Shane stood in front of a display with a single small metallic flashlight.
He shrugged. “Found one.” It had been sitting with a full set of dive equipment, ready for prospective buyers to try. A single flashlight and a partially charged phone.
Better than nothing.
I nodded at Shane, noting the tiny smile of victory playing on his lips. It was better than the pathetic look he had a few minutes before.
I’d take it.
When we returned, we found Tanner behind the ice cream counter, spoon deep in rocky road.
Shane cleared his throat. “We interrupting?”
Tanner looked at us for a long moment, but there was no guilt on his face. “Are you guys going to help? The ice cream is melting.”
He didn’t have to ask me twice. I skipped around the counter and grabbed a little plastic spoon that definitely wasn’t big enough. Taking a bite of cookies and cream, I lifted my gaze to find Shane right where I’d left him.
I reached for another spoon and held it out. “You know you want to.”
His eyes held mine in challenge. “We’re at the beach in the middle of a hurricane. And you two want to have an ice cream party?”
Tanner and I nodded in sync. “And so do you.” I wiggled the spoon. “Come on, Shane. Live a little.”
To my surprise, he laughed.
“Fine.” He took the spoon, stepping up beside me. The three of us jostled for space as we all went for the tub of strawberry at the same time.
I couldn’t help pushing Shane as far as possible, not now that I’d stopped being intimidated every time he was near. “Our rules seem to be working well.”
“Rules?” Tanner asked around a mouthful of ice cream.
Shane rolled his eyes with a sigh.
I leaned around him to look at Tanner. “For living together. It’s the only way to keep from ending up in jail for murder.”
Shane choked on a laugh.
“You okay, big guy?” I patted his back before I realized what I was doing. My fingers curled in, and I pulled my hand away slowly, acting as if it hadn’t happened.
Teenage me would be squealing in glee.
Now, I just flushed with embarrassment.
